by Taylor Hart
He laughed. “If you were my girlfriend, I would touch your hair like this every day because it’s so beautiful.” His voice was soft.
It was like they were lost in their own world, where nothing existed, just them. Unable to decide if this was right or wrong, she decided to let herself go for this moment in time and allow herself to just feel.
“You asked how it felt to see the moon in the sky.” He hummed in thought. “When I’m in the sky, I feel free. Like the ride could go on and on. To oblivion. I’m just floating. Especially since there’s no communication on the flights I take. It’s quiet. Calm. Nothing else matters.”
She was going to point out it was calm until he got shot down, but opted not to. She loved the feel of his hand in her hair and didn’t want to break the moment. “Kind of like now,” she whispered. “When the snow is falling outside and you’re in a room with a fireplace, and there’s just—”
“Endless soft hair.”
This made her giggle.
“What?” he asked, sounding mock offended.
“Nothing. It’s just … you sound like you could write a sonnet to my hair or something.”
His warm hand grasped hers, and energy pulsed between them. “I could.”
This was getting too real too fast. Hesitantly, she turned on her side, keeping her hand in his. She had to tell him this couldn’t happen between them. She didn’t really know this man, who did something as part of his everyday job she couldn’t even fathom.
She met his eyes and found herself drifting, floating in that plane with him. “I know what I want.” Lacey felt her insides trembling.
“What?” Dom whispered.
“I want to fire you as my paid boyfriend.” She leaned in and kissed him.
Chapter 16
When Dom felt her lips against his, it was like he was a soldier lost at sea who had washed up on shore and found a beautiful, mythical mermaid. Just like the mermaid could never walk on land, he shouldn’t be kissing the woman he’d agreed to be a paid date for. But none of that mattered. No.
It was almost like before his parents had died. Before everyone had left him. Before he’d been shot down. Right now, it was like all those things could somehow be erased. All he had to focus on was her softness, gentleness. On the goodness in the world.
Images of her dancing in the studio last night filled his mind. She’d looked fierce and like a warrior on the dance floor with that concentration. Like he felt every day of his life.
He felt different beside her, like he might not have to be alone any longer. This whole vacation—being here in Snow Valley, having Christmas dinner with her family, kissing her, smelling the pumpkin bread smell on her clothes mixed with turkey—it all made him think maybe he could let a bit of home back into his life.
Her hands were on his face, then behind his neck, pulling his lips to hers. He couldn’t help but deepen the kiss, and she responded, moving even closer.
After a couple of minutes of thoroughly enjoying the kiss, his mind came back to his body. He stopped, pulling back his lips, but still holding her. This wasn’t real. No matter what she said, he had come as the paid boyfriend. The Christmas boyfriend. When they left Snow Valley, he wasn’t her boyfriend. “Stop.”
Her soft green eyes flashed open.
Dom extracted himself from her embrace, setting her body on the bed as he stood. Her hair was messed up. Her pale skin looked extra bright with the glow of the moonlight through the windows. There was a stunned expression on her face.
Everything had happened so fast, just like in his jet at mach speed. “You’re …” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m being paid to do this.” How could this have happened?
Putting her hand to her lips, she shook her head. “I know. I don’t know what we’re doing.” Shoving the blanket to the side, she hopped off the bed and ran out of the guesthouse.
Dom sucked in a breath and stood in the room, which now felt stifling. His mind whirled with confusion.
When had he crossed the line of just being a paid boyfriend? How had he forgotten this wasn’t real? None of it was. What did she mean, she wanted to fire him?
Strike that. It wasn’t real for him, the Air Force pilot. Not for the guy who’d lost his parents two years ago on this day.
She had been a distraction for him. He thought of her body pressing against his, of the way they’d talked and shared secrets that no one else had ever heard.
Feeling erratic, he quickly changed into his running clothes.
Chapter 17
The next morning, Lacey stood in the high school gym, manning a present-wrapping station. She’d gotten up at six and had gone come with her brother. Dom knew what time they were going, but she didn’t want to wake him up.
Truthfully, her stomach had hurt all night, and she didn’t know if it was from all the Christmas food she’d pumped into her system or all the jumbled feelings for Dom. Being thrown out of his room after initiating that kiss had been a major wake-up call in their fake relationship. She felt humiliated.
“Where’s the boyfriend today?” Without warning, Oliver was next to her. He picked up a toy and began wrapping it.
Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t want to see Oliver. The funny thing was, she didn’t feel confused any longer. Now she knew she didn’t want to be with him. She didn’t want to steal him back; he repulsed her. “He slept in.” She opted for a half-truth, even if she didn’t know if that was the truth or not.
Oliver stopped wrapping and turned to her. “Are you guys okay?”
She didn’t know how to answer. A bit of excitement flickered in Oliver’s eyes, filling her with disgust. She was so tired of the game.
A gentle kiss touched her cheek, and she felt the soft scratch of a man’s facial hair. “Sorry I’m late.” At her side, Dom held up a coffee. “Brought your favorite.”
Just having him next to her made her feel excited and simultaneously humiliated. What had she been thinking last night? She took the hot drink. “Thanks.”
He winked at her. “Hey, Oliver,” Dom said dismissively, putting his coffee on the table and clapping his hands together. “Where do you want me to start?” he asked her.
Gratitude washed over her. He was still willing to do this for her even though things had gotten messy. “Ya know…” She turned to Oliver, then back to Dom. “Dom and I are going to help unload some more toys from the truck outside.”
Oliver gave her a hard look.
Turning, she found Dom reaching a hand back to her. She took it, sipping the coffee in her other hand and walking toward a group of trucks and men hauling in toys. Her father, Mike, and all her cousins and uncles were helping with the toys. The gym was filled with people organizing the toys by age and gender before taking them to different wrapping stations.
“This is quite the project.” Dom kept her hand, but turned to her when they reached the trucks.
A happy feeling washed over her. “Yeah, it is.”
Out of the blue, her mother was at her other side, putting an arm around her. “Lacey, how do you think your father is running the project without you?”
Lacey shrugged and thought about the fact if she did move back to Snow Valley, she could help him with this. “He’s doing great.”
Her mother turned to Dom. “Lacey was a lot more organized than him.”
“Noooo,” he said, turning and meeting her eyes for real this time. “I can’t see her being more organized.”
Her mother laughed and gently patted Dom’s shoulder before she continued. “When she was twelve years old, after her father took her to that homeless shelter, she was determined to make sure those kids had what they needed for the rest of the year.” Her mother smiled at her, one of those proud smiles that made Lacey happy and so grateful she was alive. “She was the boss every year after that. Remember when you had binders for everyone and you wanted them to stick to the plans inside?”
Lacey giggled.
Dom gave her hand a squee
ze. “Imagine that, little Lacey with binders.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
Once they’d all shared a laugh, her mother pulled away, lifting a binder of her own. “When Lacey went to college, I took over the project. It’s not as easy as it looks.” She reached up and gave Lacey’s cheek a little pinch. “Now get back to work, toy wrappers,” she said in a strict voice.
Lacey gave her a mock salute and turned back to the table. “Yes, ma’am.”
As they walked back, Dom put his arm around her shoulder nonchalantly. “Look at that. Little Lacey was type A too.”
It felt so comfortable with Dom. So easy. It didn’t seem like he was embarrassed at all about last night. “Yeah,” she said softly.
Turning to her, he stopped. “Are you okay?”
Staring into his eyes, all she saw was concern and sincerity. The attraction she’d had for him was stronger than ever. It was stupid, she reminded herself. Not real. “I’m sorry about before.”
Putting up a hand, he held a finger to her lips. “Shh. It—” He turned away and dropped his arm. “I’m not sorry about it.” Taking her hand, he started back to the wrapping table.
Her heart started pounding again. What did that mean?
For pretty much the entire morning and then up until before dinner, they worked. Wrapping. Putting toys in boxes. Organizing everything. Reloading the trucks. It made Lacey happy to know these kids would have presents and other necessary things.
After the last truck pulled away and headed for a storage unit in Billings, she sat with her mother. Lacey finished checking boxes of toys and felt satisfied her mother had it all under control.
“Dom’s nice.” Her mother sat on one of the gym bleachers next to her, leaning back.
Lacey reached out and grabbed her father’s coat to put it behind her mother.
“Honestly, I thought somehow …” Her mother’s tone was wistful.
“That I’d end up with Oliver?” Lacey asked dryly. He had left a couple hours ago with Linda hanging all over him. Lacey didn’t know how to feel about that.
“No,” her mother said quickly.
A bit startled by her mother’s response, she turned to her and shut the binder. “What do you mean, no?”
Her mother shrugged. “Not Oliver.”
“But you always said you couldn’t wait until I was settled down, living close, teaching dance, and having babies in Snow Valley.”
Her mother reached out and put a gentle hand on Lacey’s face. “Sweetie, that doesn’t mean with Oliver. I was just thinking someday.” She looked over at Dom, who was helping load the last of the boxes with Mike and her father. “Why couldn’t it be with Dom?”
She barked out a nervous laugh. “No.” How did she tell her mom that Dom was … that she’d paid him to be her fake Christmas boyfriend because she was too much of a loser to have a boyfriend and she was tired of them bugging her?
Casting a glance at Lacey, her mother leaned forward, then glanced back at the guys. “Ya know, it’s funny, but when I first met Dom, he was really nothing like the Rhett you’d described all those months.”
Her mouth went dry. “What do you mean?”
Her mother squinted and gave her a suspect look. “I had imagined someone … a bit more nerdy, to tell you the truth. All business.” She let out a soft laugh and sighed. “That man right there? No, he’s a bruiser. Reminds me a bit of your father. Tough, both physically and mentally. Kind and compassionate, though. I always think that’s in the eyes and in the way a man treats a woman.” She nudged her. “He’s careful with you.”
“Mom, are you crushing on my boyfriend?”
Her mother snickered. “No, sweetheart, I was actually looking at your father just now.”
Lacey saw her mother blushing, and warmth filled her.
Her mother looked at her. “Dom seems to be cut from the same cloth. I can see why you like him.”
All at once, Lacey wanted to come clean and tell her mother the truth. Wanted to spill her guts and tell her how she’d come home thinking she could steal Oliver back and only realized yesterday she didn’t want Oliver. She realized what Dom had said earlier, about her being in love with the town, had been exactly right. “Mom?”
Her mother gently touched her face, tears in her eyes. “Hold up, baby. I also wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. For living your dream.”
“Mom.” Lacey’s heart raced.
“Yeah?”
“My dance company offered me a spot in New York when I graduate.”
“What?” Her mother threw her hands up, then grabbed her, pulling her into a hug.
Lacey held her, feeling so happy and relieved and grateful.
Her mother pulled back. “Do you know how proud I am that you’ll be doing what you always said you would? You amaze me.”
Happiness surged through her. “Really?”
“I had a feeling yesterday I needed to tell you that. I want you home, but not until after you live your dream. I believe in you.”
Lacey couldn’t explain what those words meant to her. They were a soothing balm to all the doubts she’d been having. She hugged her mother again. “Love you, Mom.” Putting the binder on the bleacher next to her mother, she gave her a quick kiss. “I want to take Dom for a snowmobile ride, so don’t expect us for dinner.”
“Okay, have fun!” her mother called out.
“I’ll see you tonight. Love you, Mom!” she hollered back.
Rushing to Dom’s side, Lacey grinned at him. “Hey, want to go for a snowmobile ride?”
Her father let out a startled laugh. “I guess you’re done, Dom. The lady has a plan.”
Lacey turned and kissed her father on the cheek. “Love you, Dad.”
Pulling her into him, he held her close and hugged her tight. “Love you too, baby. This is always a good day.”
She blinked and pulled back. “It is a good day.”
“Keep this boy around.” Her father held out his fist and bumped Dom’s knuckles. “He doesn’t stop until the job is done. I like that in a man.”
Nodding to her father, she only just now realized that Oliver had always stopped before the toy drive was over. It was just one more thing she hadn’t seen before.
Dom gave her a nod. “Okay, ready.” He grabbed his coat and they left together, Dom taking her hand as they walked out.
When they got home, Lacey gestured to the big house. “Come on in, and let’s outfit you with snowmobile clothes.” They had only spoken about the toy drive or the different people he’d met. They hadn’t spoken about what had happened last night or what she felt might be happening now.
They changed quickly, Dom using all her brother’s gear. Going to the side of the house, Dom seemed like an expert as he helped her fire up the snowmobile. Looking at the expectation on his face, she realized this would be so fun for him. Especially with his “need for speed.” “Want to drive?”
Letting out a chuckle, he said, “You know the answer to that.” He got on first, and she climbed up behind him, gripping his waist and yelling over the engine.
“Follow the path next to the dance studio. It will take us to the top of the mountain.”
He took off slowly at first, but as they passed the dance studio, she could almost sense his need to go faster.
“Gun it!” she yelled.
“Whoa!” He pressed on the gas, and she tightened her grip around his waist. It felt so good, riding with Dom. “Oh yeah!” Dom yelled out.
She couldn’t suppress the huge grin on her face. She held on to his waist and rested her head on his back. The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains, and there was orange and pink and blue in the sky. As they cruised farther and farther, she looked back at the trail the snowmobile left behind them. She thought about how she felt different with Dom, maybe even more like herself.
It was hard to explain, but he knew the real her. The crazy her. The type-A binder girl and the vulnerable girl and the family-f
un girl. The past two days had been like a hundred dates all rolled into one.
They reached the top, and Dom stopped next to the edge. All she could see was untouched snow on the mountains.
Dom killed the engine and pulled off his helmet. “It’s breathtaking.”
She pulled off her helmet too. “I know.” What could she say to him to explain the sudden overwhelming need to share this with him? “I just wanted you to see my sky.” The admission felt intimate, so she hurried to clarify. “You talk about being up in the plane where it’s calm and it feels like it can go on forever. That’s what I feel when I look at this.”
He surveyed the view. “I wish I could share my view sometime.” With a slow breath, he said, “Thank you for this.”
There was so much she wanted to tell him. So much she wanted to explain. It still felt sticky in her mind. It seemed silly to profess how much she liked him when only yesterday she’d kissed her ex-boyfriend.
Chapter 18
Dom wished he’d never taken on this role of fake boyfriend, because he was pretty sure his heart wouldn’t recover after being with her. Atop her favorite mountain with a stunning view. Sharing a place like this with her.
It couldn’t be real, could it? At the toy drive, she’d seemed completely uninterested in Oliver and completely attentive to him. Not wanting to assume anything, and feeling a bit confused himself, he stared at the view and tried not to think about how he wished he could turn and kiss her right now. How he wished he could make plans to get to know her better. To visit her on leave again. To text her and call her.
But …
A thought dawned on him: how would they ever explain he was a pilot? That he wasn’t a business student? That he’d only known her for a couple of hours before he’d met her family?
It upset him, the honorable part of him, to think of the looks on her parents’ faces, not to mention Mike. He’d lied to them.