“Maybe now is the time,” Riley said. “It’s never too late to follow a dream.”
Luke laughed. “Did you write that in one of your books?”
Riley smiled back at him. “No, but maybe I should.”
“Speaking of your books and your inspiration for your stories, where are your boyfriends?” Luke asked. “I’m surprised they let you out of their sight. They seem very . . .”
“Loyal?” Riley offered.
“Determined was the word I was looking for,” Luke said.
“Oh, that’s right,” Riley said. “They told me you helped them plan all these special dates. Didn’t you think it was weird that three guys wanted to plan dates with me?”
“The part about guys wanting to go on dates with you, I didn’t think that was weird at all, Luke said. “You’re great. Who wouldn’t want to go on a date with you . . . ?”
Riley’s eyes flew to Luke’s face to see if he was being sarcastic, but he looked sincere.
“But,” Luke continued.
Riley knew there would be a but . . .
“The part about all three guys saying they were your boyfriend was a little weird,” Luke said with a laugh. “But, hey, not my business how many boyfriends you have.”
Riley gave him a look. “I don’t have three boyfriends. They’re all from my past.”
“So you told them all to go home?” Luke asked.
Riley kept looking out at the Christmas tree on the lake. “Uh, no . . . They’re staying.”
“So you’re going on the dates,” Luke said. It was a statement not a question.
“I am,” Riley said, “It’s the only way I’ll really know . . .”
“Know what?” Luke asked as he turned to face her.
Riley looked into his eyes. “If there’s still something there. I loved them all once. They’re all three great guys.”
“So you’re thinking you could love one of them again?” Luke’s expression was impossible to read.
“Maybe?” Riley said. “I mean, do you ever really get over someone you loved? Now that the timing is different, maybe there’s a chance. I write love stories about second chances all the time. Anything’s possible . . .”
“Especially at Christmas,” Luke finished for her.
When Riley looked back at the Christmas Lake Christmas tree all she could think about was that this Christmas had been full of nothing but surprises so far. She just wasn’t sure yet if they were good surprises or not.
She shivered but not just from the cold.
Luke noticed, took off his scarf, and wrapped it around her. “We should go. The wind’s picking up.”
Riley looked into his eyes. “I’m fine. I don’t need an extra scarf. I don’t want you to get cold . . .”
Luke got up. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Let’s go.”
As they walked toward the lodge together, they walked in silence.
“You better get some rest,” Luke said when they got closer. “You have a big day tomorrow.”
“We have a big day tomorrow. It’s our first full day of Christmas Camp,” Riley said, smiling back at him.
“And you have a six o’clock adventure date,” Luke reminded her. He checked his cell phone. “That’s starting in less than six hours.”
“So what am I going to be doing?” Riley asked. “Since you helped plan all these dates, you can give me a heads-up.”
“Oh no. This was all supposed to be a surprise so you’re on your own,” Luke said.
“I don’t like surprises,” Riley said.
Luke laughed. “Well, maybe you should have told your boyfriend’s that,”
“They’re not my boyfriends,” Riley said.
Luke laughed. “Yet they’re all still here.” He headed for the side of the lodge. “I’m just going to check a few more lights. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night,” Riley called out as she watched Luke disappear around the corner.
She was about to walk up to the front door when she remembered the singing bear and did a big detour around it.
The last thing she needed to do was wake up all the Christmas Campers with “We Wish You a BEARy Christmas.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was still dark out when Riley woke up to the sound of Comet barking. Only this time, she quickly realized Comet wasn’t outside her bedroom door. He was outside her window.
She threw off her covers and ran over to the window to see what was going on. When she looked outside and saw Brendan and Comet playing in the snow, she couldn’t help but laugh. Brendan was throwing snowballs at Comet, and Comet was trying to catch them in his mouth.
When Brendan looked up and saw her, she waved. He smiled and he motioned for her to come down.
Riley checked the time on her phone. It was almost five thirty, and she had her date with Brendan at six. Even though she’d only gone to bed a few hours earlier, she was excited for her adventure with Brendan.
Twenty minutes and a quick shower later, she was ready to go. She remembered Brendan warning her to dress warmly and she’d seen him outside in his ski gear, so she was wearing her new ski pants and coat, along with her red hat and gloves. When she went to grab her scarf, too, Luke’s white scarf was twisted up with it from when he’d put it on her last night. She smiled as she untangled the two scarves, and she brought Luke’s scarf to her face where she’d inhaled the scent of his clean, earthy cologne.
As soon as she got downstairs, Comet came running over to her. She leaned down to give him a hug, and she brushed some snow off his nose.
“Well, you look like you’ve been having some fun,” she said to Comet. “But you can’t bark so early in the morning. You’ll wake everyone up.” Riley looked up at Brendan.
“I know,” Brendan said. “It was my fault. I came downstairs to get everything ready for us, and Comet was sitting by
