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Wow, a formal sitting room filled with uncomfortable-looking antiques. Great.
A bathroom—groundbreaking.
This is taking forever!
Finally, I hear voices carry out into the hallway, and up ahead, a huge arched doorway reveals the kitchen and family room. That’s where everyone is gathered: James, Maddie, and…
A guy.
What the fuck.
Maddie is standing by him, leaning her head on his shoulder. I blink, not quite sure I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing. Maddie has a boyfriend? Maddie has a boyfriend she brought to Christmas?
I drop my bags near the doorway, and the heavy thud draws everyone’s attention.
“Aiden!” James says, eager to welcome me into the fold.
I don’t even look at him.
I’m looking at Maddie, trying to get a read.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. Her blonde hair is long and straight, hanging over one side of her face. Her cheeks are red from the cold, and so are her bee-stung lips. Her brown eyes reveal nothing. She could be a complete stranger, but she’s as beautiful as I remember. Beautiful and…angry.
I know she’s angry.
It’s why she’s standing there, silent. It’s why she glances over at me with no excitement, no nothing. She doesn’t come over, punch my arm, and ask me where the hell I’ve been.
This was supposed to be a reunion, but it feels like a standoff.
It’s the guy who says hi to me first.
“What’s up, man? I’m Brent.”
BRENT.
Fuck right off, Brent.
I shake his hand, but in my head, I imagine twisting his arm behind his back, leading him to the front door, kicking him out, and tacking on a taunt like, And stay out! before slamming the door in his face.
“Brent, good to meet you, man.”
I shake his hand hard and I don’t let go. At first, it’s normal. Then he looks worried, glancing down at our hands as I continue to shake his.
“Where are you from?” I ask, meeting his eyes.
“Austin.”
“Cool, cool. Is that how you know Maddie?”
“Yeah. We’re…dating.”
He falters. I think I’m scaring him, but no one stops me. Ford is crying, which has Josie and James distracted. Maddie is right where she was when I first walked in. Maybe she’s scared to get too close.
Brent finally extracts his hand from mine and shakes it out with a light laugh. He’s trying to ease the tension, but there’s no use.
“Dating, huh? You and Maddie?” I peer around his shoulder to confirm this with her.
She rolls her eyes and turns away. “C’mon, Brent. Let’s go look at the view from the balcony.”
James comes over and thumps me on the shoulder with brotherly affection. “I can take you to your room.”
I let him help me carry my bags down the hallway. He’s talking about the house, telling me what they’ve done to it since they purchased it, how lucky they were to scoop up the property during a down market, and then he points to a door down the hall. “Maddie and Brent are in there. You’re in the room next to them. I hope you’re okay with sharing a bathroom.”
“No problem. Hey, about that…how long have they been together?”
James’ brows hit his hairline as he scratches his chin. “Together? Oh, I’m not sure. This is the first time we’ve met him.”
“But Maddie’s talked about him before?”
He looks slightly embarrassed. “If she has, I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry, life with a baby is rough. I barely remember what day of the week it is.”
Great. Some help he’ll be.
I need to know what I’m walking into. Is Brent the reason Maddie and I lost touch? Has she moved on already?
Impossible.
She’s my Maddie. And yes, I know humans are not property and referring to her in that manner in the twenty-first century would have cancel culture coming after me with pitchforks, but fuck it. She’s mine. I left her in Austin for safekeeping. She wasn’t supposed to change and move on and leave me high and dry.
I stay in my room and unpack my clothes, trying to come to terms with the turn of events. Maddie has a boyfriend. Maddie. Boyfriend. It’s like the two words don’t belong in the same sentence.
I take my Dopp kit into the bathroom and plop it down by the sink closest to my room. The other sink has toiletries littered around it already. Maddie and Brent’s stuff.
I pick up her perfume and smell it. The scent tangles around my chest. I eye Brent’s toothbrush and consider using it to clean the toilet. Instead, I just daydream about it.
“Aiden! C’mon!” James calls from down the hall. “We want to walk and take the gondola to the top of the mountain!”
Of course. Winter activities. It’s why we’re all here. Well, why everyone else is here.
I grab some gear so I don’t freeze my ass off before meeting everyone in the foyer. Jolie is bundling Ford into a tiny red snowsuit that makes it nearly impossible for him to move his arms and legs.
