by Alyssa Dean
As soon as they were out of earshot, Josh turned to Amanda. “Well?” he whispered. “How are you doing? Have you found out anything personal about them yet?”
“Only that Marilla likes cats. Josh, we have to do something about this. These people...”
Josh shook his head. “We can’t do anything about them, Amanda. They’ve always been like this.”
“Well, I haven’t always been like this. Josh, they think you and I are ... are ... romantically involved.”
“Do they?” he asked, and he took another sip of his drink. “I wonder why.”
Amanda narrowed her eyes. “You know very well why they think that!”
Josh made a futile attempt to look philosophical. “I seldom know why they think anything.”
“Well, in this case, I believe it’s obvious. You...”
Josh put a finger over her lips. “Shh. Someone will hear you.”
“I want them to hear me. I...”
“Shh!” Josh said again. He took her hand and led her through the dining room and into the kitchen. “Now, what’s the problem?” he asked as soon as they were alone.
Amanda withdrew her hand and backed into a white kitchen counter. “What do you think the problem is?” she snapped. “The problem is that these people think we are...involved.” Her voice rose. “And they think that because you told them...”
Josh shrugged. “I had to tell them something.” She frowned and he sighed. “Well, what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t very well tell them that you’re my Christmas elf, now could I?”
“There’s a big difference between elf and...and what those people are thinking.”
“Not really.” He put a hand on one shoulder and guided her further into the kitchen. “Your flyer did say that you’d provide everything I need to have a Merry Christmas.”
Amanda was starting to heartily regret that flyer. “Yes, but...”
“Well, right now it looks like I need a girlfriend. Otherwise they’ll force one on me.”
“Then maybe you should find a real one!” Amanda flung.
“What? Between now and five minutes from now?” Josh shook his head. “Not only is that impossible, but I don’t want to do it. Besides, this is your big chance to find out something personal about all these people. Did you see how they reacted out there? They’re all dying to meet you...to talk to you.”
“Yes, but...”
“So you shouldn’t have any problem finding out something personal about them.” He grinned triumphantly.
At that very second Amanda could have cheerfully throttled him. “It’s not as if they just think we’re dating, Josh! They think we’re...we’re serious.”
“So?”
“So, it isn’t true.”
He shrugged. “They don’t need to know that.”
Amanda gaped at him. “Josh Larkland, that is the worst thing I’ve ever heard anyone say. You can’t go around lying to your relatives...especially at Christmas.”
“I didn’t lie! They just jumped to a conclusion, that’s all.”
“A conclusion you did nothing to correct.”
“No, I didn’t,” Josh said. “And I’m not going to, either.” He gestured toward the living room. “You saw what it’s like out there. They’ve got women lined up wall-to-wall to meet me.”
Amanda thought of the three predatory women she’d been introduced to. “Some of them could be very nice,” she said, lying through her teeth.
“Ha!”
“Josh!”
“Oh, come on, Amanda. I don’t have anything to say to the owner of a dress shop, a cat groomer, or someone trying to cast cosmic spells!”
Amanda wrinkled her nose. “They are a little...eccentric I suppose. But that’s still no reason...”
“It’s a very good reason! If I wasn’t here with you, they’d all pounce on me. Then they’d phone, asking when we could get together. Marilla, Charmaine, Mimi, my mother, and God knows who else would call me, asking me when I’m going to see them again. I’d have to think up some excuse, or else spend a lot of time seeing women I’m not the least bit interested in seeing. This way, I don’t have to do that.” He shrugged.
“Yes, but...”
“And as for my relatives, well, it pretty much serves them right! They’re the ones who leapt to the wrong conclusion.”
“They had a very good reason to leap to the wrong conclusion. You—”
Josh held up a hand. “Okay. Maybe I did give them a little nudge. But they were all ready to do it. And it’s not as if we’re hurting anyone. They’re happy! And they all seem to like you.”
They did, too. As a matter of fact, Amanda couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a room where everyone thought she was the most marvelous human being on the face of the earth. “Yes, they’re happy now. But how happy will they be when they find out the truth?”
Josh looked baffled. “How would they find that out? I’m not going to tell them.”
Could he possibly be this dense? “You’ll have to tell them something,” Amanda explained very slowly. “The next time you come to one of these things...”
Josh shrugged that off. “I have no intention of coming to another one of these things anytime in the near future. That’s part of your job, remember? You are going to come up with reasons why I can’t.”
“But...”
“And if they ask, I’ll just say I’m not seeing you anymore. That won’t be a lie.”
“No, it wouldn’t, but...”
Josh sighed and leaned against the kitchen cabinet next to her. “Oh, come on, Amanda, don’t make a big deal out of this. It’s just one evening. All you have to do is exactly what you’re doing. And it’s a perfect opportunity for you to find out personal stuff about all these people.”
It almost made sense, in a weird, illogical sort of way. Almost.
“Besides, what else can you do?” Josh asked. “You’ll never convince those people you aren’t involved with me. They want to believe it.”
“Well, uh...”
“And who knows,” Josh added, “it might be kind of fun.”
“In what way?”
He stroked a finger down her cheek, making her shiver. “Lots of ways.”
Amanda stepped away. “You were a really bad child, weren’t you?”
“The very worst,” he said solemnly.
Mimi’s booming voice could be heard coming from the living room. “They’re in the kitchen, Edwina. And I think they’re kissing!”
“There, see,” said Josh. “You really don’t have any choice, do you?”
“THAT WAS MORE FUN than I’ve had at one of those things in decades,” Josh announced as they climbed into his car a few hours later.
He sprawled back in the seat, one of his arms stretched along the back, his right thigh just touching hers. “As soon as everyone saw you, they pretty much left me alone.” He glanced over at her, grinning. “I should have gotten an elf years ago.” He started the car and pulled out into traffic.
“You should have gotten a girlfriend years ago,” Amanda scolded. “Haven’t you ever introduced a date to your family before?”
Josh considered it, then shook his head. “I don’t think so. At least, not recently.”
“Why not?” She glanced sideways at him. “You do have dates, don’t you?”
“Of course I have dates,” said Josh, sounding a little defensive about it. “But I don’t take them home to meet my family the first time we go out.”
Amanda thought about the way she’d been received. “That’s probably a good idea,” she agreed. “However, after you’ve been together a couple of months, you could do it. Or don’t you date the same person that long?”
“Well, not usually, no.”
“Why not?” Amanda asked, still looking at him.
“I don’t know.” He was starting to sound really defensive now. “I just get busy and...and don’t.” He angled his head so he could see her. “What about you? Do you date
a lot?”
Amanda thought about the last couple of men she’d been involved with. They hadn’t really “dated.” She’d spent more time cleaning Dwight’s apartment than they had going anywhere. She had been out with Kyle quite often—but that was just to a doughnut shop. He’d fed her endless cups of coffee while he’d told her about his problems. “Off and on,” she muttered.
“And do you introduce these ‘on and off dates to your family?”
“I would,” said Amanda. “But my family doesn’t live anywhere around here.”
“Where do they live, then? The North Pole?”
“No,” said Amanda. “My parents live in Yellowknife.”
“Yellowknife? As in the Northwest Territories?” Josh snorted. “That’s close enough to the North Pole for me.”
“Sometimes it does feel like the North Pole,” Amanda admitted. “It’s so far away. I don’t get back there to visit as often as I’d like.” Amanda would love to have family like his around. But her relatives were scattered all over the country. Her parents were up north. Her brother was down east and her sister was in the States. They kept in touch with phone calls but it wasn’t the same as living in the same city. It seemed rather ironic. She’d enjoy being closer to her family, and Josh seemed to wish he didn’t have a. family.
Josh patted her arm. “You can always hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind an elf perched among the toys. And speaking of elves, how did your elf business go tonight? Did you find out a whole lot of personal stuff about people?”
“Not a lot.” Amanda leaned back and closed her eyes. “They all wanted to talk about me. Or you.”
“Me?” Josh sounded alarmed. “What did they say about me?”
“Only that you spend too much time in your office and not enough time with them.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “They’re always saying stuff like that. I don’t know why. I spend lot of time with them.”
“Sure you do,” Amanda said dryly. “That’s why you know so many personal things about them.”
“I found out something,” Josh objected. “I now know that Uncle Frank is an investment counselor.”
“How insightful,” Amanda muttered.
“Hey, you spent a whole evening with them and the only thing you seemed to have found out is that they don’t think I spend enough time with them. That doesn’t sound very personal to me.”
“It’s hard to find out personal things about that many people in one evening,” Amanda retorted. “They’re your relatives. If anyone should be finding out personal things about them it should be you.” She paused. “Besides, I did find out something. Your aunt Mimi collects Halsone’s.”
“Halsone’s? What are those?”
“You can’t have missed them, Josh. They’re all over the house. Those little rabbit ornaments.”
“Oh, those.” He blinked. “Are they personal?”
“If you collect them, they are. Personal ... and expensive.”
“How do you know these things?”
“They’re in all the stores.” She considered it. “I didn’t see the clown one there. That might be a good one to get her.”
“Good,” said Josh. “One down. What about the others?”
“I’ll...give it some thought.” Now that she had a face to connect with names, it should be a little easier.
Josh parked the car in the loading zone in front of her apartment building, and walked her to her door. Amanda took the key out of her pocket and turned to face Josh. “Well, good night. Thanks for taking me. I enjoyed it.”
“So did I,” said Josh.
“I just hope they aren’t going to be too upset when they find out I’m not your girlfriend.”
“But you were,” said Josh. “At least for tonight, anyway.” He put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. “And since you are, it seems to me...”
He was going to kiss her. Amanda realized,it as his head started to descend. She could easily have stopped it. She could have moved away, or pushed him away.
But she didn’t. She stood very still as he touched his lips to hers, lightly, then deeply. A soft, unthreatening kiss, filled with charm and warmth, while one of his fingers brushed down her cheek and his tongue stroked her lips. When he moved away, she was hot and shaky and gasping for breath. “Good night, Amanda,” he said, and then he was gone.
Amanda watched the door close after him. A business relationship, she reminded herself. That’s all this was.
She was going to have to concentrate hard on keeping it that way.
4
“YOU’RE IN A GOOD MOOD this morning,” Mable accused.
She set a stack of technical manuals on Josh’s desk, and studied him with a mixture of suspicion and astonishment. “You haven’t yelled at me once, you even said thank-you, and just now I thought I heard you whistling ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town.’ What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on,” said Josh. He chose one of the manuals from the stack and began flipping through it.
“Oh.” Mable’s suspicious look increased in intensity. “In that case, I can only conclude that your body has been taken over by aliens.”
Josh chuckled. “My body hasn’t been taken over by anything. I’m just in a good mood. After all, it is Christmas. People are supposed to be in a good mood around Christmas.”
“You aren’t,” said Mable. “Christmas brings out the worst in you. Why, just yesterday you were trying to get me to reschedule it...or buy you a ticket to January.”
“Or find me a Christmas elf,” Josh reminded her. “Since you did that, you don’t have to do any of those other things.”
“A Christmas elf?” For a second Mable looked blank. Then she smiled. “Ah, yes. The woman from that executive services company. The one who’s doing the Christmas party for us.”
“Uh-huh,” said Josh. “Along with other things.”
“Other things? What other things?” Her eyes widened. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you talked that poor young woman into doing your Christmas shopping for you?”
“She’s...helping me with it.” Josh saw the look of disapproval on Mable’s face and winced. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Of course there’s something wrong with it! Your mother didn’t ask you to get personal presents for people just so you could slough it off on a stranger!”
Josh felt a pang of guilt, which he immediately suppressed. “I didn’t have any choice. You wouldn’t do it, and I don’t have time.” He bent his head to avoid seeing the censure in Mable’s eyes. “Besides, Amanda isn’t a stranger. She met everybody last night.”
“Last night?”
“That’s right,” said Josh. “I took her to Mimi’s party.”
“You went to Mimi’s party?” Mable’s eyes widened. “I thought you didn’t go to family gatherings of more than four people.”
“I don’t,” said Josh. “But I had to go to that one so Amanda could meet everybody and find out personal stuff about them.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Josh!” Mable exclaimed. She put her hands on her hips and positively glared at him. “That is the tackiest thing I’ve ever heard of. They are your relatives, you know. If anyone is going to find out personal things about them, it should be you!”
Josh winced. “Yeah, well, Amanda mentioned something like that herself.”
“Did she?” said Mable.
“Yeah.” Josh mulled it over, then shoved the small concern aside. “But I’m sure she’ll manage.”
“I think she just might,” said Mable. She smiled. “You know, I think I’m going to like Amanda.”
“Of course you’ll like her. Everyone likes an elf.” Josh looked up. “But don’t go spreading it around that that’s what she is. I don’t want anybody to know that I’ve got an elf.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Mable muttered. “That’s one secret that’s safe with me.” She walked out, shaking her head.
“JUST A MINUTE,” said Brandy. “I’ll see if she’s in.” She put a hand over the receiver and raised an eyebrow in Amanda’s direction. “It’s someone named Charmaine,” she announced in a stage whisper. Amanda shook her head. Brandy sighed and put the receiver to her ear again. “I’m sorry, Charmaine, she can’t come to phone right now. Yes...yes, I’ll tell her you called.” She hung up the phone and turned around. “That was Charmaine,” she said unnecessarily. “Let me guess. She’s related to Josh Larkland.”
“Uh-huh,” said Amanda.
“I figured as much.” Brandy dropped into a kitchen chair. “At least it wasn’t Harvy Denton again. He’s called three times this morning to apologize. I’m starting to think he really is sorry.”
“Maybe he is,” said Amanda. “He did send you flowers. And didn’t he say he got the wrong impression yesterday?”
“Uh-huh. He said he thought I was gorgeous and when I sat down and asked him how I could make his Christmas merrier, he thought I was making a pass at him.”
Amanda pictured the sultry-looking Brandy saying those words. “It is possible that...”
“Maybe it is,” Brandy interrupted. “But that still doesn’t make it right. He should have asked before he lunged.” She folded her arms. “I told him that, too.”
“Oh? And what did he say?”
“He agreed with me.” Brandy’s lips twitched into a smile. “But he explained it by saying that he hadn’t had much experience dating since his divorce and that he thought that might be the way it was done these days. Can you imagine?”
Amanda was starting to feel a little sorry for Harvy Denton. “Well,” she said. “I suppose it is possible....”
“I suppose,” said Brandy. “Now he wants me to come back to the office and give him another chance. I’ve told him no three times, but he just isn’t getting the message.”
“Maybe you should give him another chance,” Amanda said tentatively. “Maybe he is a nice guy. If you want, we could go together and...”