Page 142 of Rule 2: Never Join a Christmas Dating Show

Luke and I stop kissing, and someone thrusts mulled wine into our hands.

“I didn’t know you were having a party,” I say to Luke.

“It was aSeeking Mr. Rightwatch party,” Troy says. “It’s still playing on the TV. You’re all over the news.”

“Did we shock you?” Luke asks, and I note the slight tremble in his voice.

“Why do you think we wanted to sign you up for the show?” Noah asks. “You were obviously obsessed with Sebastian!”

“He was?” Dmitri’s brow furrows.

“Noah called it,” Troy says.

“I won the pool!” Noah exclaims happily, and Finn wraps his arm around his husband’s neck and smooches him on the cheek.

“I don’t see how,” Dmitri grumbles. “It was huge surprise.”

“Not really,” Troy says.

Dmitri glowers. “Oskar, tell me you were surprised.”

“I was surprised?” Oskar says obediently.

“Say it with conviction.”

Oskar rolls his eyes, but his lips swerve upward, and he gives Dmitri the sort of happy glazed look that often comes after certain beverages.

“I was surprised,” Oskar says with somewhat more force.

Dmitri shakes his head, then he stands behind Oskar. He places his hands on Oskar’s middle. “This is diaphragm. Speak from there. Loudly. And...” Dmitri takes Oskar’s right hand and begins to wave it around like Oskar is a conductor. “Go.”

“I was surprised!” Oskar waves his hand dutifully, speaking with way more force than I’m accustomed to.

Then Oskar dissolves into giggles, and Dmitri’s eyes soften.

“Good job,” Dmitri says. “See, I was not alone.”

Oskar stops giggling. “You should probably tell them congratulations.”

“If they’d told me before I would not have bet fifty dollars on Flora,” Dmitri mutters.

“Sorry, Dmitri,” Luke says lightly.

“Is tragedy. I will forgive you though.” Dmitri gazes at me. “Though Oskar would have been better match. Smarter.”

“Hey!” Luke says.

“Oskar went to Harvard. You went to...?”

Oskar scrambles from Dmitri’s arms, as Luke defends his honor.

“I’m glad I’ll be seeing more of you,” Oskar says. “Not everyone needs to be a hulking hockey player around here.”

“You know, I used to think I hated jocks before I came here,” I confess.

“You?” Oskar giggles. “Hard to believe.”

I laugh, surrounded by my new friends, and I’m sure this will be the first Christmas of many. I can hardly wait.