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When Mary Doherty decided to throw a Christmas party at her favorite pub, Daryl, the owner and longtime friend of hers, pledged to make it just perfect for her. She was to invite her vast circle of friends, and he would include a few free rounds of shots on top of the total bill. Ben Worthington was one of the first people Mary invited to the party. They had grown up together, and she was quite fond of him, despite a small rivalry between them regarding cool, adventurous boys at high school. Mary was one of the prettiest girls in their class, but Ben was the top athlete back then, and while not openly flirting guys, rumors said he had his moments with a couple of his classmates. When Ben went abroad to study, Mary kept in touch with him and occasionally kept seeing each other throughout
