by Chelsea Hale
Emery walked quickly toward the rental car, her mind a blur. She’d instigated the pretend first kiss. So why did something fake feel so real? The thought had scared her, making her pull away before she was ready to. But she knew that she couldn’t let her feelings run away with her. James was a nice guy who was doing her a favor.
Yes, it was a huge favor, and she was paying him for it, but in that moment all of that had melted away like snow touched by the sunshine, radiating through the park.
She had to say something—anything to keep her mind off of the electricity she felt between them. This was supposed to look real from the outside, but she didn’t need to get all mushy and jumbled on the inside. It was just a kiss. A kiss she had started.
But it was more than just getting through the first kiss. She was going to savor it for a long time. They drove toward her parents’ house, and she spent most of the time pointing out stores she went to and places that held significance in her childhood.
They passed her high school and she rambled about school and grades. Anything to keep her mind off of that amazingly too-short fake kiss.
They pulled up to the gated community where she grew up and James’ eyes widened. He rolled down his window, and she gave him the code. The doors swung steadily inward, allowing them in. “Your family seems to do well,” he finally said.
She shrugged. “Are you thinking I should have paid you more? Sorry, but I do things on my own. My parents paid for my education, but I want to earn my own living now.”
“Still, you could have told me. When you mentioned one of your traditions was a fancy dinner party on Christmas Eve, this is not what I was picturing.”
She bit her lip, not wanting to make her parents’ wealth something that could make him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. After we went to the Il Cibo Dei Sogni that first night, I guess I didn’t think it would bother you.” She should say more, but she couldn’t come up with the words.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I just wish I had known.”
Would he change his mind about helping her this week? “Does it change anything? I’m still just me. The girl who works at an ad agency who is trying to move up in the world, and you’re still my fake boyfriend.” She smiled sweetly.
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Hopefully I’m the best fake boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“You definitely are. Ready to go meet my family?”
“I think the only proper answer from your favorite fake boyfriend is yes.” He parked the car on the long driveway where she directed him to. “And I suppose if I get into trouble in a conversation I can always say, ‘Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’”
She laughed, tension releasing from her muscles. Her family didn’t get the whole Star Wars thing. “Yeah, just give me a subtle code like that and I’ll come rushing in at light speed to save the day.”
He leaned over and gave her a kiss. The feather-light touch had her nerve endings rushing around, like a jet fighter in the middle of the galaxy—with limitless possibilities on the direction to go, and the only direction she could wrap her head around was reverse. She pulled back from the kiss, opening her eyes and staring into his. He tilted his head at her, an unspoken question on his lips.
She made the mistake of looking at his lips again and moved forward, drinking in one more kiss. He pulled her in, his hand lightly on her neck, as if he knew she’d try to pull away too soon. She closed her eyes to the reality that this was pretend, and she allowed herself to get lost in a kiss that felt more exciting than she’d ever experienced before.
Her breathing came in irregular bursts as she pulled away and when she opened her eyes she was blinded by the idea that this was still all fake. And she should want it to stay that way. But it felt real—too real. And the idea scared her. “I think that’s enough practicing.” She gulped in air. “I’m sure we’ll be convincing.” She was convinced already.
He helped her out of the car just like she knew he would. She looked at the red brick house that she loved. It always stayed the same, especially at this time of year. A large, festive wreath hung on the double-wide front door. Snow dusted the tops of the mature fir trees and trimmed bushes, but the sidewalks had been cleared.
A dull ache of last year’s heartache welled up inside of her. The raw emotions surfaced, bringing with them deeper and more confusing moments. She shoved the pain aside, unwilling to unwrap the entire ugly package before they’d even knocked on the door.
It was only one day. She wanted to see her grandpa, they could have a quick obligatory, dinner and then they’d be off to the hotel for the night and on a plane in the morning. In less than a day she’d be home again in Chicago. It’d be fine.
“Are you okay?” James asked her, squeezing her hand.
She nodded mechanically. James was sweet but he didn’t need the burden of her baggage on top of this whole weekend. It was better to not delve into it as they walked up the steps to the front door. “Thanks again for coming.” She knocked on the heavy dark door.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, the touch sending her nerve endings into overdrive, making her heartbeat quicken, as he nuzzled her neck, and whispered, “If you keep thanking me for coming, everyone is going to assume I didn’t want to come.”
He looked at her and she realized he was right. If they had been dating for two months and had gotten as close as they were pretending to be, his presence would be something expected, not something to be constantly praised. She’d try to remember that.
“Besides,” he continued, “there’s no place I’d rather be than with you right now.”
She could have kissed him again for such a sweet thought. He looked so sincere, so believable. She believed it, which was probably good for making sure they stayed in character while they were here.
Marta, the maid, answered the door, and they broke their embrace. Marta scooped Emery up in a hug. Before she released Emery, Marta whispered, “I was hoping you’d come for Christmas. It’s been a full year since I’ve seen you.”
Emery smiled. Marta had always doted on Emery since she was a little girl, but she wasn’t going to tell Marta right now that they weren’t staying long. “It’s good to see you too, Marta. This is my boyfriend, James,” she introduced them and they shook hands. “Where is everyone?”
Marta took a step closer to Emery. “They’re in the kitchen. Don’t worry, I was the only one in the sitting room as you kissed in the car.”
Emery's cheeks burned. “Thanks for the heads up,” she whispered back.
James reclaimed her hand in his and squeezed. The small gesture was all she needed as they approached the kitchen together.
“I’m here,” Emery announced, wondering if James would think that the ritual of not greeting guests at the door was strange to him.
* * *
“Emery, is that you?” Her mom turned her head as they entered the kitchen, a smile on her face. “I thought it was your voice but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” Her mom hugged her.
Emery pasted a smile on her face that felt like it would hurt. “You said Grandpa wasn’t doing well, so of course I’d come.”
A cloudy look came on her mom’s face, as red flushed the apples of her cheeks. “Well, I didn’t say he wasn’t doing well, only that he’s different.”
“You said he couldn’t make it up for Thanksgiving,” she whispered.
Her mom cleared her throat. “Right, exactly. We can talk about that later, but right now I want to meet your boyfriend.” Her mom smiled at James.
“Mom, this is my boyfriend, James Bordeaux. James, this is my mother, Sharon Worthington.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” her mother said to James. “We’ve all been worried about our Emery this year, but you’ve certainly made her happy. And for longer than I’ve realized. You’ve been dating, what, two months now? And we’re just now hearing about you?”
Emery cleared her throat, cutting off whatever James might respond. “Our ti
me together has certainly flown by. It’s been a whirlwind.”
“So busy you can’t even tell your own mother,” she said in a hurt tone.
Her mom just wasn’t going to drop it, but Emery knew she’d have to say something. “I guess for obvious reasons, I thought I’d keep it to myself.”
“I thought with a new boyfriend you would get over that.” Her mother sniffed. Always the composed one, the one who just wanted to gloss over everything for the sake of keeping the peace.
Emery was glad her sister wasn’t in the room for this conversation. She felt a death glare coming on.
“Well, no matter. We’ll have plenty of time for catching up.” Her mom wrapped James in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re both here for Christmas. This just makes everything so perfect.”
Emery said, “Oh, no, we’re not—”
“So are we,” James said at the very same time. He put his arm around Emery’s shoulders.
“I’m going to go find your father. He’ll want to meet James and hear the good news.” She hurried out of the room before Emery could correct her.
Emery's eyes widened, but she kept her voice low. “We had a plan,” she said through gritted teeth.
James nodded, looking confused. “We still have a plan. She initiated the hug.”
Emery shook her head. “My mother is lethal with the hugs, that’s not what I’m talking about. We aren’t here for Christmas.”
Understanding dawned on his face. “Oh, I didn’t mean … I just wanted her to know we were happy to be here … I’m sorry.”
Emery took a steadying breath. “It’s okay, we’ll just explain it. It should be fine.”
James searched her eyes. “Is it me? I can make the time to make this work. I’m pretty much taking vacation days until the New Year.”
“It’s not you. We don’t want to disappoint your family by not coming to visit them, though, remember?” She batted her eyes, hoping he’d take the hint that she really couldn’t explain herself right now.
Emery's dad came into the room with her mom. He smiled. “What is this your mom is telling me about a Christmas miracle? That you guys are here for the holiday?” He stuck out his hand to James. “I’m Roger.”
“James. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Her dad laughed. “Sir, huh? If you’re trying to impress me, it’s working.”
“Dad, actually we’re only here today,” Emery said. “We can’t stay. We have a flight early tomorrow morning. James’ family wants to … meet me too.” She hoped that wasn’t too far of a stretch. They’d want to meet her, right?
The sad look on her mom’s face was unbearable. “But I thought …” Her voice broke a little on the end, and she didn’t finish her sentence.
Emery knew she’d have to stick with the plan. She couldn’t be here this Christmas. She was here to check on her grandpa, and introduce him to James, just like her mom had suggested in her voicemail. “We wanted to see how Grandpa is doing before we leave. Where is he? Napping?”
“Are you sure you can’t stay for a few days?” her mother pleaded. “Or maybe you can come back after you visit James’ family in …” Her mother had clearly heard her question about Grandpa, but she avoided answering it.
Panic rose inside Emery as she realized that she wanted to make sure her grandpa was okay. She’d brought a fake boyfriend just to fulfill her grand-daughterly duties in case the worst should happen. Her mother avoiding the questions was making everything worse.
“Northern California,” James supplied. He looked between everyone in the kitchen. “You know, Emery, we could switch our plans and stay here through Christmas.”
Her mom clapped her hands together. “Oh, that would be great! I know it would mean so much to your grandpa if you were here for longer than just an afternoon.”
Emery was going to strangle her fake boyfriend for going off script. Now she wished she would have explained the drama that she was trying to avoid, to him earlier. Ugh. She was caught in exactly the situation she didn’t want to be in.
Emery needed to salvage this. “That’s so sweet, dear, but we committed to your family first. And our plane tickets for tomorrow are non-refundable.” Hopefully that would solve this situation.
But then James put his arm around her shoulders, and she could tell from the way he caressed her shoulder that he was going to cave. Her mind raced to think of something she could say.
Maybe she would say she couldn’t get the time off work. But that was going to be hard to explain if she’d already cleared her schedule to go visit his family. Her mind spun, but James began talking and she knew it was going to be a moot point.
“I’ll worry about my family. They won’t mind if we arrive after Christmas.”
She smiled at him, trying to make it look genuine and not like a grimace. He thought he was being helpful and that had to count for something in a fake boyfriend, right?
“If you’re sure,” she said, giving him one more chance to hopefully change his mind.
“I’m sure.”
They obviously hadn’t mastered Jedi mind tricks yet. Ugh.
Chapter 13
Great. James was sure, and now they were both roped into a week of celebrating with her family. She cleared her throat, needing something else to think about.
“So where is Grandpa?” she asked again.
“He’s out for a walk.”
“Is he walking by himself?” she asked, avoiding the question she really wanted to know—if her sister and her boyfriend were already here.
“Yes.”
“Should he be walking alone in his condition?”
“His condition?” her mother asked.
Emery leaned forward. “You said he was different over the last couple of months. He didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving. That’s not like him. What does he have? It’s not cancer, is it?”
Her dad just smiled at her. “It’s time to tell her, Sharon.”
Dread sank into her stomach, twisting her insides. As if sensing her inner thoughts, James kept his arm around her and grabbed her other hand with his free one. At his touch her breathing slowed, and she felt calmer.
“Tell me, I can handle it.” She braced herself for the news. “I knew it was bad.”
Emery's brain couldn’t compute being left in the dark on this. It wouldn’t be cancer … surely, they would have told her before now, right?
Her mother bit her lip and lines creased her forehead. “No, it’s nothing like that. He’s doing well.”
Emery just stared. What else could be wrong if it wasn’t his health? Her mind tried to grab hold of what her parents were telling her, but she came up empty-handed.
“The reason he wasn’t here was because he was still in New York. He’s been seeing someone there.”
Her grandpa was seeing someone in New York? A specialist? It was bad—and it was his health. Her mind jumped to the raw pain that she saw in her grandpa’s eyes after her grandma had passed away. The hollow look was something she could relate to in that moment.
“How long?” She wanted to ask how long he had left, and what the diagnosis was, but those two words were all she could manage.
“Don’t drag it out, Sharon. Emery is obviously concerned,” her dad said.
“Your grandpa has been seeing her for several months now.”
Her dad shook his head. “He’s seeing her. They like each other. He was with her and her grandson for Thanksgiving.”
“Seeing her? Wait. Like he’s dating someone?” She exhaled audibly, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Wait. You had me believing that he wasn’t fine. That’s why I … why we changed our plans and came here for Christmas.”
“And now that you’re here, we can’t wait to get to know you better, James.”
She was ready to tell her mom off for the worry she’d put Emery through. This wasn’t a game. She’d been genuinely concerned for her grandpa. This whole thing felt like a trick. She was about to explain to her mom that
they’d be keeping their plane tickets and leaving in the morning as they had planned. She was not going to be tricked into coming and then stay.
But at that moment the front door opened, and Emery could hear someone whistling a familiar Christmas song. A moment later her grandpa came into the kitchen. “Well, if it isn’t my princess. How are you sweet pea?”
“I’m good. You wanted to meet my boyfriend—here he is.” She made the introduction, happy she’d made the effort to appease her grandpa, though she hadn’t planned on staying so long with the family, especially if Grandpa wasn’t really sick. She almost said those words aloud, but her grandpa cut her thoughts off.
“Looks like you’ve found yourself a prince,” he said shaking James’ hand.
Emery could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, but she couldn’t let those words sink in. She hadn’t found James, and she was paying him to be here. Still she knew that her grandpa’s quick judge of character was accurate. It was time to change the subject. Her mind blanked.
“How are you, Grandpa? Are you feeling okay?”
He patted her hand. “The crisp air was nice, but I might go take a nap. I have it on good authority that we might be up late tonight,” he said, winking at her.
Saying he needed a nap was something he’d say to her when she was little when he would surprise her with tickets to the Nutcracker. She had always thought that it was him that needed the nap, but she’d willingly gone and rested her eyes before the big event for at least an hour. Now she wondered if it was something that he needed just as much as she did.
“Is the ballet tonight?” she asked hopefully. Even if they left in the morning, it would still be fun to attend the ballet. It was one of her favorite Christmas traditions.
“As long as I take my nap. Are you up for the ballet, James?”
He put his arm around Emery. “I’m happy to do whatever Emery wants to.”
“See, right there, Emery. He’s a keeper,” her grandpa said and then headed up the stairs.
* * *
Emery's family assembled in the sitting room before every dinner. She held James’ hand as they sat on the ornate couch, waiting for the rest of her family.