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Part of it made a lot of sense; Tyler’s relationship with Zoe was really strange. But in any romance book or movie where the characters fake dated, the goal was usually to make someone else jealous—something Rory hated to admit had worked on her. Yet now that it had been made clear they were on the same page with their feelings, Tyler still hadn’t broken off the ruse. Whenever this trope played out in fiction, it always ended with the fake daters winding up in a relationship. It made her sick to even think it, but maybe the reason why Tyler hadn’t broken things off with Zoe—even after Zoe told him to go for it—was because he was developing feelings for Zoe as well.

She slammed her car door, ignoring Melanie’s concerned look at the outburst. Jay was standing a few feet away from Calvin, like being in his proximity would scar him. He moved swiftly once she approached, curling an arm around her waist. Calvin gave her a curt nod, not bothering to say a word to her as he pulled Melanie in and kissed the top of her head before leading them down Main Street to find Blake and Zach.

Losing the state championship certainly didn’t slow down Haverport when it came to its annual holiday festival. In fact, if anything, the loss spurred the town to celebrate even more, like they were trying to compensate for how close they’d come to winning State for the first time. Main Street was converted into a winter wonderland. Streams of garland twined around lampposts with big red bows. Wreaths were tied to shop doors, twinkly lights glistening in windows. Many of the shops and restaurants set up booths right outside for easier access, selling steaming mugs of hot chocolate, candy canes, fluffy winter scarves, and colorful streamers tied to the tips of sparkling wands.

“Where’d they say to meet them?” Melanie asked.

“Outside of the cafe,” Calvin responded, pointing to Seabreeze Café just down the road. “Blake said they’re selling white chocolate peppermint mochas again.”

“Oooo, tell him to get me one,” Melanie cheered.

“Headband, it’s almost eight o’clock at night, you don’t need more caffeine.”

Melanie slapped him playfully. “When has that ever stopped me before?”

“Yeah, army boy, let your girlfriend have caffeine. And sugar,” said Jay. “Stop being such a hard-ass.”

Calvin didn’t react. He just smiled, pulling Melanie closer to him as he planted a kiss on her forehead. “Then it’s a good thing I already told him to grab you one. My girlfriend can have whatever she wants.”

“Good, because for a second there, I thought I was going to have to beat you up,” Rory quipped.

“I’d pay to watch that,” Melanie teased.

They finally reached the cafe, finding Blake and Zach huddled together holding a tray with six massive lattes to go.

Rory and Melanie squealed, planting sloppy kisses on Blake’s cheeks as they took their coffees, Zach laughing at Blake’s embarrassment as he handed a latte to Jay. When he held out the last one to Calvin, a slim hand shot out and took the cup out of Zach’s grasp.

Rory’s body stiffened as she watched Jess take a sip of the latte, a smug look on her face as she eyed Blake’s boyfriend. “Zach, you’re new to the group, so let me fill you in,” Jess said. “Calvin doesn’t like joy or fun things. Sugary coffee falls into that category.”

To Rory’s surprise, Calvin laughed, his eyebrows raised as he shoved Jess slightly. “Funny coming from you.”

Jess just chuckled, a real smile blooming on her face. It was odd seeing Jess like this. She was pretty sure she could count on one hand the times she’d actually seen Jess happy.

Jess took another sip of her drink, eyeing her and Jay. His arm was still looped around her waist, his thumb running back and forth over the skin underneath her sweater. She gave her a feeble smile, but Jess just nodded. Relief washed over her, and she felt thankful for this unexpected little group of hers. This family, as Calvin elegantly put it.

They shuffled their way through the crowds, finding an empty pocket of sidewalk where they could settle in and wait for the parade. Blake was rehashing some kind of crazy story with Jay from that summer, the group laughing and teasing one another, but Rory remained silent. She couldn’t help but search the crowds, wondering if Tyler would show up. The Festival of Lights was his favorite. She’d joined the Chapmans over the years to watch the parade, standing too close to the street with Tyler as they caught candy tossed from the different colorful floats, the two of them competing for the biggest pile by the end of the night. Their tradition shifted to hanging with the Scoops crew during the parade, but he’d yet to show, yet to respond to any of them in the group text.

She needed to talk to him. Needed to confront him about what Zoe had confessed.

Not really dating.

The crowd cheered as Haverport High’s band marched down the streets, their light-strewn instruments making their horns shine like beacons in the night. The colorful floats soon followed, covered with more twinkling lights and more sparkly garlands, the scent of evergreen misting through the air as festive trucks strapped with trees and wreaths drove through.

Jess groaned. Rory looked over and saw her shaking her head, her face in her hands.

“It’s so over the top,” Jess grumbled.

Rory looked out and saw the float parading down the street; a truck that had been transformed into a colossal sled, with lights and silver bells intricately trimming the edges. Around it were smaller sleds lined with Christmas lights attached to bikes as riders cruised down the road, all dressed as elves. Sitting at the center of the float was Haverport’s fire chief, Ed Nickels, dressed in a Santa suit and waving, his jolly laugh booming across the crowd. And next to him, dressed like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was Kevin. He wore a long-sleeved brown shirt and matching khaki pants, with a bright red flickering nose on his face. His hair was even long enough to tie into two buns at the top of his head to look like small antlers. He held out a large silver bucket, collecting money that townies tossed in for charity.

Calvin covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh as Jess punched his arm. “Did you even try to stop him?”

“You know how he gets,” Calvin replied. “When he sets his mind to something, there’s literally nothing that will stop him.”

Jess sighed, turning back toward the float. “How much money did he sink into this?”

“I don’t think you want the answer to that. He finally let me look at his books.”

Jess turned around, eyebrow raised. “And?”