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"Hey, guys." Kieran plasters a smile on his face. One of the fake ones that doesn’t reach his eyes. I poke his side. Something about this fake persona he hides behind grates on my nerves. Maybe it’s knowing why he does it - it makes me irrationally angry at his parents and anyone who ever made him feel the need to hide his true self.

"Relax," I whisper. "If they want to fight you, they have to go through me, and I fight dirty."

"We're not here to fight you," Jamie declares, but buffs himself up even more.

"We haven't seen him in years. We only want to catch up. And maybe threaten his life a tiny bit if he ever hurts you." Sam scoffs, pointedly looks Kieran up and down, gulping once he notices my boyfriend's biceps.

"Remember, guys, I'm specialized in divorces, not murder." Hudson joins our circle and greets Kieran with a firm handshake. "It's good to see you, Kieran."

"Likewise. How are Morticia and Gomez doing in your office?"

I give his arm a happy squeeze, then let it go, only to slip under it and put my hand into one of the back pockets of his jeans.

"They're doing great. Truly a highlight of the office and get a chuckle out of our clients."

"Who are we talking about?" Evan finally reaches our little group and nudges his way between Jamie and Sam.

"You know, the usual. Santa Claus, our wish lists, threatening bodily harm to our little sister's boyfriend," Jamie fills him in, with Sam nodding along.

"You guys are just jealous because I have a boyfriend to introduce." To grind their gears, I get on my tiptoes and press a kiss to Kieran's cheek, leaving a smudge of my nude lipstick. "While you three are single as fuck."

"Touché." Sam's shoulders sink, and Jamie shakes his head. Hudson attempts to hide his laughter behind a cough.

The barn is slowly filling with more people, from distributors to employees and townspeople who occasionally jump in to help out, to friends and neighbors. And as visitor numbers increase , the sound level also rises.

"Do you want something to drink?" I ask Kieran, and he shoots me a panicked glance. "Okay, never mind. We can go get mulled wine together in a bit."

My smile is supposed to be reassuring, but it doesn't seem to help his anxiety. Until Evan sidles up to his other side and whispers something in his ear.

"How do you know this? When did that happen? Are there videos?"

"Huh?" I lean forward to stare at my brother with a confused frown.

"After the Christmas market ended, and you two were gone, some of the folks bribed your carousel guy for a competition.” He chuckles at the memory. “Whoever stayed on there the longest without puking won." He points at himself with both thumbs. "And you're talking to the winner."

He pats imaginary dust off his shoulder, and Kieran disappointedly shakes his head. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me back.”

“I want more details.” I demand from Evan, inching closer.

"Rebecca barely made it two minutes and face-planted into a pile of snow as she got off. Ultimately, it was a head-to-head between Saki and me. Which I find surprising considering that when we were in high school, I used to drink her brother under the table easily. So, I thought, you know, weak stomachs or low alcohol tolerance were a family thing. Well, apparently they're not."

He bursts into laughter. "Must have been quite a picture, how we tumbled off the thing, though. I think I made it three steps before kissing the ground."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Kieran clicks his tongue, wheels turning behind his eyes. He’s probably trying to remember if the carousel rental came with a security camera. "I would have loved to see that."

"Oh, you would have filmed it." Evan pokes his finger into Kieran's chest. "Which is exactly why I didn't tell you."

"You only think the worst of me," Kieran says dramatically and clutches his sweatshirt right over his heart. "Oh, the pain."

"You're the one who got the carousel?" Jamie asks, mouth agape. "I thought it was a thick dude dressed as Santa."

"Who was me with a pillow bound around my belly." Kieran grimaces at the memory, then shakes his entire body, reminding me of a dog fresh out of the water. "Sometimes I still feel one of the fucking beard hairs in my mouth."

Jamie and Sam talk at him both at once, and he shoots me an overwhelmed glance. "Sweetheart, you mentioned something about us getting drinks?"

Taking the hint and shoot my brothers a tight smile. “Give us a minute.”

I lead him away from the group. "Are you okay?" I ask in a whisper as we weave our way through the crowd and to the mulled wine station.