“How will me coming for Christmas help?”
“It’ll show both Grace and Dax that I won’t be alone, and they can stop worrying about me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s the fastest solution I have to help mend Grace’s marriage.”
“I see. Let me get this straight. You want me to come and spend the next two days with you and pretend we’re becoming a couple.”
“Exactly. I would appreciate it. I would offer to pay you, but I’m afraid you would hang up on me.”
T.A. pulled the blanket tighter around her.
“Normally I would, but this is more than me having to go out of my way to get a jacket. I have to fly there, miss spending Christmas morning with Sex Piston and my friends. It’s going to require a big sacrifice.” T.A. stared down at her chipped nails. The first priority she was going to have to take care of was fix them, then pack.
His voice went cool. “How much do you want me to wire to you? Or should I give it you when you get here?”
She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I don’t want money, Dalton. I want you.” She was done being subtle. She was going to lay her cards on the table.
“I told you that I’m not ready to move on. This is the reason I wanted you to come, so that you could be a smokescreen—”
“Dalton, honey,” she mocked. “I get that, and I really don’t mind being a smokescreen. I just want a little something in return.”
“Like what?”
“A girl gets lonesome on snowy nights. It’s no fun to dress up and go out when your ass is freezing off and all you want to do is stay home and snuggle with a hottie. I’ll play the devoted girlfriend anytime you need me, and you can keep me toasty warm when it snows here.”
“And how am I supposed to do that when you live in Kentucky and I haven’t decided where I want to live?”
“That’s where your fancy airplane will come in handy. I’ll keep an eye on the weather forecasts and give you plenty of time to get here before the snow hits. I’ll even have a cup of cocoa waiting.”
“So, you’re offering to play my girlfriend anytime I need you?”
“Absolutely, so long as you’re here when I need you.”
She heard a strangled sound coming over the line. “Are we talking a platonic exchange of favors?”
T.A. would have laughed if she weren’t so miffed about the hesitation that was coming through the phone.
“Of course,” she lied. She had gotten a rise out of men less interested in sex than Dalton.
“Then I have a ticket waiting for you at the Lexington airport. It’ll be an early flight, so you’ll have to leave Jamestown at around three a.m. I’ve already checked with Shade; he’ll drive you to the airport. I don’t want you out in the middle of the night.”
“I should be insulted that you already asked Shade. Is it bad of me that I don’t care?”
“No, it shows you’re adventurous. I’ll text all the ticket information you’ll need.”
“All right. Night, Dalton.”
“Good night, T.A., and thanks.”
She ate her cold soup before going to the bathroom and coming back with her nail kit. Looking over the array of colors, she picked the one that looked the most Christmassy. Singing “Jingle Bells,” T.A. got started on her nails while she called Sex Piston, putting it on speaker phone.
“What?” Sex Piston answered with a groggy tone in her voice.
“You’re already in bed?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Guess who invited me to fly to spend Christmas with him?”
“Santa Claus?”
“Dalton.”
“You’re shitting me.”
T.A. grinned when Sex Piston started to sound more alert.
“Shade’s even coming to give me a ride to the airport because he doesn’t want me driving there alone,” she told her, feeling all soft and warm as she repeated Dalton’s words.
“Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m telling you the truth. He’s missing me, so he called and asked me to come.” Okay, she might have lied a little bit at that one, but he had asked her not to tell Sex Piston the truth. She was only doing what he’d asked. She was only embellishing it a tad bit for dramatic purposes, so all her friends could eat their hearts out while she was chowing down on Grace’s Christmas dinner. She really should talk to Dalton about becoming an actress. Hell, if she could fool Sex Piston, she could fool anyone.
“Stud, wake up. Pinch me. I think I’m dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming. He really called and asked me to come to share Christmas with him and his family. Isn’t that so cool?” she squealed into the phone.
“T.A., are you sure it was Dalton and not a pervert trying to get you out of your apartment? There are some real sickos out there.”
“Did you miss the part of Shade is driving me?”