Chapter 13 #2
“Touché.” He toasted me with his coffee mug. “Should that be our first get-to-know-you question, then? How many failed relationships we’ve had?”
My donut shape-shifted into a rock in my stomach. “Um, what about favorite colors instead?” It was hard enough saving face in front of Nick with our current circumstances. No way did I want him to know how pitifully few relationships I’d had.
“Blue.” He shrugged. “Or green.”
“I like those colors too. And purple, but I obviously clash with it.” I held up a lock of my hair. “Also, pink is nice.”
“You asked me my favorite color and don’t have your own?” Nick shook his head with a disapproving tsk as he set his mug down. “Favorite food?”
“Pizza.”
“Wrong.” He grimaced. “Tacos.”
“Wrong as in I don’t know my own favorite? Or wrong as in the only correct answer is tacos?” I frowned.
“Both.”
I tossed a donut at him and it ricocheted off his chest, leaving a trail of powder against the dark blue flannel.
“That wasn’t very loving, dear. ” Nick grinned as he brushed at the mark. But his fingers were coated in the same powder, so it only made it worse.
I grabbed a dish towel from the hook over the sink. “And that was such a guy thing to do, honey. ” I scrubbed at the offending spot before realizing how easily—and naturally—I’d invaded his personal space.
And how firm his chest felt under his shirt.
And how shaky my knees had suddenly become.
I stepped back and handed over the towel. “Maybe you should just wear it as a bib.”
“Or maybe my girlfriend shouldn’t start food fights.” Nick wiped his shirt.
Girlfriend. So weird. Good thing we were getting practice now, before Ryan came downstairs and the show started. I needed to get used to it. Because it was easy to notice that Nick was attractive and appreciate bantering with him when I wasn’t trying to choke him out with Christmas.
It was an entirely different thing to develop an actual crush on my fake boyfriend. I better be on guard, just in case.
Because, good grief, the man smelled good.
I cleared my throat. “Favorite app on your phone?”
“Candy Crush. Don’t judge me.” He hung the dish towel back over the sink. “Favorite childhood board game?”
That was easy. “Monopoly.”
Nick grinned. “Let me guess—you cheated.”
I bristled. “Kat deserved it, always scooping up Park Place.”
“You have grudge issues, don’t you?” He crossed his arms over his chest, now sans sugar.
“Only when someone betrays me.” I lifted my chin. “Isn’t that normal?”
“I’ll be real honest. I haven’t seen a lot of normal yet on this trip.” Nick chuckled. “But I haven’t been bored, that’s for sure.”
I offered a mock salute. “If you get bored, just let me know. I’ll find a fake reindeer somewhere to hide in the shower.”
“Great. New fear unlocked.” Nick winced. “I’ll be checking behind the curtain every night.”
“Serves you right.”
“Does that mean you’re still mad at me?” His voice softened a little.
Oh. Bantering was way more fun than being vulnerable.
I stalled, reaching up to fiddle with my hair, which apparently had decided in the last ten minutes to stop behaving itself.
How many times was I going to have to humiliate myself and allude to—or flat-out admit—I’d been disappointed that Nick wasn’t into me? A girl had her limits.
I pursed my lips. “Not mad.”
“But still grudge-holding?” He shot me a look with big brown puppy dog eyes.
It wasn’t fair he was that cute. “Just be glad we’re on the same team now.”
“Oh, I am. Trust me.” Before I could decipher his expression, he held out the bag of donuts. “Last one.”
“You’re a gentleman.” I pulled it from the bag, eager to change the subject. “So, does getting to know each other mean you’re going to tell me why a snow globe rendered you catatonic?”
He slowly set the empty sack down. “I was not catatonic.”
“Nick.” I tilted my head in the most condescending way I could muster. “You were in the fetal position.”
“I most certainly remained upright.”
I pointed with my donut, sending powdered sugar flying. “Okay, fine, but you wanted to be.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. “That’s closer to accurate.”
“So?” I popped the donut in my mouth—whole—and raised my eyebrows as I chewed.
He shook his head. “Not right now. Not yet.”
Apparently we hadn’t reached that level of trust in our fake relationship yet. “Fair enough.” I hopped up on the edge of the counter, putting me closer to his height. A fresh burst of snowy pine trees drifted toward me.
Nick looked pained as he leaned next to the sink. He squinted, as if debating something within himself. “The snow globe was partly bad timing—my dad had just texted me.”
He was opening up. I tried to remain nonchalant as I swallowed the donut. “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
Was that it? There weren’t any more donuts to pretend to be focused on, so I folded my hands in my lap and waited.
“He was basically guilt-tripping me for not seeing them this year. Said it was important to my mom for me to be there.”
Aw. “Well, that’s kind of nice—”
“Said she needed me for the company Christmas card.”
“ Oh. ” I waited again, this time not sure what to say. “That’s…”
“I mean, it shouldn’t have surprised me.” Nick laughed a little, the sound hollow. “Remember when I said my mom never kept my Christmas projects from school? And always decorated on theme and rejected gifts that didn’t fit her current trend?”
I nodded.
“All of that is because work comes first, always first, with them. Build the brand, and whatnot.”
“But you still went into marketing?” I tilted my head.
“Trying to make them proud, I think.” Nick shrugged. “I got the college degree before realizing that wasn’t going to happen, and then needed a job until I could figure out what I really wanted to do.”
I nodded. “And you got stuck?”
“Until lately.” His brow furrowed. “Maybe.”
“I can relate, a little. I know I gripe about getting downsized, but everyone knows I wasn’t happy at my job. Too much Christmas year-round.” I shuddered exaggeratedly.
“Ironic.” Nick’s eyes danced, teasing, his dimple on full display. And for the first time, I realized the danger Operation: Jack & Sally could bring to the front door of my heart. Was this going to backfire, like Piper implied?
“So what are you going to do next?” Nick asked.
“Haven’t gotten that far yet.” I drummed my heels against the cabinet. “Maybe Santa will put a new career in my stocking.”
“You should ask him when we take the kids to the mall.” Nick smirked.
“I’ll do that. But first…” I casually bumped his shoulder with mine. “Are you ready for today?”
“What’s today?” Nick rinsed his hands in the sink, sending powdered sugar down the drain. “Our big announcement?”
“That too. But I meant horseback riding.”
Nick paled, his hands still dripping over the sink. “On real horses?”
“Can’t ride fake ones.” I frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of—”
“Yeehaw!” Axel burst into the kitchen on a stick horse he must have snagged from Mom’s old toy closet. So, apparently you could ride fake ones. “Just heard the news.”
Chloe was close behind him, fussing with her high ponytail. “I told him we aren’t leaving for, like, two hours but he insisted on getting ready early.”
“Only two hours?” Nick’s face washed paler as he grabbed the towel again.
I reached for his other hand, which had gone slightly clammy. “You okay?”
“I love horses.” His voice sounded like he’d sucked helium.
“Clearly.” I squeezed his hand. “Also, breathing helps.”
He sucked in a breath. “No, I really do like horses.”
Uh huh. “Like…on a poster?”
He glared at me. “More like from on the ground.”
Ah. Apparently today would be interesting in multiple ways.
Olivia strode in next and headed straight for the coffeepot, flanked by Kat, who somehow managed to both frown and yawn simultaneously. She scowled at Axel. “Some of us were trying to get beauty sleep.”
“Aww.” Chloe patronizingly patted Kat’s cheek. “It’s going to take more than one morning for that, babe.”
Kat jerked away from her touch and glared. Olivia snickered.
Axel galloped his horse up to Nick, who had regained a little color—more manila folder than ghost. “Man, I need a slick Western shirt like that for today. I only brought T-shirts.”
Nick looked down at his flannel and back up, brow furrowed. “Western?”
“Yeah. Buttons, a collar, and a pocket.” Axel shook his head in awe. “Super dope retro fit.”
“You can probably borrow Dad’s gardening hat, babe.” Chloe opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle of orange juice from the door. “It’s almost like a cowboy hat.”
Axel’s face lit. “That’d be so rad.”
“Hey!” Kat barked as she picked up the empty donut bag on the counter. “Who feasted without me?” Her stomach growled, loud enough to be heard over the clatter of Axel’s next gallop around the table.
“Um…” I glanced over at Nick, who still hadn’t seemed to fully recover from his brush with—well, whatever the word was for a horseback riding phobia. “Several of us.”
Ryan and Lydia shuffled into the kitchen next, wearing matching robes and saving me from my sister’s wrath.
“Morning.” Ryan stretched. “Any coffee left?”
“Barely.” Kat scowled. “But no donuts.”
“Hey.” I tapped Nick’s arm. His wide-eyed gaze locked on me, as if surprised I was still here. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “This is probably our chance for the announcement.”
“Oh, right.” He shook his head a little. “Whatever you want.”
Was he sweating? Sympathy welled. “You don’t have to ride, you know.”
“I don’t?” Hope practically dripped off his face. He cleared his throat and straightened a little. “I mean, I will, if I need to.”
Uh - huh. I shook my head. “We can just hang out. Take pictures.”
“From the ground.”
I nodded. “From the ground.” Apparently, the hot, flannel-wearing, Christmas-hating Jack had an Achilles. I couldn’t wait to text Piper.
“There’s another bag of donuts right here.” Always a helper, Lydia emerged from the pantry with a white and blue package. “Grace knew to hide one from Janie and Mason.”
“Smart.” Olivia slurped her coffee. “I need to start doing that at home. Though Paul would totally find them first anyway.”
Kat ripped open the bag like a raccoon, using her teeth and her nails.
“Mom and Dad up yet?” Lydia poured Ryan a cup of coffee.
Olivia shook her head. “I heard Dad snoring when I passed their room.”
The kitchen fell into a moment of rare silence, as Kat stuffed her face and Ryan savored his coffee. Even Axel’s chaotic stick-horse ride ceased as he and Chloe poured tall glasses of juice.
This was our chance.
I hopped down from the counter and stood next to Nick. Heat from his body radiated against my side. Was he nervous? Or still recovering from the horseback riding scare?
“Nick and I have something you should probably know.” I looked up at him, pointedly raising my brows.
“Yes.” Stiff as a board, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “We sure do.” He cleared his throat.
Well, he wasn’t going to win an Academy Award, but it would have to do.
“What is it?” Olivia impatiently checked her watch. “I need to wake up the kids.”
“It’s important.” Nick’s voice was borderline monotone. We’d have to work on that too. More love, less robot.
Chloe peered at us from over the rim of her glass. Kat bit into another donut, looking slightly less rabid now. Ryan took another long drag from his mug.
Apparently, I was going to have to be the one to say it.
I beamed at my family and looped my arm around Nick’s waist, attempting to ignore how taut his torso felt beneath my forearm. “Nick and I…are officially dating!”
Ryan spewed his coffee. Everyone else stared at us. The clock on the wall ticked an ominous rhythm.
Then Axel burst into a grin. “Well, duh. ”