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“You three have ulterior motives at this festival.”

Cole gasps dramatically. Gabe looks down at his feet.

Marcus keeps his gaze on me, never wavering.

“Look—” Gabe starts.

“No, you look,” I hiss, anger finally replacing the nerves. “If you three are just making fun of me or something⁠—”

“Making fun?” Gabe lifts his head, frowning.

I huff. “I mean, you claimed my wishes, right? All three of you?”

Gabe nods slowly. Cole looks away. Marcus just keeps staring.

“So you know my most intimate fantasies,” I whisper, the shock of it setting in as my cheeks flush all over again.

“We didn’t claim your wishes,” Marcus says, and my eyes shoot to his when he speaks. “We claimed you.”

Heat moves from my face to my abdomen.

Gabe clears his throat but doesn’t speak.

Cole looks up, a hint of that infuriating smile at the corner of his generous mouth.

“We didn’t claim your wish because we wanted some fantasy. We saw you, and wanted you. Isn’t that what Season’s Greedings is all about?”

I gulp. “I mean, sure, but you could have told me.”

“We were going to,” Gabe points out. “But things got kind of… crazy.”

“Because of the festival?”

He nods.

I deflate. I guess I can understand that. They’re all involved in the festival in some way. Cole’s likely funding at least part of it, Marcus will do the cleanup, and Gabe is hosting.

“You still should have told me.”

“Yes,” Gabe says, his brown eyes searching my face. “And if you want us to back off⁠—”

“I don’t,” I say quickly, flushing. But I don’t look away from him. He goes still. “I want this. Just don’t make me regret it.”

With that, I walk off the other end of the pavilion and head back toward Town Hall.

I’ve already met with Suzanne to discuss what we’ll be doing. She’s told me I can have as many volunteers as I like.

I only want three.

If they’re going to distract me, they can at least wash a bowl.

Marcus, Gabe, and Cole might want me, but they’ll have to work to get me.

I can’t stop myself from posting in the Sugarplums group chat.

I know who claimed my wishes.

The group chat explodes, with Joss sending a series of exclamation marks and Ivy sending a skull emoji. Del sends a series of question marks.