Chapter 17
Leading Coco into the kitchen, Graham could practically feel himself ready to erupt. Apparently, someone needed a reminder just who was in charge around here.
Unfortunately, that someone was not in a listening mood.
“You know,” Coco began the moment the door had closed behind them, “if you really want to keep up this charade that you and I are lovers, you have got to stop going all doe-eyed every time you look Brent’s way.”
The comment shot a bristle up Graham’s spine. “Ew. First of all, I never want to hear the words ‘you,’ ‘I,’ and ‘lovers’ together in a sentence again. Ever.”
Disbelief flooded her face. “I’m sorry, is that not exactly what—”
“And second,” he continued, “what kind of stunt were you trying to pull out there?”
She feigned innocence with a shrug. “I’m sure I haven’t the foggiest idea what you could—”
“‘Isn’t it hard watching someone you care about sabotage their chance at happiness?’” he quoted from Coco’s commentary on the movie.
He wiped a hand tiredly down his face. “Come on, Coco. Are you trying to delude my mother into thinking I’m crushing on…
” A beat of silence followed as realization dawned on his face. “Oh, no. You didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” Backing away, Coco grit her teeth nervously.
Graham proceeded to match her steps. “Surely, after all I’ve done for you to salvage what’s left of your career, you wouldn’t betray me like this.”
“Like what?” Swallowing a gulp, she continued to carefully retreat.
“You know exactly ‘like what,’ Coco.” He stepped up toward her again. “God, I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. This whole trip, you’ve been trying to set me up with Brent.”
“Because he’s perfect for you!”
“He’s the opposite of perfect for me, Coco. Geez, if I hadn’t known him back in high school, I’d have sworn the guy must’ve materialized out of some cheesy Hallmark movie. Can you really picture me with someone like that?”
“I certainly know you’re picturing it, the way you look at him.”
He grumbled audibly. “Look, even if I did have an interest in Brent—which I don’t—he wouldn’t go for a guy like me. I’m not his type.”
She shook her head to herself. “Graham, as much as it pains me to stroke your already massive ego, let me assure you, based on the way Brent looks at you, you must be exactly his type.”
The remark drew an eye roll from Graham.
“What exactly is in all that hot cocoa you’ve been drinking?
” He let out a scoff. “Look, even if I did believe Brent had an interest in me, now is not the time for me to go around chasing love. Come Christmas Day, it’s back to LA for the both of us.
Why would I want to get involved with someone just to pick up and leave? ”
Coco shrugged, impish. “Well, you do know how things work out in the movie, right?”
The question drew a groan from Graham. “Holiday with the Wholesomes is not real life, Coco.”
“But what if it could be?!”
He released a heavy sigh. “Coco, do yourself a favor. Stop trying to solve other people’s problems. You don’t know what you’re doing. Trust me, that ivory tower of yours suits you much better. OK, hun?”
A visible wave of anger rose in Coco’s cheeks then. “As a matter of fact, I’ll have you know, Graham—”
“All I need to know,” he cut off, “is this: Do you or do you not want to be a real movie star again?”
She blew out a disgruntled scoff. “Of course I do.”
“And do you or do you not want to finally walk the red carpet for your grandmother?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“Then what I need is for you to put this nonsense about Brent and me out of your head for good. It isn’t meant to be, and I have a job to focus on.
You do understand that, right?” He gripped her by her shoulders.
“Coco, if we can pull this off, we can both have what we want. All we have to do is stay on the down low, stay out of trouble, and stay out of the tabloids. Then you get your A-lister movie premiere, and I, god willing, will finally get the promotion I’ve been slaving for.
” He pinned her with a serious look. “But that means you’ve got to cut it out with this monkey business.
If people catch on that we’re anything but another normal couple, our whole cover will be blown and then this whole masquerade will have been for nothing. You don’t want that, do you?”
Reluctantly, she shook her head. “But—”
“No buts,” Graham declared. “Now, you and I are going to march back out to the living room. We’re going to finish watching that cornball excuse for a movie. And if I so much as hear one more peep about Brent Danvers out of you, so help me, Coco, I’m going to—”
“Everything all right in here?”
Looks of horror filled Graham and Coco’s faces at the sight of Carol entering through the kitchen door.
“Fine,” Graham sputtered, teeth clenched. “Just fine.” He gulped as his mother narrowed her eyes skeptically.
“Coco,” Carol said after a pause, “why don’t you go keep Brent company back out in the living room. I’d like to have a chat with my boy.”
At this, Graham felt his heart rate flatline. This could not be good.
* * *
“Have a seat, dear,” Carol said. She gestured toward the kitchen counter.
Obedient, Graham did as he was told. A sit-down talk, eh?
This definitely could not be good. Nervous, he watched as his mother dug into the fridge, returning with a plateful of Christmas wreath cookies made from green-dyed corn flakes and Red Hots.
“Care for a cookie, dear? These always were your favorite.”
Graham waved the treats away. “No, thanks, Mom. I can’t afford that junk over the holidays. I need to be speedo-ready for Puerto Vallarta in January.” His face went pale as he realized the words he’d just said. He sputtered in panic. “I’m taking Coco there for a special date, of course.”
“Of course,” his mother repeated.
Graham swallowed a gulp. Was that skepticism he’d detected in his mother’s voice then?
She helped herself to a cookie. “Nice girl, that Coco.” She munched off half a wreath.
Narrowing his eyes, Graham waited as his mother chewed. “Indeed.”
Carol dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “I’d imagine being with her must make you very happy, son.”
“We are happy,” he responded, if a bit hastily.
“I’m very glad to hear that.” She popped the second half of the cookie into her mouth. “What more can a mother ask for, right?”
Graham suddenly felt his insides clench. Something about this was feeling off. Mark his words, if Coco had said something to his mother about Brent, he was going to…
He’d have to…
Well, come to think of it, if Coco had let their cat out of the bag, he didn’t know what he’d be able to do about it.
He released a heavy sigh. “What’s this about, Mom?”
She went in for another cookie. “It’s just that, well, you don’t seem happy, Graham. Not like you used to be.”
The remark elicited a groan. “That’s because I grew up, Mom. Real life isn’t something out of Holiday with the Wholesomes. The rest of the world isn’t like Mistletoe Grove.”
It appeared he’d struck a chord with his mother as she nodded her head thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose there’s some truth to that. Not even Mistletoe Grove is quite like Mistletoe Grove anymore.”
Graham recalled the conspicuous lack of holiday tourists in town compared to his childhood memories. “Why stay, then?”
A silence fell over the room as his mother considered the question.
“Because it’s home, I suppose. It’s filled with people I care about.
And even when things get hard, you don’t just abandon the people you love.
You stick with them, see it through together.
” She furrowed her brow in thought. “It’s not the lights and the garland and the Christmas trees that make Mistletoe Grove special, Graham.
It’s the people. And Mistletoe Grove has the best of them.
Well, with one notable exception, of course. ” She cracked a wry grin.
Graham responded with an eye roll. “Nice try, Mom. I know what you’re trying to do, and it isn’t going to work. My life is in LA, not here.”
She smirked in spite of herself. “I know, dear. What was I thinking? Of course Mistletoe Grove can’t compete with the glitz and glam of LA. What have we got here that could possibly be worth staying for?” She flicked a not-so-subtle glance toward the living room.
By the time Graham registered it, though, his mother had already moved on. “Oh, never mind. Let’s get back to the movie, shall we? We’re keeping the others waiting.”
Watching his mother exit the kitchen, Graham felt like his stomach had just turned to lead. Had he just seen what he thought he’d seen? Surely, he must have imagined it. His mother couldn’t actually have been hinting at Brent just then.
Could she?
He blew out a tired sigh. Just what he needed. As if keeping Coco in line wasn’t already giving him trouble enough, now he had to worry about potentially fending off his mother’s meddling, too.
Where was the eggnog when you needed it?