“So that puts us at just over two months.”
I spin the chair in his direction to find him on his back, head hanging off the edge of the bed eyes on me. The childish pose is oddly endearing.
“Okay, Preston, tell me everything a girlfriend of a couple months should know about you.” I listen as he goes over all the surface stuff. Where he grew up, what he’s majoring in, his football position, and his best friend. He talks for a solid thirty minutes before he flips the tables. My turn. I rattle off all the same information about me, veering off on a bit of a tangent when he brings up books, but he shouldn’t expect any less from a girl he nicknamed stacks.
“Wow, who knew you could get to know someone so thoroughly in such a short time,” he jokes. “But, I want to know one more thing.”
I take a deep breath, worried about what might come out of his mouth. “Fine, shoot.”
“What was all of that about with Robby Boy earlier?” he asks.
I exhale an irritated sigh. I guess talking exes is pertinent, even with a fake boyfriend. “We dated in high school. He was my best friend before he was my boyfriend, so when high school was over, and we were headed in two different directions for college we decided to call it quits, relationship-wise. Everything was fine. We still talked all the time and hung out on breaks when we were both back here. But then he came home with a girlfriend last year, and we had a huge fight. I hadn’t talked to him in months, until this afternoon. I just wasn’t ready for it.”
“He’s still in love with you, you know?”
I pause at that, thinking about what Robert had said earlier. He missed me, but did he miss my friendship or did he want to get back together? We never truly shifted back to being just friends. Friends with benefits would have been more accurate but that made what we had sound cheap. I always figured once college was over, we’d check in, and see where we were both headed. Maybe revisit a relationship. Those dreams came crashing down the moment they walked into the café together, holding hands and whispering inside jokes.
“Maybe. All I know is he broke my heart and I’m not ready to forgive him. So, it doesn’t really matter.”
“Anyway,” I say, changing the subject, “my brother is insisting you move to his office for the duration of our stay.” I jump up, pulling the handle of his suitcase down the hall, back down the stairs making sure it thuds loudly against each step, and out to the garage, Preston following behind. Damion’s office is on the other side of the garage, a small addition he added when Natalie split the kids into their own rooms.
“Wow, he really doesn’t want me anywhere near you. But these are some nice digs for a garage office. What’s your brother do?” Preston asks.
“He co-owns a garage with our Uncle Jax, who’s a silent partner now, so Damion deals with the cars and the customers. Natalie runs the office and keeps the books,” I tell him.
“Damn, must be nice to own your own business at his age.”
“They deserve it.” I think back to those early days. It wasn’t easy for them to get through having a baby so young, especially with how Nat’s family was at first. “You want to unpack or you ready for round two with the fam?”
I’m settling into this new scheme with Preston. The stranger I’d arrived with was quickly sliding into friendship territory. I didn’t mind one bit; I had a sneaking suspicion there was more to him than I’d originally pegged him for.
“Let’s see what they’ve got.” He smirks before grabbing my hand and heading back for the house.
ChapterFour
“What’s on the agenda for today?” Preston steps into the kitchen and leans against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. The over-the-top Christmas sweater he’s wearing is on full display. I sputter into my cinnamon-topped coffee. My boisterous laugh filling the kitchen.
“What the hell are you wearing?” He reaches up and squeezes the reindeer’s nose. A red-light flashes between his fingers. This just keeps getting better and better. “I’m assuming this is the type of Christmas personYOUare?”
“Who doesn’t like Christmas?” He winks.
“Hey guys, morning,” Natalie pipes up as she makes her way to the fridge, Charlie hanging on her hip.
Returning her greeting, Preston makes his way over to where I’m flipping through the local newspaper. I’m shocked our town even still does a print edition, let alone that Nat and Damion still subscribe. The important thing is, it has a calendar of all of the town’s holiday events, and I’ve already pinpointed everything I plan on making him suffer through. Or at least that’s what I thought until he walked into the kitchen dressed like he was ready to go meet Santa at the North Pole. Who knew I’d have the perfect Christmas companion in Preston?
“So, I don’t know what all you guys have planned this visit, but the kids have a Christmas pageant on Wednesday.” Nat drops Charlie into the highchair next to me, sprinkling the tray with cereal. “I know Mav would love it if you were there, Clara.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You said kids? Charlie’s in it too?” I tickle Charlie’s round belly. The delighted laugh fills the air. I missed that sound. “Isn’t she a little young?”
“The director thought she’d make an adorable sheep. And honestly, wait until you see her in her costume. So, freaking cute.” Charlie baas her agreement.
“Anyway, I was hoping you guys could run a couple errands for me today. I have to drop the kids off at a playdate and head into the shop to finish up some paperwork. Fingers crossed I can get it all done and we can take a few days off to enjoy the holiday this year.”
“Of course. Just make me a list and we can get it done. I needed to go into town and do some last-minute shopping anyway.”
“Oh my god, thank you! I’ll text it to you.” Her eyes shoot over to the clock on the oven. “Crap we’re late. Lock up when you leave. Love you.” A tiny, voiced crap, crap, crap mutes as the front door shuts.
The house falls quiet. A rustling sound pulls my attention from the front door. Preston flips through my discarded newspaper, closely examining the Christmas events calendar I was scanning earlier.