A Christmas Collection: Four Sweet Holiday Romances

by Victorine E. Lieske

Dorothy threw her arms around him. “Yes, I will marry you.”

  Charley put her arm around Alexander, emotions surging in her. Dorothy deserved every happiness. And marrying Alex had been the best thing she’d ever done. She hoped Dorothy would find as much happiness as she had.

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  Her Fake Christmas Date

  Chapter 1

  Jennifer tugged on her suitcase, trying to get it out of her trunk while the cold air stung her cheeks. Why had she stuffed so many clothes inside? It felt like it weighed a zillion pounds. Can a suitcase gain weight as you drive? Jennifer wasn’t sure, but the thing wasn’t going to budge. In frustration, she let out a grunt and slapped it. Unfortunately, the motion made her slip on the icy street and she landed on her butt. Great.

  She tried to get up, but her boot slipped uselessly on the ice and she was back on her behind, the cold seeping through her jeans. A hand extended down. “You okay?”

  Jennifer looked up and, of course, it was a handsome man. She would embarrass herself in front of the only hot guy she’d ever seen in her mother’s neighborhood. Her heartbeat picked up as she allowed him to help her to her feet. “Uh, yeah…thanks.”

  “Need some help?”

  She smiled and pointed to her suitcase, suddenly feeling silly. “I can’t lift it.”

  He leaned down and grabbed the handle, easily pulling it out. “No problem. I’ve got it.”

  Something about the way he said it sounded familiar to her, and she squinted at him. He kind of looked like…no. Could it really be? “Shane?”

  He stared at her. “Yeah?”

  “Holy cow! I didn’t recognize you.” He’d changed so much since the last time she’d seen him. He looked older. More mature. Okay, she had to admit it. He was handsome. And buff. What had he been doing since she’d left? Lifting tree trunks for a living? And did it suddenly get hot out here? She fanned her face.

  Shane gave her that crooked smile she was so familiar with. “Really?”

  “Well, you’ve changed so much. You’re…” Jennifer waved her hand over him, unsure of what word would be appropriate. When too much time had passed, she just blurted out the first word that popped into her head. “Hot.” Oh, no. That wasn’t what she wanted to say. “I mean…grown up.” Heat rushed to her face and she turned from him for fear he would see her blush.

  He just chuckled. “I’ll carry this up to the house for you.” He motioned toward her mother’s home.

  “Thank you.” She probably would have ended up falling on her butt again had she tried to lug the thing up the sidewalk. She stared at his thick arms. “Why aren’t you wearing a coat?”

  “I saw you slip and came out to help.” Shane closed her trunk and started up the walkway, slowing when she didn’t join him right away. “How long are you visiting?”

  Jennifer rushed to catch up. “Ten days.” Ten long days. She loved her mother, but she wasn’t looking forward to the barrage of questions she was sure to hit her with. Are you dating anyone? Why not? Don’t you think it’s been long enough? When are you going to get back on the saddle? She cringed.

  Shane nodded and opened the gate and held it for her.

  “Thanks,” she said as she passed through. “It will be good to catch up. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my mother.”

  “Five years,” he said under his breath.

  She snapped her gaze up at him. “How did you know that?”

  He shrugged, his face passive. “I live next door.”

  She peered over at the two-story Tudor that had been sitting next door since she could remember. Shane had always lived there, except for a semester of college before his mother’s stroke. After that he’d quit school to take care of her. At least, that’s what her mother had told her. Her mother knew everything about the neighborhood. “How’s your mom doing?” Jennifer asked.

  “She has good days and bad days.”

  Jennifer followed him up the porch steps. It was nice talking to Shane. She hadn’t really talked with him since they’d been friends in high school. Actually, it was probably more like middle school. They’d drifted apart during high school.

  He stopped and set her suitcase down. She looked up at him, her heart suddenly beating in her ears. “We should catch up sometime.”

  He gazed at her a moment before answering. “Sure. Sounds good.” He turned, and before she knew it, he was halfway down the walkway.

  “Bye,” she called, suddenly wishing he’d stayed to talk.

  He gave her a half-wave before he walked to his home and disappeared inside. Jennifer stood on her porch a second, looking at the neighbor’s house. Maybe she would go talk to Shane. Tomorrow. Today she had to face her mother and her questions. She took in a deep breath, then pushed open the door. “Mom! I’m here.”

  Chapter 2

  Jennifer held her breath while her mother, Mary Catherine, gave her that searching look. She knew what was coming. It hadn’t taken long, either. She’d just hung her coat up. Christmas music played on the radio in the kitchen while she waited for it.

  “You dating anyone?”

  And there it was. Jennifer let out her breath in a whoosh. “Mom.”

  Her mother frowned. “I’m sorry, dear. I don’t mean to pry. I just want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy.” The words were out before Jennifer could think about them. Was it true? Was she happy? She’d finally gotten over Mark leaving her at the altar. At least, she thought she was over that. It was horrible and embarrassing, but after all the tears and tubs of ice cream, she had to admit to herself that she’d been more in love with the idea of being in love, than with Mark. It was awful getting left at the altar, but he may have done her a favor.

  Her mother scrutinized her. “Are you?”

  “Yes.” Okay, maybe that was a stretch. She worked pretty much all the time. Being the assistant to the assistant of a top executive at an ad agency in New York had her running all over the place. Pretty much taking lunch orders and getting coffee, but still…it did keep her mind off of her empty apartment, at least until she went home and sat there, alone.

  “Okay. That’s all that matters.” Her mother fussed with her hair, her eyes darting around the room. Why did she look guilty?

  “What is it, Mom?”

  “Nothing. I invited someone over for dinner. That’s all.”

  “What? Who?” Jennifer plopped down on the sofa.

  “Marion’s son. You remember him, don’t you?” She fingered her necklace, a surefire sign that she was up to no good.

  “Jerry? Mom. He smells like fish.”

  “He has a condition. Be nice to him.”

  The last thing Jennifer wanted to do was sit through dinner with Jerry Hanson making eyes at her. There was a reason he was still single. He creeped everyone out. “I can’t make it to dinner.” The words were out before Jennifer could sensor them.

  “Why not?”

  “I have…” Oh, shoot. What could she say that would make her mother back off? “A date.”

  “With whom? You just got here.”

  Jennifer nodded, her mind racing. She had to come up with something good. And then it hit her. The perfect alibi. “Shane. From next door.”

  “Shane?”

  “Yes. He helped me bring my suitcase up. And that’s when he asked me out.” Her gaze landed on the tiny manger scene hanging from her mother’s Christmas tree, and guilt wormed its way into her chest. She’d have to ask for forgiveness later f
or the lie.

  Her mother’s face brightened. “He did? Well, isn’t that lovely? You know, I’ve always thought he was a nice young man.”

  Great. She’d dodged dinner with Fishy Jerry, but now she had to fake a date with the neighbor. Jennifer rubbed her temples. “Yeah. Can I lie down? I think I feel a headache coming on.” Not a lie. Anytime she thought about dating again, the headaches would start up.

  Her mother waved her hands. “Of course, dear. You go upstairs. There’s some medicine in the cabinet in your bathroom.”

  Jennifer took the opportunity and scrambled up the stairs. As she entered her old bedroom, the familiar scent of floor polish mixed with something else that was unique to her home hit her, and she sank down on her old bed. She shouldn’t have stayed away for this long. It was just hard to face her past. And she knew the lingering memories of Mark would taint her visit.

  A noise came from outside and she stood and looked out the window. Shane was in his backyard, chopping wood for his fireplace. She stared at him a minute, watching his muscles as he worked the ax. Dang. Skinny Shane had definitely filled out. He stepped back and stooped to pick up the wood. Now was her chance. If she hurried, she could catch him before he went back inside. She slipped on her boots and snuck down the stairs and out the door, careful not to make too much noise.

  Shane had his arms full of wood by the time she crossed the snowy yard to the chain link fence that separated them. “Hey,” she called out.

  He turned, his eyebrows raised. “Hi.”

  Jennifer bit her lower lip, not sure how she would open the conversation. “Do you need help?”

  He glanced at the fence between them. “Um, not really.”

  Duh. Of course not. Why had she said that? “Right.” The silence stretched between them and Jennifer panicked. “Will you do me a favor?”

  A favor? That was a dumb thing to say.

  Shane studied her for a second. “What do you need, Jennifer?”

  She gave him a half-giggle, and then she felt ridiculous and sobered. “I told my mom you asked me out for tonight. She was going to set me up with fishy—um, I mean, she’s really wanting to set me up, but I don’t really want to be in a relationship right now, so I told her you were taking me out. Would it be too much to ask?” Why were her words getting all garbled? Couldn’t she say one intelligent thing? She rubbed her arms and waited for him to answer.

  Shane hesitated, and she wanted to bury herself in the snow. How could she think this was a good idea? She hadn’t been friends with Shane since that summer back when they were thirteen. This was the dumbest idea ever. But then Shane nodded. “All right.”

  “Really? You’ll take me out tonight?”

  He stepped back. “Sure.”

  “Oh my gosh, thank you so much. You don’t know what you’ve done to help me out. You’re a lifesaver.” Jennifer would have given him a hug if there hadn’t been a fence between them. And a pile of wood in his arms. “Can you come over around six?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Great.” She gave him a happy wave and picked her way back across the yard and into the house. Maybe this visit wouldn’t be so bad after all. If her mom thought she had a thing going with Shane, she’d be left alone.

  Chapter 3

  Shane closed the back door with his foot and carried the fireplace wood into the living room. That was weird. Since when did Jennifer talk to him, much less ask him to do her a favor? And what was up with her wanting to go out with him? He shook his head as he filled the rack, then placed another log on the fire.

  “Who were you talking to, dear?” His mother came around the corner, a dish rag in her hands.

  “Jennifer Schmidt.”

  “Do I know her?”

  “Yes. She grew up next door. Remember? We played together as kids.”

  His mother rubbed her forehead. “Oh, yes. I remember now. How is she?”

  He brushed his hands off and shut the fireplace screen. “Fine.” He hesitated, then said, “We’re going out tonight. Going to catch up on old times.”

  “That’s nice.” His mother looked at the dish rag in her hand and seemed confused for a moment before wandering back toward the kitchen. She was having one of her good days. Sometimes she didn’t even recognize him. Those days hurt.

  Cora entered the room. She was his mother’s part-time nurse. “I heard you were going out tonight. Do you want me to stay for the evening?”

  “That would be wonderful, Cora. Thank you.” Shane gave her a nod and left the living room.

  He checked the clock. An hour before he’d go on his date with Jennifer. Well, it wasn’t really a date. It was a fake date. Oh, well. Was it pathetic that he was looking forward to spending the evening with her, even though she made it clear she was just using him as a relationship buffer? He ran a hand through his dark hair. Yep. It was pathetic.

  Shane jaunted down the stairs to his basement gym and worked out for twenty minutes. Then he took a shower and dressed for the evening. By the time he was ready, his stomach was in knots. Could he go out with Jennifer and pretend nothing weird was between them? Pretend she didn’t break his heart and stomp on it when he was a teenager?

  He looked in the mirror and saw the same insecure boy from years ago. Closing his eyes, he shook his head. No, he wasn’t the same kid. That was a long time ago. He was a grown man. And he could handle spending one evening with the woman who broke him.

  Jennifer listened for Shane at the door while her mother shot questions at her. Yes, she’d dated since Mark. No, there was no one serious. Yes, she liked Shane. No, they hadn’t been keeping in touch. Yes, he was a fine, young man. No, she wasn’t an old maid at the age of thirty.

  Okay, maybe that last one wasn’t actually spoken, but that’s how she felt. Why was her mother making such a big deal out of getting married and settling down? She was fine. A bit lonely, but still fine. She didn’t need a man to make her happy.

  The doorbell rang and instant relief flooded over her as she jumped up from her chair. “It’s Shane. Don’t wait up for me.” Her mother scoffed and shot her a disapproving look. “I’m kidding.” She kissed her mother’s cheek and rushed to answer the door.

  Shane stood on the porch, his hands in his coat pockets, and she couldn’t have been happier to see him. “Bye,” she called as she grabbed her coat and slipped out the door. “So glad to see you,” she said under her breath.

  “Why?”

  “Oh, my word. You’d think I had a goiter or some big fat ugly mole on my face the way my mother is going on and on about how limited my dating pool is.” She rolled her eyes and Shane chuckled.

  “A goiter?”

  “Yes. My mom thinks I’m a social outcast, I’ll never get married and never give her the grandbabies she deserves.”

  Shane fell into step beside her. “That bad, huh?”

  “You wouldn’t even believe it. I think she mentioned my ticking clock at least five times. Like my ovaries have some kind of time bomb on them.”

  He gave her a half-grin. “She cares about you. That’s all.”

  She blew a strand of hair from her face and nodded, rubbing her hands together. Why didn’t she ever remember gloves? “I know. I just get a little smothered from all the caring about me.”

  “She doesn’t mean any harm.”

  She nodded and smiled up at Shane. “You’re right. I’ll stop complaining now. Where do you want to go?”

  He stepped up to his car and opened the passenger door for her. “That depends. How fake do you want this fake date to be?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He looked down at his hands. “Do you really want to have dinner with me? Or should I drop you off at the mall?”

  Jennifer was taken aback, and her mouth dropped open. How could he think she’d want him to leave her alone somewhere? They were friends. “Dinner with you. Definitely.”

  He smiled, but it looked reserved. “Okay, then. Do you want Mexican, Chinese or Itali
an?”

  “Italian.”

  He shut her door and walked around the car to climb into the driver’s seat. Then he turned to her. “You do know that means Larry’s Pizza on the square, right?”

  Jennifer laughed. “Of course.”

  Shane started the car and pulled out onto the street. “Italian it is.”

  After a few moments, they were walking into the restaurant together. The heavy smell of dough and cheese made her mouth water. Shane pulled out a red vinyl chair for her at a table for two. She pointed to the large gumball machine sitting in the corner by the front door. “Remember that time we walked here as kids? We each got a gumball. Those things were so big we could hardly close our mouths around them.”

  Shane grinned. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time. You were upset that I got the pink one, so we traded.”

  “You always knew what to do to make me happy.” Jennifer picked up a laminated menu from between the salt-and-pepper shakers and scanned the items, even though she knew what she would get.

  He did the same, and when the waitress came she took their drink orders, brought them their sodas and pulled out her notepad. “Do you know what you want?”

  “I’ll take the ravioli,” Shane said. “I haven’t tried it yet.”

  “Sure.” The waitress gave him a flirty smile. “And you?”

  She was talking to Jennifer, but her eyes were still on Shane, which was annoying. Jennifer felt like slapping the woman. “Can I have a personal-sized pan with pineapple and cream cheese?”

  The waitress wrinkled her nose and finally looked at her. “I don’t know if we have that.”

  “You do,” Shane said. “She always orders that.”

  The gal wrote something on her pad. “Okay, then. I’ll have them make it.”

  After the waitress left, Shane gave her a funny look. “Why are you so predictable?”

  Jennifer leaned back in her chair and scoffed. He would label her as predictable. “I just know what I like and I go after it. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”