Page 108 of Theirs for the Holidays

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VIOLET

“Wow, you were not kidding,”Lennox says, scanning the program in his hands. “There are two or three new songs, but this program could easily be from twenty years ago.”

“Probably printed on the same printer even,” Sawyer adds, reading over Lennox’s shoulder. “Good old Sweetwater Lake.”

We’re standing in the lobby of the small community theater, milling around with the other guests. The Annual Holiday Musical Revue is something of an event in town, so everyone is dressed up for the occasion.

Usually, everyone mingles with each other, but I notice that a lot of the people from town are giving me and the guys looks, instead of coming over to talk. Most of the older people probably remember the brothers from their younger years, but the looks they’re giving aren’t nostalgic ones.

There’s definitely a lot of gossip about us flying around in town, and showing up to this together is probably not helping.

I see Isabelle and Andrew in a cluster of other people a ways off. Isabelle is talking animatedly, making sure to move her hands enough that the sparkling lights in the lobby catch on her engagement ring. No doubt she’s regaling her captive audience with talk about the wedding.

My parents are probably also here somewhere, and I’m sure I’ll feel the judgmental gaze of my mother on me before the night is over.

I wave when I spot familiar faces, accepting compliments about my baking lately and promising a few people that they still have time to get in orders for holiday treats if they haven’t already. The guys stand near me the whole time, speaking when they’re spoken to, but otherwise letting me handle the socializing aspect of the night.

They touch me in small ways, brushing the small of my back with their hands or leaning into me, and it feels natural to lean into them in return. To anyone watching, it must really be selling the idea that I’m in three very happy relationships, but that’s because they don’t know the chaos in my head over it.

I try to just let myself relax and enjoy the touch, the connection, but it’s hard when I’m constantly wondering if they’re doing it for the fake dating lie or just because they want to.

It shouldn’t matter one way or another. The relationships between us aren’t real. It’s just for show, and they’re playing their roles well. Torturing myself by reading more into things or hoping for more than I can ever expect to have is just silly.

I should be living in the moment, not picking apart everything to see where it comes from.

“You okay?” Sawyer asks, leaning into me.

I nod, smiling at him. “Yup. Totally fine. Just lost in my own head.”

“Let me guess, you’re thinking about baking something when we get home.”

“I think you’re thinking about me baking something when we get home,” I counter, grinning.

He smiles innocently, draping an arm over my shoulder. “It’s possible. It’s definitely possible.”

The lights start flickering in the lobby, and we file into the theater with everyone else, finding our seats. I end up between Sawyer and Lennox, with Rhett on Sawyer’s other side.

It’s not a large theater by any means, not like some big, grand one in a city somewhere, but it’s packed tonight. Everyone has turned out for this tradition, and it makes me happy to see it.

There’s a quick announcement about silencing our phones and the proceeds from concessions going to keep music alive in Sweetwater Lake, and then the lights dim all the way and the show begins.

It’s always the same beginning, even though the faces have changed over the years. Three kids from town come out onto stage, dressed up as Christmas angels. They sing their way through a rendition of Silent Night, and what they lack in being on key, they make up for in being adorable.

People at the front, who can only be their parents, stand close to the stage with their phones, taking pictures and beaming.

It’s definitely cute, even if it’s not musically great.

There’s movement at my side, and I’m surprised when Lennox reaches across his body to take my hand. I glance down and realize that he’s using the one on the other side, because the hand closest to me is his injured one.

As always, that makes my heart ache for him. I don’t know if he doesn’t want to use that one because he’s afraid of it shaking or twitching while I’m holding it, or if he thinks I would be bothered by it, but either way I want to clear that up now.

I shake my hand free of his and then reach for his bad hand. I lace our fingers together, and Lennox looks at me with wide eyes.

He looks startled and a bit unsure in the darkness of the theater, but there’s something deeper there. Something that looks like gratitude. He squeezes my hand lightly, and leans down to brush his lips over my neck.

I shiver at the touch, goosebumps breaking out of my skin. Judging from the little huff of laughter that skates over my neck, Lennox definitely notices the reaction.