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“Of course I do. Why would I ever deviate?” Luci asked. “I mean, it’s kind of a rule.”

“No reason. I guess.”

“Do you remember the order?”

I asked Jesus for forgiveness before I lied to her. “Can’t say that I do.”

Last Holiday.

The Family Stone.

Love Actually.

While You Were Sleeping.

Elf.

The Holiday.

The Holdovers.

Since the weekend Luci had shared them with me, I’d watched the same movies in that order every Thanksgiving weekend. By myself. In my house. Thinking of Luci the entire time.

“We could watch them,” Luci said. “If time allows.”

“We have an entire month. I think we can fit that in.” Here it was. Starting all over again. It was too easy to be with Luci.

“In order, obviously,” Luci said.

“Obviously.”

2

LUCI

Our first group dinner at Crescent Moon Ranch had been thoroughly surprising. I’d been in Montana a whole of six hours and I’d just been given a lifeline for my clinic, nearly confessed my feelings to Grant Walker, and was now on my way to the bar to order myself a martini while trying not to burst into tears.

Ivy’s announcement that Madeleine had essentially agreed to a movie crew filming the entire month of December at the ranch to partially fund my clinic had come out of nowhere. I’d not been expecting it. I wasn’t even sure what to feel, other than grateful and humbled.

After supper, I’d followed the herd, somewhat blindly, into the bar. The big tree lighting was in an hour, but we had time for a drink to warm us up before braving the cold.

Beck and Grant were already sitting at the counter with pints of beer in front of them. Ivy and Jack had settled at a table in the corner, with the documentary film director, Blake Bennett. Rhett and Holly were at another table, deep in conversation. They probably had a lot to catch up on. Seeing them together brought back a lot of memories. The four of us—Jack, me, Holly, and Rhett had been inseparable for a lot of the years of our childhood. As the youngest of the four of us by four years, I’d idolized all three of them. I’d also assumed, naively, that Rhett and Holly would marry. Their love had been intense back then, but they’d parted when they went to college and never found their way back. Until now maybe? The way their heads were bent together, it was obvious they shared a great connection.

Tonight, I purposely avoided looking at Grant. Earlier, in the car, I’d acted like a fool. Bringing up that Thanksgiving and asking why he’d ghosted me was beyond embarrassing. There was just something about the man that made me talk about things I would never normally do. I’m not exactly guarded, but I am private. However, Grant was so easy to talk to and such a good listener that I always said more than I should.

I’d had no idea Jack had said anything to him about how much time we’d spent together over that long weekend. It made me wonder how much that factored into Grant’s distance. Was he right that Jack would disapprove? From what I knew about Grant, there was no reason my brother wouldn’t want me to be with a guy like him. He was everything our father hadn’t been. Steady, strong, generous. However, it was true that, if we dated and then broke up, it could get very messy. I could hardly blame Grant for not wanting to risk it.

The bar was adjacent to the main dining room and decorated for Christmas with garlands and lights. Country Christmas music played through the speakers in a way that felt just right. Although I didn’t look at him, I still knew where Grant was at every moment. Right now he was perched on a barstool next to Beck.

Who was now waving me over.

Beck stood to give me a me a hug. “Doctor Wilder, congratulations,” Beck said. “You must be thrilled.”

“I can’t say how much.” I placed both hands on his shoulders, looking up into his brown eyes shining through his fashionable glasses. He looked more like an English professor than a pianist in a country band, wearing a nicely tailored blue jacket and button down with his jeans. “You’re looking well. How is everything?”

“No complaints,” Beck said. “You?”

“I might have a few, but I can’t think of them at the moment,” I said.