Chapter 18

18

B rent sat on the couch at his parents’ place with Candace snuggled up beside him, her foot propped on the coffee table. The Christmas tree in the corner was lit up and beautifully decorated. Jan had hung stockings on the mantle with each of their names on it—always including Candace since the day Jessica and Travis began dating.

This day couldn’t be more perfect. He had his dream girl at his side, and he was spending Christmas with all the people he loved most in the world.

“We’ve got cocoa!” Jan sang as she walked out of the kitchen, with Rick trailing behind. They each carried a tray with mugs of hot chocolate and dishes containing marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and candy canes.

Drinks were passed around, and everyone topped their hot cocoa to their liking before settling back on the couches. A fire was lit in the fireplace.

“Isn’t it weird how this all played out?” Candace asked.

Brent glanced over at her as he sipped on his cocoa. His hand rested on her thigh. “What do you mean?”

“We met in college and were supposed to date, but circumstances prevented that. Then we find each other again through our siblings all these years later.”

Jessica and Travis exchanged a look, but Brent didn’t bother trying to figure it out. Instead, he kept his focus on Candace.

“But you didn’t like me,” he teased.

She laughed. “You’re right. I didn’t. But what are the chances that we would literally run into each other on the mountain, which would cause me to be hurt and you just so happened to be there to help?”

“That is a crazy coincidence. That mountain is huge,” Jan said.

“Yeah, that was a little weird. Although I was trying to find Travis. He told me to meet him over there. But it was a coincidence that you were also there.”

“I was there because I was supposed to meet Jessica.” She shrugged.

Brent furrowed his eyebrows and thought back to that day. He had gotten a text from Travis asking him to meet him at the end of the cat track. Candace happened to be in that exact same area meeting Jessica. Yet when they got there, neither Jessica nor Travis were to be found. They would have noticed them, and they wouldn’t have left them alone with Candace being injured.

And it wasn’t like they weren’t bringing a lot of attention to themselves, with the ski patrol having to take Candace down the mountain.

“Did they set us up?” Brent asked, before looking at Travis and Jessica. “Did you set us up?”

“I think we would know if we were being set up.” Candace raised an eyebrow and looked at their siblings. “But where were you? You never showed up.”

Travis scratched the back of his head, averting his eyes to look anywhere but at them. Jessica elbowed him in the side.

“Ow,” Travis said. Then he turned his deer-in-headlights look at them. “We just got distracted, I guess. Forgot to meet you.”

Candace raised an eyebrow. “You two? Forget to meet us? You’re both insanely punctual.”

“Yeah. And weren’t they acting weird in the hot tub the night before?” Brent asked.

Candace nodded. “And Jessica made a comment that she felt like my injury was her fault.”

Guilt crossed Jessica’s face. “Um…”

Brent’s eyes widened. “You played us!”

“Like a fiddle,” Candace shouted.

Jessica and Travis shrank in their seats, while Jan and Rick chuckled from their own.

“And I’m not even mad about it,” Candace said.

Brent looked over at her and smiled. “I’m not either.”