Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle)

by Noelle Adams

  “So you’re telling me that I’m not only supposed to play the part of the fake girlfriend but I’m supposed to be celibate, too?”

  “I didn’t think it was such a sacrifice,” he replied snarkily. “I mean, I never knew you to not be able to go for a couple of weeks without being intimate with a man.”

  Unable to help herself, Lily burst out laughing. “Being intimate with a man? Is that how we’re speaking now? It’s sex, Cam. Sex. And I happen to enjoy it. And being that you’re just my friend,” she reminded tartly, “and not my real boyfriend, you have no real say in what I do on my own time.”

  This was so not going as he had planned. How had he lost control of the situation? Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cam counted to ten and then looked at Lily who was sitting beside him like the picture of innocence. “Look,” he said calmly, “all I’m saying is that we both know a lot of the same people and how would it look if someone knew that you were sleeping with somebody else when you were supposed to be dating me?”

  “How do we know it’s going to be me sleeping with somebody else? Maybe you’ll meet someone that you want to sleep with?”

  He highly doubted that. After these last couple of days, Cam doubted that he’d want to sleep with another woman for a very long time. “I’m not the one who can’t go without sex.”

  “Good to know,” she said confidently. “Then you won’t mind if this last round of sex that we just had was indeed our last round of sex.”

  Cam jaw dropped. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that since you think that our sleeping together wasn’t the smart thing to do that you won’t mind sleeping on the sofa bed tonight and we go back to our old relationship starting now.”

  Like hell. If he was going to sacrifice having Lily to himself from now on, he wasn’t going to give up his last night with her. “As a matter of fact I do mind.”

  Lily smiled confidently. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Cam. I’m just following your rules.”

  With lightning speed Cam turned and had Lily pinned beneath him. “I don’t want cake,” he said huskily, “but I could definitely eat.” His mouth claimed hers and Lily didn’t even bother trying to fight it. She instantly wrapped herself around him and Cam wasn’t sure who the winner was in all of this and as her tongue dueled with his he realized that right now, he didn’t even care.

  Six

  It was the usual controlled chaos when they walked in to the home of Richard and Angela Greene. Everyone was talking at once while they were hugging and kissing Cam and Lily hello. After years of experiencing the same scene, Lily was able to have several conversations with different people as she made her way through the group and into the kitchen where she met up with her own parents and said hello.

  Cam was by her side with his hand low on her back and Lily couldn’t help but smile. He may not want to touch her but deep down she knew that he couldn’t even help himself. Was he even aware that he’d done nothing but touch her since they’d left the hotel that morning? He held her hand, touched her arm, kept his hand on her back…other than the time that she spent at her home getting ready once they got back into town, Cam had his hands on her in one way or another.

  It was both amusing and arousing.

  Cam was telling his father and Lily’s dad about the conference when he noticed his mother heading over toward Lily.

  “So what’s new with you, Lily?” Angela Greene asked as she handed Lily a glass of wine.

  “Well,” she began and then looked over her shoulder at Cam. He nodded and so Lily turned back and faced their parents and siblings. “Cam and I just got back from New York.”

  “Oh, really?” Angela said. “Did you have business in the city, too?”

  “No,” Cam said, coming over to stand beside Lily and put his arm around her. “I invited Lily to come with me. I thought it might be nice for us to get away before the hectic holiday schedule that you normally have gets kicked in to gear.” The room fell silent as their parents all looked at one another and then back to Cam and Lily.

  “I…I don’t understand,” Angela said, confusion written all over her face.

  “Well,” Lily said with a shy smile, “Cam and I wanted to have a little time away before we came here and told all of you that…” she looked at Cam again for confirmation. “We’re dating!”

  The room became a flurry of activity and it was like walking in all over again. Everyone began talking at once and asking questions and Lily and Cam were so in sync with one another that even though they had never discussed their ‘story’, they were close enough that no one seemed to notice.

  “It’s just so romantic…”

  “We always hoped that the two of you…”

  “So it was a romantic getaway?”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  The questions came at them with rapid fire succession and they each took turns answering and Lily had to wonder if this was real or fake because they were seemingly pulling it off. They really weren’t lying because in her mind, what she and Cam were doing was one hundred percent real. She just had to convince Cam of that fact.

  Conversation moved to the dining room as dinner was served and everyone made sure that the two of them sat together and by the time everyone was seated, their mother’s seemed to be of one mind. “So this is real? This is serious?”

  Cam picked up one of Lily’s hands in his and kissed it. “Yes, it is. I’ve been in love with Lily for a long time but I never wanted to risk our friendship.”

  “So what changed?” Mary Cavanaugh asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  Cam looked lovingly at Lily as he spoke the truth for what seemed like the first time tonight. “Some things you just can’t fight. We didn’t plan this; it just sort of happened and now that it has, I’m sorry that we waited so long.” Lily’s gaze softened at his words and it took all of Cam’s strength to not lean in and kiss her right now. But he remembered his rules. Although he knew that there were going to be times in the upcoming weeks that he would have to kiss her in front of other people, he had to be strong and only do it when absolutely necessary or he’d make himself crazy.

  “The trip was amazing,” Lily said when everyone at the table simply sat and grinned at them. She told them all about Times Square and their hotel and the dinners they had with Cam’s colleagues. “We danced and the food was amazing and everything was already decorated for Christmas. It was all so beautiful. There was this spot by the banquet hall that had the most amazing display of mistletoe and we always made sure that we stopped and kissed under it before going in to dinner.” The women at the table sighed collectively and Lily looked back at Cam did her best to look like the adoring girlfriend. “It was all very romantic.”

  “It sounds like it,” Angela said and then looked at her son with a wink. “Who knew that my son could be such a romantic? I’m glad that you finally came to your senses, Cameron. We’ve all known for years that you cared for Lily as more than a friend. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this is going to make the holidays even more special.” She looked over at Mary. “Just think of all of the excitement this is going to cause at all of the parties? I think people were starting to take bets on when the two of them were going to get together, weren’t they?”

  Mary nodded. “I believe so.” She turned and looked at her daughter and Cam. “Seems like the two of you were the last to know.”

  Lily knew she shouldn’t take it as a dig but somehow she did. Her whole body tensed and Cam still held her hand and he gave it a slight squeeze to let her know that he was there for her. He spoke up. “We don’t really care what everyone else was thinking; we needed the time to be right for us. Let them think what they want. What Lily and I feel for each other needed to come out when the time was right. Our trip only confirmed that it was the right decision to wait.” He kissed her hand again. “She was worth the wait.”

  Their father’s finally interrupted and turned the
topic of conversation toward something that they all could participate in. Cam was more than a little relieved for the break. He knew their mothers were going to be thrilled about their dating but he hadn’t expected them to make such a big deal out of it. Slipping under the radar was no longer an option and he had a feeling that they were going to be thrust more into the spotlight than he had ever dreamed possible.

  Once dinner was over and things were cleaned up, Angela and Mary took out their calendars and went down the list of social engagements that they were all expected to attend. “And now with Cam and Lily’s big news, you know that everyone is going to want to see them,” she said to the group as a whole. They were all sitting in the living room and Cam had Lily tucked beside him with is arm around her. It felt natural and very comforting while at the same time a little bizarre because everyone kept looking at them and wanting to talk about them.

  When Cam had come up with this idea, he figured they’d announce that they were dating and everyone would be happy and then move on. He didn’t expect them to become the event of the season.

  “We’re going to decorate here tonight and then we’ll all meet for dinner on Sunday at Mary and Jack’s and do all of their decorating. Thanksgiving will be here on Thursday,” Angela continued as she checked off her list, “and then Christmas parties will kick into gear!” Everyone began talking at once and then Mary spoke up.

  “We’ll be doing the Christmas cookie baking for the exchange at our place on the fifth followed by the open house exchange on the eighth and then,” she said, looking to Angela to confirm, “you will be hosting the neighborhood get-together on the tenth and then you have Richard’s company party on the twelfth, right?” Both Richard and Angela nodded. “Then…” she double checked her list, “we’ll have Jack’s company party on the sixteenth.” Again, everyone nodded.

  “But this year we have a surprise,” Richard Greene addressed the group. He looked at his daughter’s and their spouses and then to Cam and Lily and Lily’s sister Beth and her husband before finally landing on the Cavanaugh’s with a smile. “We’re breaking tradition this year for the first time and we’ve rented a place up in the mountains to spend Christmas week and New Year’s!” All of the adult children looked at one another and then to their parents and it was mass confusion as everyone began asking questions at once.

  Jack Cavanaugh stood and tried to quiet everyone down. “Now we realize that some of you here have in-laws that you will want to spend part of the holiday with and we understand that. The house is ours for ten days and so you are free to come and go as you please but we’re kind of hoping that you’ll want to spend a lot of that time up there with us. We have the house from the twenty-third to January first and so it would be wonderful if we could just go and enjoy some quality family time after all of these parties,” he said with a laugh.

  “Well we know that Cam and Lily will be there the whole time because the only in-laws they have is us!” Angela said with obvious delight. “We’ll be able to spend time talking about what your plans are and…not to put too much pressure on you but…we can maybe talk about engagements and weddings and all of that good stuff.” Mary readily agreed and was throwing in her own two cents on how she saw them spending time with the couple and helping them plan their future.

  Cam felt ill and Lily wanted to run screaming from the room.

  “Um…” Lily interrupted and raised her hand. “I don’t think I’ll have the whole week off, Dad. Especially after taking this week off to go to New York.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud, Lily,” Beth said with a hint of irritation. “It’s not like you have a real job. I’m sure the coffee house will run fine without you. Get a grip.”

  Cam literally felt Lily shrink beside him as she simply nodded and bowed her head. He loved the Cavanaugh’s; they were a second family to him. For years he had listened to them all talk down to Lily and he never understood why. Furious with himself for never speaking up before, Cam knew that even as her pretend boyfriend, he needed to do it now.

  He turned directly to Beth. “And why exactly isn’t it a real job?” Before she could answer, Cam cut her off. “I mean, she goes to the coffee house, she has a schedule, she works her shift and she gets paid for the work that she does. Tell me, Beth, where in there is that not a real job?”

  “Well…um…,” Beth stammered, looking around the room for someone to back her up. That was usually her parents but they were remaining surprisingly quiet.

  “Lily may not go to an office to work but that doesn’t mean that what she does is any less important. Instead of giving her life to a company, she has chosen to live her life trying to find the things that give her pleasure so that she can actually enjoy her life.” He looked around the room now with condemnation at all of them. “We could all learn something from Lily; how many family dinners have been missed because of work? How many school events were any of you missing from because of your jobs?” Finally, he turned to Lily. “You are an inspiration because you are out and experiencing life while the rest of us are experience the four walls of our office. I for one am proud of you.” Leaning in, he kissed her on her forehead and then leaned back and put his arm around her again to pull her close. With one last sweeping look of the room he asked, “Anyone else have a problem with Lily needing to work a couple of shifts that week?”

  Everyone shook their heads in stunned silence. “Good,” Cam said with a nod. “Chances are I’ll have to work a couple of days myself but I will be sure to line my schedule up with Lily’s so that we can enjoy our time with all of you together.”

  Only Lily knew that it was really a tactic so that they provided a united front and wouldn’t have to deal with either set of parents on their own. Once again he was her knight in shining armor and she leaned over and kissed his cheek and murmured a thank you to him.

  “Well,” Richard Greene said as he stood up, “I guess we can work out all of those details later. For now why don’t we break out the decorations and get things going here.” Everyone stood and they all knew the drill because it had been a tradition for years.

  When Lily went to walk away, Cam took her hand and held her back. “You okay?” She nodded, still unwilling to speak. He forced her to look at him. “Hey, it’s me; are you sure you’re all right because I’ll make an excuse for us and we can go.”

  She smiled weakly. “I’m fine; I know that I shouldn’t let the little comments get to me but they do. And really, it’s not like they actually enjoy having me around so I don’t see what the big deal is if I miss a couple of days. If anything, you’d think they’d be glad. A little less time they have to spend staring disappointment in the face.”

  “That’s enough,” he said with more force than he intended. “I’m not going to stand here and let you keep putting yourself down. I’m done listening to it, Lil. I should have spoken up and up and put an end to this years ago and for that I’m sorry; but from now on, they will have to deal with me if they want to open their mouths against you.”

  Tears filled Lily’s eyes and she didn’t even try to wipe them away. “You really are my knight in shining armor, you know that, right?”

  Cam actually blushed at her praise. “I don’t know about that.”

  “It’s true; no one ever stands up for me except for you and I want you to know that I really love…”

  “Hey, you two!” Angela popped back into the room and walked toward them. “We could really use your help.”

  Cam looked from his mother to Lily and then back again. “Uh, mom…could you just give us a minute?”

  “Okay, but just a minute because we have a ton of decorating to do and you know it takes all of us to get it done.” She smiled at them both before leaving the room.

  “You were saying…” Cam prompted.

  Lily could have kicked herself. She had almost just blurted out that she loved him in the middle of his parents’ living room. What was wrong with her? “I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you
being such a good friend.”

  Disappointment flooded him. Cam had been certain that Lily was going to say that she loved him; true, she could have still been about to say that she loved him as a friend but he had a feeling that it was possibly more than that. Was that even a possibility? Could she really feel more for him than friendship or had their vacation fling simply confused her? Cam hoped that it wasn’t the case but he was too afraid to get his hopes up.

  “I’ll always be here for you, Lil. Always.” He kissed her forehead again and together they went and joined their families to get the Greene’s house ready for the holidays.

  ***

  Standing back, everyone admired their handiwork. “Great job,” Angela said as he stood beside her husband and beamed at the way the house had been transformed. “I love the way that we all come together to get this done and every year it just comes out better and better.” They all nodded in agreement. “But…” she said with a big smile, “there is one final touch and I saved it until the end.”

  Cam did not have a good feeling about this. There was never anything left until the end; his mother ran this holiday decorating like a five-star general and there was never any room for surprises. When she reached behind her and pulled out a box he had a feeling that he and Lily were about to be forced into the spotlight.

  “Mistletoe,” she said as she pulled it out of the square gold box. “I know that it just usually gets hung during all of the hoopla but after Cam and Lily’s story of how magical their mistletoe time was in New York, well, I wanted them to hang it and to see them kiss under it.”

  His mother was going to be the death of him. Before he could say or do anything, Lily spoke up. “Oh, Angela, you know that Cam isn’t big on PDA’s. Don’t embarrass him or I’ll never get him to do anything spontaneous like that again.” She said it lightly and made it like it wasn’t a big deal but Lily knew that if their families forced the issue, Cam would back out of the whole fake relationship thing out of sheer embarrassment.