Paul put down his Champagne. “Look, Riley, if it’s about the picture I sent Mike, I told him not to give it out to anyone until you approved it,” he said. “I know, I know. I heard it’s gone viral, but you need to talk to Mike about that.”
“No,” Riley said, stepping even closer to him until he took a step back. “I’m talking to you about it because we had an agreement that I would have photo approval, and you know I didn’t approve this.”
Paul held up his hand like he was trying to defend himself. “I know, but Mike texted and wanted to know how it was going, and I told him there was this huge surprise with your exes showing up and how it would be great for social media. But I also said we should all talk about how to handle the story. When he asked me to send a picture just to see the guys, I didn’t know he’d run with it.”
Riley laughed. “Really, Paul? You didn’t know Mike would run with it? This is Mike we’re talking about. Even if you’ve only worked with him for a second, you know how he is.”
“Okay, yes, I know,” Paul said. “But I also saw other Christmas Campers posting the same pictures, and I thought Mike was right that we should be the one to break the story before a news outlet saw one of the Christmas Campers’ posts.”
“You should have talked to me first,” Riley said.
“I tried to find you, but you had disappeared with Caylee,” Paul replied. “You know how fast this kind of thing blows up, so I thought by telling Mike I was doing my job and protecting you. Look, I was wrong. I get it. If you want me to leave, I will, but Mike will just send someone else who will do the exact same thing. Riley, I promise you, going forward, no matter what happens, I’ll make sure I show you everything before I sent it to Mike.”
Riley crossed her arms in front of her chest. “How do I know I can trust you?”
Caylee appeared. “Paul’s a lot of things, but he’s not a liar.”
Riley and Paul both looked surprised.
“How much did you overhear?” Riley asked her.
“Most of it,” Caylee answered.
“So you’re saying I can trust him?” Riley asked Caylee.
Caylee locked eyes with Paul. “Yes, I believe you can trust him.”
“Thank you, Caylee,” Paul said.
“Don’t thank me,” she said. “Just don’t let Riley down again, or I’ll make sure you never freelance for anyone in this state again. Understood?”
Paul opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then closed it. Instead, he answered Caylee with nod.
Caylee linked arms with Riley. “Now, you need to come with me. Some Christmas Campers are asking for you.”
As they walked off together, Riley gave Caylee a curious look. “Now, I really need to hear this story about you and Paul.”
Caylee just keep her eyes straight ahead. “No. What you need is time with our Christmas Campers.
As Riley spent the next hour with their guests, she was amazed at how friendly and genuine everyone was. The Christmas Campers’ excitement and enthusiasm was exactly what she needed to take her mind off her personal life being blasted all over the internet.
When everyone started calling it a night and going upstairs, Riley finally had the chance to gather her exes together over by the fireplace. Colin sat down on the couch, Brendan took a chair, and Tyler took another chair. When she remained standing, Comet came over and sat down next to her, looking up at her with his big brown eyes.
She took a deep breath. She everyone’s full attention. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she saw her three handsome exes all staring back at her.
“Well, this is awkward,” she said with a little laugh, hoping to break the ice.
When the guys didn’t laugh, she rushed on. “I’m guessing by now you all have gotten to know each other?”
Tyler frowned. He clearly wasn’t amused. “If you mean, do we all know we’re your ex-boyfriends, yes. We figured that out.”
Brendan laughed. “This is pretty crazy.”
“In the TV interview you said you had one great love of your life,” Colin said. “Apparently, we all thought you were talking about us.”
Brendan laughed again. “So crazy.”
No one else was laughing.
Tyler stood up. “So, Riley, we’re all busy. We know you’re busy with this publicity event, so just tell us which of us you were talking about, and the other two will leave. Right, guys?”
“We never meant to disrupt your Christmas Camp,” Colin said, also standing up.
“Or stress you out,” Brendan added as he stood, too.
“Just tell us,” Tyler said, never taking his eyes of Riley’s. “Who were you talking about?”
Riley sat down. “None of you,” she said.
All the guys looked confused.
She took another deep breath. “And all of you.”
All three guys sat back down.
“What do you mean?” Brendan asked.
Colin gave her a confused look. “How could you be talking about all three of us?”
Tyler locked eyes with Riley. “But you really were talking about all three of us, weren’t you?”
Riley nodded. “I was so frazzled when that guy put me on the spot during the live interview. What I’d meant to say was that my novels were inspired by all the great loves in my life. All, as in more than one, not just one person.”
Brendan and Colin looked at each other, then they both looked at Tyler.
“So you really did mean all three of us?” Colin asked.
“Unless there are more than three of us,” Brendan said. “Is anyone else going to be showing up?”
This had Riley laughing for the first time. “I sure hope not,” she said. “You three are it.”
“This is nuts,” Colin said with a sigh.
Riley gave him a sympathetic look. “I know, and I’m really that the interview confused all three of you. I know it confused a lot of people. . .”
“You can
