by Leslie North
“I didn’t even know she was dating anyone,” her mom said to Josh, “much less engaged.”
“That’s because we are discreet,” Amelia said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets, “and wanted to wait until the time was right.”
“No better time than Christmas,” Josh said.
Elise said something between English and Toddler. Amelia put her face close to Elise’s, making kissy noises.
“You sweet little pumpkin,” Amelia said, running her fingers through Elise’s sandy blonde hair. “You’re getting so big. Do you even remember who I am?”
Elise looked unimpressed and buried her head into her daddy’s shoulder.
“It’s been a minute, huh?” Amelia said.
“Well, you didn’t come home for Thanksgiving,” her mother started.
“I was working,” Amelia said.
“I told her she needed to go home,” Josh piped up, his voice pure friendliness and bass. “To see you all and spend time with family. I wanted to come with, so we could share the good news. But your daughter is so committed to her work.”
Her mother cooed, squeezing Amelia’s arm. “That’s my baby girl.”
“So how did you propose?” Rebecca asked, her eyes twinkling. Rebecca was a girl’s girl through and through, and Elise was dressed in tutus and pink bows more often than not.
“Oh…the proposal.” Amelia turned to Josh, hoping he could see her panic through her forced grin. He squeezed his arm around her, bringing her into his side.
“It was a beautiful evening,” Josh said, looking into Amelia’s eyes. That gaze erased some of her anxiety about needing to come up with a story on the fly. Whatever he said, she’d accept. As long as he kept looking at her like that. “I took her down to Central Park, where we walked along the lake at the golden hour.”
“That sounds romantic,” her mother said.
“Until the geese attacked,” Amelia blurted. She couldn’t make this too lovey-dovey.
“Yeah, that sort of ruined my vibe,” Josh said effortlessly, laughing. “They actually pecked at my ankles.”
“But you know what they say about geese and lasting love,” Amelia said, smiling up at Josh.
Rob snorted. “Do they say anything about geese and lasting love?”
Amelia swatted at her brother’s arm. “No, they don’t, but come on, we have to make it romantic.”
Everyone laughed, and Amelia hoped the terror she felt inside wasn’t transmitting. She really didn’t like this—lying to her family. She hadn’t expected to have to make up stories and perform in front of them. She needed a diversion, and fast. She spotted a beverage table further down the brick walkway.
“Hey, guys, I’m gonna go grab a soda. Does anyone want anything?” Nobody did, so she squeezed Josh’s wrist. “I’ll be right back. Just feeling a little parched.”
Amelia hurried over to the line forming in front of the table, hopping from foot to foot as she tried to counsel herself about the fact that she’d just told the biggest lie of her life to her family. It’s not like anyone would be outraged if they found out it was a sham engagement, but it just didn’t feel great. Her family were good people and only wanted the best for her.
And apparently her best was pretending to be in love with her boss and raking in thousands of dollars for it.
She was so lost in thought by the time she got up to the table that she startled when someone said, “Hey! Amelia!” The lady behind the table smiled at her from under a floppy red Santa hat. “Long time no see!”
It was Judy, her parents’ neighbor. “Oh my goodness! Sorry—I spaced out. How are you, Judy?”
The two chitchatted while Judy poured Amelia a big plastic cup of punch. After they’d caught up on her job in NYC and Judy’s kids moving abroad, Judy said, “Hell, take a second one, but don’t tell anyone I gave you two!”
Amelia laughed and thanked her, moving out of the way so the line could continue. She took a sip of the punch—delicious and cherry-infused. She hummed and then took a gulp. Extremely refreshing. She needed to ask Judy for the recipe. She’d downed the entire thing before she started the walk back to her family and started in on the second as she rejoined the group.
Josh was in the middle of telling a story that had everyone on pins and needles, even Elise. Amelia watched as he spoke, admiring his perfect hairline and his dark, bushy brows. Everything about him was perfect—at least what she’d seen of him so far.
Prickles of heat swept through her, and she laughed just as hard as everyone else once Josh finished his story. The anxiety was slowly dissipating now, bleeding out into a contented buzz. When Josh put his arm around her this time, she burrowed into his embrace. Feeling exactly like she belonged there.
“You two are just so cute,” her mom cooed, squeezing Amelia’s arm. “So in love.”
“It’s hard not to be in love with your daughter,” Josh said, looking down at Amelia. He sent her a smile that would have erased every doubt and confirmed every desire…if only this weren’t acting.
Still, Amelia let herself get lost in his gaze. Get lost in the fantasy.
After all, she only had three more days to enjoy this.
5
Stan Lewis and his wife joined their group a bit later, with handshakes all around. Josh was relieved that Stan had organically run into them while with Amelia’s family. Turned out that Stan knew Amelia’s father from childhood, which was all the better.
Amelia laughed into his arm, prompted by nothing. She’d been a little giggly this evening. He glanced down at her.
“Everything okay?”
She snorted and righted herself. “Everything’s fine.” A moment went by, and then she burst into laughter again.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Just, all of it.” She waved her hand in front of her. “Hey, this punch is really good.” She lifted her empty cup. “You want some? I’m gonna go get another one.”
“Wait.” He grabbed her hand, bringing his face level with hers, even though he had to hunch to do it. “What’s in that punch?”
“I dunno, it was just the punch they had over there.” Her cheeks were ruddy, but that could have been from the cold. But he swore to God—she was slurring. It was slight, but there.
“Are you sure it’s not spiked?”
She narrowed her eyes, then her mouth rounded. “Ooooh, I wonder. Because I was nervous, but the punch made me feel better.”
“Uh-huh.” He straightened, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “You stay here with me, drunkie.”
She snickered again, wrapping both her arms around his waist. He couldn’t ignore the thrill of contentment this prompted. Had it been so long since he’d been touched by a woman? Or was it just because it was Amelia finally touching him in the way he’d denied wanting from her?
Stan stepped closer to them, a big smile on his face. “Look at you two lovebirds. You remind me of me and my wife when we were young.”
His wife, Betty, swatted Stan’s chest. “He doesn’t mean to say married life goes downhill. It keeps getting better, we promise.”
“When’s the big date?” Stan asked.
“Uhh,” Josh started.
“June third,” Amelia blurted.
“I looove spring weddings,” Rebecca cooed while she rubbed her belly.
“You’re a lucky father-in-law,” Stan said, clapping his hand against Amelia’s father’s shoulder. “To have the son of the Denton empire courting your daughter? It’s truly an honor that Denton Hotels is even interested in Cedar Grove.” His wife murmured her agreement, while Amelia’s dad beamed.
“We feel just as lucky,” he said.
Inside, Josh pumped his fist. They’d been here less than a full day and already everything looked very promising. But he had enough business experience not to get his hopes up just yet. Not until he had the contract in hand.
“I’d just like to say,” Amelia piped up, “that I feel the luckiest of all.”
Amelia�
�s drunken honesty raised alarms for him. How drunk was she…and what might she reveal without thinking? Even an off-the-cuff drunk remark could raise suspicions. He squeezed his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
“Wrong,” Josh countered. “I’m the luckiest.”
“I’d say we’re all pretty dang lucky,” Amelia’s mom spoke up.
Amelia looked up at him, questions swirling in her eyes, a type of raw honesty he’d never seen there before. But they didn’t have a chance to delve further, because the lights on the patio dimmed and Christmas music filled the air.
Per tradition, the instrumental version of Silent Night played while a procession of school children holding candles filled the brick paths. Their voices soon joined the musical accompaniment. When Josh looked down at Amelia, he swore tears were shining in her eyes.
Once the song ended, the crowd erupted with applause. Some schoolkids smiled back, while others fidgeted in their spots. An announcer took the mic and greeted the crowd.
“Josh, let’s move closer.” Amelia took his hand, lacing her fingers through his, and urged him forward. They crept along a line of hedges, inching closer to the spectacle. She tipped her head back and sighed. “Right here is good.”
He grinned, distracted by the wisps of blonde hair that had escaped her knit hat. She looked every inch a winter beauty, with her wool coat and plaid scarf and ruddy cheeks. When she glanced up at him, nervousness flashed across her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Can’t I admire my fiancée?” he asked.
The corners of her mouth turned upward. “Only if you kiss her, too.”
Her comment stunned as much as it thrilled. He ran his fingers along the line of her cap, brushing over those fly-away hairs.
“I mean, we need to convince people,” she said in a softer voice, and then pushed up onto her tiptoes to kiss him.
He wasn’t one to argue. The brush of her lips against his was soft, barely there. But the electricity it provoked was very real, and very there. He cupped the sides of her face, diving headfirst into this unexpected turn of events. Convince people. Sure. They were tucked away near the line of hedges. Her family stood half a football field away.
This kiss wasn’t for their sake.
It was for themselves.
Amelia drew a ragged breath, deepening the kiss, clutching at the front of his coat. When her mouth parted, his tongue surged forward to find hers. His cock pricked to attention. Damn, he hadn’t counted on this—kisses so good he’d be left fantasizing about them for the next six months.
She released a small whimper and collapsed against him. Josh steadied her, drawing deep breaths that left clouds and question marks in the air between them.
Suddenly, lights blared behind them. Josh twisted to see: the tree had been lit. White and gold lights twinkled, completely filling the tree with light. They’d been so engrossed in making out that they’d missed the announcement.
“Wowww,” Amelia said, resting her head against his chest.
Josh wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the view with her heat pressed against him. They stayed like that for a long time. So long, in fact, that Josh forgot that nobody was watching them. They didn’t need to be acting the part right now.
But it felt too good to abandon. Somehow, getting lost in this fantasy with Amelia felt like the truest thing he’d ever done. Maybe that was what two years of suppressed attraction had done to him. Turned him into a desperate man, willing to accept forced displays of affection as authentic.
He was partially to blame for this. He could have settled down with any of his previous girlfriends. Most notably the last one, Hannah, who looked like a model and had business aspirations of her own. He’d been considering tying the knot with her. But then Amelia had shown up.
His relationship with Hannah had ended pretty soon after Amelia started working at Denton Hotels. That was only two years ago, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him what had been the cause.
He just knew that Hannah had nothing on Amelia, but he’d never been able to admit it.
Not while she was his trusted assistant.
Not while everything worked perfectly as-is.
6
Amelia smiled for the hundredth time that evening, batting her eyelashes at Stan and Josh as they looked across the table at her.
Dinner had come and gone in a delicious blur. Amelia made sure not to lay into the wine too heavily, after her unexpected spiked-punch experience the night before. It wasn’t like she’d had a hangover or anything.
No, it was just the regret and embarrassment that still clung to her. The fact that she’d thrown herself at her boss, clearly unable to control her attraction any longer with her lowered inhibitions. Sure, they’d kissed—and hard—but it wasn’t like he wanted to continue it. Josh had just quietly wrapped up the evening, gotten her back to the suite, and she’d fallen asleep as soon as she’d brushed her teeth.
And today? They weren’t talking about it. Weren’t even addressing it. Because it was better to pretend it hadn’t happened. Even though his lips had practically left char marks against hers.
“We obviously have many ideas about things we’d like to incorporate into such a gorgeous space as this hotel,” Josh said. Amelia had missed about half the conversation, lost in her own thoughts while staring at Josh’s perfect face. She’d realized, over the course of this dinner, that his celebrity twin was Liam Hemsworth. And that somehow just made everything worse.
Because now, Josh was even more perfect.
Perfectly out of reach.
“Amelia, didn’t you just say last night you would love to see a tulip garden planted out back?”
Josh’s question made her jolt to attention. Tulip garden. Had she said that while drunk? “Oh, yes. Pink tulips, actually, would be my preference, but I’m open to other colors.”
Stan and Betty laughed, sending warm smiles their way. Josh had been right to bring her along. The owners were falling in love with them. Josh’s natural charm made it hard not to, and Amelia’s hometown girl aspect really made the whole thing a home run. Josh, as usual, was a genius. Going after what he wanted and getting it.
“Amelia, is that you?”
A new voice made Amelia twist around. At her side, Mrs. Pemberley smiled down at her—Amelia’s tenth grade history teacher.
“Mrs. Pemberley!” She shot up out of her chair to hug her favorite teacher. Mrs. Pemberley was graying now but wore the same little round glasses she’d been famous for back at Cedar Grove High. “It’s so good to see you!”
Stan and Betty greeted Mrs. Pemberley as well, because of course they knew her. The smile on Stan’s face grew even larger. Josh couldn’t have planned a better unlikely reunion.
“This is my fiancé, Josh,” Amelia blurted, feeling her cheeks get hot. “Mrs. Pemberley is my favorite teacher of all time.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Josh said, standing to offer his hand. “And now that makes you my favorite teacher of all time.”
Mrs. Pemberley swatted away the compliment. “I just wanted to say hello. I don’t want to hold up your dinner. I need to get back to my husband. We’re here celebrating forty years together.”
Stan and Betty offered their congratulations, and Amelia noticed how Stan squeezed his wife’s hand. They had to be close to a forty-year anniversary too. Hell, her parents were on their way to forty years. The realization made her dizzy. And here she was, faking it for money. She wouldn’t even reach her wedding day. Much less her first anniversary.
“Hopefully we make it to forty years,” Josh said with a wink in Amelia’s direction, but this time, his charm couldn’t sway her. It only made her sick.
“It was so good to see you,” Amelia said to her favorite teacher, squeezing her hand. “Enjoy the rest of your meal.”
Mrs. Pemberley said goodbye and disappeared into the depths of the restaurant.
“One of
my favorite parts about coming to Cedar Grove,” Josh said, his eyes sparkling, “is seeing proof of how loved Amelia is.”
Amelia forced a smile, his words clanging hollowly inside her. Jesus, this ruse was awful. Now that she was in the middle of it, feeling like a fraudster, what had seemed like a rainbow of a good idea had turned into a drizzling rain of a hundred bad ideas.
She was lying to her family; she was lying to Mrs. Pemberley. The sale of this hotel would be based on a lie.
Was five thousand dollars and a promotion really worth tricking the people who’d always loved and believed in her?
When the bill came, Josh insisted on paying and managed to slip his credit card into the slim folder and hand it off to a waiter before Stan could protest. The four of them said their goodbyes at the front door of the restaurant, and both Stan and his wife hugged her before setting off. They were at that level already, on day two. This sale was practically in the bag.
They stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, their breaths billowing in the cold air. The gilded doors swung shut behind them, blocking out the murmur of voices that had followed them from the packed dining room. Josh nudged her with his elbow.
“You okay?”
She tugged her fancy black coat around her, the only one she had that complemented the particular shade of gray pants she had on. “Yeah.” They started a slow walk down the sidewalk, heading toward Amelia’s car.
“Want to go for a walk?” Josh asked.
She looked around. The entire downtown was lit up, wreaths hung from the street lights, and enormous ornaments dangled from the doorways of storefronts. It was quaint in a way that made her heart ache. “Yeah. Let’s take a walk.”
Silence settled between them as they meandered down the sidewalk. Downtown Cedar Grove was a veritable small-business wonderland, with kitschy coffee shops and doll-making stores, and all manner of upstate-related paraphernalia. Truly, being back here was a breath of fresh air after living in the hustle of the city for the past two years.
Except now she was deceiving everyone who’d ever dared support her. Sadness thudded through her again.