I shrugged. Not if I could help it. “Maybe. I’m pretty busy with charity event stuff.” Or at least, I wasgoing to pretend I was. The less time I spent with Belle, the better.
“Oh, yeah, of course.” She looked toward the front desk, where my aunt and uncle were finishing their check-in. “Okay, well, maybe I’ll see you around, then.”
I gave a single nod, and then we were both going our separate ways.
Looked like I would be spending even more time hiding in my room than I had originally thought. I had no desire to be hanging out with Alex and Belle. Just the thought alone of him holding her hand, putting his arm around her, or…kissing her made me sick. Aunt Maggie would be disappointed, which I felt bad about, but keeping my distance would benefit everyone else.
Taking the stairs, I trudged up to my room, my scowl so deep, it might as well have been carved into my face. I hadn’t been looking forward to this week to begin with. Being alone in my apartment over the holidays would have been a far better alternative. And Belle showing up as my cousin’s girlfriend? That was just the rotten cherry on top of this disaster of a holiday.
Chapter 6
Holden
December 18th
As I mademy way to one of the event rooms of the resort, I tried to loosen my shoulders in an effort to not be so grumpy. I wasn’t a normally jovial person, but I didn’t consider myself a grump either. But right now? I was feeling all kinds of grumpiness. I blamed it on the holidays. They had never been my favorite. Just the name of this event I was headed to had me rolling my eyes. They couldn’t just call it a meet and greet. No, it was the Mynt Mingle and Jingle. Barf.
But I’d go and fulfill the terms of my contract, listen to the orientation, meet some of the other athletes, sign a few autographs, take a few pictures with some of the VIP guests, and then get out of there. Thankfully, this was for charity, and I enjoyed being a part of the Mynt to Make a Difference foundation, so itwould be worth it in the end. Even if I wasn’t a Christmas fan, I was definitely a charity fan.
I instantly went for one of the seats in the back, away from most of the people, and just as I sat down a tap on the mic sounded. I had gotten pretty good at timing things so I was never late but not so early I had to worry about making small talk with anyone.
A woman with short curly blond hair stood on the small stage. “Welcome, everyone!” Her high, lilting voice echoed through the room as she spoke into the microphone, her enthusiasm radiating so intensely that it felt suffocating to me.
“We’re thrilled to have you all here to support an incredible cause: Mynt to Make a Difference. But I won’t say another word about that.” She mimed locking her lips and tossing away the key before flashing a wide smile. “I’ll leave that honor to the one and only, the amazing Founder and CEO of Mynt Athletic Clothing, as well as the owner of this resort—your sponsor and biggest fan—Barry Mynt!”
With a dramatic flourish, she swept her arm toward Barry Mynt, who was already stepping onto the stage. He wore a dark-green suit with a tiny peppermint candy pattern. Although he looked to be in his early sixties, his hair was completely white, matching his close-trimmed beard.
I’d had the opportunity to meet Barry a few times, and although he was a bit eccentric, he was a hard guy not to like. With his green suit and white beard, I could actually see him pulling off Santa Claus, although he’ddefinitely need to add a pillow to his waistline to help the appearance.
“Thanks, Cindy, for that wonderful introduction,” he said to her with a smile before turning to face the crowd. “Wow. What a group we have here. Some of the greatest athletes in the world—and I couldn’t be happier to have you be a part of Mynt Athletic Clothing.” He smoothed down his peppermint-patterned suit coat. “Now, I could stand up here and talk about how Mynt is all about pushing limits, breaking barriers, and making you look good while doing it. But this week isn’t about sales; it’s aboutgiving. And not just giving yourself an extra helping of Christmas cookies, though I fully support that decision.” He gave an exaggerated wink. “We’re here to make a difference.Mynt to Make a Difference—see what I did there? But in all seriousness, this event is about using our platform and our passion to help those in need.”
I tried to stay engaged with the rest of his remarks, but in truth, I was only half listening. Something about the week’s schedule, the activities, the fundraising efforts, the special appearances, blah, blah, blah. I was already itching to get out of here. What I really wanted to do right now was be alone on the ice. But that wasn’t going to be happening while I was here. The resort did have an outdoor ice rink, but it was open to the public, which meant a lot of people—and I was sure more than a few of those people would recognize me.
Not that I didn’t enjoy some interaction with fans, but it could also get to be overwhelming at times.Especially if I wasn’t prepared. Today, I knew I would be meeting with fans who had paid for a special VIP ticket to meet and greet the athletes, and I had been able to mentally prepare for the hour that was slated for us to shake hands and take photos.
All of a sudden, the wordicebreakerpulled me from my thoughts.
He couldn’t be serious. We weren’t really going to do a get-to-know-you game, were we?
“For our festive icebreaker,” Barry continued, “we’ll break out into small groups. You’ll each say your name, your sport, a team if you have one, and answer a holiday question.” He was smiling so big, like this was the best idea he’d ever had.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Being forced to be social and act like you wanted to get to know someone was not what I called fun. But I guessed duty called.
Barry started breaking the room into groups, and once we all knew where we were going, the chattering of the crowd started as they began to answer Barry’s questions.
I slowly got up to join my group since I was sitting the farthest away. There were five of us in the group, and I reluctantly pulled my chair into the small circle and sat down.
“Hi, I guess I’ll go first,” said a girl with dark hair. “I’m Kelly and I’m a golfer.” She glanced up at the large screen behind the stage where the questions we were supposed to answer were listed. “Okay, so…” she said and began reading from the screen. “If you were one of Santa’s reindeer, which one would you be and why?” She let out a giggle. “Oh, my goodness, that’s easy. I would totally be Prancer because everyone loves watching me on the green, and I always give a good show, bringing more viewers to the game of golf.”
Thatwas the question we had to answer? And was I the only one who thought it was odd that she automatically knew exactly what reindeer she would be? Although I had learned a lot about her from her answer.
“Hi everyone,” the next girl said. “I’m Juliet Morgan, and I play soccer for the US women’s team. And I guess if I had to pick a reindeer, I’d pick Rudolph, if that counts, because when I get cold, my nose turns bright red.”
The rest of the group chuckled, and she even got a small smile out of me at her answer.
“Um, hi. I’m Chloe Reynolds, and I’m a figure skater. And I guess…if I were one of Santa’s reindeer, I’d be Blitzen.” She paused, then rushed to clarify. “Because like lightning, I tend to show up out of nowhere. Like at nationals. I kind of won it by accident.” She laughed nervously.
It was now my turn, and I still didn’t know what reindeer I would be. This whole thing was ridiculous.
