Fake Christmas

by Lexy Timms

She watched as he undressed and got into bed. The minute he lay his head down, he was out like a light.

  Allyson stared at him, wishing she could sleep that soundly. Nights like that were so rare now. She went to bed anxious, and sometimes the anxiety made her toss and turn. Wake up at odd hours and stare out into the darkness, willing herself to sleep. It was almost always futile.

  Except for last night, when she had slept so soundly at the hotel in Colorado. That night had been one of the best night’s sleep she had ever had. Probably because she had thought they’d be able to get to New York in time.

  Grabbing the remote, she turned on the flat screen TV and settled on one of the weather channels. It was probably torture so sit here and listen to the weatherman say there was virtually no hope of getting to New York before Christmas Day, but hope was all she had.

  She tried to tell herself that even though they would miss Christmas in New York, there would still be other days. Other holidays that she and Dane could celebrate with family. Other days that would be special. Just not as special as the Christmas she had been planning for this year.

  Watching the weather report didn’t change the fact that this secret she carried was always in danger of slipping out. Because she wanted nothing more than to tell her husband.

  As she stared at the TV screen, she didn’t know how she would handle the truth being revealed. All she knew was that her marriage was about to change forever.

  SHE WOKE UP TO THE sound of Christmas carols blaring in her ears. The sheets beside her were rumpled. Running her hand down Dane’s side of the bed, she realized that the spot was cold. Which meant her husband had been out of bed for some time.

  Stretching, she rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Even with the bathroom door shut and the shower on at full blast, she could still hear the Christmas carols. After taking a quick shower, she brushed her teeth and put on a loose-fitting sundress that had been taken out of storage. It was a little big for her, but most of her own clothes were inappropriate for the climate, so the slightly oversized dress would have to do.

  After making the bed Allyson headed downstairs, following the sound of the Christmas carols until she stopped in the kitchen. Dane was sitting at the island, a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

  “How’s the weather?” she asked loudly.

  Her husband looked up at her quizzically. Clearly, he couldn’t hear her.

  “Can you turn that off?” she asked, pitching her voice higher.

  Nodding, Dane walked over to turn down the volume of the radio. “What did you say?”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “I was asking about the weather in New York.” Frowning, she pointed. “Why was the radio so loud?”

  “Mrs. McKenzie turned the sound up so the carols would fill the whole house,” he said. “After last night, she thought we could use some Christmas cheer. I didn’t have the heart to ask her to turn it down. Besides, you’re up late anyway. It’s almost eleven.”

  Her eyes widened. It had taken her ages to finally fall asleep last night, so it made sense that she’d get out of bed late. Still, she hadn’t gotten up this late in a long time. Not even on weekends.

  She looked around the expansive kitchen. “Where is Mrs. McKenzie, anyway?”

  “Cleaning up the living room,” he said. “I was going to start helping her take the Christmas decorations out of storage once I was done with breakfast.”

  “Aren’t you eating breakfast kind of late?” she asked.

  “That’s because I went on an early morning run. After that I helped the gardener, Mr. Bell, with some of the yard work,” Dane replied.

  “You sure have been busy,” she said. “You’ve done all this work already while I’ve been sleeping the day away.”

  “You’ve been working hard enough as it is,” he said pointedly. “Anyway, yard work is good exercise. And exercise in this weather is a hell of a lot better than taking a jog in the middle of a New York winter.”

  “Speaking of winter, has the snowstorm died down?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I checked the weather report less than an hour ago. It still looks like flights will be grounded well into Christmas Day.”

  “Even for private jets?” She hated flaunting their wealth unnecessarily, but at this point she didn’t care. All she wanted for Christmas was to get home to New York City. Her sleepless night had reminded her of that much.

  “Even for private jets,” he replied. “Do you want to call your family and tell them Christmas plans are cancelled? Or the caterers?”

  She pursed her lips. “I’ll get in touch with my brother to let him know we won’t make it to his place today. But I’m not ready to cancel Christmas Day just yet.” She squared her shoulders in determination. “I’m going to hold off on calling the caterers to cancel, but I’ve already let them know I won’t be at the tasting today, for obvious reasons.”

  Dane set his coffee cup down and glanced at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to cancel? The weather looks grim. You might be setting yourself up for false hope, Allyson.”

  Throwing her hands up in frustration, she said, “It’s Christmas. This is exactly the time for false hope.”

  Something flashed in his blue eyes. It looked like irritation. “I just don’t want you setting yourself up for major disappointment.”

  The look on his face was making her grind her teeth. “I’m already disappointed.”

  He crossed his arms. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, this isn’t how I want to spend Christmas,” she said. “And I’m not accepting it.”

  “I know being with family is important to you, but you’re going to have to let this one go,” he said. “There’s always next Christmas—”

  “No, there isn’t,” she snapped. “This is our first Christmas as a married couple. We’re not going to get a do-over. If we miss this Christmas, we’ll never have another first Christmas again. This is too important. And I’m really annoyed that you don’t seem to be taking it seriously.”

  “What do you expect me to do?” he demanded. “Change the weather?”

  “Why are you trying to make me look unreasonable?” she shot back.

  “I’m not. But things cannot be perfect,” he said. “Sometimes things just don’t work out. At least we’re together.”

  That hurt. Did he really believe that she didn’t want to be with him during the holidays? Dane was the only thing keeping her together. Keeping her sane. Now all she wanted to do was cry.

  Oh crap. Too late.

  Hot tears were rolling down her cheeks. She hadn’t even realized that she was on the verge of tears. As she gasped for air, it was like her lungs were being squeezed. Stubbornly, she started to brush her tears aside and then she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her.

  Dane was holding her. Kissing the top of her head as she cried openly. So many conflicting emotions bombarded her. Guilt at keeping the truth from her husband. Despair at missing her appointment. At missing their first Christmas with their families. After all her hard work and her weeks of planning, everything was ruined.

  Her shoulders heaved as she let out a shuddering sob. “I just wanted us to spend Christmas together. As a family. Why don’t you understand?”

  His hold on her tightened, and he started to murmur into her ear. “I might not understand everything, but I’m here, Allyson. I’m here.”

  “Everything comes so easily to you,” she choked out. “You don’t see how hard I try to fit in. I’m not some blue-blood heiress. Everyone in high society expects me to fail. That’s why this Christmas is so important.”

  All she wanted was to make Dane and their families proud. Show them that even though she hadn’t started off wealthy, she really did belong.

  “But I don’t expect you to fit in with all those heiresses,” he said gently. “Nothing has to change. I love you just as you are.”

  “Do you?” she asked. “You said it yourself: you’re the o
ne who wanted me to change my job, after all. So, on some level, you know that things have changed. Especially for me. Out of the two of us, it’s my life that has changed the most.”

  He pulled away from her to cup her face. “I do love you the way you are. But when I brought up feeling guilty about asking you to take on a more senior position, you brushed that aside. You don’t have to tell me what I want to hear, Allyson. It’s okay if you regret taking the job—”

  “I don’t,” she interrupted. “That’s just it. I like some of the changes in my life. It’s just that things have changed so much so fast.”

  “That must be overwhelming for you,” he said.

  “It has been,” she said. “Last year, right before I went to my parents’ house for Christmas, I was sitting in front of the TV eating bad pizza with an old college roommate. Talking about how boring my love life was. And my hopeless crush on my boss...” Warmth crept up her cheeks and she gave him a shaky smile.

  “What a difference a year makes.” Slowly, Dane brushed her tears away with his thumb.

  There was something calming about her husband being so tender with her. Even when they didn’t see eye to eye, Dane’s love for her was so obvious. So overwhelming. “All I wanted was to prove myself this Christmas,” she said. “Prove that I was worthy. That the Prescott family name was in good hands with me.”

  She knew it was probably a frivolous thing to want, but she wanted to be the perfect society hostess. Show the world that Dane hadn’t married down. Show her parents that she worked hard, and wasn’t just depending on her husband’s money. She had always been caught between not caring what high society thought of her, and wanting to live up to the Prescott name. It was such a contradictory position to be in.

  Dane leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The warm kiss awakened her senses. Reminded her that she was tired of kissing her husband and feeling guilty every time. This had to end. Maybe not in the way she had planned, but she needed to tackle her secret head-on. Even if, right now, she had to do one last dishonest thing.

  Chapter 9

  His wife was having an affair. She had to be. That was the only explanation that made sense.

  Dane was helping Mrs. McKenzie, carrying the last of the heavy cardboard boxes into the living room. Mrs. McKenzie had already opened some of the boxes, and was now taking out the Christmas ornaments.

  “Mr. Prescott?”

  He jerked towards the sound of Mrs. McKenzie’s voice. “Yes, Mrs. McKenzie?”

  She smiled. “I’ve been calling you for ages. But you look like you’re a million miles away. Thinking about spending Christmas with your new wife?”

  “Something like that.” He must’ve been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed she had been trying to get his attention. He knew he should focus on helping Mrs. McKenzie while Allyson ate breakfast in the kitchen, but that was impossible. Not when he had suspicions about his wife.

  Little things seemed to point toward Allyson having an affair. Her closeness with Cameron. Texting Cameron during the flight. Desperately wanting to be in New York today. Especially today. She had said she only wanted to get home today to spend time with her new nephew. But that couldn’t be the reason she had cried in his arms in the kitchen. Her tears had been for something far more serious.

  He had seen it in her eyes. Those hadn’t been the eyes of a woman who was upset about a delayed reunion with her nephew. She looked haunted. Desperate. He had never seen her look that on-edge before. Not even when she had been fighting to stay out of prison.

  “Do you want the Christmas tree in the living room?” Mrs. McKenzie asked. “Or near the front door?”

  “The living room is fine,” he said. “I’ll look through the boxes for the tree and then assemble it.” He began to open the remainder of the boxes, searching for the plastic Christmas tree.

  In his heart, he wanted nothing more than to ignore his suspicions about his wife. It would be easier to just go on like nothing was wrong. He could focus on assembling the tree until Allyson showed up to help put up the decorations. They could spend quality time together. Away from the noise of work, and their two families, and social obligations. Away from what had been distracting her lately.

  Because she was distracted. And she was also hiding something from him. Last night, when he had demanded an explanation for why she had acted so strangely after he found her on the beach, she had lied to him. He knew from one glance at her face that she hadn’t really wanted him to search her phone.

  They hadn’t been married long, but he knew his wife well enough to know when she wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Whenever there was a little intake of breath and she averted her eyes for just an instant. Allyson probably had no idea she was even doing it.

  Which meant that if she didn’t really want him searching her phone, she had been calling someone she shouldn’t have been calling. That left only one possible explanation. There was no way she would be that secretive over something trivial. This was serious. And that pointed to an affair.

  He sucked in a breath, but it still felt like his heart was being ripped to shreds.

  “I’m going to go check on Allyson,” he informed Mrs. McKenzie.

  Talking to his wife now that he had come to such a horrible conclusion probably wasn’t the best idea, but he had to talk to her. He had to get the truth out of her. Enough was enough.

  Dane walked into the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. She had washed her plate and glass, which was so like her. Knowing her, she had probably already made their bed as well. If it was something Allyson could do herself, she would probably do it.

  Shoving aside his tenderness for her, he headed out of the kitchen. Maybe she had gone back upstairs. He crossed the foyer. The rumble of a car engine made him stop in his tracks.

  He frowned. “Allyson?”

  The roar of the engine was getting fainter and fainter. Quickly, he headed to the front door, threw it open, and found a white car pulling away from the villa. Allyson was sitting in the back seat, her mane of glossy black hair unmistakable.

  How the hell could she leave without telling him? Ordinarily, she would never do something like that. But she hadn’t been herself for weeks. Allyson just disappearing like this had to be confirmation of his suspicions. She was having an affair. Right now, she was probably trying to get away so she could talk to her lover without interruptions. Without him overhearing.

  His body tensed with anger. Blood boiling, he marched back into the house. Without a word to Mrs. McKenzie, he headed through the living room and stepped outside. Didn’t stop walking until he made it to the white-sand beach.

  Dane’s phone was still in his pocket. Right now, he felt the weight of it. Maybe he should call his wife. Let her know that she had been caught in the act. Let her know that he wasn’t going to put up with being betrayed.

  Part of him wanted to know if she still loved him. Whatever he had done to make her unhappy, he was willing to work on. Then, an image flashed in his mind. The image of a man caressing his wife. Kissing his wife. Whispering into her ear. Making love to her.

  No.

  He could never forgive her. Not ever.

  “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” The accusation hung heavy in her husband’s tone.

  Allyson slowly walked across the sand towards Dane. He was standing on the beach, staring out at the waves. As she got closer to him, she struggled to gather her thoughts. Her trip into town might have put her mind at ease, but she still had to keep her secret from Dane. For just a little while longer. One day, he would understand. “I went out,” she said mildly.

  Dan clenched his jaw. “Out? That’s the answer you’re going to give me?”

  “I took a taxi into town.” She shielded her face with her hand, blocking out the sun. “To buy Christmas gifts for the villa’s staff. Including the gardener.” That much was true. She had gone to get presents. Granted, buying gifts was more of a cover story for what she had really been up to, but Dane didn’t
need to know that. At least, not yet.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded. “You’ve been gone for at least two hours. I called you three times and you didn’t answer. I’ve been worried sick.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have told you—”

  “You’ve been acting very strangely lately,” he said. There was an angry edge to his voice, but there was also something else underneath it. Sadness. Disappointment. Hurt.

  Causing her husband pain was the last thing she wanted. She hadn’t been thinking all that clearly when she took off earlier. All she had wanted was to put an end to her anxiety and take back some control of her life. Going into town had given her more clarity. Maybe even a little peace of mind. But blurting out everything now would just cause him even more pain. She had to make sure the time was right before she revealed everything to him.

  “I know it looks that way,” she said. “But I swear I’m not doing it to hurt you. I promise that, really soon, this will all make sense.”

  His eyes locked on hers. “So, you are keeping something from me?”

  After what she had put him through, he at least deserved this part of the truth. With a nod, she said, “Yes.”

  “I knew it.” He turned from her and started to walk away.

  “Dane, wait!” She rushed after him. Dane was so tall, and his strides so long that she struggled to keep up.

  Finally, she jumped ahead of him and put her hands on his arms.

  He stopped in his tracks. Glaring down at her, dark clouds seemed to swirl in his eyes. Eyes so blue they matched the ocean behind them.

  “Please listen,” she begged. “I swear it’s not what you think. I can see it on your face. You think the worst of me, don’t you?”

  Not saying a word, he nodded.

  “It’s not that.” She couldn’t be sure what he was thinking, but she could guess. And it was so unspeakably awful that she didn’t want to force his suspicions out of him. Didn’t want to voice the worst and then destroy this fragile marriage. Because it was fragile. They hadn’t even been married for a year. Their marriage was so new that they had to do whatever it took to protect it. Which was what she was doing right now.