by Taylor Hart
“Okay, bye, sweetheart. Ask your boyfriend!”
Lacey pushed the end button on her screen. Nervous butterflies rushed through her, and she held her hand against her stomach to quell the angst.
“Lacey!” She heard Ms. Palomino’s sharp-edged voice through the doorway.
Breathing hard, Lacey turned to the door and stumbled inside.
Ms. Palomino frowned at her and looked at her Apple watch. “You’re lucky you stepped in, or I would have given the lead to the understudy.”
Five exhausting and exhilarating hours later, Lacey staggered into her apartment and dropped her school bag and dance bag onto the floor. The final performance had been amazing, but it hadn’t been as satisfying for Lacey tonight. She just felt tired and stretched from head to toe.
She shut the door to the apartment and kept her sweater wrapped around her. The apartment was chilly. She went to the thermostat and turned up the heat from sixty-eight degrees to seventy-two.
Going to the kitchen, she peered into the fridge. There was some leftover takeout Chinese food from last night, but the idea of eating it made her feel sick. There were a couple of yogurts, protein shakes, and apples. Opting for the apple, she pulled it out and took a big bite.
The cat brushed her foot. She bent and pushed a hand into his thick, soft fur. “Hey, Rhett. How’s my boy?” Slipping an arm beneath him, she walked to the oversized couch and flounced down on it, tucking him against her side. “You want to go to Snow Valley with me for Christmas?”
Well, at least she hadn’t lied about having dinners with Rhett.
Rhett snuggled into her and dropped on his back, demanding a belly rub and purring like a motor. She complied with a teary-eyed smile. “If only there was a man named Rhett.” She sighed. It had never occurred to her that her little white lie for the past six months—to get her parents off her back—would come back to bite her in the butt.
“Hello!” The door flew open, and her roommate burst into the apartment. Ellie was a vibrant theater student, and Lacey found her own dramatics usually paled in comparison to whatever Ellie had going on in her life. It had been nice for Lacey to have Ellie these past two years. She always brought laughter and joy and made Lacey feel better about life in general.
“Hey.” Lacey looked up from Rhett’s belly and took another bite of apple. She had hardly eaten at all today and was feeling a bit of a sugar rush from the fruit.
Ellie had short, perky brown hair and a petite frame. She was only four-eleven, almost a foot shorter than Lacey. She twirled into the living room and extended her left hand with a flourish. “It happened,” she said in a singsong voice.
Lacey shot to her feet, dropping her apple and upsetting Rhett so much he let out a yowl. It didn’t matter, because all Lacey could think about was how Ellie had been hoping and talking about her boyfriend Justin proposing to her. Ellie’d said she could feel it coming, and her intuition was rarely wrong.
A large diamond gleamed from a very important finger, and Lacey let out a little whoop. She grasped her friend’s hand. “Wow!”
Ellie let her hold her finger for a couple of seconds, then crumpled into Lacey’s arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “It happened. It really happened.”
Lacey held her and smiled, feeling herself tear up too. Her friend had been waiting for this proposal for as long as Lacey could remember. Pulling back, she gazed down at Ellie’s finger. “I’m so, so, so happy for you.”
“He said he’s been saving for a long time.” A dreamy smile washed over Ellie’s face. “He said he’s known he wanted to marry me since the day we met.”
Lacey nodded, thinking about a six-month stint where Ellie had obsessed he was cheating on her or something. She had reassured Ellie because she’d always had a good feeling about Justin. “He’s a great guy.”
“Remember when I thought he was cheating?” Ellie continued, as if reading Lacey’s mind. “He was working a night job stocking shelves to make money for the ring.” Tears ran down Ellie’s face. “Can you believe it?”
“He’s amazing,” Lacey agreed. And he really was. Justin was one of the most devoted boyfriends ever.
It was stupid, and Lacey hated herself for it, but she thought about the chasm between where Ellie was in her relationship to Justin and the lack of everything in her own life.
“What?” Ellie frowned at her.
Lacey turned away, hating the tear falling down her cheek. In an attempt to hide it, she stooped to pick up the apple she’d dropped, looking away long enough to compose herself. “Nothing.”
Ellie wasn’t the type to accept that. She crossed her arms and blocked Lacey’s path when she tried to go to the kitchen. “Uh-huh. What were you thinking about, Lacey?”
Lacey put on a fake smile. “Nothing.” She wrapped her arms around Ellie. “It’s nothing. I’m so happy for you.”
The hug only deterred Ellie for a moment before she pulled back, searching Lacey’s face. “No. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Lacey pushed away, hating that she was about to give in to a pity party. “Nothing.” She slipped past Ellie and into the kitchen, where she tossed the rest of the apple in the trash.
“Stop,” Ellie commanded. “There’s something.”
“What?” Lacey tried to get a hold of herself. “I don’t want to talk about me.” She put on a rubbery smile. “I want to talk about you. Tell me how he proposed.”
The distraction worked, and Ellie’s eyes shone at the memory. “He took me to Estes Park today. As we looked over the beautiful fall mountains, he got down on one knee in the snow and told me he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life. I know it’s kind of stupid, doing it out in the snow, but I loved it.” She wiped beneath her eyes, and her grin widened. “We want a spring wedding. Will you be my maid of honor?”
“Yes!” Lacey squeezed her in another hug. Delight surged through her again.
Ellie hummed happily, then pulled back. “Now, I want you to tell me why you’re upset.”
Sometimes, Lacey hated being unable to keep the truth from her best friend. She shook her head and bit her lip.
“Tell me!” Ellie demanded.
Lacey’s shoulders dropped. “My dad called. Oliver is coming with his family for Christmas, and he’s bringing his new fiancée.”
“What?” Ellie looked aghast. “Are you kidding me?”
“I know. Oliver’s father is my dad’s realtor. He told my dad last week his wife just found out she has breast cancer, so my dad asked them to come.”
Ellie hesitated, giving her a once-over before tugging her in for a hug. “Crap.” She stomped her foot.
“The worst thing,” Lacey said, thinking about her miserable lie, “was that I’ve told them I have a boyfriend named Rhett for the past six months to get them off my back. So of course my dad wants me to bring him.”
Ellie’s face shifted into amused disbelief, and she looked down at the cat by their feet. “Oh no, our little Rhett.”
Lacey’s face burned with embarrassment.
Ellie gave in to hysterical giggles. She wiped at the smudges beneath her black-lined eyes. “Oh my gosh.”
The side of Lacey’s mouth quirked up, but she wasn’t feeling the humor at the moment.
“Oh my gosh.” After a moment to catch her breath, Ellie popped up, snapping her fingers. “Wait, I got it.”
Lacey frowned in confusion. “You got what?” There was a new energy in the air, the kind that made Lacey feel like Ellie just might really have something.
“A paid boyfriend. Just like in all those Hallmark Christmas movies!” She squealed with delight and clapped her hands together. “A Christmas boyfriend!”
“A Christmas boyfriend?” Lacey scoffed. “You’ve watched too many of those Christmas movies!”
“Yes!” Ellie hopped up and down. “It’d be perfect!”
“No.” Lacey’s heart raced as she thought about seeing Oliver at Christmas. “I can’t show up with someone else; Oliver w
ould see right through me. I’m still in love with him.”
Ellie wagged her finger at Lacey. “Exactly. You’re still in love with Oliver, but he’s not in love with you, right? He’s bringing a fiancée with him.”
Lacey wilted, knowing how pathetic she would look, spending the whole day trying to avoid Oliver.
Elle grabbed her by the shoulders. “Listen: if you show up with some hot boyfriend, you no longer look like you’ve just been pining over Oliver.” She pointed to an open photo album next to the couch. “Just like you do every night.”
Lacey resented her words, but she knew Ellie was right. “I can’t pretend that, Ellie. I want Oliver back,” she admitted. She had never stopped wanting him back.
Ellie gave her a harsh up-and-down look. “Do you? You want the guy back who couldn’t support your dreams?”
Okay, that was a fair point. Granted, he’d hurt her when he’d broken up with her, but she’d hurt him too—hadn’t she?—by not wanting to quit dancing and move back to be with him. Of course she wanted to live in Snow Valley at some point, but she also couldn’t imagine not taking opportunities to dance with a professional company.
She knew she couldn’t handle Oliver being with someone else. That information put a whole new spin on everything. “I need him back, Ellie.” She was on the verge of tears. How had this happened to her? How had she lost Oliver?
Ellie let out a long breath. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”
“I chose my dreams over him, but I miss him so much sometimes.” She blinked in shame and tried to hold back the waterworks.
“Even if you feel that way, you need to do this,” Ellie said seriously. “We get you that Christmas boyfriend, you take him back to Snow Valley and use him to make Oliver jealous.”
“You’re crazy.” Lacey pulled away, rubbing two fingers into her temple. “No. No. I can’t—”
“Yes!” Ellie insisted. “If you go back there and he’s engaged and all happy and you’re miserable, he’s not going to look twice at you, but—” She nodded emphatically. “—if you go to Snow Valley with the hot Rhett, he’ll be jealous, and he’ll want you back.”
The center of Lacey’s chest squeezed. She knew Ellie was right. Back in Snow Valley, Lacey would be jealous and sad and angry. Every time she looked at Oliver, she’d be desperate. It would push him away. On the other hand, if she had someone else, she could make him jealous. She remembered when, in the eleventh grade, Tommy Henley had asked her to the junior dance and how jealous Oliver had been, propelling him to ask her out in the first place a few days later. “Maybe,” she hedged.
“Listen. I think I might know the perfect guy to pose as your boyfriend.”
“Who?”
Mischief glinted in Ellie’s eye. “Justin’s cousin, Dominick. He’s a hotshot Air Force pilot, he’s only twenty-six. I’ve seen pictures of him, and he’s gorgeous.” She winked. “Not as gorgeous as Justin, you know, but Justin told me he’s had a rough couple of years and hasn’t dated much.” She did a couple of hops and let out an excited squeal. “Yes! Then Justin can come home with me for Christmas.” Ellie rushed for the door.
“But—Wait!” No, no, no. She couldn’t really do this. “I’m not the kind of person who hires a date.”
“Yes!” Ellie flung the door open. She did little claps and turned to face her. “Remember, you’re not hiring a date. You’re hiring a boyfriend. Because you want to win your old boyfriend back.” She nodded solemnly, like the deal was decided. “Do you want to watch Oliver make out with his new fiancée all weekend? Or do you want him to be jealous of you and your new boyfriend?”
Lacey fidgeted. “I don’t have any money,” she said, groping for a good reason to say no.
Ellie held the door wide, scowling. “Yes, you do. That credit card you applied for last month.” More accurately, Ellie had led her along through the application process, telling her she needed to build credit and couldn’t rely on her parents her whole life. “There are two thousand dollars in cash you can pull out. You can use that.”
“It’s, like, twenty percent interest!” Lacey protested.
Ellie cocked an eyebrow. “Are you going to fight to get your boyfriend back or not? What do you want, Lacey?”
Lacey exhaled slowly, pushing away her hesitation. “I want him back.”
Ellie nodded, moving to the door. “Good. Get packed and be ready to meet your new boyfriend at the airport tomorrow.” She winked at her before shutting the door.
Lacey stared after Ellie, speechless. The tiny brunette had always been a bundle of energy, unstoppable energy if the truth be told.
A paid boyfriend. Could she really do this? Slumping to the ground next to Rhett, Lacey slid a hand over his soft fur. She thought of Oliver and how she’d always imagined they would get married in that little community church in Snow Valley with Pastor John officiating.
Lacey considered Oliver and Linda. If she recalled correctly, Linda was a singer. She had been in a couple of high school musicals and had a beautiful voice. Lacey’s lips pursed at the thought. No, it was supposed to be her and Oliver raising dancing kids in Snow Valley, not him and Linda raising singing children.
Straightening up, she marched to her computer. Well, if she did have a paid date named Rhett, she had to tell him all the lies she’d told her family about him. This would take some time.
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The Fearless Groom
Isabella Knight pasted on her smile and waved to the cluster of photographers as she walked up the sidewalk and through the arched doorway into the Rosecrest Mansion. Unfortunately, the beautiful Spanish architecture with the warm yellow stucco exterior, clay roof tiles, and arched windows and doors was lost on her. She was too busy checking the location of her security detail for the night. Two nondescript men in tuxes followed her at a discreet distance. She scowled then immediately smoothed her face out when another camera flashed. This was exactly why she tried to avoid social media. Somebody at the hospital would usually show her when a particularly unflattering photo hit the Internet.
Thankfully, her regular life as a nurse practitioner didn’t include over-muscled goons following her around, but they were forced on her at any large social gatherings she attended. She often told her half-sister they weren’t the ones in danger. It was their father who was the money-grubbing tycoon. The threat was all on him. Still, she was smart enough to realize that kidnapping her or Hailey would be profitable for someone. Her father had enough parental inclinations to pay a ransom for Hailey, though she wasn’t a hundred percent certain about herself.
Clearing the doorway, she glanced back one more time to see if her security guys were following and waved to the swarm of photographers again. She looked the part of the daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon and the owner of the Texas Titans. She wore a form-fitting teal blue knee-length dress and gorgeous Manolo Blahnik silver heels. Her father’s clothing designer had not been happy when she insisted on capped sleeves and no exposed chest, but the dress was tight enough that every bump and curve was on display for the world to ogle and dissect.
Turning forward, her eyes widened as she realized a broad back encased in a navy-blue suit was right in her path. She lifted her hands to keep from planting her face in between his shoulder blades and grabbed onto two very defined arms. Whoa. Whoever this guy was, he was more built than her bodyguards.
“Excuse me,” she said, letting go and stepping back, but the point of her two-inch heel caught between one of the tiles of the floor, and she was going down. Arms flailing, she prayed with everything in her she was far enough inside the mansion that the paparazzi, who had been banned to the outside, were not capturing what was sure to be the worst moment she’d had in a decade.
The man pivoted, saw her wind-milling limbs, and caught her in one fluid motion. Izzy was suspended in mid-air, a foot away from the
floor, staring up into deep brown eyes. They seemed to look straight into her, pulling away all the crap the world had tried to pump in there and seeing the real her—her heartache for the pain she saw children going through, her hopes of being enough to help them, and her hidden desire to not do it alone.
She pushed out a long breath. The man smiled and his five-o’clock shadow wasn’t grown out enough to hide a perfect set of dimples. Her heart slammed against her chest. Xavier Newton. Oh, crap, this was not the first impression she wanted to make.
“You all right, ma’am?” he asked, gently lifting her onto her feet, but keeping one hand on the small of her lower back. His palm was nice and big, perfect for snatching footballs out of the air and making her go hot and cold all over.
“Thanks to you.” She found herself returning the smile with a genuine one of her own, nothing close to the plastic version she’d been giving the photographers and reporters out front.
“Glad to be of service.”
“With muscles that big, you probably catch a lot of things. You’re just a big old hero, aren’t you?” Izzy was horrified those words had just come out of her mouth. She may have been a natural smart aleck, but she tried to not flirt with good-looking men unless she knew them well enough to be assured they weren’t philanderers like her father. Xavier Newton sadly only fit in the good-looking category.
His smile deepened, and then he chuckled. “I try, ma’am. I surely do.” He turned her down the hallway and toward the main area where the gala and auction were being held. “Can I escort you in?”
Izzy bit at her lip. Her father would be thrilled at this turn of events as this was the man he had specifically instructed her to buy like Xavier Newton was some kind of horse or long-horned steer. It made her sick the way her father had said it, but he’d also given her unlimited access to his charity fund if she promised to win the bid on Xavier. All that money was going to her beloved children’s hospital, so it was one of the few times he knew he had her over a barrel.
