Chapter 13
Brent’s words shot a panic up Graham’s spine. He knew Coco wasn’t really his girlfriend? How?
A long sigh of relief escaped Coco. “Oh, thank god. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to keep up this charade that Graham and I are—”
“Just another boring couple?” Brent finished.
“Exactly!” Coco exclaimed.
Brent shook his head to himself. “I don’t know why Graham felt like he had to keep it hidden.”
“Me, either!” An unmistakable energy filled her voice.
Graham fought, unsuccessfully, to get a word in edgewise.
“It’s honestly kind of silly,” Brent went on, “Graham believing he could keep something like this under wraps.” He gave his pal a gamely pat on the shoulder.
“Right?!” Coco spoke as if a pack of bricks had just been lifted from her.
“Imagine, thinking you could be dating a celebrity and not have anyone find out.”
She wiped away a tear of laughter. “Couldn’t have said it better my—” She did a sudden double take. “Wait, what?”
Graham’s whole body lightened with a quiet sigh of relief. Brent didn’t actually know their secret. This was nothing more than what they’d already discussed at Sally’s the night before.
A sly grin curled upon Brent’s lips as he eyed the nonplussed starlet. “Come on, Coco. You don’t have to pretend with me.” He sidled up next to Graham. “Last night at the bar, Graham here told me everything.”
If only he could have seen Graham shaking his head frantically at Coco then, he would have learned he in fact didn’t even know the half of it.
Reading Graham’s mind, Coco forced a smile. “I see.”
Brent gave Graham back his breathing room then as he planted a kiss on Coco’s hand. “Allow me to be the first to say what an honor it is to have Mistletoe Grove graced by the presence of such a luminary as yourself, Miss Holliday.”
She returned a silent nod, unsure how to respond.
He sized up the two lovebirds, a sly grin appearing on his face. “Man, who would have thought? Nerdy Graham Bartlett dating a movie star. It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”
The remark drew a smirk from Coco. “Well, at the very least, Graham certainly can be Grimm.”
Graham opted not to dignify the jab with a response.
Any animosity, though, was apparently lost on Brent. “I’ve got to admit I’m dying to know…how on earth did the two of you wind up together?”
Vague mumblings followed from them both. Shit, they’d never cooked up this part of their backstory.
A befuddled eyebrow quirked on Brent’s forehead.
And then, the responses came rapid-fire.
“The dog park!”
“A birthday party!”
A beat of silence followed as a panicked Graham concocted a cover. “The birthday was, uh, for a dog?”
Brent’s face lit up like a runway. “Aw, man, I love dogs! What kind?”
“German Shepherd.”
“Chihuahua.”
Now it was Graham’s turn to grit his teeth. “A German Shepherd-Chihuahua mix, actually.”
Pure bewilderment came over Brent’s face. He shook it off to change subjects. “So, uh, I bet you guys must travel a lot for Coco’s work, huh? Any fun trips lately?”
“Milan!”
“Just Fire Island.”
All the color drained from Graham’s face then as he realized what he’d just said. “We’re more of the, uh, solo travel kind.” He clutched Coco’s hands passionately. “You know what they say, darling. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
He shot Brent a side-eye to see if he was buying it.
The results, however, were inconclusive.
“I’ve been to Fire Island once,” Brent replied. He furrowed his brow, contemplating. “I wouldn’t have thought that was your scene, Graham.” A curious glint lit up his eyes.
Suddenly, Graham felt like he was roasting inside his jacket. “Really? Oh, I guess I just like to keep an open mind.” His body went rigid. “When it comes to travel, that is.”
A wry grin flickered on Brent’s lips. “Good to know.” He held Graham’s gaze an extra beat.
“We really ought to be going,” Graham said then, breaking the spell. “I’m sure you’ve got lots to do, Brent. We don’t want to keep you.”
What he really wanted, of course, was to cut this off before he really stuck his foot in his mouth. Hooking Coco’s elbow, he ushered themselves away.
“Don’t be a stranger!” Brent’s voice called after them as they disappeared into the market.
* * *
“For the love of god, Graham,” Coco said once they were out of earshot, “would you wake up and smell the gingerbread? Brent is majorly into you, man.”
Graham shook his head, adamant. “He is not, Coco.”
“Then what do you call the sparkle that lit up his eyes every time he looked your way?”
“Simple. A sugar hangover from all that hot cocoa.” He took Coco’s empty cup and tossed it in a nearby waste bin. “Speaking of, take it easy on that stuff, would you? You do, need I remind you, have a movie premiere in a few days.”
She stuck her nose in the air. “I can take care of myself just fine, thank you.”
Graham couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure. And I can bench-press Chris Hemsworth.”
She responded with an eye roll. “Say, what was that phone call Brent mentioned? The one that interrupted your date.”
He groaned at the mention of his now least favorite word. “The call that interrupted our platonic, non-romantic outing was about you, as a matter of fact. The boss wanted to know if you were behaving yourself.”
“And?”
“And I said that, although you continue to test the limits of the term client management, with me by your side, there’s nothing to worry about.”
She let out a sigh. “My hero.”
“When you think about it, Coco, I am. Don’t forget, your comeback is riding on this premiere. You still want to walk the red carpet in memory of your grandmother, yes?”
She glowered at him silently.
He responded with a disinterested shrug. “Then, like it or not, my job is to make sure that every last detail remains under control.”
Almost as if on cue, his phone buzzed in his pocket then. Fishing it out, he read the text message displayed on the screen.
And felt a brick take a freefall inside his gut.
It was from his mother.
Code red!!! Emergency!!!
So much for keeping things under control. He swallowed a nervous gulp. “Come on, Coco. Shopping spree’s over.”
* * *
The entire drive back home, Graham’s mind raced with all the possible nightmare scenarios they might find waiting for them.
What if his mother had taken a fall carrying ornaments down the stairs?
Sparked an electrical fire while hanging up twinkle lights?
Severed a finger practicing her turkey carving?
Any manner of catastrophes could have been just around the corner for them to discover.
That said, by the time Graham finally arrived back home with Coco, he’d managed to work himself up into full-on panic mode.
“Mom, are you alive?” He threw open the front door with the strength of a WWE title-holder.
And found his mother holding a tray of fresh-baked cookies.
“Graham!” she gasped, startled. “How on earth did you get across town so fast?”
A blank look of bewilderment took over his face then. “You said there was an emergency.”
She nodded earnestly. “There is!” She raised her tray of cookies. “I can’t find my spatula.”
Graham felt his eye twitch involuntarily. “Your spatula?”
“Yes,” his mother replied as if the urgency should have been obvious. “How am I supposed to plate these cookies if I don’t have a spatula?”
Just then, Coco burst in through the front door, as well. “Do I need to call urgent care?”
“More like urgent cookware,” Graham retorted. He returned his attention to his mother. “Mom, this can’t seriously be the reason you had us race across town?”
She propped her hands on her hips as if she’d just been dealt an insult. “Graham, you know my cookies are famous in Mistletoe Grove. I can’t disappoint my public, now can I?”
Graham decided it was best to bite his tongue.
“Be a dear, would you, and go pick one up at the store? Fratellini’s is still right where it’s always been.”
“And you need me to do this because…?”
She placed a hand to her chest as if to feign offense. “Well, I certainly can’t go. I’ve still got another batch to watch in the oven.”
“Go on,” Coco said with a smirk. “We’ll be here when you get back.”
Spinning on his heels toward the door, Graham turned his face heavenward. “I don’t even eat sugar anymore.”