Chapter Five #2
“I can’t wait to meet him! I’m so glad. I was worried everything would be awkward with Troy and Brittany coming with their new baby. But if you have someone too, it won’t be weird at all.”
Oh, she was so stupid. What had she gotten herself into? And where was she going to find a date willing to go with her—and her daughter, since she couldn’t very well leave Lydia home—to a wedding five days before Christmas?
She should blurt out the truth now, before she dug a deeper hole for herself.
Instead, words spilled out as if on their own accord.
“It won’t be weird at all,” she lied. “Everything will be great. I totally have someone, too. You’re going to love him.”
“I can’t wait!” Kristine hugged her again, any trace of wedding nerves gone, at least for now.
Holly was still trying to figure out how to extricate herself from the ridiculous lie when her former mother-in-law returned with Lydia and Audrey.
“Thank you for showing me your picture, my dear,” Susan said to Lydia.
Lydia beamed. “You can have it, Grandma,” she said. “It’s for you.”
Susan looked touched as she hugged her granddaughter. “Thank you. I will hang it right on my fridge.”
When she released Lydia, Susan rose and hugged Holly in turn. “Thank you for putting up with me,” she said. “I know I’m a mess. I’ve been all over the place with this wedding.”
“It’s totally fine. Don’t worry. Everything will be perfect, I promise. I’ll see you both at the shower.”
“Great. Until then.”
At least she would have a few days to come up with a plan to avoid any more questions about her nonexistent date.
SHE WAS STILL asking herself how she could have created such a mess for herself an hour later as she loaded the last of the wedding flowers into the back of her SUV.
Her sister’s shock when she told her what she had done didn’t help anything.
“What were you thinking?” Hannah asked, incredulous.
“I lied, okay? I don’t know why I did it, the words spilled out before I had a chance to think them through.
Kris was so worried that things would be awkward with Troy and Brittany and was trying to set me up with one of Matt’s friends and before I knew it, I was telling her I had a date.
So now I have to figure out who that is. ”
Hannah grinned. “The fake-relationship trope is my absolute favorite.”
She made a face. “Only in all those romance novels, the fake relationship always morphs into a real one. That’s not going to happen to me.”
“You never know. We just have to find the perfect guy willing to pretend he’s crazy about you.”
“Any suggestions?”
“What about Justin Sanchez, the new soccer coach at the high school? He’s super cute. He has a longtime girlfriend but Troy’s family members don’t have to know that. I’m sure he would be willing to help us out.”
“I don’t think that would work. It’s a small community. What if somebody at the wedding knows Justin or his girlfriend?”
“Hmm. Good point. What about the new guy who moved into my condo building? I think he’s an electrician or something. He’s a little hairy but I’ve seen him in the condo gym and he’s super ripped.”
“Does he have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend, for that matter?”
“Not sure. I haven’t seen him with anyone, but he might have a long-distance thing. I can ask him.”
Hannah made a face. “On a negative note, he sweats a lot and he never wipes off his machines at the gym.”
“Gross.”
“I mean, nobody’s perfect.”
“True enough.”
Hannah appeared lost in thought for a moment before her features brightened. “What about Kim’s brother?”
Holly almost dropped the last box of wedding flowers as nerves suddenly jumped through her.
“Ryan? I can’t ask him! I barely know the man.”
“Why not? He’s perfect!” Hannah held up her fingers to enumerate the advantages.
“He’s gorgeous, he’s a stranger in town nobody knows and better yet, he’s only going to be here through Christmas.
No messy questions. After he goes back to California, you can tell Troy and his family you’re having a long-distance relationship with him. ”
Holly frowned as she considered the suggestion. Okay. The idea might actually have merit after all. A fake boyfriend would be useful in myriad ways.
She would love not having to endure pitying looks from Troy’s family, the awkwardness of being alone when everyone else seemed to have a partner.
Maybe they would even stop trying to set her up with random people.
She could focus on her daughter, not on trying to fend off well-meaning but misguided matchmaking efforts on her behalf.
If she had to pretend to have a fake relationship, why not with Ryan Caldwell?
He was a great candidate for the role. Hannah was right.
He was gorgeous. More than that, he was only here temporarily, which would mean she wouldn’t have to keep up the pretense for an extended period. Only through the holidays.
On the other hand, she shuddered to think about actually having that kind of humiliating conversation with Ryan Caldwell.
Hey, do you mind pretending to be my boyfriend and going with me and my daughter to a wedding with two hundred people you don’t know?
She could only imagine how that would go.
“It’s a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself,” Hannah pressed. “If you have to find a pretend boyfriend, why not make him a hot, mysterious stranger?”
Holly could think of a hundred different pitfalls to the plan, not least of which was trying to convince Ryan to actually go along with it. Why would he agree to something so ridiculous, when she could think of no actual benefit to him?
“I’ll think about it. That’s the best I can do.”
Hannah made a face. “You think too much. That’s your whole problem, Hol. Sometimes you need to follow your impulses. Seize the day and all that. Or in this case, seize the gorgeous helicopter pilot and don’t let go.”
Holly decided it was probably not a good idea to mention to her twin sister exactly how appealing she found that idea.