The Christmas Boyfriend: A Return to Snow Valley Romance

by Taylor Hart

  “Call me Dom.” Dom said it in a friendly enough voice, pumping Oliver’s hand and giving her a fierce look she couldn’t read. He flashed a smile to Oliver and moved to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Last-minute change of plans. Wanted to come meet Lacey’s family and see this town I hear so much about all the time.”

  Oliver took a step back from them.

  She wanted to yell “no” and grab his hand and yank it back to her. She wanted to be in his arms again and forget they’d ever broken up.

  Oliver gave her an incredulous look, like he’d just discovered she was cheating on him.

  Not used to Dom’s touch, she looked into Dom’s face as he bored a fake smile in Oliver’s direction. It was weird how she already knew that this smile was a fake one.

  Dom pulled her closer to him. “It’s nice to meet you, Oliver.”

  “Yeah.” Oliver still stared at him. “Nice to meet you too.”

  It felt so weird and unnatural to have another man’s arm around her and to have Oliver looking at her like she had betrayed him. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out the last question she wanted to ask. “Where’s Linda?” Mentally, she kicked herself for sounding like an idiot.

  Oliver took another half step back. “Oh, I guess you heard about …” He looked guilty.

  “The engagement,” she filled in for him. “Yes.”

  Their eyes held for an awkward pause. “She actually had to go to Billings for a wedding planning trip with her mother.” He shrugged. “I’m just hanging out with mom and dad tonight. It’s so nice of your parents to have all of us.” When he looked away, she noticed his hand was shaking.

  Not understanding what came over her, only knowing tonight might be the only time she could talk to him without Linda around, she asked, “Why don’t you and your parents come to dinner tonight?”

  Oliver looked confused for a second. Then he held her eyes, and a slow smile filled his face. “Are you sure? On Christmas Eve dinner? Doesn’t your mother just like your family on this night?”

  Shrugging out of Dom’s arm, she moved closer to Oliver’s side. “I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind at all. It would give us all a chance to talk to support your mom.” It felt so natural to offer support and help to Oliver, and she did love his parents. She reached out and took his hand. “You guys need the support of people who care about you.”

  Their eyes met again, and Lacey knew she’d been right when she’d decided to win him back. He still loved her. She could see it. She could feel it.

  “That would be amazing,” he said softly. “Thank you. What time should we come?”

  “Six-thirty.”

  Oliver looked over her shoulder, and she suddenly remembered that she had hired a boyfriend to help her make him jealous who was standing there watching all of this.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She didn’t need a boyfriend. Oliver clearly still loved her. She could feel it when he’d pulled her in for a hug when he’d first seen her. She could feel it, holding his hand right now.

  Oliver let go of her hand. “Thank you.”

  Dom cocked an eyebrow. “Isn’t your brother expecting us, Lacey Bacey? We should probably get going.”

  She grinned to hide her gritted teeth, irked at the stupid nickname. “Right.”

  Dom turned and grabbed her purse, then pulled out some cash and dropped it on their table. His lips were tight. “Let’s go.”

  Lacey ignored the tight look on her fake boyfriend’s face. She turned to Oliver and gave him her best smile. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Oliver nodded.

  Once again, Dom took her hand and pulled her toward the door.

  “Lacey,” Oliver called out, and she paused. “Uh …” He looked between her and Dom. “Listen, sorry. Could we talk tonight? Alone? I have a question for you.” Oliver looked guilty. His eyes moved to Dom. “It won’t take long if I can steal her away for a second after dinner.”

  Dom didn’t react. Actually, Lacey thought maybe he did react a bit, by looking completely unhappy about it. He shrugged.

  “Of course.” Once again, Lacey touched Oliver’s arm. “You probably need to talk about your feelings about your mom, and I am happy to be here for you.” It felt like her heart would pound out of her chest at any moment. He still wanted her! Yes, yes, yes!

  Their eyes met, and Lacey thought of smooth, brown liquid chocolate. Yes, that was how she would describe Oliver’s beautiful eyes. So deep. So pensive. Everything she’d given up.

  Maybe she hadn’t lost it all for good.

  “Okay.” Oliver squeezed her hand. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Okay.” Lacey knew the smile on her face was as wide as the Grand Canyon, maybe even wider. It could split to the center of the earth. The universe!

  Dom’s hand squeezed hers. “Let’s go.” He led her out of the diner.

  “Bye, Oliver!” she called out, still smiling and feeling like she was floating, dancing in clouds as Dom led her to the passenger side of the SUV.

  He opened the door for her and held out his hand. “Would you like me to drive? You’re clearly twitterpated.”

  Normally, she wouldn’t have taken anyone up on the offer. She didn’t like men thinking they were the ones who had to drive, but she was completely rocked after seeing Oliver. “Sure. Thanks.” She pulled the keys out and dropped them into his hand.

  A sigh escaped her lips as she collapsed into the car. “He’s just beautiful, isn’t he?” She knew it was stupid, asking her paid boyfriend if her ex-boyfriend was beautiful, but she didn’t care.

  He held the door and searched her eyes, shaking his head. “Guess this is going to be easier than you thought.”

  “I know,” she said a bit breathlessly. She couldn’t believe it. She’d just run into the love of her life, and clearly, he wanted her back.

  Chapter 8

  The ride to Lacey’s house, about ten miles outside of Snow Valley, was quiet. All Dom could think about was pretty boy Oliver. Yeah, he seemed nice enough, but Dom had the underlying feeling the guy wanted Lacey back already. Had he really asked to talk to her in private in front of her boyfriend?

  If Dom had been her real boyfriend, he may have shot the whole thing down, been a lot more broody about it too. But hey, this was the plan, right? Still, his gut told him this entire thing was off.

  “There’s the house.” Lacey pointed to it from the road.

  Dom turned, heading up the long, winding driveway. He was reminded of what Ellie had said—it’s exactly every Hallmark “home for the holidays” movie you’ve ever seen. It was better, though, because it was real.

  Dom was taken aback at just how big the house was. It looked like a cross between a mansion in the South and a modern-day cabin. The driveway was lined by trees and had a large flagpole at the end. The house had shutters and columns in front and was framed by big pine trees. To say he was intimidated by the size and massive amount of money her family clearly had would be putting it mildly. At least, he would have been if this weren’t all a sham. White and red Christmas lights lit up the whole thing and there was a life-size Santa sleigh in front of the house with a fake Santa and Mrs. Claus. He had to be in a movie at this point.

  “You can park right in the driveway on the side by the guesthouse.” Lacey pointed to a spot.

  She’d been in a happy trance for the entire drive. Wisely, Dom hadn’t tried to chat with her. He parked the car and quickly got out, grabbing both bags from the back.

  Lacey hovered at his shoulder. “You don’t have to do that.”

  He smelled her coconut scent and realized she’d pulled her long hair back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. She looked flushed.

  He shrugged, keeping both bags in hand. “Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t carry the bags?”

  She gave him a sad smile. “The kind that doesn’t exist because I’m getting my old boyfriend back,” she said with a little strut to her step.

  H
e grunted. “Which way?”

  She pointed to the house and walked with him, breaking into some kind of twirl and laughing.

  Unable to stop himself from appreciating her clear grace and beauty, he smiled at her and thought how fun she was at this moment. It was a stark contrast to the tense, type-A worrier he’d met that morning.

  The side door swung open and the sound of a banshee yell assaulted him. Dom saw some other guy picking her up and spinning her into the air.

  Lacey giggled. “Put me down, Mike. Put me down.”

  Mike pulled her into the house, still spinning her, dumped on her on a couch, and playfully tickled her. “No way, big sis. I’m getting you back for all those years you tickled me until I peed!”

  Hilarious giggles rippled out of Lacey.

  Dom watched the spectacle. The guy, a younger version of their father, did a thorough job of tickling her.

  Lacey finally got in a well-placed kick to his chest. “Stop!” she shrieked.

  Mike let out a loud breath. “Whew.” He helped her up from the couch and wrapped her in a warm hug. “Missed you, sis.”

  As Dom took in the interior of the house, he noticed it wasn’t a place that was just big and fancy. It was … what would be the word? Homey. That was it. There was nice leather furniture in the room next to the kitchen with a big floor-to-ceiling window. There were pictures of the family in a perfect triangle formation above the couch. There were quilts on all of the couches. The kitchen table was big and quite worn. The kitchen was the one place you could really see how much money had been spent. Double oven. Commercial-size oven tops and a grill area. White granite countertops. Stainless steel appliances and white cupboards. There was also an assortment of breads and pies on the counter.

  “Already looking at the food, huh?”

  Dom turned to see Lacey’s brother, almost as tall as Dom and with eyes as aqua as hers. He had a teasing look on his face, like he wouldn’t share the joke, but it was pretty dang funny. He put his hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mike.”

  Dom took his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Rhett? Right?”

  “Actually, it’s Dom.” Lacey sauntered over next to them. Her hair was all ratty, and she looked all rumpled.

  Dom thought she looked gorgeous, which seemed strange to him. This woman got prettier and prettier by the minute.

  Mike looked confused, so Dom shrugged, playing along. “My name is Rhett, but I prefer my middle name.” He gestured to Lacey. “But you know how she is, loves that dang movie, so at first, she liked to call me Rhett.”

  Mike didn’t seem shocked by this in the least, letting out a rippling laugh.”Man, Lace, you’re cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Here, I’ll take that bag for ya. Man, she packs everything and the kitchen sink.”

  Dom liked this kid even more. He handed the bag over.

  Lacey gave Mike a firm punch to his shoulder. “Better watch it, bro. I’ll take you down.”

  Mike stopped and flexed. “Go on, Lace, is that all you got?”

  Lacey glared at him. “I’ll hit you hard little, bro. When you’re least expecting it, and believe me. You’ll be in pain,” she declared dramatically. She turned to Dom. “Plus, my boyfriend here could take you down. He’s into MMA too.”

  Dom was amused by her bragging about him, that she would say he was into MMA, which he wasn’t. He figured some of his special ops skills would suffice.

  Mike sized him up. “Hmm, well, we can use the gym sometime.” He winked at Lacey. “I look forward to kicking his butt too.”

  Dom laughed. The kid was funny, thinking he could whoop him.

  “No offense,” Mike said, turning to him and putting up a hand.

  In the space of a couple seconds, Dom thought of thirty ways he could disable this yahoo right now, but he opted for humility. “Maybe you can teach me something.”

  Mike let out a big yell. “Boy, I’ll learn ya up something good!” He started heading up the stairs. “Why don’t you go show your boyfriend,” he said, dragging out the word in exactly the way Dom would expect a younger brother to, “the guesthouse? You know Mom and Dad didn’t expect you to have company, and there’s not another room made up.”

  It was fun to see Lacey acting like a big sister, and it reminded him of how he and Justin had been as kids. It was actually refreshing to see the uptight, type-A Lacey looking at home and relaxed.

  Lacey motioned over her shoulder. “Let’s get you settled in.” She turned back once they were out of the house and whispered, “Sorry about you having to stay here. My parents are old-fashioned.” She shrugged.

  He could appreciate that. His parents had raised him Christian with old-fashioned values. Just because he hadn’t found a reason to believe in God or go to church since they’d passed, it didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate her values. “No problem. It’s easier to be the fake boyfriend out here in the guesthouse.”

  They got to the guesthouse, and she opened the door without a key. “Oh, well, pretty much only you’ll be sleeping here.” She pushed the door wide for him to enter, then turned up the thermostat. “To give you fair warning, I want to tell you my family has us booked for a jammed schedule the next two days.”

  Looking around, he felt like the guesthouse was an extension of the hominess of the big house.

  She pointed to the kitchen. “There are plates, cups, and everything. You shouldn’t really need it, though, because you’ll be eating with us.” She pushed her hair down and undid the ponytail when she caught sight of herself in a large mirror on the wall. “Mike,” she muttered, combing her fingers through her hair, redoing the ponytail.

  Dom watched her, appreciating how graceful she looked even doing this small task.

  “What?” she asked, catching him looking at her in the mirror.

  A bit embarrassed, he turned away, sizing up the place. He saw two doors down the hall. “Does it matter which room I use?”

  She followed. “There’s one with a king bed and bath. I would stay in there, but you can pick.”

  He got to the room, paused, and breathed in deeply. It smelled like …

  “It’s lavender you’re smelling,” Lacey said for him. “She always sprays everything with a lavender spray.” She shook her head, exasperated. “My mom, a hostess through and through.” Turning, she headed out of the room. “Did you see the spread on the counter? She’s probably been cooking for the past two or three days for Christmas dinner. We always have a bunch of family.”

  He trailed after her and draped his coat over a couch next to the door. “Lots of food, that’s for sure.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked quickly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told you. You sleep out here, but you’re going to be in the big house all of the time, buddy. You need to be there by six-thirty. So don’t get too cozy out here.”

  His eyebrows rose. He could tell by the way she teased him that she was relaxing. “Okay.”

  “’Cause you’re the boyfriend—the doting, hand-holding, attentive boyfriend.”

  He thought about how Oliver had asked to talk to her. “That’s right.” He tapped his head. “It looks like you might not need me for much longer, though.” His hand lowered, but he faltered. Saying it out loud dampened his spirits, though he couldn’t say why.

  Lacey looked hopeful. “There was a connection between me and Oliver, wasn’t there?”

  He smiled despite himself; her happiness was infectious. “I think tonight you may be unexpectedly sending your boyfriend packing and planning a wedding with the old one.”

  She giggled and crossed her fingers. “Here’s to hoping.” Then she frowned, worried. “I’m sorry about all of these dramatics. What will you do if Oliver and I get back together? I don’t want you to leave before Christmas.”

  His heart lifted upon hearing that she cared about his feelings even a little bit. He masked it with a shrug. “I’ll be fine.”

  But would he? If Lacey and Oliver
reunited and he had to leave, would he be fine? He hadn’t expected them to get back together so soon. Again, the disappointment he felt caught him off guard.

  To his astonishment, Lacey took his hand. “Don’t worry. Even if we get back together tonight, I’ll pretend over Christmas. That way you can have my whole family to distract you. Believe me, there are lots of distractions when all of my mother’s side, the Snows, get together.”

  Touched by her thinking of him, he gave her hand a little squeeze, realizing he didn’t think of her as an insane pity case any longer. “Thank you.” He needed to get some energy out before dinner. “I’m going for a run. Is that okay?”

  Her eyes widened. “Out there?” She jerked a thumb to the street.

  “Yeah.” He nodded, looking forward to the burn from running in deep snow.

  Throwing up her hands, she shook her head. “You can use the gym in my dance studio if you want. It’s around the side of the house and is always open.”

  “Naw.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure, I’ll see you at six-thirty.” The faint scent of coconut in his nose and the electric charge of her touch in the silence bewitched him as she left.

  Yeah, he definitely needed a run.

  Chapter 9

  Lacey stood in the kitchen next to her mother, wearing the same clothes from earlier. Admittedly, she’d freshened up her makeup. It had thrown her to see Oliver at Big C’s. What had thrown her even more was that he’d held her like that and wanted to talk to her privately. It was perfect. Her life with him would be perfect.

  “You look so grown up and beautiful.” Her mother stared at her as she peeled a cucumber over the trash can. She frowned. “Although I’m not really happy you invited anyone else for Christmas Eve.”

  “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stand the thought of them all alone tonight. I mean, they just got the news …”

  Her mother waved a hand into the air. “True. No, that’s right. It was the right thing to do.”

  Lacey turned to look at her mother, a reflection of herself in the mirror, albeit an older and smaller, pixie-like version. Unable to resist and feeling such gratitude, Lacey hugged her. “Mom, I’ve missed you.”