His Stand-In Holiday Girlfriend (Christmas in the City Book 1)

by Kasey Stockton

  “Great,” Ellie said with added enthusiasm. She moved to step around him and brushed his arm, her own tingling from the contact.

  What in the world had gotten into her? Brady was attractive. She’d never denied that. But the pull she felt toward him today was beyond the simple knowledge that he was a handsome guy. It was like a current moved between them now and she could feel how close or far he was from her. She wanted to close the gap and see what sort of electricity erupted, but that was out of the question.

  She was the one who made it out of the question with her no kissing rule.

  She needed to snap out of it.

  Hefting the box titled village one in her arms, Ellie turned for the stairs and carried the box downstairs. She set it on the floor as she walked the remainder of the rooms and found—much to her delight—a room off to the right of the front door that seemed to act as a sort of family room. It had two sofas and a fireplace, a perfect place for the tree and a bureau set against the wall that could easily be cleared off and covered in fake snow and tiny houses.

  “How did you know this was where Grandmother always put her tree?” Brady asked, carrying a large box containing the Christmas tree.

  Because Beverly was the sort of woman who seemed like she liked a cozy Christmas. Swallowing that reply so as not to sound too obnoxious, Ellie said, “I just thought it would work nicely in here.”

  Brady regarded her a moment before kneeling down to begin untaping the tree box.

  “It’s like you’ve got Christmas intuition or something,” he said.

  Ellie grinned, moving over to the bureau and hiding the trinkets on top within its cupboards. “Didn’t you know?” she said playfully. “I’m one of Santa’s elves.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brady could certainly believe that Ellie was sent straight from the North Pole. It took her just over an hour to get the entirety of the small ceramic village set up, fake snow and all, along with the garland trailing the mantles in each of the main living rooms and down the bannister.

  She had turned some holiday music on her phone and played it loudly while they hung ornaments on the pre-lit tree side by side, and Brady found himself soaking in every moment of the traditional Christmas decorating they were doing together.

  The boxes all sat strewn at the bottom of the staircase ready to be put away for the next few weeks and Brady stood there watching Ellie carry in the last of the boxes and setting it on top of the pile. She opened the lid and quickly pulled something out, smiling mischievously in a way that caused Brady’s stomach to flip.

  “I found something fun,” she whispered, “and I think we should hang it up without anyone knowing.”

  Ellie pulled her hand from behind her back to reveal a small sprig of fake mistletoe, tied together with a red velvet ribbon and dotted by shiny red plastic berries. It was all too familiar to Brady, for he remembered watching his grandparents pause beneath it and steal a kiss when he was a small boy. He thought it was gross at the time, but now he recognized their actions as sweet.

  But Ellie had decreed at the start of their fake relationship that there would be no kissing. Was this her way of going back on that rule? He lifted an eyebrow at her, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

  “Not for us. Obviously. But there are three other couples in this house. Come on,” she said, grabbing onto his forearm. “It could be fun. Where should we put it?”

  “Maybe over the front door? We’ll just have to stagger our exits.”

  “Deal,” Ellie said, spinning toward the door. She pulled a chair with her to the doorway and stepped onto the seat. Using one of the tacks Brady had acquired to hang up some garland over the family room doorway, she secured it right in the center.

  Once the mistletoe was placed, Ellie turned to Brady and offered him a wink. She was glowing, and her love for the holiday was becoming infectious. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed setting up for Christmas, but doing so with Ellie, he didn’t want it to end.

  And for all of his concerns and anxiety leading up to this party, his family had actually been pretty well behaved so far.

  “But I don’t want to worry about my retirement yet, Shelby. There’s a reason I’m still working at the cafe. I like my job.”

  And there it was.

  Ellie cast him a confused look but he simply put on a brave face. “Let’s get everything back into the attic.”

  She agreed and they worked silently together to complete the task as his mom and aunt could be heard arguing in the kitchen about the respectability of working as a waitress when one was above sixty years old.

  “I’m happy, Shelby!” his mom shouted. “Just accept it and move on. Not everyone has to have a Mercedes in their driveway to consider themselves a success.”

  “But if you had the luxuries of life then you wouldn’t feel that way.”

  “But I don’t,” mom countered. “So what does it matter? I know this is really difficult for you to believe, but not everyone wants to be you.”

  Shelby scoffed and her heels clicked as she stormed from the living room. Brady and Ellie paused in the hallway as Shelby came toward them, turned for the door and walked outside, slamming it behind her.

  “Welcome to the family party I am used to,” he said.

  Ellie shot Brady a sad smile and took his arm. “Come on. Let’s get that game of charades going.”

  They stepped back into the room to find the men and Grandmother seated exactly where they had left them over an hour before. The only difference to the room now was Monica and Becky sitting on the sofa beside Grandmother and Mom sitting on a chair by the window, looking outside with a scowl on her face.

  “Who wants to play charades?” Brady asked.

  “I’m up for anything,” Monica said right away.

  “Maybe we should eat first,” Roy said, patting himself in the belly. “The game just ended and I’m starving.”

  Was he ignorant that his wife had just stormed outside after fighting with her sister? Brady turned his attention to his grandmother.

  Ellie spoke before he could get a word out. “Beverly, what would you like to do?”

  “The food is likely ready and the table is already set. Roy, why don’t you fetch your wife from the car and we can eat. Sharon?” she said, turning to where her daughter was seated beside the window, “Begin pulling trays from the oven, dear.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  Sharon got up and went into the kitchen, a frown adorning her lips.

  It was a process getting the food on the table and everyone in the proper seat. Adjustments had to be made to move Sharon and Shelby to opposite ends of the table. And somehow Monica had been placed next to Brady instead of Ellie, but since the name cards were done up in Becky’s handwriting, that wasn’t such a shock.

  His sister loved throwing a wrench into things.

  Brady helped Ellie into the seat beside him. He switched the name cards back so Monica was across from them, and ignored her scowl.

  They feasted on an array of Italian food, as they did every year, and aside from the sisters giving one another cold shoulders, the remainder of dinner went smoothly.

  The pies were brought out and spread across the table with servers placed near each of them.

  “So Ellie,” Becky began as she cut a slice of pecan pie. “Tell us how you met my brother.”

  “Funny story, actually,” Ellie said, shooting Brady a glance.

  “But I’d rather tell it,” Brady cut in. “I bet it’s funnier from my perspective.”

  Ellie looked confused, but he couldn’t let her continue. She’d mentioned once that they had a cute first meeting story, and he knew she was going to tell everyone how she spit his drink all over the conference room floor. But Monica had been in that meeting, and if Ellie shared it now, then Monica would know how fresh and young their so-called relationship was.

  Swallowing, he racked his brain for an idea. “Well,” he began, “we both work for Harve
r Allen. And one day when I was coming up the elevator, Ellie yelled at me to hold the door open for her. So I did, and I waited for her to run across the lobby and leap inside. The thing is, she was going so fast that she leapt right at me and I had to let go of the doors and grab onto her to keep both of us from falling to the floor.”

  “Were you successful?” Becky asked, her head tilted to the side as she lapped up the story he was creating.

  He hazarded a glance at Ellie beside him and found her looking impressed. No doubt with his ability to lie on a dime. Not necessarily something he was proud of, but certainly something that was benefiting them in the moment.

  Brady smiled at his fake girlfriend, picturing the scenario in his mind with favorable feelings. “I think I was successful. I snatched her up, didn’t I?”

  “That was actually pretty cute,” Becky relented. Brady turned toward her and caught Monica’s scowl just before it disappeared.

  “And what did you think of him?” Becky asked Ellie.

  She turned toward Brady and sent him a saucy smile. “I thought, ‘this guy is cute, but he really needs to let go of me right now.’”

  The table erupted in laughter and Ellie grinned. Brady found her smile warming his heart and he had to look down at the pie his dad was passing him to refocus himself. This was not real. Ellie was not his real girlfriend.

  He felt Ellie’s hand rest on his knee under the table and give it a gentle squeeze, before she released him. Was she trying to remind him that their relationship was fake? He got the message.

  “Why don’t you and Chad share your story now,” Brady said, spurring more laughter. They went on to explain how they met in Seattle at a pier. Becky’s dog was doing his best to get away from her to chase a much larger dog and Chad had come to the rescue, grabbing onto the leash before the little terrier could run away completely.

  Once the other dog had gone a safe distance, Becky’s terrier calmed down and Becky and Chad were able to talk, exchanged phone numbers, and the rest was history.

  “I think you have the sweetest story ever and I simply cannot wait to be the maid of honor in your wedding this summer!” Monica announced, shocking the rest of the room into silence.

  “This summer?” Sharon asked, her fork suspended midair with a bite of banana cream pie sitting precariously at the end of it. “I thought you wanted to wait another year.”

  Becky glanced at Chad and then directed her attention to her mom. “We don’t want to wait that long. I’ve already got the dress and we’ve begun looking at venues, so we figured we would just move it up a little.”

  “A little?” Sharon turned to her husband for probably the first time that evening—that Brady had noticed, at least—and stared at him. “Did you know about this?”

  Brady’s dad had just shoved a bite of pie into his mouth and was busy chewing, his eyes wide and his bushy brows lifted as high as they could possibly go on his forehead. When he finally swallowed, he said, “Of course I didn’t know about it.”

  “Well, I’m glad I know now so I can help out,” Sharon said, eyeing Monica with irritation. She went to take a bite of her pie but it had plopped onto the plate below it and disappointment was evident across her features as an empty fork entered her mouth.

  “I am pleased you’ll have a summer wedding,” Grandmother said from the end of the table. “Now shall we adjourn so we might show Ellie how talented we all are at making fools of ourselves?”

  The general grumpy consensus was yes, and the group stood to go.

  Ellie stood quickly, grabbing Brady by the sleeve of his shirt. “I’m taking Beverly to the family room. You coming?” The look of excitement evident on her features was enough to entice Brady to do anything she wished. His throat went dry and he nodded.

  “Good,” she said, before moving down to the end of the table and speaking quietly to his grandmother.

  If there was one thing Brady knew for sure, it was that this woman was in grave danger of making him develop very real feelings for her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Beverly agreed to allow Ellie to lead her into the family room and the moment they crossed over the threshold, Ellie felt the older woman’s shoulders relax.

  She turned and grasped Ellie’s hand, squeezing it with both of her own. With eyes suspiciously shiny, she said, “Oh, it is just lovely.”

  Odd, since the woman could not see. But Ellie knew that the spirit of Christmas was more than just the trees and presents and beautiful garlands. It was the feelings, and in this room the spirit of Christmas could be felt in droves.

  “I can just imagine exactly how it looks,” Beverly said. She pointed toward the corner of the room. “My tree is over there, yes?”

  “Yes,” Ellie said.

  Brady stepped past them and leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets as he watched the interaction.

  “And my village?”

  “On the bureau just over here,” Ellie said, leading Beverly toward the tiny ceramic village set over a roll of fake, fluffy snow.

  Beverly took her time examining the setup with her fingers, the smile never slipping from her face. Brady took Ellie by the hand and led her toward the sofa, indicating silently that they should give his grandmother some space. They sat beside one another, and Ellie’s heart glowed. Even as the men could be heard in the other room shouting at the TV again—another game was on? Really?—Ellie could feel the magic in the small room.

  When Beverly finally turned toward them, Brady hopped up to lead her to the end of the sofa.

  “You set it up entirely wrong,” Beverly said, coming to sit down. “But that is not a bad thing. It was interesting to see how someone else might think the bakery belongs beside the library. I suppose there could be worse things than smelling fresh baked bread whilst sitting to read.”

  Ellie chuckled. “Please forgive me.”

  “It is perfect. I don’t know if Brady told you, but my sweet husband gave me this village piece by piece.”

  Ellie glanced to Brady but his eyebrows were raised and his head shaking, giving her the impression that he was unaware of that tidbit of information.

  “He gave me a small house and a few trees for our very first Christmas, and then added to it every year. It has been my favorite tradition, and I’ve cherished that tiny town. Thank you for getting it out of the attic and dusting it off. I had a mind to try and find it myself, but better sense prevailed.”

  Ellie laughed. “I am so glad I was able to haul it out for you. Brady and I made a good team.”

  “Of that,” Beverly said, “I can certainly agree.”

  “Mom?” Shelby called, coming down the hall. She paused in the doorway, her gaze flicking around the room and then to the occupants, irritation in her eyes. “Who’s going to put all of this away?”

  Was that why they quit decorating? No one wanted to be responsible for the take down?

  “I will,” Ellie said, trying to cover the bite in her tone. “I’ll come back up on New Years Day. I’ve got nothing else going on that day.”

  “Great,” Shelby said flatly. “Are we playing charades or not?”

  “Actually I think it is best if I call it a night,” Beverly said, rising. Brady jumped up to assist her. She leaned over and whispered, “Best to end the evening on a high note.”

  Ellie agreed, wholeheartedly.

  Shelby turned back for the other room and walked away while Brady led his grandmother to the foyer. “Would you like to say goodnight to everyone first?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “I will see most of them in the morning. But goodnight, Ellie. I hope we see more of you.”

  Ellie hugged Beverly, her heart tugging. She wished for the same, but it wasn’t realistic. “I’ll see you New Years Day,” she said. That was the least she could do. Even after Brady and she pretend broke up.

  “Yes, you will,” Beverly replied. She turned for the stairs and made it halfway up before pausing. Brady and Ellie stood in the foyer wai
ting for her to make it all the way up. “Where did you hang my mistletoe?” she asked.

  Ellie stilled. She looked up and found the sprig tacked securely above their heads. She shared a look with Brady before his gaze flickered down to her lips. Well, Beverly was blind. They could get away with one small lie…

  A voice came from the end of the hall, startling both of them.

  Monica, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her mouth said, “It’s directly above their heads.”

  Ellie looked at Brady, trying to gauge where he was at, but found his eyes settled on her lips once more. It was she who made the rule of no kissing, and she knew Brady well enough now to realize that he was not going to break that rule first.

  He respected her too much.

  Instead, Ellie said, “Oh look, you’re right. Lucky us.”

  Brady’s arm snaked around her back, applying pressure with his hand and drawing her closer.

  His demeanor became serious and he whispered, “Is this okay with you?”

  Ellie gave the slightest of nods and her body hummed. Lifting her face toward his, she waited as Brady lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

  And just as she’d imagined, explosions went off all around her as they kissed. Electricity ran like a current from Brady’s lips to her heart, and Ellie reached up and slid her hands around his neck to pull him closer.

  A throat cleared down the hall and they broke apart suddenly.

  “Oh, young love,” Beverly said, trailing her hand along the bannister as she continued up the stairs, a smile on her lips.

  Monica’s voice did not hold any of the sweetness Beverly had when she said, “I was coming to ask if I could grab a ride back to the city. Becky and Chad brought me up here but they’re planning to stick around for a few days.”

  Cool rushed over her body like a bucket of ice water, effectively drawing Ellie back into the present.

  “Sure,” Brady said, resigned.

  He led Ellie into the living room to give their farewells and both of his parents stood to hug him goodbye. Ellie was unsure if his dad even realized who she was or the fake significance of her presence, but he didn’t seem to care. And that was fine by her.