The Christmas Girlfriend

by Taylor Hart

  She swam with him, and when they got to it, Mike stood on it and jumped in again. “Cannonball!” he yelled out.

  More laughter ensued, and she found that she wasn’t tired at all anymore. She copied him and jumped, yelling out, “Yahtzee!”

  He roared out a laugh and cheered her on.

  When she surfaced, he was already jumping in again.

  They did that for the next twenty minutes, and she loved it.

  Finally, she sat. “I think I just want to soak.”

  “Okay.” He moved and sat right next to her. “Then we’ll soak.”

  It was electric when he got this close. The bubbles washed over her as she sank a bit deeper.

  “What do you think?” Mike asked after a while.

  “Do I not look like I’m enjoying myself?”

  He nodded.

  “And you haven’t tried to kill me this time, so there’s that.”

  Lightly, he splashed her. “I was helping you.”

  She reflexively splashed him back, but with more umph. “Right, keep reminding me.”

  He laughed. “Dang, woman, I was saving you all those times, and you didn’t even thank me.”

  She grunted. “I guess it’s your story, and you can tell it,” she said, mimicking him.

  “Right.”

  For a few moments, neither of them spoke. She marveled at how it was freezing and yet they were sitting out here, enjoying the weather. “This place is cool,” she finally said.

  Mike nodded. “So would you really be okay doing a poem at the wedding? My parents keep asking me.”

  She frowned. “I don’t know any. Well …”

  “You do?”

  “I wrote a poem once. I turned it into a song for Josh, but that was a long time ago, and—”

  “No, don’t worry about it,” he said quickly.

  She sighed. “I could just say it as poetry.”

  Mike smiled at her. “If you’re okay with that.”

  She was curious about Mike, and something had been bugging her, so she took this opportunity to bring it up. “Have you photographed this place?”

  “What?” He turned to her, surprised.

  “Your sister said you love taking landscapes, that you took a ton in Boston the past couple of months, so I was just wondering if you have some of the hot springs.”

  Mike hesitated, looking suspicious. Then he cupped some water in his hands and stared into it. “Was she telling you I was lonely?”

  The question sounded tentative, like he was vulnerable about it. Join the club. “Yeah, she did.”

  “I’ve taken photos of this place. I’ve shot pictures of the whole ranch.” He waved a hand in the air. “Of all of Snow Valley.” He let out a laugh. “We have this crazy helicopter guy that served in Vietnam, and he takes people up in a helicopter sometimes. Anyway, I got to take pictures up there too. It was awesome. I’m even Lacey’s photographer for the wedding tomorrow. I have some really great shots planned.”

  She studied him. “Sounds like you love it.”

  “I do.”

  This made sense. She felt a bit selfish about him not being able to hang out with her. “So why don’t you do that?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Like permanently?”

  She shrugged. “Why not?”

  “No. It’s not like—” He exhaled. “It’s fun, and I like it, but it’s not my dream.”

  Hesitating, she asked, “What is your dream?”

  He frowned.

  “Fair is fair. You know mine, to be on The Voice. What is yours?”

  “Why?” he asked. “I thought we didn’t need to know each other.”

  It was true. She had said that earlier. “Fine.”

  They were quiet for a long time.

  He sighed. “Okay, but you can’t think it’s stupid.”

  “I would never think that.”

  “I have this dream of having a life like the one I grew up with.” He shrugged, belying the intensity in his eyes. “Being a dad, a husband. I just want to be able to support us like my dad did.”

  His sincerity touched her. “It doesn’t sound stupid.”

  Their eyes held, and emotion passed between them. She thought of how she would love to sit in the hot springs with him for pretty much ever. Immediately, she banished that thought. Why was she thinking about being in this dream with him?

  He put his hand out for hers. “I bet what you’re really worrying about is when I’ll have time to dance with you at the wedding. Don’t worry, I will.”

  She tugged her hand away. “I … you do what you need to do, but we don’t need to be holding hands right now. Not part of the deal. Only in public.”

  He let out a sigh. “Right. Yep. That’s what this is. A deal. Best we remember that.”

  She met his pale blue eyes, and once again, there was that zing between them.

  “Just like that kiss today,” he said, gently tracing her top lip.

  Every part of her felt like it was on fire. “What do you mean?”

  “You felt it. I know it.”

  She turned away, wishing she wouldn’t have come out here with him tonight.

  Silence reigned.

  “Listen,” he finally said. “Let’s just have fun the next couple of days, okay? I mean, I know you were married, and …”

  “And he’s dead, Mike. My husband is dead. I’m a widow, and …” She started swimming back to the other side. “I shouldn’t even be here.” Guilt plagued her. Why was she here? Hanging out with him wasn’t part of the deal.

  “Wait!” He followed her.

  She pulled herself out of the water and grabbed a towel. “I want to go back. I’m tired.”

  He leapt up after her, drying himself off as well. “Zoey, look. You can’t shut down every time we talk about your husband or your past.”

  “Hey, I’m Ann, and I’m just here for a couple of days. Then I’ll be …”

  A grin swept over his face. “Slamming it down on The Voice.” He put up a hand to high-five. “Following your dreams is cool.”

  It confused her, how he could switch like that. Like she wasn’t weird because she had just “shut him down” about her dead husband. She high-fived him and couldn’t help but smile. “You’re like a puppy, you know that?”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Ahh, you like it.”

  This guy was determined. She pushed away from him, but she was laughing. “Seriously, stop.”

  He quickly put on his boots and then his coat.

  She’d given up on the sweats and just put on her boots.

  “Listen, Zoey,” he said very formally. “I know this all is just—well, thank you for doing this. I can tell you that I’d probably already be …” He trailed off.

  She grunted and put on her coat, then began to walk back. “Here with Nellie,” she said flippantly.

  His hand took hers and tugged her to a stop. “No. Listen, I don’t want to be with Nellie, but I would probably be grilled by my parents and then pretty much the whole town tomorrow, so you’re saving me from a huge headache, okay?”

  She let out a breath and squeezed his hand back. “You can just say thank you.”

  “Thank you.” A smile played at his lips.

  She hesitated before smiling back. “No, thank you.”

  Chapter 12

  The next morning, Mike wasn’t surprised when Dom tried to haul his butt out of bed at the horrible time of six in the morning.

  He put his pillow over his head to block the happy singing that belted through the guesthouse. “Fight time, fight time! Oh yeah, it’s fight time!”

  When Dom yanked the pillow out of his hand and gave a crazy yell, Mike could only jump out of bed. “Just because it’s your wedding day doesn’t mean I’m not going to whip your butt.”

  Of course, Dom was pretty good at whipping butts. Half an hour later, they engaged in a little sparring: half boxing, half MMA-style. Mike could hold his own, but he hadn’t been trained to kill people.


  Mike laughed and jumped through the air, doing a roundhouse kick.

  Dom easily blocked it and stepped away, causing Mike to plow into the ground.

  “So what’s the scoop with Ann?” Dom asked, giving him a funny look. “She doesn’t seem like an Ann, does she?” He jabbed Mike in the gut.

  Mike’s hand flew to his gut, and then he went back to tactical bobbing and weaving. “I like her, so shut up.”

  Dom grinned. “I didn’t say I didn’t like her. I do. She worked her tail off yesterday, but Lacey and I were saying that we felt bad because we didn’t think she’d be …”

  “What?” Mike was defensive, partly because he was covering a lie.

  “We didn’t think she’d work like that yesterday. We thought she’d be very proper.”

  Mike glared at him. The real Ann would have been exactly what Dom and Lacey had imagined: a bit stuck-up. She definitely wouldn’t have worked at helping with the wedding setup like Zoey had yesterday.

  “She’s cool.” Mike did an uppercut to the gut, actually landing it.

  Dom grunted. “Nice.”

  Mike paid the next second when Dom dragged him to the mat and put his fist up as if he would hurt him. “Do it,” Mike challenged. “Do it, and I’ll let Mom and Lacey eat you for dinner for hurting my pretty face before pictures.”

  Dom laughed and rolled off of him, springing to his feet and taking off the wraps. “You’re right. Your mom and sister scare me.” He winked at Mike. “And I want to keep the bride happy today.”

  “You better be keeping me happy,” Mike heard Lacey say. He turned to see her and Zoey pushing open the sliding door that separated the dance studio from the gym.

  Adrenaline kicked through him. Zoey had her hair pulled back and was in the same sweats from last night, but she looked good. She was beautiful without trying.

  Dom broke from his stance and bounded to the side of the ring, hopping over to join Lacey. They started kissing like they were in a scene from a movie.

  Zoey’s eyes met his. She grinned, walking toward him. “Nice place.” She looked around.

  There were cardio machines, weights, and the ring. He thought about how different her life was. His heart ached to think about the apartment with no Christmas decorations, her parents who died in a plane crash, and her husband who was dead.

  Yet she was here, fighting for her dream. It was like the comeback from Rocky with the Russian. He grinned and thought she might find that funny.

  “What?” She looked up at him.

  He hopped over the side and landed right next to her. “I was just thinking how you’re like Rocky.”

  She frowned. “Hmm, I can guarantee I don’t know how to box.”

  “Not what I’m talking about, but I’ll tell you later.” He glanced at Lacey and Dom, who had their foreheads pressed together and were whispering.

  “I like your gym.”

  “My parents believed we should do what we love. Since we live clear out here, they built this place so we didn’t have to go far to train.”

  She pointed to the walls. “Are those all yours?”

  His eyes followed her finger toward his photographs. He didn’t even notice them anymore. “Yes.”

  Zoey moved forward to give the photographs a closer look. Some were framed, and others were just posters he’d had printed and put up. There were various shots of Snow Valley, Billings, the mountains, and the town. She paused by one of Snow Valley lit up at Christmas on Main Street. “I love this.”

  His heart warmed, and he thought that this town had only gotten its charm back when he’d begun seeing it through her eyes. “This town does it up.”

  She softly reached out to the photograph, just short of touching it. “I love the feel of this town.”

  It made sense she would love it so much. Her whole situation humbled him.

  Letting out a breath, she turned and looked at Lacy and Dom, who were now holding each other, still whispering. She leaned into Mike. “They’re cute.”

  Mike took off his wraps and leaned back into her. “They’re obnoxious. About time they get married.”

  Dom turned his head and grinned at Mike. “I heard that. Tonight, man.” He picked her up and spun her. “Tonight.”

  “Yay!” Lacey said, smooching his face all over again.

  Mike shook his head and walked toward the sliding door. “I bet Mom sent you out here to get us for breakfast.”

  Lacey broke from Dom and slugged Mike in the shoulder. “You know you have pancakes to eat.”

  Mike laughed, thinking about how great his mom was.

  “They smell good too,” Zoey added.

  Lacey squinted, then dramatically turned to Zoey. “You know, Ann, I have to admit I was skeptical of the Boston girl, but you’re all right if you like pancakes.” She shrugged. “Mike told us about the restaurant with the snails, and I was seriously dying that you would eat that.”

  Zoey played it off well, nudging Mike. “Snail pancakes are the best.”

  They all groaned, and she laughed.

  After three pancakes and a substantial pile of scrambled eggs, Mike put his hand on his stomach and praised his mother. “Your cooking’s going to add ten pounds to me while I’m here.”

  His mother sat in the seat next to him. She’d been giving everyone warm pancakes. “I think you’re fifteen pounds down, so I’d like to give you some of them back.” She scrunched her nose. “You’ve lost too much weight.”

  “Naw.” Mike didn’t really pay attention to his mother’s worries about his weight.

  His father strode into the kitchen, grinning like he’d won the lottery. “This smells delicious, sweetheart. Thank you.”

  His mother smiled. “You’re welcome. Help yourself.”

  His father picked up a plate and loaded it. “So are you ready, Lacey?”

  Lacey and Dom were at the end of the table, talking in low whispers. Lacey looked up. “What?”

  His father pumped his eyebrows. “Big day.”

  Lacey smiled and put her hand in Dom’s. “It is. Thank you all for everything. Especially Mom and Dad—but Mike, I’ve missed you.”

  Mike saw her eyes shine with tears, and he grinned back at her, unable to believe they were actually old enough to be getting married. “I’ve missed you too, and today will be great.”

  Lacey sniffed, then turned to Zoey. “Dom and I were talking about it. We would really like you to do one of your poems tonight. Maybe after Mike does the best-man toast, you could do one. Do you have any about love?”

  Chapter 13

  Zoey seriously wanted to gouge Mike’s eyes out at the moment, partly because he’d sputtered out a laugh, then covered it with a cough, and partly because, well, he was just an easy target.

  She pasted on an Ann smile, the one Ann might wear after performing said poetry. “Absolutely.” Dang it. She liked Lacey and Dom and Mike’s parents, and she really liked the pancakes, and how had she ended up here? “I know just the thing.” She’d have to make Mike google Shakespeare and help her write a stinking poem.

  His father sat at the table. “I studied a bit of poetry. Who is your favorite? Byron? Keats?” He ate a bite of pancake and smiled at her encouragingly.

  Nervous angst pulsed through her. “Oh. Well, how can you choose?”

  Mike stood and picked up his plate, then reached for hers. “She can’t talk right now because she’s going to come help me make sure nothing is wrong in the tents out there and turn the heaters on. We have to get them going or else it’s going to be freezing at four.”

  Zoey stood too, grateful for the out. “We’ll talk about it later,” she said, seeing that his father looked disappointed.

  Mike took her hand and put the dishes on the counter, pulling her to the door.

  “Sure,” his father said, but Zoey thought he was looking at them suspiciously.

  His mother called out to them. “Stay warm!”

  Mike grabbed both coats and opened the door, handing
one to her. “Let’s go.”

  Zoey had known they would be going to check the tents, whatever that meant, but what she hadn’t expected was for Mike to go straight to a snowmobile and hop on. “Want to go fast?”

  Zoey hesitated before grinning. “Yeah.”

  He laughed and fired it up quick.

  “I’ve never been on one.” Which sounded stupid, because she was from Billings, Montana.

  “Good. Get on and hold on tight.”

  Before she knew it, she was hopping on behind him. He took off like a shot, flying across the sea of white and heading to the tents, veering off course and sweeping across the land. It felt like they could go forever. Out of necessity, she wrapped her arms around his middle and held tight, snuggling into his back and staring out at the bright blue sky and fresh snow powder.

  She remembered seeing him in the hot springs last night, shirt off. Pale blue eyes, sexy dimple. Dang, the man was attractive. She compared it to this morning, when he’d been fresh from boxing Dom. The man was tough, too.

  There was something else about Mike. The way he hugged his mom and tucked her into him, like he would protect her forever. The way he and his dad shared easy laughter. The way Lacey and Dom teased with him. He was a family man. That was his dream.

  She sucked in a breath, feeling like this was the first time she’d been able to really breathe since Josh had passed. Or was it before that?

  Sure, she’d been fine. She’d had her nursing classes and her work, but being here with his family felt like a life she had only thought existed in those stupid Christmas movies she’d sworn she wouldn’t binge-watch for hours this year.

  Now, she felt like she was flying, soaring, going somewhere untouched by humans. It made her smile to think that. Mike was so much more than she’d bargained for. She reminded herself that she was a widow. She’d told Mike that Josh had taken her heart, and he had. But it felt so good to be here with Mike.

  They went for about twenty minutes before Mike slowed and stopped. She found they were staring out over a valley. She hadn’t realized how high they’d climbed. Mike turned off the engine, and it was crazy how quiet it was. The day was so clear.