That Mistletoe Moment

by Cat Johnson

  “You should have thought of that before we made up Nathan.”

  “Me? It was you driving this train. I was just a passenger.” Noelle scowled.

  “Whatever. It’s too late now.”

  Nikki was right. Noelle was invested in the lie. It was too late to turn back now.

  “By the way, with the party this weekend, we have to ramp up the Build-A-Boyfriend stuff. Set up a delivery of flowers. Choose a Christmas gift. And you really need to go through the app’s database and choose a photo for Nathan.”

  Noelle groaned. “Do I have to?”

  Nikki let out an audible breath. “I guess not, but it’s going to start to look suspicious that there are no pictures of him. Like he’s a vampire or something. Have you at least texted the app number yet?”

  “I did. Last night.”

  “And? What were the replies like?” That information turned up the volume of Nikki’s excited questions.

  “Better than I expected, actually.” Noelle’s cheeks heated with embarrassment at how much fun she’d had texting with an app.

  “Could you tell if it was a computer responding?”

  “I don’t think it was. His responses seemed too . . . human.” His responses? Hers? Its? Noelle didn’t know what to say.

  “Artificial intelligence has gotten pretty sophisticated.”

  This had to be the most surreal experience and conversation Noelle had ever had. Even so, she didn’t want to think Nikki was right and that her Build-A-Boyfriend could be just a computer.

  “No, I really don’t think it was. We texted for hours last night.”

  Until he’d said he had an early morning and had to go to bed. Then they’d said good night.

  “Be careful. You only have a limited number of texts with the free trial. Don’t use them all up. You’ll want to get a text or two during the party in front of George.”

  Noelle’s eyes widened. “How many texts do I have?”

  Had she used up all her texts? Was that why he’d said good night?

  “I’ll have to look it up again. I forget exactly. Ten, maybe?”

  “Ten!” Noelle’s brain exploded with panic. They had to have texted back and forth close to twenty times last night. Maybe the app only counted his replies to her. Even so, she might have used up all ten last night. “So what do I do if I used up all the texts? Can I buy more?”

  Noelle panicked at the thought of never talking to Nathan again, even if he was being paid to text her.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to look into it. It might have been that the free trial had ten texts, but the paid version had a hundred. I didn’t pay that much attention since I didn’t think you were going to go and use them all up in one night. But seriously, Noelle, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I am worrying.”

  “Well, stop it. We can straighten out the text stuff while we arrange for the flowers and gifts to be delivered. Maybe something should arrive for you at Mom and Dad’s place during the party so you can open it in front of George.”

  The image of opening a gift from her new boyfriend in front of her old one was enough of a distraction for Noelle to pocket her panic over the texting issue for a little while. “Oh, that’s a good idea. It can be like a ‘Sorry I couldn’t make the party. Here’s a dozen red roses to make up for it.’ ”

  “Perfect.” Nikki sighed. “Darn it. I’m sorry that I don’t have time to do all of this today. There’s a bunch of stuff I still need to get done—”

  “So let me do some of it.” Noelle could handle some of the details while sitting at home stressing about a fake boyfriend’s texts. She was an excellent multitasker.

  “You’ll have to download the app onto your phone and then log in to the dashboard. Then navigate to the settings area and enter the delivery address—”

  “Okay. Never mind. That’s too much work. I’ll wait until you have time to do it.”

  Nikki laughed. “I figured you’d say that. Things should free up for me after today. Then I can handle the app stuff, and one night this week I’ll come over, we’ll pour something to drink, and we’ll figure out the backstory for you and Nathan so you’re ready. Okay?”

  “All right. Talk to you soon.”

  “Okay. ’Bye.”

  “ ’Bye.” Noelle disconnected the call with her sister and tried to calm herself.

  At least they had some sort of a plan.

  Still, what if Noelle had exhausted all of her allotted texts in one night? Then she wouldn’t be able to talk to Nathan again until Nikki had time to fix it.

  Worried, she navigated to her messages on her cell. Holding her breath, she typed in a new text to Nathan.

  Good morning.

  It was closer to noon than morning. He should be at work. Unless, of course, he worked the night shift.

  She didn’t know how the Build-A-Boyfriend management scheduled the employees. Maybe they were on call all the time. This company provided a hell of a service, considering she was on a free trial.

  Phone in hand, she sat waiting for his reply. The minutes ticked by, and as she sat, obsessing, another horrible thought hit. What if whatever employee was on duty at the time answered the texts as they came in? Her next message might not be from the Nathan of last night at all. It could be a completely different person.

  Panic hit, as did the fear she’d never talk to that Nathan again.

  This was crazy. She was going insane. This was an app . . . but it felt like so much more. No app should cause such emotions.

  Sadly, she realized no response had come through. She must have used up the free texts.

  That was okay. She’d upgrade. Get more texts.

  Maybe there was an unlimited plan. That would be good. Then, when she did finally get a reply, she’d be able to talk long enough to determine whether it was the same person responding. She was confident she’d be able to figure that out. There had been such a connection between them last night. She had no doubt she’d be able to tell.

  Having talked herself off the ledge, Noelle carried her phone with her into the bathroom to shower so she could get ready for the day. One unexpected visitor stopping by to find her in her pajamas was enough.

  CHAPTER 6

  Muscles protesting, Nathan forced himself to cool down after the workout when he’d rather collapse flat on his back on the cold ground. Though that might not be too bad. He could always stretch while he was down there.

  “Two days in a row.” His teammate Stone shook his head as if he didn’t believe it.

  “I know.” Nathan wiped the sweat off his face with the edge of his T-shirt.

  “I mean, what the hell? It’s Christmas and the commander is trying to kill us.”

  Nathan laughed. “Not kill us. Just make us wish we were dead.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what, it’s working.” Stone huffed out a breath. “You ready to go on in?”

  “Yeah.” Nathan had cooled down as much as he was going to. Soaked as he was in sweat, it would do more harm than good to stay outside in the late December chill.

  Stone swiveled his head to glance at Nathan as he held open the door of the building for him. “Y’all going home for Christmas?”

  “Yup. Put in for leave starting noon tomorrow. If no shit hits the fan and we don’t get recalled, I’ll be home for almost a full week.”

  “Lucky.” Stone scowled. “I didn’t remember to put in for extra days.”

  Luck had nothing to do with it. Nathan was organized. Stone was not. Nathan didn’t mention that and instead waved off Stone’s comment. “You know they’ll cut you loose early Friday anyway. They never make us stick around for a full week leading up to a holiday.”

  “Yeah. And my parents’ place is only a couple hours’ drive. I can be home in no time.”

  “Two hours is a hell of a lot better than my drive home.” Nathan wasn’t looking forward to making that trip again. Especially not after having just done it a few weeks before for Thanksgi
ving.

  Then again, he was very much looking forward to seeing Noelle.

  And speaking of Noelle . . . Nathan grabbed his cell phone out of his locker and saw he’d missed a text from her.

  Smiling wide, he read the message wishing him a good morning. He probably should be upset about his reaction to the simple text, for a number of reasons.

  She was in Connecticut, he was in Virginia, and there was one long-ass drive between them.

  He could be called out on a mission on a moment’s notice, or be deployed for the next six months.

  None of that made for a real good start to a relationship, but if the uncontrollable grin on his face was any indication, he didn’t care about any of the problems. The possibilities, on the other hand, seemed pretty enticing.

  Nathan shoved his phone into his duffel. He didn’t want to start a conversation now. He’d text back later when he was home and free to devote the attention to her she deserved. Knowing Noelle—and he felt like he really did know her after last night—she’d text him back immediately and often.

  He smiled at that thought as he headed to the shower.

  “What’s put that shit-eating grin on your face?” Stone asked in his usual colorful Southern drawl as he slammed his locker.

  “Remember that woman I told you I met over the bag of cranberries when I was home?”

  Stone’s eyes widened. “The hottie who gave you the recipe for the bourbon sauce you let me taste?”

  He had described her as that, hadn’t he? “That’s the one. Noelle.”

  “Yup. I remember. I’m getting my mamaw to make me those cranberries when I get home. I already bought the bottle of bourbon for it.”

  Nathan shook his head at Stone’s one-track mind when it came to food. And booze, for that matter. “Well, she texted me to invite me to a party over Christmas.”

  Stone lifted his brow high. “So, you’re going to see her again. I approve.”

  Nathan laughed. “How can you approve? You don’t know anything about her.”

  “Don’t have to.” Stone shook his head. “Any woman who came up with putting bourbon in cranberry sauce is all right in my book.”

  Nathan couldn’t argue with that.

  It was all he could do to get through the end of the day and wait to be dismissed before he could run home and text Noelle.

  Good thing being in the Navy had trained him how to wait. Though sometimes he was more patient than others. With Noelle’s text sitting on his phone waiting for a reply, today was one of his less patient days.

  When he was finally inside his barracks room, Nathan dumped his duffel on the table and fished out his cell. He’d been thinking about it for the past couple of hours but still hadn’t settled on a suitable response.

  He gave up trying to be clever.

  Hey. Sorry I couldn’t get right back to you. Work.

  Her reply came back fast, which really wasn’t a surprise. The girl must keep her cell in her hand at all times.

  Oh good! I was worried I’d used up all my texts with you. How many more before I reach the limit?

  He laughed at her little joke. She was a funny one. He’d give her that. Smiling, he punched in a reply.

  For you? No limit.

  Really?

  Really.

  After he responded to her, he went to his bedroom to change into sweats. He might as well get comfortable while he texted. He’d just pulled a sweatshirt over his head when he saw the new text from her.

  So what are your plans for Christmas?

  Other than your party, you mean?

  He hit Send and held the phone in his hand, knowing she’d be sending him a response any second.

  LOL. Yes, besides that.

  I was hoping to see more of you, if you wanted.

  I’d like that.

  When her reply came through, he picked up the phone and hit to dial her number. Enough back-and-forth. He was tired of texting. He wanted to hear her voice.

  “Hello?”

  He smiled at how shocked she sounded that he’d called. “Hey. It’s Nathan.”

  “Hi. Um, are you allowed to call?”

  Odd question. She must think he was at work and could get in trouble. “Sure. I’m off work now, so yeah. I can talk.”

  “Oh, okay. Don’t worry. I won’t tell.”

  He laughed at her continued joking. “Thanks. So, I’m going to be in town by tomorrow night and I was hoping we could get together some day before the party.”

  “Get together for real?” she asked, once again the surprise evident in her tone.

  “Yeah, for real. Maybe for coffee. Or drinks. Or, hell, I don’t know, hot chocolate. Whatever you’d like. I probably won’t get there until like eight or later tomorrow night so—”

  “That’s okay. I’ll be awake.”

  He’d been about to say they’d have to put off seeing each other until the next day, but hell, sooner was better than later for him. “You sure that won’t be too late?”

  “It’s fine. I’m off this week, so I’ve been staying up until like midnight every night.”

  He remembered their texts last night. “Watching Christmas movies?”

  “Yes.” She sounded adorably shy.

  He smiled, enjoying how he knew her so well already.

  Okay. Moving on. He had to plan this date.

  It finally hit him that he actually had a no-shit, bona-fide date.

  How long had it been since he’d had one of those?

  Far too long, was the answer to that question. His parents could just wait to see him until they woke up the following day.

  “So should I come right to your place and we can decide when I get there?” he suggested.

  Fingers crossed there’d be no traffic or bad weather to keep him from getting there. Hell, he might even consider sneaking out early if he didn’t think the commander would notice.

  “Yeah, come here. I’ll text you my address. You can see my Christmas tree.”

  “That sounds great. I’d love to see it,” he said, and amazingly enough he actually meant it.

  Not too many years ago his only reason for going to a woman’s apartment would have been the hope of getting into her pants, and here he was excited by the prospect of Christmas trees and hot cocoa.

  Was that a sign of maturity or just an indication of how much he liked this girl already? Honestly, he didn’t care which it was, as long as he got to see her again.

  CHAPTER 7

  She glanced at the clock on her phone and her heart sped. In probably less than half an hour, Noelle’s Build-A-Boyfriend Nathan, or whatever his real name was, would be here.

  One of her first orders of business when he walked through the door would be to find out his real name.

  Her boyfriend and the relationship might have started out as fake, but now both were very real and she was really going to meet him.

  Last night, after one final confirmation of what time to expect him, Noelle had hung up on the surreal phone conversation and typed in her address.

  She’d hesitated barely a second before sending him the text. She couldn’t tell Nikki that. No way, no how.

  Her sister would only throw cold water on her excitement. Nikki would say he was a stranger. That Noelle should meet him in a nice, safe public place and not at her apartment. Heck, Nikki would probably tell Noelle not to meet him at all.

  But he wasn’t really a stranger. They’d texted. They’d talked on the phone.

  Call her crazy, but she trusted him.

  Sure, they’d met under rather unconventional circumstances. But hey, people met online all the time. What did it matter if the connection was made on a matchmaking site or the Build-A-Boyfriend app?

  That was her theory and she was sticking to it.

  No. Noelle would not let doubt creep in. That’s why she’d avoided talking to her sister for the past twenty-four hours. Nikki would have sensed something was up.

  Noelle realized that their meeting wasn’
t without risk for Nathan, either. It had to be against the Build-A-Boyfriend employee code of conduct, but he was doing it anyway.

  He felt the chemistry between them, too. A spark. A connection so strong she’d never had anything close to it with George.

  She remembered how George had described their relationship. The words that had angered her so and prompted her to break it off with him.

  Being with someone shouldn’t be based on “habit” or “convenience.” A relationship should be exciting. It should make your heart pound and your hands shake with anticipation, the way she felt now waiting for Nathan.

  The sound of a loud knock had her eyes widening as she whipped around to stare at the door.

  Could it be Nathan?

  If so, he was early.

  Thank God she’d been so nervous that she had gotten ready hours ago, right down to her lipstick—which was probably worn away by now.

  She didn’t have time to remedy that as she ran to the door.

  Unlike yesterday, when George had snuck up on her, Noelle was not going to be surprised again. This time she peeked through the peephole.

  The man she saw looked vaguely familiar, in spite of the way the peephole distorted his features.

  In all the excitement it took her a second, but finally she focused enough to realize why she recognized him.

  Frowning, Noelle quickly unlocked the door. She pulled it open to reveal all six-foot-plus of her Thanksgiving cranberry savior.

  After that brief encounter in the store, and that single text with her recipe, she’d never thought she’d see or hear from him again— unless for some reason they ran into each other in the fruit and vegetable aisle again.

  The pieces of a puzzle she knew she should have the answer to began to shift in her brain.

  This guy’s name was Nathan. His number was in her phone.

  Holy shit. She must have texted him instead of the Build-A-Boyfriend number.

  Even as the blood drained from her face as she realized her mistake, he smiled wide. “Hey. Sorry. I know I’m early. There wasn’t much traffic, so I might have sped a little bit during the drive.”

  “Nathan. Um, hi. Uh, come on in.” Shaking, she took a step back.

  “I stopped and picked up some hot chocolate. It should still be hot. I figured we could drink it in front of your tree while we decide what to do.”