“And with the last one? The lawyer?” Caylee asked.
Riley smiled and touched the neckline of her dress. “Tyler. He loved dressing up like this. He showed me what it would be like to live a life of luxury where I didn’t have to worry about money all the time. That gave me a different kind of freedom. With Tyler, I learned the power of success.”
Caylee studied her. “Did you love the power or Tyler more?”
Riley gave Caylee a thoughtful look. “Good question. I know I should say Tyler, but if I’m honest, I really don’t know.”
“Well, it looks like you’re going to have a chance to find out,” Caylee said. “You’re so lucky.”
Riley shook her head, confused. “Lucky? How?”
“Think about it,” Caylee said. “How many people get a second chance with someone they loved? You loved them all for a reason, but the timing wasn’t right. Maybe now, for one of them, the timing is finally right, and your one true love is here. You just have to figure out which one of those guys could be your happily-ever-after.”
Riley laughed a nervous laugh. “You make it all sound so easy.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard,” Caylee countered. “It’s Christmas. It’s the time of year when everyone falls in love, and the three loves of your life are all here. Don’t you think that’s a sign? Don’t you owe it to yourself to see if there’s anything still there? You don’t want to always wonder ‘what if.’”
Riley knew Caylee was right about one thing. She didn’t want to live with the dreaded “what if” hanging over her.
That meant she needed to talk to all three guys and see if there were still any sparks or if her ghosts of boyfriends past needed to stay right there—in the past.
Chapter Thirty
After Riley went back downstairs and rejoined the party, she spent about an hour making sure she talked to all the Christmas Campers. The whole time she could feel the eyes of Colin, Brendan, and Tyler on her.
Clearly, they weren’t going anywhere.
When she spotted Luke talking with Brianna, laughing and having a great time, she looked away quickly. But apparently not fast enough because Luke caught her eye and walked over to her.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “Do you need anything?”
“No, everything’s fine,” Riley said. “I think everyone’s having a great time.”
“And what about your . . . friends?” Luke asked.
Riley looked over at Tyler, who was glued to his phone. “I think they’re entertaining themselves. And about that, I really owe you an apology . . .”
Luke held up his hand. “It’s okay.”
“No,” Riley said, “It’s not okay. I totally jumped to conclusions in blaming you. You didn’t deserve that. I was in shock and freaking out, but that’s still no excuse. You’ve done nothing but work hard to make this event a success. I had no right to treat you like that. I hope you can forgive me?”
“Apology accepted,” Luke said. “I would have freaked out, too, if all my old girlfriends had showed up.”
Riley arched one eyebrow. “Would they have filled the room?”
Luke laughed. “Maybe a corner or two.”
They shared a smile.
“But seriously, Riley,” Luke said, taking her hand and looking into her eyes. “It’s Christmastime, and there’s nothing I want more than this Christmas Camp to be a success for you.”
Riley was touched. “And I want the same for you and your mom. We’re in this together.”
Luke gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. “We sure are.”
The moment was interrupted when Brianna came over holding two glasses of Champagne and handed one to Luke.
“I got you a new glass,” Brianna said, smiling up at Luke. “We have so much to celebrate.”
When Luke let go of Riley’s hand, it suddenly felt very cold.
“Thank you,” he said as he took the glass. “Riley, I haven’t had a chance to introduce you to Brianna yet. She’s—”
“The realtor,” Riley finished for him.
Brianna linked arms with Luke. “And a little more than that, but yes, I’m a realtor. Has Luke told you the good news?”
Riley fought to keep smiling. She didn’t like the possessive tone of Brianna’s voice.
“Not yet,” Luke said. “This is her big night. I want to focus on that.”
Riley looked from Brianna to Luke. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What’s the good news?”
“It looks like I found a buyer for the lodge,” Brianna jumped in, unable to contain her excitement. “Isn’t that amazing?”
Riley’s eyes flew to Luke’s but was surprised he didn’t look half as excited at Brianna did.
“That is amazing,” Riley agreed. “Isn’t it?” She directed her question to Luke.
But Brianna answered. “We’re getting full asking price, so yes, it’s a very good thing.” She clinked her Champagne glass to Luke’s.
“Nothing is set in stone,” he said. “I’m not going to jump the gun and start celebrating yet. There’s a long way to go from interest to signing final paperwork, and right now, this weekend, I need to focus on Christmas Camp.”
“It’s already a success,” Brianna said. “It’s trending on social media after that picture was posted of Riley with her three ex-boyfriends.”
“Wait, what?” Riley asked, almost choking on her words. “What picture?”
Brianna got out her phone and showed Riley a picture where Colin, Brendan, and Tyler were all standing in front of her and she had a look of pure shock on her face.
Riley felt blindsided. “Where did that picture come from?”
Then she knew. She whipped around, and her eyes zeroed in on Paul. He was drinking a glass of Champagne.
As she marched over to Paul, she didn’t even pretend everything was okay.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked as she approached, but his smile quickly faded when he saw her expression.
“Why don’t you tell me,” Riley said, locking eyes with him. She pointed at his camera. “Did you get some good pictures tonight?”
“Yes,” Paul said. His voice was hesitant.
“Good, because those are the only
