Page 58 of Mistletoe Mischief

“I’ll be back shortly,” Ryler said, climbing to her feet.

“Do you want me to come?” Alia asked.

“No, you stay put. I’m just going to get some air. It’s hot in here.”

Ryler thought she saw Sam move out of the corner of her eye, but then Holly pushed him back into his seat.

“Ow, what was that for,” he grumbled.

“I thought I saw a bug,” she said.

Ryler missed the rest of the exchange as she made her way through the crowd of bodies and down the hallway to the back patio, pushing the door open. There were several groups out tonight, a haze of smoke lingering in the air. Mixed scents assailed her nostrils, and she made her way to the farthest corner, away from the people smoking and vaping.

Ryler stared out into the darkened tree line, wondering at her obliviousness to the people around her. Alia and Neil, even Kit breaking up with Mae. Was she really so self-absorbed? Ryler had always thought she was generous and observant, but she hadn’t known the two people closest to her were unhappy. That they were sleeping together.

She needed to do better, starting with figuring out how to talk to Neil and Alia about everything. She didn’t want it to come off like she was accusing them of something, but Ryler wanted to clear the air and know where they stood.

“Hey, you okay?”

Ryler turned around at Pike’s loaded question, laughing softly. “I’m not really sure. I realized that I might just be the most oblivious person on the planet.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked, leaning against the fence next to her.

“Because I’m pretty sure Alia and Neil have something going on, but they’re keeping it quiet.”

“And that’s a bad thing because … ?”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Ryler said. “It’s just weird that they didn’t say anything.”

“Were you and Neil ever a thing?” Pike asked.

“A long time ago and for a very short amount of time.”

Pike shrugged. “Maybe they weren’t sure how you would react.”

“Maybe,” Ryler admitted.

“How do you feel about it?” Pike asked.

“Fine. Happy if they’re happy.”

“Then that’s all you have to tell them,” he said.

Ryler nodded. “What crawled up your butt tonight?”

“Excuse me?”

“You got all surly when Sam was talking to me.”

“You mean when you were flirting with Sam?” he said dryly.

“Wow, so this is what jealousy looks like on you?” Ryler nudged him with her shoulder. “You’re all broody and taciturn.”

“Don’t those mean the same thing?” he asked.

“They are semantically related. Not technically the same thing.”

“Fine. Maybe I’m a little sore about Sam.”