She sat at a round table in the corner with all the other guests from the Berry house—andWes—the pleather of her chair cracked like a spiderweb, and smiled as the server set down a pitcher of something called Mistletoe Margaritas, which looked like plain old margaritas to Brighton, but that would also do just fine. She’d enjoyed all of Nina’s wines since she’d arrived in Winter River but, Jesus, did she ever welcome something stronger.
“To kicking ass!” Manish called out, tipping the lime-green beverage into all of their glasses and then holding his up.
“Hear, hear,” Adele said, and they all clinked glasses.
Charlotte sat next to Brighton, Wes on her other side, her posture erect as she inspected her tequila-heavy drink with sometrepidation. Come to think of it, Brighton wasn’t sure Charlotte had ever even had tequila.
“It’s good,” Brighton said, nudging her shoulder. “Try it.”
“Be careful, though,” Wes said, taking his own sip. “This thing’ll strip your skin right off your bones.”
“Sounds unpleasant,” Charlotte said.
“Oddly enough, quite the opposite,” he said.
Charlotte laughed and wrinkled her nose, then sipped daintily. Brighton most certainly didnotnotice the way her red mouth closed around the glass, the pink of her tongue licking at the salt.
She didn’t notice that at all.
Nor did she notice how her stomach tightened at the way Charlotte laughed so lightly and easily with Wes. She had no idea what was going on between the two of them and tried not to think about it.Fresh startprobably meant the opposite of losing her shit over her ex flirting with someone else.
Holding his hand.
Fresh startmeantfriends. Fresh startmeant Charlotte could hold anyone’s hand she wanted and Brighton would toast to their happiness.
She knocked back a large swallow of her beverage and focused on Charlotte’s widening eyes as she drank too, the tiny smile that pulled at her lips.
“Told you,” Brighton said.
“Careful, killer,” Sloane said as Charlotte took another sip. “Wes is right—tequila is a fair-weather friend.”
Elle waved their hand. “Charlotte deserves to let loose; leave her alone.”
“Hear, hear,” Adele said again, then winked at Brighton, because of course Brighton had updated her on what had gone on in the bakery’s restroom earlier that day.
Now here they all were at Watered Down for Holiday Movie Trivia Night, and Brighton planned to dominate. She also planned to get a little tipsy, enough to dull the memory of the last few days, the Katies, and “December Light” in her mind.
For a night, at least.
Brighton tipped back more of her own drink, relishing the salty-sour-sweet in her mouth. Oh, this was good, and it would go down easy, that was certain.
“Hey, welcome, everyone!” A guy with tight jeans and a nearly obscene holiday sweater held a mic on the tiny stage at the front of the pub. He had sandy hair and eyeliner and the brightest white smile Brighton had ever seen.
“Okay, hello, now,” Manish said, turning his chair to face the host.
“I’m Eli, and this is Holiday Movie Trivia!”
The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles.
“Now why isn’thepart of Two Turtledoves?” Manish asked.
“Because he’s married to the bartender,” Sloane said.
Manish turned to look at the bearded and tatted fellow behind the bar, then sunk down in his chair. “Noted.”
“Rules are simple,” Eli said, pacing the stage. “Come up with a team name, and write it at the top of your form. For each round, record your answer, bring it to me, and we’ll see who the true holiday movie royalty is.”
“Oh, that’d be me,” Brighton said loudly. The tequila was already buzzing through her blood, and she always got talkative under alcohol’s influence.
