The Christmas Playbook (Shadow Valley U)

Chapter 4 Why is my life a joke? Rhys Anderson, my old neighbor, my old pal, my old crush. Find the newest release on Find[ɴ]ovel.net I pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming, which only forces his eyebrows to cave in farther. Unfortunately for the both of us, this isn't a dream. "Uh..." He glances around the cabin, as if he's searching for cameras, as if we're on some prank show. "This is my cabin, actually." The hell it is. I stomp my foot like a brat and cross my arms over my coat.

"Listen," I start off with an even-tempered voice, but as soon as Rhys flicks his eyebrow, irritation rushes through me. "I've been on an airplane with my insane family for over three hours, then I was forced to sit in a car between my gigantic teenage brother, who took up more than half the seat, and my two-year-old nephew, who screamed the entire ride up this mountain." I honestly think I might have lost hearing in my right ear. That, right along with my freaking mind. "And?" Rhys is confused, and I'm annoyed. "And get out!

This is my cabin." I jingle the keys in front of his face, refusing to gape at his naked chest. Rhys Anderson is no longer a boy with lanky limbs and random patches of facial hair. He's all man now, and it's hard to pretend like he's not. I didn't keep up with him after we moved away from one another, but I think I remember Marcus saying that Rhys was drafted for the pros. He'll die when he realizes one of his heroes is here. Rhys casually walks over to the table and swipes up a pair of keys of his own.

He's no more than a foot away from me before he holds up his set and mimics my previous jingling. "Looks like we're roomies, Frostbite." An annoyed sigh falls from my mouth. Really? My old nickname? "No." I spin on my boots and head for the door. Absolutely not. I am not spending my entire ski trip being put down by my family only to come back to my cabin to share it with none other than Mr. Successful himself-Rhys Anderson. No matter how insanely hot he is. "Hot tub is this way. Where are you going?" Unfortunately, Rhys's voice doesn't fade the closer I get to the check-in desk.

He follows closely behind, asking me all sorts of questions. None of which I answer. How have you been? Where do you live now? Are you still obsessed with Justin Bieber? Do you have a boyfriend? Or girlfriend? Single? "Excuse me," I say sweetly to the girl at the desk. She is less overwhelmed than a little while ago when my family arrived in full chaos. "I think there has been a mistake." "A mistake?" she asks, cheeks turning pink. "I think you might have double-booked us." I point to Rhys, who thankfully covered up before following me in the snow.

The girl quickly pulls up something on the computer while Rhys and I stand side by side in awkward silence. Well, awkward for me. He seems cool, calm, and collected. His long fingers tap against the desk slowly as he observes the reception area with a content expression. He's nearly two feet taller than me now, and his shoulders are so much broader than when we were preteens. I feel small beside him. "Oh my God," the girl mutters. That's never good. She stares at me with wide eyes. "We did double-book you." Why does she seem so panicked by this? Just give him a different room.

"That's fine." Rhys leans his elbow on the receptionist desk. "You can give Mira here a new cabin." He pauses. "Unless it's nicer than the one we're currently in. In that case, I'll switch." I gasp and throw my elbow into his side. He grunts at the same time a smile slides onto his face. "You don't understand," the girls voice shakes with anxiety. "There are no more rooms available." My whole body heats. "What?" Rhys makes a face, but he's quick to brush the issue off. "So, you're saying we need to share. Do we get a discount?" I shoot him a glare. "What? No, we won't share," I argue.

His eyebrows rise. "Do you have somewhere else to stay? Because I'm sure as hell not staying in any of my friends' cabins. They fuck like rabbits." Just then, I hear a familiar laugh. I glance over my shoulder at my two older sisters and quickly turn back to Rhys. His eyebrows furrow once again. "Well?" he asks. To stay with Rhys or to stay with one of my family members? As I teeter between two impossible choices, I listen for either of my sisters' voices to get closer. Shit.

"What are the chances that Mira self-combusts while we're here, with Mom and Dad asking her what her plans are every five seconds?" one trills. "Between that and Eliza asking if she has a boyfriend or is interested in anyone? Yeah, I give it two days before she shouts something and stomps off to her cabin." "Wanna make a bet?" Rhys's gaze shifts from me to my sisters and then back to me. It's obvious he overheard them, and now I want to die. My face heats, and I stare at the center of his chest. This trip has hardly begun, and I'm already having a shitty time. A bet?

They're literally betting on what'll make me self-combust first? The implication that I'm unsuccessful in life or the talk of my nonexistent dating life? Both are touchy subjects because it's obvious that I'm the black sheep of the family. Anger brews inside my chest, and I grit my teeth together. "Marcus swears she'll be single forever." Laughter. They're right behind us. That's the final straw. I catch Rhys's eye mid-spin to my sisters, and I pray he plays along. "Marcus is wrong." I lean back against Rhys's hard chest and smile deviously at my sisters. "I'm not single."