Riley glared at him. She wished she had a dozen snowballs because she would have thrown them at Mike’s smug face. When she took a step back from Mike, needing to put distance between them, she accidently ran into a giant plastic Santa. She caught it just before it tipped over.
“Where’s Luke?” she asked, putting Santa back in his place. “He didn’t get a chance to talk to the press.”
Mike shrugged. “He didn’t want to do the interview. He said it would be better to stay focused on you. He thought you were going to make your big announcement about Tyler.”
Riley gave him a confused look. “About Tyler and the library foundation? I haven’t even agreed to that yet.”
“No,” Mike said. “About you and Tyler getting back together. That he’s the one.”
Riley laughed. “What are you talking about? I’m not back together with Tyler.”
“What?” Mike said, confused. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I think I’d know,” Riley flung back at him.
Mike looked perplexed. “Well, that’s what Luke said. Did he get the guys mixed up maybe? Are you back together with one of the other guys?”
Riley gave him an incredulous look. “No!” She shook her head, getting more upset by the second. “I’m not back with any of them.”
“Well, Luke thinks you’re getting back together with Tyler,” Mike said. “I was actually giving him a hard time because the way he kept talking about you, I thought he was into you, but he told me he never had a chance.”
Riley’s heart sank. She’d heard enough. She had to fix this. “Where is he?” she demanded.
“I don’t know,” Mike said, “but we have to get you back to the ballroom. The dance is starting, and everyone is going to want to see who you have your first dance with. I told the media that whoever you dance with first is the guy you picked for your own happily-ever-after.”
“What?!” Riley said, dumbfounded. “I told you, I’m not getting back together with one of my exes. You had no right to assume that, let alone announce it! What is wrong with you?” Riley pushed past him and out the door.
“Riley!” Mike called after her. “Where are you going?”
She picked up her pace and never looked back. When she went around the corner, she started passing her Christmas Campers as they were heading to the dance.
“I’ll be right back,” she said as she hurried by them. When she stopped seeing people coming, she took off her shoes so she could run.
She saw her mom approaching with Maryanne, but she didn’t slow down. “I’ll explain later, Mom!”
Her mom laughed. “Okay!”
She ran into the lobby, hoping Luke would be there, but instead, she found Colin, Brendan, and Tyler all on their phones.
She stopped short. “Have you seen Luke?” she asked, breathless.
Tyler shook his head. “No.” He stared down at her feet. “Why aren’t you wearing your shoes?”
“Is everything okay?” Colin asked. He looked concerned.
“No, it’s not.” She started to take off again but then stopped and turned back to the guys.
“Look, this is not the way I planned to talk to you all, but there’s a lot of confusion going on right now about who I’m dating, thanks to this media blitz my publicist devised and some misinformation from Luke,” Riley said.
“I talked to Luke,” Tyler said. “He should be all straightened out.”
“What did you say?” Riley asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“He congratulated me on us getting back together, and I thanked him for all his help. That’s all,” Tyler said.
Brendan and Colin both looked shocked.
“Wait, you two are back together?” Brendan asked. “You picked him?”
“Yes,” Tyler said, smiling like he’d just won the lottery.
“No,” Riley said at the same time.
Tyler’s smile turned into a confused frown.
Riley took a deep breath. She had to get control of this out-of-control situation.
All three of the guys sat down in silence.
Riley put her shoes back on. “Please let me say what I need to say without any interruptions and all your questions will be answered.”
“Go for it,” Brendan said.
“We’re all ears,” Colin said.
Now that Riley had their undivided attention, she knew she just needed to be honest with them, but suddenly she was nervous, very nervous. But she pressed on. “First, I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re all here,” she told them, her voice full of sincerity. “The fact that you’ve all taken time from your busy lives to see me means the world to me. I’m flattered. But mostly, I’m thankful to be reminded of how lucky I’ve been to have you all in my life.”
Riley took a moment to smile and make eye contact with each of them. “Having you here this weekend has brought back so many amazing memories,” she continued. “You’ve all taught me so much about love, and even more about myself, and because of you, I know what real love is. And I want that for each of you.”
She opened her purse and took out the red heart ornament Colin had given her on their date and walked over and handed it to him. “Colin, you gave me this saying you wanted me to know that I would always have your heart. I’m giving it back to you because someday you’re going to find someone who really deserves it.”
She looked into Colin’s eyes. “I’ll always love you, Colin. We had our great love story, and I think we know, if we’re honest with each other, that it’s time for both of us to start a new chapter.”
When Colin took the ornament and looked at her, she could see in his kind eyes that he knew she was
