by Jackie Lau
Julie got off the subway and hurried to K-Polish, a Korean-Polish fusion restaurant on Baldwin Street. She was running a little behind because she’d spent too much time debating what to wear, but she’d eventually settled on a blouse with a plunging neckline and the necklace she’d recently made. It was a branch held by a silver chain, which didn’t sound exciting, but you had to see it. Julie had been inspired by all the bare branches with snow at this time of year.
It was snowing again now. Just barely—a few snowflakes fluttering here and there.
Her heart was beating fast, as though she was nervous, but there was no reason to be nervous. Tom was her boyfriend. Tonight would be fun.
When she arrived at the small restaurant, only seven minutes late, she quickly found Tom. It was no surprise he was already here. He was seated at a table and carefully sipping his red wine as he studied the menu, but he looked up as soon as the door shut behind her.
She walked over to him, a smile on her face.
“Hi, you must be Tom. I’m Julie.” She extended her hand.
He shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“You’re showing a lot of skin today.”
“Indeed, I am.”
He’d apparently decided a tie wasn’t necessary at a Korean-Polish fusion restaurant. He was wearing a sweater and a collared shirt, but the top button was actually undone.
She took off her coat and sat across from him.
“You look lovely,” he said. “Is that the necklace you were telling me about?”
When she nodded, he reached across the table and took it in his hand, brushing her skin as he did so.
Slightly flustered, she opened the drinks menu. When the waiter came over, she ordered a soju bomb. The beer was some kind of Polish beer she’d never heard of.
“They just dump the soju in beer?” Tom asked as the waiter walked away.
“Yup,” Julie said cheerfully. “I know you’re curious. I’ll let you try a sip, don’t worry.”
Tom was likely appalled by the idea of this drink, although he didn’t say so.
“Do you know what you’re ordering?” She gestured at the food menu.
“I’m planning to have the potato pancakes with kimchi jjigae.”
Julie studied her menu, though she kept getting distracted by Tom sitting across from her. Eventually, she managed to order, and their banchan soon arrived with her soju bomb.
Chopsticks were placed on top of the beer, and the shot of soju was placed on top of the chopsticks. Julie smacked the table with her hands a few times, and the shot fell into the beer glass, splashing a little liquid over the side.
Tom’s look of skepticism was priceless.
“Cheers,” she said, bumping her glass against his wineglass. Then she helped herself to the kimchi while he tried the sauerkraut.
He also bravely tried her soju bomb and declared it wasn’t as good as the wine.
“I have something for you,” she said.
Although it was January third, the present she handed him was wrapped in mistletoe wrapping paper, since it was the Christmas present she owed him.
“Remember when we got stuck under the mistletoe?” he asked.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget any detail of that weekend,” she said, and he caressed her leg under the table. “Are you going to open it?”
“Well, since Christmas was more than a week ago, I assume this is a very early Christmas present for next year, so it would only be right for me to wait fifty-one weeks—”
“Tom!”
He smiled at her and started ripping open the wrapping paper.
And by “ripping open,” she meant carefully peeling off the tape, then folding the paper afterward. Perhaps he was doing it slowly just to make her squirm. Or laugh.
He was surprisingly good at making her laugh.
And he was especially good at making her squirm when they were in bed together.
At last, the wrapping paper had been removed, and he opened up the box to reveal a scarf in brilliant blue and green.
“Is this the yarn I gave you?” he asked.
She nodded. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful, but I feel guilty that you used your present to make me something.”
“No need to feel guilty. I enjoy making things for people I care about. God knows I’ve knitted myself enough things over the years. But I’m going to make another scarf just like it so we’ll match.”
“At least you didn’t want us to wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters.”
She put a finger to her mouth and considered this. “An excellent idea for next year. Or I could get you a T-shirt that says ‘dreamer’ in big pink letters. Just like mine. I think you’d look quite dashing in such a shirt.”
“The word ‘dreamer’ clashes with my personality.”
“You dared to dream of being with me after our disastrous first date.” She pointed at the box. “There’s something else inside.”
He pulled out a small package of papers tied together with yarn.
“I thought I’d make you a keychain,” she said, “since you don’t wear jewelry. I sketched out a few designs and you can pick one. I think there are six? You, uh, provided me with lots of inspiration.”
“I’m not sure anyone has found me inspiring before.”
“Fortunately, I’m special.”
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
They were two puzzle pieces that hadn’t fit together at first, but if you rotated them...
Ugh. Did that metaphor make any sense? Sometimes her brain didn’t function properly when she was touching him, but that was okay.
“On our last date,” she said, “I wanted to try the tres leches cake, but I refused dessert so I wouldn’t need to spend more time in your company.”
He chuckled softly.
“But tonight, I’m definitely having dessert. There’s a Japanese dessert place nearby, and they have matcha yuzu cake.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ll happily follow you anywhere tonight, Julie. I’ll even allow another failed attempt at a snow angel.”
“The only reason the snow angels didn’t work was because you kept kissing me.”
“And what a great decision that was.”
Julie smiled at him and sipped her soju bomb.
She’d made some good decisions, that was for sure.
* * *
“See, I told you,” Bridget said to Julie when she returned home at ten the next morning. “You guys are perfect together.”
“You haven’t been able to shut up about it for the past week,” Julie muttered. “You keep going on and on about how you’re such a great matchmaker. But how many bad dates did you set up for me?”
“Maybe if you’d given some of those men a second chance, it would have worked out.”
“Mmm, no. I think Tom is an exception. I’m sure if I’d asked Unicycle Taylor to come to Ashton Corners and pretend to be my boyfriend, it wouldn’t have gone well.”
“Whatever,” Bridget said. “A matchmaker can’t succeed a hundred percent of the time.”
“You don’t succeed even close to ten percent of the time.”
Bridget waved this off. “I’m just glad you finally realized my feeling about you and Tom was right.”
“Me, too,” Julie admitted. “It’s only been a week, but I really am happy with him.”
“Even if he hates mayo?”
“Even if he hates mayo.”
She’d never had a clear roadmap of where she was going in life, but this was still pretty far from where she’d expected to end up.
Not that she was complaining.
Having a matchmaker roommate and a paisley tie-wearing boyfriend could be pretty damn amazing.
Epilogue
Several weeks later...
On the evening of February twelfth, Tom was driving a car full of people to Ashton Corners for Chinese New Year.
Julie, Mike, and Charlott
e were arguing about pineapple on pizza, and the racket was giving him a headache. He’d already given his contribution to the argument fifteen minutes ago: pineapple on pizza was an abomination. Charlotte agreed with him; Mike and Julie did not. This wasn’t a topic that deserved twenty minutes of conversation, yet here they were.
Still, he liked his new life. He just hoped Julie wouldn’t try to make him eat pizza with pineapple, though that was less disgusting than a sandwich with ketchup. However, he’d surprisingly enjoyed everything bagels with peanut butter and cheddar, much to her amusement.
The last time he’d done this drive, he’d been accompanying Julie to her hometown as her fake boyfriend, but now, nothing was fake.
Everything was gloriously real, just as he wanted it.
He was looking forward to seeing her parents again, and he was glad their conversations with Julie had improved. He knew Julie used to feel defensive whenever she talked to them, but not so much anymore. Though her parents still regularly got on her nerves, in a loving way.
Just like she sometimes got on his nerves.
She’d also met his parents and charmed them, bringing sunshine to his serious family. They’d had their New Year’s celebration last night. Some of his extended family was in Toronto for a few days, too, and his uncle was doing much better now.
Yes, somehow the most ridiculous thing Tom had ever done—agreeing to be someone’s fake boyfriend—had turned out well. He certainly never would have expected it, but there it was.
Mike and Charlotte were now arguing about cider, and Julie turned away from their conversation. Tom could feel her looking at him, even though his gaze was fixed firmly on the highway.
“I wonder if there will be any competitions this time,” Julie said. “It’s Valentine’s on Sunday, so perhaps we’ll have to make Valentine’s Day cupcakes?”
“Or a cake shaped like an ox. It’s the Year of the Ox, after all.”
Tom wasn’t sure what another holiday with the Tams would bring, but even though there were no itineraries or lists, he didn’t care.
Because he’d be with Julie.
Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t have his ties, his stain remover pen, his sewing kit, and his neatly-packed suitcase with him.
“I love you, Julie,” he murmured.
“I love you, too.”
He wouldn’t change a single thing about their Christmas love story, not even the part where he’d eaten a mashed potato and ketchup sandwich.
* * * * *
Thank you for reading Her Pretend Christmas Date. This novella is Book 2.5 in the Cider Bar Sisters series, which focuses on Charlotte and her friends. Book 2, His Grumpy Childhood Friend, is Charlotte and Mike’s book. Book 3 should be out in 2021.
If you want to read more Christmas novellas with only one bed, I have two others! The first is One Bed for Christmas, a standalone prequel to my Baldwin Village series. You can get a free copy if you sign up for my newsletter here.
The other is A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas (Holidays with the Wongs, Book 2), which is also about returning to your hometown for Christmas. Except there’s a snowstorm...
About the Author
Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between writing “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels. Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gelato, gourmet donuts, cooking, hiking, and reading on the balcony when it’s raining.
Find out more at jackielaubooks.com. You can also follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or join her Facebook reader group, Northern Heat, with fellow Canadian rom-com authors Jenny Holiday and Farah Heron.
Also by Jackie Lau
Cider Bar Sisters Series
Her Big City Neighbor
His Grumpy Childhood Friend
Her Pretend Christmas Date (novella)
Kwan Sisters/Fong Brothers Series
Grumpy Fake Boyfriend
Mr. Hotshot CEO
Pregnant by the Playboy
Holidays with the Wongs Series
A Match Made for Thanksgiving
A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas
A Fake Girlfriend for Chinese New Year
A Big Surprise for Valentine’s Day
Baldwin Village Series
One Bed for Christmas (prequel novella)
The Ultimate Pi Day Party
Ice Cream Lover
Man vs. Durian
Chin-Williams Series
Not Another Family Wedding
He’s Not My Boyfriend
