Caylee and Maryanne had been more than excited to wear something from Riley’s Christmas clothes stash again, with Caylee picking a fun and flirty, short, red sequin skirt paired it with one of the simple black sweaters Riley had brought from home. Maryanne chose another red dress, this one all lace, and it fit her as if it had been made just for her.
As they stood together, arm in arm, and looked into the mirror, they smiled.
“I think we’re ready,” Riley said.
“We are so ready,” Caylee agreed, and they all hugged.
“I’ll go find Paul,” Maryanne said. “He said he wanted to get some pictures of you before you went down.”
“Oh, wait,” Riley said, going over to her dresser and opening the top drawer. She took out the picture she’d had Paul print up of her with Santa when she was little. She handed it to Maryanne. “Could you add this to the Christmas Camp memory board for me? If there’s a spot for it.”
Maryanne held the picture to her heart. “Of course, there’s a spot for it. Everyone is going to love that you’re sharing this. Thank you. I’ll add it right now.”
Riley suddenly felt embarrassed. “There’s no rush. It’s no big deal.”
Maryanne smiled at her. “I’ll take good care of it.”
When Maryanne left, Caylee grabbed Riley’s hand. “So what are you going to do about Luke?”
“What do you mean?” Riley asked, confused.
Caylee laughed. “It’s so obvious that you two have a thing for each other.”
“Okay, I’ll play. What are you going to do about Paul?” Riley countered with a smug smile.
Caylee stepped back. “We’re not talking about Paul. We’re talking about Luke.”
Riley put her hands on her hips. “You go first. I talked to Paul, and it seems like he really cares for you. What happened?”
Caylee paced around the room.
“I mean, tell me he’s a bad guy and I’ll drop it,” Riley said.
“He’s not a bad guy,” Caylee said, defending him quickly. “He’s a good guy. Too good. That’s the problem. And he didn’t do anything. I did.”
Riley waited for Caylee to continue.
When she finally stopped pacing, she sat down on the bed, picked up the Santa pillow, and hugged it. Riley sat down next to her.
“Short version,” Caylee said, staring at the Santa. “We dated. It was great. I got deployed to Afghanistan. I didn’t want him waiting and worrying about me. I know how hard it can be so I broke if off with him. End of story.”
“But is it?” Riley asked. “The end of your story? Because the guy I talked to clearly still cares about you, and I think you care about him.”
Caylee jumped up and tossed the Santa pillow on the bed. “Your turn to answer my question. What are you going to do about Luke?”
“There’s nothing to do when it comes to Luke,” Riley said as she walked over to the window and stared out into the night. “There’s nothing going on between us. He’s only tolerating me this weekend because he has to. Before you got here, he tried to make me leave. Did you know that?”
Caylee locked eyes with her. “Riley, what I know is that I’ve known Luke almost my whole life. I know what I’m talking about. I see the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. You don’t look at your exes like that. Can you honestly tell me that one of them is the one? If you can, then I’m wrong and I won’t say another word.”
Riley laughed. “Promise?”
“Yes,” Caylee said, completely seriously. “I promise.”
Riley walked over to her desk and picked up one of the Santa figurines. “Colin, Brendan, and Tyler are all great guys . . .”
Caylee followed her. “Agreed. But . . . ?”
Riley sighed and put down the Santa. “You’re right. None of them are the one. There’s no spark. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t base my decision on just a physical spark. I’ve always believed that kind of spark comes from something deeper than just chemistry. It comes from having the kind of connection, mentally and physically, that’s undeniable. All three of my exes are great, but I’m different now. I can’t go back. To grow, I need to move forward. That’s how I’m going to find the kind of love I want and need.”
Caylee shot both arms up in victory. “I knew it!”
“But that doesn’t mean I have a thing for Luke or that he has a thing for me,” Riley said. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s been great putting on this Christmas Camp—you all have been—and I know all the Christmas Campers love Luke and he brought my mom here, but we’re two totally different people. He’s moving back to Europe, I live in Arizona, and . . .”
Caylee stopped her by taking her hand and looking into her eyes. “Do you want some advice?”
Riley laughed a little. “I’m guessing you’re going to give it whether I want it or not.”
“True,” Caylee said. She took a deep breath before continuing, looking uncharacteristically serious. “Being in the military, being deployed in a war zone, I’ve learned you can only live for today. Tomorrow’s never guaranteed. I also learned that with my parents. So don’t waste the precious time you have making excuses for why you can’t be with someone or why you can’t be happy. Live in the moment. Grab all the happiness you can, while you can, and figure the rest out if you’re lucky enough to get a tomorrow. Does that make sense?”
Riley nodded slowly.
“If you think there might be something there with Luke, you gotta go for it,” Caylee said. “You’re a romance writer. Isn’t it time you wrote your own happily-ever-after?”
A knock on the door interrupted them. “It’s Paul,” he said through the closed door. “Maryanne said you’re ready. The rest of the media is also starting to show up.”
“Coming,” Riley called back to him.
Then she turned to Caylee. “And what about you
