by Chelsea Hale
James put his arm around her, his fingers brushing up and down her arm, making her skin tingle and her insides turn cartwheels. He was making it easy to forget everything else and everyone else. And the thought scared her.
Chapter 16
James kept his arm around Emery as he tried to look at his program with one hand. The words and names and bios all blurred together as they waited for the house lights to dim and the curtain to rise.
He couldn’t concentrate on the program. She’d kissed him on the cheek and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and kiss her for real. For pretend real. Or whatever they were supposed to be.
Her lips on his cheek spread warmth like a fire. Something was up with Emery but he couldn’t figure out what. She’d been cryptic in her responses to how she was and what was wrong. That only made him more curious.
Emery had frozen in the foyer, completely unmoving, staring at … he had no idea what. She had told him that this had been one of her favorite childhood Christmas traditions since she could remember.
He liked that she had a tradition that sparked such a long line of memories. He tried to remember any traditions he had growing up surrounding the holidays. Mostly it was a time when his parents worked, and he’d been home building whatever Legos or science project they’d bought him.
“What is your favorite part of this ballet?” James asked, after another attempt at looking at his program without computing anything on the page.
She tilted her head. “Have you ever seen the Nutcracker before?”
“I don’t think so.” He racked his brain to remember if maybe he’d seen it in school. He’d taken cultural classes that required attendance at ballets. He’d found the Taming of the Shrew in ballet form particularly funny.
“In that case, I can’t tell you my favorite part until after. I’d hate to ruin the surprise.” Her eyes held a twinkle of excitement at keeping him in suspense.
It made him want to kiss the smug smile off her face.
Before he could act on that idea, the overture began playing and the curtain rose. Her parents and Grandpa still hadn’t arrived, but maybe they didn’t have seats on the same row as them. He moved closer to Emery, telling himself that if they were sitting behind them somewhere he’d need to be convincing as a boyfriend. But the truth was the more time that he spent with Emery the more he wanted to be around her, and not just to be a good fake boyfriend.
A little girl in tights and a pink tutu ran across the stage and said in a loud voice, “Hurry! I need to get my ballet slippers on. I don’t want to miss the nutcracker, let’s go.” She pulled on a bigger girl’s hand who carried a ballet slipper in her hand.
James chuckled. He hoped the girl didn’t realize they could be seen behind the scrim. He held Emery's hand through the entire first act. How they managed to clap after each dance number and then have their hands come back perfectly together, he wasn’t sure, but he hoped he wasn’t the only one affected by it.
During intermission they went into the foyer. She looked up toward the ceiling, and for the first time James noticed just how many mistletoes hung from the ceiling. Was that why she’d frozen in the middle of the foyer? Had they been under a mistletoe and she had hoped for a kiss? He cringed as he realized how hard it was to think of this whole situation as pretend. It was messing with his mind.
He knew it was pretend, but if he didn’t start acting like it was more real than it was, he was going to miss the obvious clues she’d been giving him. And then what good would all of his pretending do?
He needed to try harder to not think about it like that. From now on, he was going to look at this situation differently. He needed to stop looking at this situation and thinking how he should pretend to act.
He needed to start thinking how he would really act if he was in love with Emery.
It was a slight change but he could see now that he needed to start feeling like it was real enough that it didn’t matter if someone was around to see them be affectionate or not.
His affection would seem more natural if he wasn’t looking for a way to show it off. She’d given him a kiss in a moment that wasn’t trying to show off their relationship.
How would she feel if he kissed her under one of the many mistletoes hanging around?
They walked to a table displaying all of the Nutcracker paraphernalia. Tall and short nutcrackers stood around nicer programs, next to keychains.
Emery picked up a large Nutcracker doll and opened and closed its mouth and made a chomping sound toward him.
“Are you enjoying your time so far?” she asked as she moved the Nutcracker’s mouth, as if he’d been the one talking.
He laughed, picking up another one and mimicking her stilted voice, joining in the ventriloquism. “I am. Thank you.”
The cashier came by, looking stern with an eyebrow raised, and they both put the nutcrackers back on the table.
A bell sounded three times and they headed into the theatre. James looked up, wondering if they’d find a mistletoe on their way. He wandered through the crowd with her and led her over to the opposite side from where their seats were. “Our seats are this way,” she said, gently tugging on his arm.
“I know,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She looked into his eyes. “We should probably go in then, they’re going to start any minute.”
He pulled her close and kissed her, drinking in the moment that he would take if he was falling in love with her.
She hesitated briefly before kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“What was that for?” she whispered when they finally broke the kiss.
He gave her what he was sure looked like a boyish grin. “It just felt right,” he said. “Besides, no sense in letting all of this mistletoe go to waste.”
She looked up, her eyes widening and then she smiled at him. “You have no idea what that means to me.” She gave him another peck. “But thank you.”
“Here they are,” Emery's grandpa’s voice called to them.
Emery's cheeks pinked. “Hi Grandpa. We were just going in.”
“I know exactly what you were doing,” he said, winking at both of them. “We’ll see you after the show. I have someone I want you to meet.”
“Aren’t you sitting by us?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, dear. I’ve got a friend with me who prefers the mezzanine for the ballet, not the orchestra. We’ll meet up again after for hot chocolate at The Chocolate Shoppe.”
Emery gave her grandpa a hug. “Sounds great. We’ll see you there.”
Grandpa put a hand on James’ shoulder. “Enjoy the second act. It’s coming up to my favorite part.”
Emery laughed. “Mine too.”
“Which part?” James asked.
“You’ll see.” She turned to her grandpa. “Are Mom and Dad sitting by you too?”
“Yes, and I’d better hurry so they don’t wonder whether or not I’m coming back.” With that he headed up the stairs.
As they walked along the dimly lit corridor on the way to their seats, James whispered, “I’ll be right back. I’ll meet you at our seats.”
She gave him an odd look but said, “Okay. I’ll see you soon. It will be starting any minute.”
“I won’t be long,” he said.
An idea had sparked in his mind and he knew now would be the best time to act on it. He would buy Emery the set of Nutcrackers that they had just played with.
It took longer than he expected to pay for them. The boxes were bigger than he imagined, so he put them with his coat at coat check before returning to his seat.
Chapter 17
Emery scooted past several other couples on the way to her seat, trying not to freak out that James had kissed her under the mistletoe and then disappeared. Maybe he had to make a phone call. Or use the restroom. Or … something. She tried to erase the persistent memory that kept bombarding her from last year, when Owen said he�
�d be right back, and then he wasn’t.
She inhaled slowly through her nose, exhaling through her mouth. The concentrated breath cleared her mind. This wasn’t the same situation. James wasn’t the same kind of person.
Besides for all intents and purposes they were just acting for a week. She couldn’t let herself get so attached to the idea of this being real. She needed to keep things in perspective.
They were pretending. He was her fake boyfriend. So, he had something to do in the middle of their date. She didn’t need to stress about that. She was paying him to help her out of the situation with her family. She couldn’t let her time with Owen color her current relationship with James, no matter how real or fake it was at the moment.
The fact that she even thought how possibly real it could be, gave her pause. If it were real, she wouldn’t let something as small as taking a few extra moments before joining her stress her out. She needed to move past Owen once and for all. It was time to stop thinking about what she’d lost and move on to whatever was in her future.
A full song of dancing went by without Emery even realizing it as she argued in her mind how to take James’ behavior in not walking in with her. As the applause started after the second number, she saw James slide through the row.
He sat next to her and she allowed herself to inch closer to him. His cologne filled her senses.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Except that I missed sitting by you for the first two numbers. They didn’t let anyone into the house until after the end of the second song.”
With a response like that she wasn’t going to push him to know where he had been. Besides, she knew that whatever he was doing, he wasn’t kissing her sister under the mistletoe.
Emery snuggled next to him, allowing herself to feel once again that what they had between them was more real with every minute that they spent together.
They walked out of the theatre over an hour later, and Emery couldn’t remember a year where she’d had so much fun at the ballet, and at the same time remembered so little of what happened on the stage.
* * *
Emery and James walked down the street two blocks to The Chocolate Shoppe. The delicious aroma of liquid chocolate filled the air. The line wrapped back and forth, filled with patrons from the ballet. They joined in talking about the ballet while they waited.
“This is certainly quite some place for chocolate,” James said, looking at the walls where rows of gift boxes were filled with chocolates. Others were on display behind glass counters.
Emery smiled. “This used to be my favorite place to buy chocolate, until you bought me chocolate. I think you’ve spoiled me for life. Nothing will ever be as good.”
“This still looks pretty good,” he said.
“A consolation prize, at best. But since we are here, I recommend making a chocolatey hot chocolate. It’s the only way to try your first cup of hot chocolate from them.”
“What’s chocolatey hot chocolate?”
She pointed to the sign with all of the flavors. “It’s a rich hot chocolate flavored with any of their hand-dipped chocolates. You can add up to three different flavors, but I prefer to add three of the same kind of chocolates. Then they top the whole thing with whipped cream and fresh chocolate shavings.”
“It sounds delicious. Which kind do you get?” he asked.
“I go for the coconut chocolate or the amaretto. Both are really good.”
They ordered their chocolatey hot chocolates and found a table. Her parents, grandpa and her grandpa’s friend came into The Chocolate Shoppe soon after they sat down.
“Hi. We should have texted you to see what you wanted,” Emery said, wondering how she’d been so distracted on her way walking with James that she hadn’t thought of it until now. “The line is long, but it moves fast.”
“I never know what I want until I’m here,” Grandpa said. “Always too many options to decide ahead of time.”
Her dad said, “How about Sharon and I wait in line and you and Alice can sit here and keep Emery and James company. Once we’re up to the front of the line, you can let us know what you want.”
Her grandpa nodded to his son. “Thanks, Roger.” He pulled out a chair for Alice and sat next to her.
Her grandpa officially introduced them to Alice.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alice,” Emery said, taking her in. She looked about her grandpa’s age. New York style exuded from her. She had silvered hair and a big smile. She was wrapped in a dark purple coat with a matching hat.
“Lovely to meet you,” Alice said. “Your grandpa talks very highly of his successful granddaughter. It’s nice to meet you in person.”
They talked about the ballet, and Alice told about herself. She asked Emery questions while her grandpa asked James questions. Soon, her dad called her grandpa and Alice up to the front counter so they could order.
When they returned with her parents the conversation changed to talking about the week’s festivities. Emery wondered what James was thinking about all of it. He smiled pleasantly, but her mom hadn’t even gone into the specifics of their traditions. Emery wanted to make sure that James didn’t feel roped into anything.
When they were finished their hot chocolate, everyone stood. As they approached the door, Alice said to Emery, “I can’t wait to learn more about you. I have a feeling we are going to be friends.”
Emery smiled. “I’d like that.”
Her grandpa seemed so happy and full of life around Alice. Emery’s mom had been right. There was a visible change surrounding her grandpa from the previous year. It wasn’t bad, but it was noticeable.
Once they got to their car, Emery said, “Are you up for a little adventure?”
“With you? Always.”
It was pretty much the perfect response.
“Then let’s take a quick detour home, I want to show you my favorite Christmas Street. It’s lit up with thousands of lights and there’s Christmas music playing and it’s always magical.”
“That sounds great. I can’t wait to see what you love about this time of year.”
She smiled, realizing how much she would have missed out this year on some of her favorite traditions if James hadn’t come with her.
* * *
Emery and James arrived back at her parents’ house after everyone else.
The detour had been worth it. The lights were beautiful and Emery enjoyed spending a little more time with James.
Emery showed James to the guest room, where Marta had taken James’ suitcase. Where his black sleek suitcase should have been was a fabric one with flowers over the entire thing. There had to be a mistake. Had Kristi gotten a new set? And why wasn’t she using her own room? She’d go straighten it out with Marta right away. “I’ll be right back,” Emery said to James.
James nodded.
She went down the hallway and found her mother. “Have you seen Marta?”
“I gave Marta the rest of the night off when we left for the ballet. Is there something I can help you with?”
She didn’t want to have to bother her mother about this. Besides it would have been fine to talk to Marta about it herself. She drew in a breath. It wasn’t the worst thing to talk to her mom about sleeping arrangements she supposed. “James’ suitcase isn’t in the guest room. Isn’t Kristi staying in her own room while she’s here?” Maybe Owen and Kristi had opted for separate rooms?
Her mother shook her head. “Kristi and Owen are in Kristi’s room. The guest room is for Alice. She’ll be spending Christmas here since your grandpa is staying here too. I thought it would be nice to have everyone under one roof, don’t you think? This way your grandpa will be around much more than if he stayed at this own house.”
Emery thought about the rest of the bedroom arrangements. “So, is James in the third guest room?” It was a little farther down the hall, but it would be fine, though it was smaller than the guest bedroom that Alice was going
to use.
Her mom’s face broke into a frown. “That whole wing is being remodeled.”
“So where will James sleep?” She wouldn’t have to put him on the couch for the week he was here, would she?
Her mom gave her a quizzical look. “Is there a problem with you sharing your room?”
Emery's face flushed. Of course her mom wouldn’t understand their situation. “No. It’s no problem. I just thought since I was bringing him home that he’d be able to have his own space.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Are you fighting because last time I checked your room was big enough for a sleepover with a dozen girls?”
“Mom, I just promised he could have his own room while he was here.”
Her mom raised a single eyebrow. “Unpromise that. Alice is staying here, and that’s that. I don’t have another room available.”
Emery rolled her eyes. “Fine. We’ll make it work.” She stalked down the hall toward where she’d left James in the guest room that Alice would now be using. Of course her mother wouldn’t see a problem with putting them in the same room together, but that wasn’t part of the deal.
Her face flushed as she walked into the room and James looked at her, a questioning look on his face. She motioned for him to follow her, waiting until they were both in her room with the door closed before she spoke.
This was going to be a disaster. She had to give him some options. He didn’t have to go through with this uncomfortable charade. They weren’t sleeping together, and they certainly weren’t sharing a bed.
But would her mom really be suspicious by that? The whole situation had her on edge. She needed to call the whole thing off before it was out of hand.
Chapter 18
James didn’t mean to overhear Emery talking to her mom, but their voices had carried to the guest bedroom where he had been and he couldn’t help himself listening to the conversation.