Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Looking for some more fun, holiday romance??

Prologue

One

Two

Also by Samantha Chase

About Samantha Chase

Copyright 2022 Samantha Chase

Previously Published in 2016

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book, with the exception of brief quotations for book reviews or critical articles, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design: Kari March Designs

Edits: Leah Francic

Praise for Samantha Chase

“If you can’t get enough of stories that get inside your heart and soul and stay there long after you’ve read the last page, then Samantha Chase is for you!”

-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn

“A fun, flirty, sweet romance filled with romance and character growth and a perfect happily ever after.”

-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips

“Samantha Chase writes my kind of happily ever after!”

-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Nicholas

“The openness between the lovers is refreshing, and their interactions are a balanced blend of sweet and spice. The planets may not have aligned, but the elements of this winning romance are definitely in sync.”

- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

“A true romantic delight, A Sky Full of Stars is one of the top gems of romance this year.”

- Night Owl Reviews, TOP PICK

“Great writing, a winsome ensemble, and the perfect blend of heart and sass.” 

- Publishers Weekly

“Recommend Chase to fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Well-written and uniquely appealing.”

- Booklist

One

Staying up all night on the phone was nothing new for Lily Cavanaugh. If someone was in a crisis, she was the go-to girl to help out. Now, snuggling deeper into her bed, Lily did her best not to laugh.

“So, was it Bitsy, Mitzi, or Kitten they tried to set you up with?” she asked, barely containing her mirth.

“You are so not helping.”

An unladylike snort escaped before she could stop it. “I can’t help if I don’t have all the information. So? Details, please!” Lily sensed more than heard Cameron’s frustration growing on the other end of the phone.

Cameron Greene and Lily had known each other since before they could walk. Their families were the best of friends, and since Cam and Lily were so close in age, less than a year apart, it was only fitting that they continue the tradition.

“I’m telling you, Lil,” he began, “I’m thinking of moving overseas just to get some peace and quiet.”

“Oh, come on. How bad could it have been? Was she pretty?”

“In a Barbie doll kind of way.”

“Not a problem for most guys! Okay, so what about the rest? Did you have anything in common?”

“I don’t have anything in common with most people, Lil. You should know that.” Cameron had a near genius IQ and was a little awkward socially. It was hard for him to find common ground with most people when he spent his days in a laboratory, studying the secrets of the universe.

“So, what did you talk about?”

He sighed. “After I got the not-so-condensed version of her modeling aspirations, I started talking about what I do.”

Uh-oh, Lily thought. That was normally the kiss of death. “How long did it take for her eyes to glaze over?”

Cam laughed. “Less than two minutes.”

“Wow,” Lily said with mock enthusiasm, “I think that’s a new record.”

“We never even made it to dinner,” Cam said, sounding like that wasn’t a bad thing.

“What excuse did she give? Headache? Family emergency? She thought she left the stove on?”

“Headache.”

“It is a classic.” Now it was Lily’s turn to sigh. “I’m so sorry, Cam. Are you okay?”

“Sure. I didn’t want to go out with her. My parents orchestrated the entire thing, and I didn’t want to disappoint them, again. I just wish they’d find something else to obsess about. I’m not interested in any of the women they’ve been setting me up with. It’s like they don’t even try to find someone I have something in common with.”

“They are depending on you to carry on the Greene family name, Cam. This isn’t new information. They hassled your sisters just as much until they found acceptable husbands.”

“That was different. Neither of my sisters had an issue with dating. They’re smart and outgoing and enjoy socializing. Why can’t I just be left alone?”

Lily’s heart broke for him. Cameron had always been painfully shy, and because of his intelligence and fascination with science, most of the population couldn’t even begin to understand the subjects he found enjoyable. “It’s not healthy to be alone all the time, Cam. You need to get out once in a while and be around regular people. Go to a movie, eat a hamburger… live like us regular folk for a little while,” she teased.

He chuckled. “Do you have any idea how bad ground beef is for you? Even with the stringent safety…”

“It was just a suggestion!” she interrupted. “I don’t need the lecture, again, on how bad most foods are. You’ve all but ruined my fast food habits.”

“I worry about you. Is that a crime?”

She smiled. “No, it’s not a crime. I just wish you could relax your standards a bit and, I don’t know, have some fun.” Shifting her position in bed, Lily turned on her tablet and kicked up a game of solitaire. She knew that she and Cameron could talk all night, but sometimes she needed a little distraction to keep her going. “So, what’s new at the lab?”

“Nice change of subject. Have you already started a game of solitaire?”

“Damn,” she muttered. “How do you do that?”

“I know you better than you know yourself, Lil. Is talking to me so painful that you have to play a computer game at the same time?” His tone was only partially teasing.

Immediately Lily put the tablet down and sat up. “Why would you even say that?”

“Look, we’re friends and you never lie to me, so don’t start now, okay? If even you can’t stand talking to me, what hope do I have of anyone else wanting to?”

Lily felt ready to cry. “Oh, Cam,” she said, hand to her chest. “I love talking to you. You know that. Honestly, you’re the only one who actually talks to me and listens to me without treating me like I’m an idiot.”

“That’s not true, and you know it.”

“No, I don’t know it. No one in my family takes me seriously. Every time I try to talk to them about what’s going on in my life, I feel like I’m just being patted on the head and pacified. It’s beyond insulting.”

“They never understood your creative side,” he said soothingly.

“Neither did Biff,” she replied with a dramatic sigh.

Cam was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry. Did you say Biff?”

“Oh, did I not mention my wonderful dinner companion this evening?”

This time it wasn’t a chuckle, but a full-bodied laugh that came through the line. “Come on, Lily. No one names a kid Biff. It’s cruel.”

“Well, I think that’s what his name was,” she said, reflecting on the evening.

“You went to dinner with this guy and you aren’t sure what his name was?” he asked in disbelief.

“Like you, we didn’t make it to dinner. As a matter of fact, we never even made it to the restaurant.”

“Why not?”

“Let’s just say that while we were in the car, he asked me what I did. By the time I got through talking about my pottery classes and dog walking and that short stint as a nude model for an art class…”

“Wait. What? When did you take a pottery class?”

Lily burst out laughing. “Out of those three things, you latched on to the pottery class to be upset about? What about the nude modeling? You’d think that would be a red flag for someone sensible like you!”

“Okay, never mind about the pottery or the modeling. What happened next?”

“He literally turned the car around and brought me home. He claimed he had a business call that had slipped his mind, but I think my Asian-fusion cooking class was the last straw for him.” She sighed. “Not that I wanted to go out with him much either. Also like yours, it was parent orchestrated. And I was hungry.”

“I cannot believe Biff just turned the car around and took you home.”

“Maybe his name was Jeff,” Lily said, racking her brain for at least a hint of what the guy’s name was.

“Biff, Jeff, it doesn’t matter. That was incredibly rude of him. I’m sorry, Lil. You deserve to have someone take you out and treat you like a princess.”

“I’d just settle for someone to take me out and talk to me like I had a brain.”

“You have a brain, Lil. You just intimidate people with your creativity.”

“Nice try, Einstein,” she deadpanned. “I think you have me confused with you. You intimidate people. People just think I’m weird.”

“Well, then they’re not worth knowing.”

Lily settled back against her pillows and got comfortable again. “I’m so lucky to have you, Cam. You know that, right?”

“Nah, we’re lucky to have each other.”

“I wish you were here right now. I could make grilled cheese sandwiches and popcorn, and we could watch a movie and just relax.” She toyed with her tablet and contemplated going back to solitaire.

“While that sounds nice, wouldn’t it interfere with your game of solitaire?”

“Dammit! How do you do that?” she asked, looking around her room for hidden cameras.

“Like I said, I know you better than you know yourself.”

“We certainly are a pair, aren’t we?” she said wistfully.

“A pair of what?”

“A sad pair. We can’t even find people to have a meal with. If you won’t come over and have grilled cheese and popcorn with me, then I’m in real trouble. You were my last hope, Cameron Greene, and even you don’t want to share a midnight snack with me!” Her tone held just a hint of mirth and theatrics, and she added a long suffering sigh for good measure.

“And you know what’s worse?” he asked, ignoring her.

“That I got kicked out of acting classes?”

Cam sighed. “Thanksgiving is right around the corner.”

“And you’ve suddenly lost your love of turkey dinner?”

“Focus, Lily!” he snapped, and then immediately apologized for his tone. “The holidays are here, my friend. That means there will be a steady stream of parties and get togethers we will be forced to go to, and potential spouses will be thrown at us from every angle.”

“Personally, I’m waiting for our parents to just position us at the foot of our driveways with mistletoe over our heads and signs taped to our chests that say, please marry us.” The thought sent a shiver down her spine because she was only partially kidding. Lately, her mother had kicked up the campaign to marry her off. Rarely a day went by when Lily wasn’t asked if she’d met anyone decent.

Dealing with her mother was an exhausting, full-time job.

“I think it’s safe to say,” Cam began, breaking into her train of thought, “that neither of us is looking forward to another holiday season spent ducking and weaving to avoid the matchmaking patrol. Agreed?”

“Agreed. But what choice do we have? Other than packing our bags right now and both of us moving overseas to get away from the insanity.”

“I’m being serious here.”

“You’re always serious, Cam. I’m trying to get you to break that habit.” When she got no response from him, she sighed with annoyance. “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

“We take ourselves off the market. If we’re involved with other people, they can’t marry us off.”

“But we’re not involved with other people. That’s the problem. Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about for the past hour? I’m so confused.”

“You’re not confused, Lily, and don’t play the ditzy card with me,” he said patiently. “I’m saying that we pretend we are involved. We. You and me.”

Another snort of laughter broke free before she could stop it. “Are you crazy? Have you completely lost your mind? No one is going to believe that for a second!”

“Why not?” he huffed.

“We’ve been friends for, like, ever, for starters. If anything was ever going to happen between us, it would have happened by now. You know it, I know it, and they know it. Pretending to be a couple will never work.”

“Just hear me out, okay?” he asked. “I have a conference in New York next week. Come with me.”

Lily sat in silence, wondering where her levelheaded friend had gone. When he didn’t elaborate on his plan, she finally spoke up. “What will that prove?”

“The day we’re due back is the official beginning of the season, at least according to my mother. You know how our families map out party strategies and travel plans. We can show up together and announce our newfound romance, and they’ll be so thrilled that they’ll leave us alone. We can break up after New Year’s. Then they’ll be too heartbroken over the whole thing to upset either of us, and we can milk the breakup angle for another month or two. If all goes as planned, we can be off the radar for about four months.”

“Cameron Greene, I always knew you were a genius. I just never realized you were an evil genius!” Lily said excitedly. “It’s brilliant! They love us both, so they’re not going to have an issue with us dating! They’ll get all giddy at the thought of merging our families, and while they’re busy picking china patterns, we’ll have a relaxing holiday. I’m telling you; you’ve done me proud.”

“Aw… I’m blushing,” he teased. “So, what do you say? I leave Monday morning for New York.”

“Wow, that’s quick,” Lily said, mentally going over her calendar. “I don’t know, Cam. That’s only three days to get someone to cover for me at the coffee shop, and…”

“When did you start working at a coffee shop?”

Lily growled in frustration. “You need to keep up, Cam! If we’re going to be all in love and dating and whatnot, you are going to have to keep up with what’s going on in my life.”

“Maybe try doing a little, shall we say, less with your life for the next couple of months?”

“What would be the fun of that?”

“We leave for the airport Monday morning at seven. I’ll make all the travel arrangements. All you have to do is show up.”

“What am I supposed to do all day while you’re at your conference?”

“Seriously, Lil? Do you think you’ll be bored in Manhattan?”

“Okay, you’ve got a point.” She stopped and thought of all the possibilities. “I do have one request as your girlfriend.”

“Already?”

“I’ve only just begun,” she teased. “Can I get an afternoon at a spa? You know, manicure, pedicure, facial, massage… the works?”

“Is that all?” he asked suspiciously.

“And can I eat food from the street vendors without getting a daily lecture from you?” Lily waited for Cam’s response. And waited. And waited. “Cameron?”

“You’re going to be the death of me. You realize that, right?”

“Me? After your traumatic date with Kitten?”

“Her name wasn’t Kitten,” he laughed. “And it wasn’t traumatic.”

“Okay, maybe it wasn’t traumatic, but you’ve got to admit that I’ll be way more fun to date than the other women you’ve dated.”

“That is certainly true,” he agreed, and then paused. “I’ll be in meetings during the day and we have a couple of dinners to go to, but maybe we can take a night to go sightseeing. What do you say?” Lily was quiet for a moment. “Lil? What’s the matter?”

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she breathed. “I mean, this conference is a big deal for you, and I don’t want to do anything to embarrass you.”

“Why would you even think such a thing?”

“Because you’re you, this super genius guy, and I’m… me. A twenty-six-year-old woman with no real job, no real talent, and no idea of what I want to do with my life. I don’t want your colleagues looking at you like you’re an idiot for dating someone like me. I mean, you can go to the dinners and all that, and I can hang out at the hotel. You don’t have to take me along.”

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, more than a little offended. “Lily, I am tired of you putting yourself down. I know your parents have made you feel inferior, but let me tell you what I see. I see a beautiful woman with an amazing smile and the greatest laugh who always makes me feel better. You have a way of making everyone around you feel special, and I am going to be the envy of every man at that conference because I’ll have the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm.”

“Thank you,” she finally whispered.

“Get some sleep,” he said softly. “I’ll call you on Sunday and let you know our itinerary.”

“Cam?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for asking me to be your pretend girlfriend,” she said, her tone relaxed. “I promise that I’ll be the best pretend girlfriend you’ve ever had. You may never want to let me go.”

“Good night, Lil,” he said in a near whisper. “Sweet dreams.”

“Night, Cam.” Going to sleep with Cam’s voice the last thing she heard would make those dreams very sweet indeed.

Two

Lily couldn’t fall asleep.

Fake dating Cameron was the closest she’d ever get to seriously dating him. Something was better than nothing, she supposed, but still. The thought of them being a couple, even if only for show, had her wondering what it could be like if Cameron really gave them a chance.

A real chance.

Growing up, Lily had seen Cam as her pal, her buddy. But one fateful night when she was seventeen and feeling rebellious, he’d become her hero. After a particularly harsh fight with her parents over her poor grades in school, Lily had climbed out her window and gone to a college party that she and her friends had been forbidden to attend. Once there, she’d had too much to drink and found herself being hit on by a guy that she really didn’t want anything to do with.

With no way to get home other than walking, and scared that the boy from the party would follow her, she’d called Cam. Sneaking out of his own home and taking his father’s car, he’d come to her rescue. Lily had made it home safely thanks to him, and her parents had never realized she’d left. Cameron, however, wasn’t so lucky. When he’d arrived home, his father had been up waiting and wanted to know why Cam had snuck out. He’d refused to share Lily’s part in the story and ended up being grounded for a month.

When Lily had asked why he hadn’t just told his father it was her fault, Cam had simply shrugged. “What’s the point in both of us getting in trouble?” he had said, and in that instant, Lily saw him as her white knight. It wasn’t the first time Cam had helped her, but it was the first time he’d had to pay a price for doing so.

Unimpressed with her walk on the wild side, Lily had changed her habits and begun spending even more time with Cam. He was the perfect guy, but he was so engrossed with his studies and planning his future that Lily kept her newfound feelings to herself.

“I am so in trouble,” she said as she punched her pillow to try to get some sleep. “How am I supposed to play the part of the girlfriend when I want it to be real?”

* * *

Monday morning came way too soon for Lily. She’d given herself multiple pep talks and reminded herself how important it was to do the right thing for Cam.

It just sucked that the right thing for Cam was going to be torture for her.

Ever on time, he arrived to pick her up at exactly 7:00 a.m. Knowing he was a stickler about time, she’d made sure that she was ready and waiting for him. But she could tell by the look on his face when she opened the door that he was surprised she was ready.

“What?” she asked.

Cam looked her up and down and then at the suitcase beside her. “You’re ready,” he said with just a hint of disbelief.

A shy smile crept across Lily’s face. “You told me you’d be here at seven, so I was ready for seven. Actually, I was ready at six forty five. Impressive, right?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re never ready when I tell you what time I’m coming to pick you up. I build a cushion for Lily time.”

The smile shifted to playful annoyance as Lily cocked a hip and crossed her arms over her chest. “If it would make you feel better, I can change clothes and decide that I want a bowl of cereal before we leave.”

“No, no,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I’m sorry. I guess I should have just said thank you, right?”

“No,” she corrected. “You should have offered to put my suitcase in the car because all this chitchat will make us late.” Without another word, Cameron reached beyond Lily and grabbed her case while she locked up her condo. “I watched the Weather Channel last night while I was packing, and they said it’s going to snow while we’re up there. Won’t that be beautiful? We can see snow in Central Park!”

Cam shrugged; he’d never given much thought to snow in Manhattan and didn’t care about it now. They lived just outside of Raleigh, so it wasn’t as if they’d never seen snow before. But that was just one of the things about Lily he adored, that the little things in life made her happy.

Lily had a bigger heart than anyone he’d ever known. He knew that even though she made light of it, she was easily hurt by her family. It didn’t help that her parents always made her feel like she wasn’t living up to her full potential, or that she had an older sister everyone seemed to think walked on water. Cam knew the real Lily. If anyone took the time to get to know her and saw beyond her inability to find a career, they’d see a person who’d give them the world.

For as far back as Cameron could remember, he’d been in love with Lily Cavanaugh. While everyone else around them treated him like a freak because of his intelligence, Lily always considered him Cam, her friend. He’d never once thought about telling her how he felt because the last thing he wanted was to lose her friendship. Most days, she was the only one who kept him sane.

And now he was going to have her to himself for nearly a week.

Once they were on the road, he glanced over at her and saw the serene smile on her face. “What are you thinking about right now?” he asked.

“Actually, I was wondering if we were going to play the part of boyfriend and girlfriend during your conference, or if we were waiting to kick it into gear when we got back.”

He nodded and then pondered the situation. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try out the act around my colleagues before we return home.” His tone was rather cut-and-dried, like he was talking about a root canal.

“How about a little enthusiasm, champ?” she asked sarcastically. “This was your idea, remember? And if we’re going to pull this off and get four months of freedom from our parents, you can’t talk about our relationship like it’s a chore.”

Cam turned to look at her as if she were crazy. “Talk about our relationship? It’s seven fifteen in the morning, Lil. We haven’t been around anybody except each other. What do you want me to do?”

She sighed. “You’ll need to show a little more excitement if you’re going to be believable as my boyfriend.”

What had he gotten himself into? “Why, exactly, do I have to do that?”

“Cam, everyone who knows me knows that I’m a fairly happy-go-lucky person. You and I are complete opposites. I’m going to have to tone it down a little, but on the flip side, you’re going to have to kick it up a notch. You know, crack a smile or a joke once in a while. Laugh.” She looked at him quizzically. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

Honestly, he didn’t. When he had devised the plan to have a make believe romance with Lily to survive the holidays, Cam had simply thought that by saying they were involved, people would get off their backs. But as Lily explained the complexities of the situation, he realized he was completely unprepared.

And that was simply unacceptable.

Taking a fortifying breath, he said, “Okay. It’s not like we have to play twenty questions to know each other better. We already know everything about each other. What do you suggest?”

“Well,” she said, “it would probably help if we held hands when out in public.”

Cameron considered her suggestions and, without reacting in any way, shape, or form, decided that this wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. He’d finally have the opportunity to touch Lily, to kiss Lily, and it was all her idea. He really was brilliant.

“Seems simple enough,” Cam said. “Done.” He reached for her hand and held it while he focused on the road and drove one handed. He wouldn’t normally do that because safety dictated that he drive with his hands in the ten and two position. It took all of thirty seconds for him to start to squirm.

“This is physically painful for you, isn’t it?”

“What? No,” he denied, although he was lying through his teeth. He wanted to concentrate on the feel of her hand in his, but couldn’t when they were on the road.

Lily pulled her hand away and almost burst out laughing at how quickly Cam’s hand went back to the steering wheel. “Okay, baby steps. We’ll only hold hands when we’re walking. How does that sound?” She smiled at the annoyance on Cam’s face.

“Safety isn’t something to take lightly.”

“Of course it isn’t,” she agreed. “I mean, driving twenty miles under the speed limit and one-handed? What was I thinking?”

“It’s a little early for all of this sarcasm,” he said dryly. “So other than hand holding, what am I supposed to do?”

Was he kidding? At this rate, she could probably convince him to act out every one of her fantasies that she’d ever had about him. But that would be wrong.

Wouldn’t it?

Yes, yes, yes. Bad Lily! What were you thinking?

“Kissing,” she said before she could stop herself. “We’ll probably have to kiss in front of people from time to time. And none of that buddy buddy, on the cheek stuff. Like real kissing.”

Bad, bad Lily!

She saw him considering the idea from all sides as usual. He never agreed to anything without thinking it through.

“I guess I can,” he said, seeming bored with the idea.

“That’s the spirit,” she said and was relieved to see them turning onto the exit ramp for the airport. If all went well, within a matter of hours, she would be walking around Manhattan with Cam and presenting the image of a happy couple.

Project Girlfriend had begun!

* * *

Snow was falling when they landed at Kennedy Airport, and Lily was practically bouncing in her seat with her eagerness to get out and walk in it.

“It’s just snow, Lil,” Cam said teasingly. “This isn’t something new.”

She punched him in the arm playfully as they walked off the plane. “Yes, but this is my very first New York snow! I’m so excited!” Taking a chance and more than ready to jump into character, Lily took Cam by the hand and headed toward the baggage claim. Walking hand in hand felt wonderful and more than natural. Why had they never done this before? “I’m not crazy about the crowds, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.” Truth was, she actually loved the crowds because they were forcing her to stay super close to Cam who, interestingly, wasn’t looking all that uncomfortable either.

“Hopefully we’ll get our bags quickly and grab a taxi. I’d really like to have a little time at the hotel before my first meeting,” he said.

“What time do you start?”

“Two o’clock. We’ll check in at the hotel, have lunch, and then I’ll need to go.” That was all said very matter-of-factly, much like everything Cam said.

“Oh, okay,” Lily replied, her mind racing with thoughts of how she was going to spend her first afternoon in the city. “And there’s a welcome dinner tonight, right?”

Cam nodded.

“What time is that?”

“It starts at seven thirty.”

“Did you still want me to go with you?” She hoped she sounded casual about it, but deep down, she was terrified that she would do something to embarrass Cam and let him down.

He was about to reach for her suitcase on the carousel when Lily asked the question. “Why would you even ask me that?” he replied. Lily noted with surprise that he let the suitcase pass. Missing it was unlike him, though he grabbed his own as it went by.

“You know, it’s your first night and maybe you’d rather just have the time with your colleagues without me tagging along,” she said lightly before muttering, “and ruining it.”

Cam set his suitcase at his feet before taking Lily by the shoulders to face him. “Listen to me,” he said in a stern but loving way. “There’s nothing you’ll do to ruin anything for me. I asked you to come with me, and I want you there with me tonight and all the nights that we’re here.” When she still didn’t look convinced, he added, “Besides, you’re my girlfriend. What would people say if I left you alone in the room while I went out on the town?”

That made Lily laugh. “You are so not going out on the town. You’re a group of scientists with big brains. You’ll sit around and debate the universe until you realize the night is over.” She said it lightly, but there was more than a hint of truth to it. Without thinking about it, she leaned in and hugged him. “Thanks, Cam. I needed that.” For the first time in the history of their friendship, Lily broke their embrace first. She was just about to comment on that when Cam motioned that her luggage was coming around again.

Maybe it was for the best. If Lily started analyzing every touch and look, she’d make herself crazy. Cam was pretending to be in love with her. That was it; end of story. She might have to remind herself of that several times a day because they had only been playing the part for a few hours and she was already blurring the lines.

* * *

Their hotel was right in the middle of the Times Square neighborhood, and Lily couldn’t help but gape at the flurry of activity going on around her as they arrived. “Oh my gosh,” she gasped when the taxi came to a stop. “You didn’t tell me we were staying in the heart of everything!”

Cam simply shrugged and paid the driver as they got out of the cab. Once in the hotel, Lily stood silently while Cameron checked them in. As he was signing the paperwork, he said, “I booked us a suite so that you can have some privacy and I’ll have a little more space to work.”

“So, there are two bedrooms?” she asked as she looked around in awe of her surroundings.

“No, but the living area has a sleeper sofa. I’ll take that and you take the bedroom.”

Lily didn’t want to put him out. “Cam, you need your rest more than I do. You take the bedroom and I’ll take the sleeper.”

He thanked the front desk clerk as he took their room cards and paperwork and then turned to Lily, who had her roller case by her side. “Let’s just get to the room and we can argue logistics later, okay?” Cam took his luggage in one hand and Lily’s hand in the other and led them toward the elevators. He was really getting the hang of this, Lily noted with delight.

Once they were in their suite, Lily went right to the windows to check out the view. “This is amazing! Between the lights and the buildings and the crowds and the snow.” She stopped and took a breath. “I just can’t believe that we’re here.” She turned to see him standing on the other side of the room, simply looking at her, and wondered at the expression on his face.

“Do you want to go downstairs and eat, order room service, or walk outside and see what we can find?” Lily asked as she collapsed on the living room sofa and motioned him to sit beside her.

“I want to go over my notes once more before two, so if it’s all right with you, I’d rather just order lunch here.”

“That’s fine,” she said and kicked off her shoes. She scooted closer to him on the couch and placed her head on his shoulder. Looking up into his dark blue eyes, Lily beamed. “I promise to keep quiet so you can study.”

Since she was so close, Cam took off his glasses and closed his eyes before resting his head against hers. “You don’t need to keep quiet on my account. And if you want to go exploring, please don’t let me stop you.”

They were both silent for a long while before Lily finally spoke. “Um, Cam?”

“Mmm…”

“I think that if we’re going to eat and you’re going to study, we need to get up from the sofa.” She hated even suggesting it because they didn’t just sit quietly and enjoy being near each other often enough. They’d sat and watched more than their share of movies together at either his place or hers, but just sitting in the silence was something new and Lily found that she liked it.

“Are you sure?” Cam asked lightly. “Maybe if we both think really hard, lunch will appear at the door.”

“That is the dream,” Lily said with a quiet chuckle as she reluctantly moved away from the warmth of his body and stretched. “I’ll get the menu and order while you go through your notes. How does that sound?”

* * *

Lily had everything set up on the coffee table and was watching Cam expectantly when he finally looked up from the paper he had been reading.

“What?”

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” she said, motioning to the coffee table, “lunch is served.”

When he put his papers aside, he looked at his standard turkey club and her bacon cheeseburger with fries. One dark brow arched at her as he looked from her entrée to her.

“No lectures, remember?”

Cam nodded and reached for his sandwich. “That only applied to food vendors on the street. I made no such promise concerning anyplace else that we dine.” He was teasing her, and she knew it. They ate their meals while they talked about what was on the schedule for Cam’s first meeting in the afternoon.

Though she always listened and tried not to let her eyes glaze over, Lily was glad for the distraction of food. She knew the appropriate places to nod and had gleaned enough information over the years to make elementary comments on his work, something that Cam seemed to appreciate.

“So, are you ready for your presentation?” she asked as she dipped the last of her fries in ketchup.

“I believe so. I always feel like I need to prepare more, but once I’m up there, I don’t really use the notes.”

“That’s because you know this stuff like the back of your hand. You’re going to be great.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “What time will you be back to get ready for dinner?”

Cam looked at his watch. “We should be done by five, so I’ll be back here by five fifteen to five thirty, and then we’ll get ready. We’ll need to head out around six fifteen.” He finished the last of his sandwich and turned back to Lily. “What are you going to do with yourself this afternoon?”

Reclining on the sofa with her hand on her full belly, Lily thought about her options. “I had thought that I’d just walk around, but the snow is really coming down out there and it’s nice and toasty in here and I’m pretty full, so…”

“You’re just going to hang here and nap, aren’t you?”

She made a face at him. “Maybe,” she said defiantly.

The phone in the room rang, but Cam barely glanced up. “Can you get that, please?”

Hopping up, Lily crossed the room. She noticed that Cam was doing his best not to smile.

“Hello? Yes, this is Lily Cavanaugh. Wait… what? Um… no, I wasn’t… oh, uh… are you sure?” She paused and glanced over at Cam, who seemed deeply engrossed in his notes. “Yes, thank you. I’ll see you then. Bye.” Hanging up the phone, Lily turned and saw that Cam was finally looking at her. “Cameron Greene, what have you done?”

He placed a hand on his chest and did his best to look as if he had no idea what she was talking about. “Me? What? What did I do?”

Lily strode across the room and collapsed on the sofa next to him with a bounce. “You booked me an afternoon at the spa!” she cried excitedly. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“Why? You said you wanted to do that, so I made sure that I scheduled it.”

Her shoulders sank and she pouted slightly. “You don’t get it, do you?”

Cam shook his head.

“You didn’t have to do it. I was joking with you when I said it. Well, not exactly joking, but I would have taken care of it myself.” When he started to speak, she held up a hand to stop him. “It was very thoughtful of you, and it was a wonderful surprise. Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, and had to remember not to linger, even though that was what she wanted to do most. “You are very sweet.”

Just what every guy wants to hear, Cam thought to himself. Before he allowed himself to obsess over that statement, he stood and began gathering his papers. “I’m going to get changed and then head downstairs. I’ll meet you back here at five thirty.” He did his best to not look at her, but when he walked toward the closet to grab his suitcase and toiletries, he turned and saw that she was still sitting on the sofa and smiling at him.

Words escaped him. Lily always managed to take his breath away. Others merely saw it as Cam being shy or socially awkward, but the truth was that most times when he was around Lily, he simply kept quiet to keep from ruining everything by blurting out how he felt about her.

And the last thing that he wanted was to risk losing her.

Three

Lily felt completely boneless when she arrived back at the room three hours later. She had been pampered from head to toe and felt as if she could sleep for a week. But duty called and she had to make sure that she did her best to wow Cam’s colleagues tonight.

Going to her luggage, she pulled out her cocktail dress and was thankful it had traveled so well. She decided on a quick shower so that when Cam got back to the room, he’d be able to do whatever he needed without her being in the way.

The hot water felt heavenly, and it was a real task to force herself out of the shower. Soon she had her hair done and her makeup applied, and all that was left was to get dressed. A quick glance at the clock showed it was just five fifteen. The thought of sitting around for an hour in her dress was not the least bit appealing. She was racked by indecision, so when she heard Cam’s key in the door, she breathed a little sigh of relief.

Cam wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he got back to the room, but Lily all dolled up and wearing nothing but a silky, pink robe that barely came to her knees was not it. Her long, blond hair was softly curled and covered her shoulders, and she had done something smoky with her eye makeup that had him wondering if taking her to dinner with a room full of scientists was really such a good idea. After all, they could order dinner in the room and just be done with it. Then he wouldn’t have to share her time with anyone.

And he’d get to find out what she was wearing under that silky, pink robe.

His mind wandered to the image of nothing but silky skin and maybe, just maybe, a hint of lace.

“How did your presentation go?” Lily asked, thoroughly breaking his train of thought about locking her in the room for the night for himself.

Forcing himself to look away from the beautiful sight she made, he gave her the basics of the meeting and his presentation as he walked around putting all of his things in specific places. The strawberry scent she favored had permeated the room, and he found himself inhaling deeply, trying to draw her into his lungs.

“Do you want to take a shower? I made sure that I was done before you got back so that you could have the bathroom to yourself.”

“The suite has two bathrooms, Lily,” he said. “There wasn’t a need for you to rush.”

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Yes, but the second one doesn’t have a tub or a shower. Anyway, I cleared out all of my girlie stuff so that it won’t get in your way.”

Cam didn’t want to think about her girlie stuff. He didn’t want to think about lotions and lingerie and God knew what else she had that always made Lily so… Lily. To get his mind away from that direction, again, he asked how her afternoon of pampering had gone.

“Oh, Cam,” she said as she walked across the room and sat on the bed while he took his suit out of his case. “It was amazing, absolutely the best. I almost needed someone to carry me back up to the room because I was like a wet noodle.”

She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs tucked to the side, and Cam could see from his vantage point that she’d had her toes painted a fiery red and that her legs, which looked amazing, were so smooth they glowed. “I was so relaxed when I got back here that I almost took a nap.”

“You should have. We have time.”

Lily shook her head. “I never would have been ready, and as your girlfriend, I am determined to be prompt. I know how important that is to you.”

He shook his head at her as he walked toward the bathroom to put his things in there so he could get ready. “While I appreciate the effort, I don’t expect you to morph into a complete stranger. I’m used to the Lily who makes me wait and is laid back and relaxed. If you get all punctual on me, I’m not going to know what to do,” he teased.

He watched her intently while Lily teased him back as he walked around the room collecting his things. More than anything, Cam wished he knew how it felt to just let himself relax like that. He’d been serious and studious his entire life because that was what was expected of him. What would it be like to break free, just for a while, from this mold he had created for himself and to simply feel?

And with that thought, he closed the door to the bathroom to get himself ready.

* * *

Lily sat back and relaxed as she listened to the water from the shower and did her best to not think about Cam naked there. That would not be a good thing. Well, it would be a good thing, but not good for her as she was trying her best to keep to the role of pretend girlfriend.

Figuring she had some time, she opted to get dressed while Cam was getting ready. Knowing him, he probably would be completely showered, shaved, and dressed in fifteen minutes or less. Hopping up from the bed, she took her dress off the hanger and laid it on the bed. Stripping off her robe, Lily stepped into her dress, zipped it up, and grabbed her stilettos before checking her reflection in the mirror.

The red cocktail dress was a risky choice, but she wanted to be festive. It was strapless and clung to her in all the right places, and the pumps were just the right combination of sweet yet sexy. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pearl choker with a diamond clasp that matched the earrings she had put on earlier. She was admiring herself in the mirror, thankful for the fact that her panties didn’t leave a line, when Cam opened the bathroom door. The look on his face stopped her cold.

He was dressed in nothing more than his black trousers, and Lily couldn’t help but stare. His hair was still damp from his shower and uncombed, and he looked incredibly yummy. The scowl on his face, however, was not.

“What the hell are you wearing?” he demanded.

Lily looked at herself and mentally cursed. She had been so worried about saying something to embarrass Cam that she’d never thought about needing to dress more conservatively than her normal style. Whenever she got nervous, she made jokes. “It’s a dress, Cam,” she said with a little laugh. “What does it look like?”

She saw him take a deep breath before he spoke. “I know it’s a dress, Lily. I’m not blind. But isn’t it a bit much for a business dinner?”

“Oh, well,” she stammered, then walked over to her suitcase and pulled out an ivory cashmere sweater and put it on. “I was going for festive with the red and figured the sweater would tone it down a bit. If you don’t like it, I can skip tonight’s dinner and shop tomorrow for something a little more appropriate.” She was nervous and sorting through all of her clothes to see if her other dresses were more subdued in style, so she never heard Cam’s approach.

Gently placing his hands on her shoulders, he stopped her and simply said her name. When she didn’t make a move, Cam turned her around to face him. “Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m used to being in stuffy, conservative mode, and I never really gave a thought to how a woman would dress for one of these events. You look beautiful, and I don’t want you to skip dinner tonight. I want you with me.”

His words warmed her, and she began to feel like her old self again. “Only if you’re sure, because I would completely understand if…”

Cam placed a finger over her lips to silence her. “I want you with me,” he repeated and smiled when she nodded. “Okay then. Let me finish getting ready, and we’ll head downstairs for drinks.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a red tie with you, would you?” she asked hopefully.

“Are we just meeting?”

Rolling her eyes, she shrugged and went to hang up her belongings, something she should have done when she got in. “I’m sorry. What was I thinking?” Lily went back to the task at hand, and five minutes later, Cam walked out of the bathroom looking like something out of GQ. His black suit fit him perfectly. The snowy white dress shirt was pressed within an inch of its life, and the black silk tie looked immaculate against it. His hair, which was always styled to near military precision, was impeccable, and his black wire glasses were the perfect accessory.

“You look incredibly handsome, sir,” she said and brushed at imaginary lint on his jacket just so that she could touch him. She turned them toward the mirror so she could see how they looked side by side and then frowned.

“What’s the matter?” Cam asked, thoroughly confused because he was smiling at how they looked.

“It’s all wrong,” she said, walking over to the closet. “I have a black dress with me. I’ll change into that one, and then we’ll look more coordinated.” Then she mumbled, “If only you had a red tie.”

Cam sighed loudly. “This is all over a tie?”

“And maybe a hanky for your pocket.”

“What do you suggest I do? I don’t have anything red.”

“I have a pair of red panties that I can stuff in your pocket,” she said with a sexy grin and nearly burst out laughing at the shocked look on Cam’s face. “Relax, relax, I was just kidding.”

Cam looked at his watch and then at her. “Don’t change, Lily,” he said as he walked into the living room, picked up the phone, and called the front desk. Two minutes later, he was back in the bedroom. “It’s taken care of.”

“What? What’s taken care of? Who did you call?”

Without answering her, Cam did his share of unpacking, placing his clothes in the closet beside Lily’s.

“Cam? Come on. Who did you call?” She was hot on his heels with every step he took until he sat on the sofa to wait. “You are the most frustrating man I have ever met,” she huffed, sitting beside him.

Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Cam went to answer it. When he turned and walked toward the bedroom, he had a small bag in his hand and a smile on his face. Lily quickly jumped up to see what he was doing. Just as she walked through the double doors, Cam pulled a red silk tie and pocket square from the bag.

“Okay, I take it back. You are not frustrating; you’re adorable.”

“Good,” he said as he tucked the pocket square in place. “That’s what I was going for, adorable.” Lily walked up to him, and before he knew what she was doing, she had his tie undone and was pulling it from around his neck and wrapping it around her wrist. He arched his brows in surprise. “Nice trick.”

She smiled a saucy smile. “There was this belly dancing class. You’d be amazed at what I can do with a silk scarf.” Before Cam could respond, she had the new red tie in place and was tying it in a perfect Windsor knot. Standing back, she admired her handiwork. “There. Now we’re perfect.” Turning them both toward the mirror, she smiled brightly at their reflection. “Right?”

Cam had no words. Lily stared at him for a moment before he nodded and stepped away, clearing his throat. “Ready to go?”

She trailed after him and grabbed her purse. Cam was waiting by the door and held it open as she walked through. She murmured her thanks and waited for him to close the door. Silently they walked toward the elevator, and once they were inside, she forced him to face her. “Okay, what’s the matter?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You got all quiet and sullen back there. Is this because of the tie? I mean, if it’s going to make you so uncomfortable that you won’t even talk to me, you can change it back. It’s not worth all of this.” She stood and crossed her arms defiantly and waited for his response.

“I’m fine, Lily. It’s just that you… well, you took me a little by surprise back there,” he said, his voice croaking slightly.

“Me? What did I do?”

“Wanting to put red panties in my pocket, whipping my tie off and wrapping it around your wrist while telling me you do stuff with silk scarves. That’s just a whole other side of you I… we… well, we never discuss. It’s just taking me a little longer than you to wrap my brain around this whole new phase of our friendship.”

Lily had really wanted to stay mad at him, but his honest admission and the embarrassment on his face were more than she could bear. With a laugh, she stepped in, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a hug. When she felt him stiffen, she immediately stepped back and smacked his arm. “Stop doing that!” she said loudly.

“Now what did I do?” Seriously, the woman needed to come with a manual because he couldn’t keep up with her. If this was what most women were like in a relationship, then moving overseas was definitely the better option because the up-and-down mood swings were making him dizzy.

“You are going to have to get used to me touching you and hugging you and acting flirty with you, or nobody, not our friends or our family, is going to believe this nonsense that we’re trying to feed them, and this will end up being yet another exhausting holiday season! Now unclench a bit,” she demanded as the elevator showed they had arrived on the floor of the banquet hall, “and take my hand and let’s go mingle.”

Cam did just as she instructed, but he had a sense that he was in over his head. Even though the room was full of his peers, he was most definitely out of his element.

* * *

Four hours later and back in the room, Cam was a man with a major conflict.

All night Lily had been the perfect date. She was friendly to everyone and spoke to all the colleagues he introduced her to. When they were seated for dinner, she actively took part in all the conversations, even if just to ask a question, which all the men at the table were more than willing to answer for her. She seemed to be completely in her element. Some of the other wives or dates had seemed bored or impatient, but Lily’s gift was bringing her genuine interest in people to every conversation. She had dazzled his colleagues, and he’d felt proud and possessive.

And then they’d danced.

Cam wasn’t sure what had happened. They’d danced with one another dozens of times over the course of their lives, and yet tonight was different. As they’d swayed to the music, the way Lily had felt in his arms was simply amazing. There were at least four different times when he’d wanted to pull her even closer than they already were and just keep her there.

And then there were the times when they had gotten too close and all he’d wanted to do was take her back up to their room and say to hell with their friendship and finally, finally! make Lily his own.

And then there was the mistletoe.

It still boggled his mind how a simple Eurasian parasitic shrub could turn his mind to mush. Well, not so much the plant, but what happened under it.

Lily had kissed him.

Not a small kiss, mind you. Oh, no. Apparently she wanted to act the part of the girlfriend for all the room to see. When someone pointed out that they were indeed standing under a sprig of mistletoe, Lily had smiled saucily at him and silently dared him to kiss her. When Cam hadn’t acted fast enough, she had simply grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him to her. He had expected a quick, chaste kiss. That was their thing; that’s what they did whenever the occasion called for a kiss. But the deep, wet, seductive kiss that she had given him? Cam had no idea where that had come from.

And he really wanted to try it again when he was more on board and not so shocked by the kiss that he spent most of the time it was happening trying to figure out why it was happening. Was it any wonder that he didn’t have a steady girlfriend? If one kiss from Lily could stupefy him this much, Cam wasn’t sure he’d make it through the next couple of months.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Lily asked if he wanted anything to drink. She was walking across the room as she took her sexy stilettos off, and that was a shame, in his opinion. After tonight, he’d have to consider taking her out to more functions so that she would have to wear the sexy footwear again. Now she was standing in the doorway between the bedroom and living room, looking at him expectantly. “Cam?”

“What? Oh, um… no. No, thank you. I’m fine.” Pulling his tie loose and making his way across the room, he slid the curtains closed and removed his jacket before kicking off his own shoes.

“Want to watch a movie?” Lily called from the bedroom.

What was she doing in there? The door was wide open; surely she wasn’t getting undressed with him right here in the connecting room without closing the door!

“Uh, no. I have another presentation in the morning. It’s getting late, and I need to go over my notes and get some sleep. It’s been a long day.” He could hear hangers shifting and did his best to focus on his presentation instead of the slinky red dress shimmying down her body and over whatever tiny bit of lingerie she was wearing underneath. Over the years, he’d seen Lily in everything from a snowsuit to a bikini. But now? He was dying to know what she was going to sleep in. He ran a weary hand over his face and sighed. For something that was supposed to be such a good idea, this pretend relationship was slowly making him go mad and it was only the first day! They easily had another six weeks to make this completely work to their advantage, dammit!

Doing his best to keep his back to the open bedroom doorway, Cameron searched through his briefcase for his notes on his presentation for the following morning. Once he had them, he yanked the red silk tie off, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves, making himself a little more comfortable. Had it gotten hotter in the room? He was about to check the thermostat when Lily suddenly appeared beside him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just kick back and relax for the rest of the night? I’m sure you know this stuff by heart. Why don’t you take tonight to unwind?”

Unwind? She wanted him to unwind? She was wearing a pair of red flannel boxers with snowmen on them and a white cami with the outline of a snowman right in the middle of her chest. Was she trying to kill him? “What is with all the red today?” he asked suddenly, unable to remember if he had ever seen her wear the color this often.

Lily looked at herself and wondered at Cam’s odd question. “Um, we’re going into the holiday season. I always go a little overboard with the festive wardrobe at this time of year. I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it. Even though my mother does her best to ruin the holidays for me with her barrage of potential husbands, I can’t help but get into the spirit with my clothes. Surely you’ve noticed that about me over the years.”

Had he? Cam couldn’t remember. Maybe there had been a funny sweater or two or the occasional sweatshirt with some sort of holiday design on it, but she had been fully covered in those. Never in all of their years as friends had she pranced around half naked like this and the holiday decorations adorning the skimpy getup did nothing to dampen his growing arousal. He had to get her to go into the bedroom and close the door before he lost his mind.

“Maybe,” he said distractedly. “I don’t really pay attention to that sort of thing.” He looked around the room, desperately searching for anything to focus on rather than her. “Um, listen, I have a lot of work to do, so why don’t you watch a movie and get some sleep? I know you don’t really have anything planned for tomorrow, but I have to go over this stuff and get a good night’s sleep. I need to be downstairs by nine for breakfast.”

“Oh,” Lily said with a pout. “I thought we’d have breakfast together before you headed off to the conference.”

Great, now he had guilt.

“I suppose I could,” he said, although it would really be an inconvenience. “All the more reason for me to get through these notes tonight, Lil.” Taking a risk and touching the bare skin of her shoulders, he gently turned her in the direction of the bedroom and gave her a little nudge. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me,” she said over her shoulder. “I get it, I get it. You’ve got work to do and I’m bothering you.”

Cam hung his head and counted to ten. “Lily.”

“Relax, Cam, I’m just kidding with you. I know you have work to do. I promised not to get in your way, and I’m sorry I’m still standing here talking to you. Don’t stay up all night reading. Make sure you get some sleep too.” When he simply nodded, Lily wished him a good night, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door with a little wave and a smile.

* * *

Two hours later, she was still awake and questioning how much she appealed to the opposite sex. All night while they were at dinner, Cam was the perfect date. They’d laughed and talked and danced, and when he’d held her close, she’d felt confident that what she saw in his eyes was definitely interest. Anytime another man had paid her too much attention, Cam had pulled her close as if staking his claim.

And then there was the kiss.

Lily wasn’t sure what had come over her, but the fact that Cam had simply stood there contemplating what to do had hit a nerve. So, since impulsiveness was one of her strongest attributes, she’d done what any woman would do when there was an attractive man under the mistletoe with her. She’d kissed him. She had put everything she had into that kiss, and although he’d taken longer than she had hoped to get on board, the kiss was over way too soon.

Sigh.

Wasn’t that just her luck? She had finally taken a chance and kissed the man who had captured her heart years ago, and they had to have an audience around them. The room was dark now except for the TV. Fortune had been on her side when she had found a channel with a marathon of some of her favorite holiday classics. Glancing over at the clock, she saw it was nearing 1:00 a.m. The light was still on out in the living room, and she had a feeling Cam was probably asleep on the sofa with a pile of paperwork in his lap.

Quietly climbing from the bed, she paused as the announcer said Frosty the Snowman was up next. That was an all-time favorite of hers. Torn between going out and waking Cam so he could sleep properly on the sofa bed or curling back up in her own king size bed so she could watch the best talking snowman ever, she envisioned Cam trying to do his presentation with his back aching from sleeping sitting up. She could never forgive herself if she caused a problem for him with his morning meeting.

Opening the door, she found he wasn’t asleep, but pretty darn close. Without a word, she walked over to him and took the papers out of his hands even as he protested. She placed them by his briefcase and then came back over to him and held out her hands.

“What?” he asked, but still she stood with her hands outstretched toward him. He placed his hands in hers and stood when she started to pull him to his feet. “Lily, what are you still doing up?”

“Frosty is about to start,” she explained. “Go and get your pajamas on, and I’ll open the sofa bed for you. It’s late.”

“I can do this. Go watch your special,” he said gently, not wanting to prolong his exposure to her in her tempting sleepwear.

“The faster you do what I say, the faster I can watch it. Now go.” Cam knew Lily had a stubborn streak, so he simply nodded and headed to the bedroom to get flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt to change into before heading to the bathroom. Lily made fast work of the sofa bed and turned down the lights before jumping back into her own bed just as the special started.

Cam came out of the bathroom and smiled at the picture she made. “I can’t believe you’re still awake.”

“It’s a holiday special marathon. How could I possibly sleep through it?”

Unable to help himself, Cam sat beside her on the bed. “You know they’ll play this a dozen times before the end of the year, right?”

Lily nodded but didn’t look away from the television. “Yes, I’m aware, but it’s just so exciting to catch it the first time it’s on.” As the opening credits and song began to play, she reached out and pulled him beside her so that he was lying close. “Stay and watch it with me, and then I promise to go to sleep.”

The bed felt good after sitting hunched over the coffee table for the last several hours, so rather than object, he simply made himself more comfortable. For the next twenty minutes, they laughed together. The show was almost over when he realized Lily was curled toward him, her head on his shoulder, a hand on his chest. Somehow his arms had gone around her. As he hugged her a little closer, he noticed her eyes were definitely beginning to droop.

“Hey, sleepy girl,” he whispered. “I think it’s time to go to sleep.”

Lily sighed and snuggled even closer and then seemed to fidget a bit in frustration.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re on top of the blankets and I can’t move,” she said and then yawned. Cam was just about to speak when Lily nudged him. “Get under the blankets with me until Frosty is over.” Looking up, she saw his hesitation. “Please?”

Knowing there was no point in arguing, Cam climbed under the blankets and nearly groaned when Lily immediately wrapped herself around him and sighed again. “Thank you,” she whispered. Cam wrapped his own arms back around her, and together they watched the last five minutes of the cartoon.

“I love that one,” she said sleepily. “Thank you for watching it with me.”

Cam kissed the top of her head. “My pleasure. But it’s very late and we both need to go to sleep.” He looked around and found the TV remote and turned it off. But when he tried to get up, Lily held on tight.

“Not yet,” she breathed. “Don’t go yet.”

They had often sat together on her sofa with her head on his shoulder while watching a movie, but this was the first time they were in a bed and she wasn’t letting him leave. Part of him wanted to be strong and just do the right thing by getting up and leaving. “Lil, sweetheart, it’s late. I need to go into the other room and get some sleep.”

“Sleep here.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and Cam wasn’t sure what to do. They were simply sleeping, nothing wrong with that. He was so exhausted that even walking the ten feet to the next room felt like a Herculean task. Settling farther under the blankets, his decision made, Cam finally allowed himself to relax.

Pulling Lily closer, he ran one hand gently up and down her spine. The urge to venture just a little farther and cup her bottom was almost too much to bear. She was temptation, pure and simple, and Cam was only human. He was allowing his fingers to barely graze below her waist when Lily stirred slightly.

“Cam?”

His hand instantly froze. “Hmm?”

“It’s okay.”

“What is?”

“You can touch me,” she said so quietly that Cam wasn’t even sure that he’d heard her correctly. “I’ve always wanted you to.”

Surely he’d misunderstood her. “Lily?” he murmured and waited a heartbeat before realizing she was already asleep.

Four

The next morning, Lily woke up alone. She sat up, a little dazed and confused, and looked around and listened for any sign of Cam. Turning her head, she looked at the bedside clock, saw that it was after ten, and groaned. He had left hours ago and she had missed it. Stretching, she got out of bed and wandered around the suite, noticing that the sofa bed was folded away and was back in its daytime position. Clearly Cam had taken care of it before he left, but she wondered if he’d ever slept in it last night.

She knew he’d joined her on the bed to watch a little TV and vaguely remembered asking him to get under the blankets with her, but she couldn’t be sure what happened after that. At one point during the night, she had dreamed of Cam being in bed with her, spooned against her back with an impressive arousal nuzzled against her bottom and one hand cupping her breast. It had to have been a dream because Cam would never have done something like that.

Or would he?

The thought made her giddy. With a little more pep in her step, Lily went to the phone and ordered herself breakfast before jumping in the shower. Today she would do some sightseeing around Times Square. While Cam was deep in conferences, she was going to shop and experience some of the foods he would definitely tell her to stay away from, and then she’d return in time to get ready for tonight’s dinner.

Breakfast arrived just after she had finished with her shower, and Lily felt rather decadent as she lounged in the fluffy, spa like robe the hotel provided. Looking at the view out the window, she wished Cam were there with her. It was so exciting to see all the activity going on below. The snow had stopped, but everything still had a coating and looked magical. While she knew Cam had come here for a definite reason, Lily wished she could encourage him to play hooky and go sightseeing with her.

After breakfast, she threw on jeans and a sweater, added a touch of makeup, and put her hair up in a ponytail. She’d do something more glamorous with it later. Grabbing her coat and room key, she left the room and went off on her adventure.

* * *

Cam was mentally and physically exhausted when he returned to the room at five thirty. He had wanted to call and meet Lily for lunch, but he’d been sidetracked by colleagues eager to discuss future projects. All he wanted now was a little peace and quiet and a lot less socializing. God, he hated these conferences. They were too loud, too crowded, and by the end of the day, he always ended up craving solitude.

His mind immediately went to Lily, knowing that he wasn’t going to get that solitude with her around either. The only difference was that it wasn’t solitude he was craving where she was concerned. Last night had been like some personal brand of torture. He had no right sharing a bed with her or touching her the way he had. Even though Lily had said that she wanted his touch, hell, that she’d always wanted his touch, she was half-asleep when she said it. Could he believe her?

Cam cursed himself mentally as he walked into their suite. Part of him hoped she was furious with him for last night and would yell at him when she caught sight of him. The other part hoped she was prancing around in that silky robe she’d worn yesterday and would greet him wearing only it and a sexy smile.

He had a problem. A very serious problem because things were not going as he’d planned, and Cameron always made sure that his life followed his plans. He and Lily were just supposed to be friends on a trip together. He had never given any thought to what looking like a real couple would entail or how it would affect him. So much for being a genius. If he wasn’t careful, Lily was going to realize his feelings for her were more involved than just being friends. And then she’d walk away. She always tended to walk away from the men she was dating when things got serious.

And Cam wanted serious.

Or did he just seriously want?

Either way, he noticed then that the suite was eerily quiet. Housekeeping had been through, so the room was spotless, but he had no clue where Lily was. Cam immediately pulled out his phone and dialed her number. He waited and then cursed when the call went directly to voice mail. “Lily? It’s me. I’m back in the room. It’s five thirty five, and you’re not here. Please call me.”

He hung up and then cursed himself again.

“What if she’s pissed about last night and left?” he asked out loud. But he sighed with relief when he walked over to their closet and saw her belongings all still there. That relief was short-lived when he thought about what could have happened to her as she wandered the streets of New York by herself. Raking a hand through his dark hair, he began to pace. “Where do I even begin to look for her?”

Unsure of what else to do, he called the front desk to ask if she had used any of the hotel amenities today, or if anyone remembered when she left the building. They told him about her ordering breakfast, but after that, no one knew where she’d gone. Cam felt sick. What if something horrible had happened to her? It would definitely be his fault. All he’d wanted was a chance to enjoy the holidays without the hassle of his family, but thanks to his selfishness, maybe something had happened to her.

Grabbing his coat from the closet and the room key, he pulled the door open and ran smack into Lily.

“Cam? What the hell?” she said as she nearly fell backward. “Where were you going in such a rush?”

He pulled her into the room and then into his arms and simply crushed her to him with relief.

“Uh… Cam? What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Pulling back, he stared at her beautiful face. Her cheeks were red, her green eyes were wide, and her smile was nervous. God, how he loved her. “You scared the hell out of me,” he finally said, a tremble in his normally strong and stable voice. “I got back to the room, and you weren’t here, and… and I thought that something… I don’t know.” Then he noticed all the packages on the floor around them and chuckled. “You went shopping.” It wasn’t a question; he was just stating the obvious.

“Boy, did I!” she said excitedly. Bending over, she began to pick up her packages and smiled when Cam helped. Together they brought everything over to the sofa, where they sat and she told him all about her day. “There were so many places to see! It just seemed endless!”

Cam looked at the seemingly endless pile of packages and then back at Lily. “Seriously? What could you possibly have needed that required this many bags?”

Lily smiled at him wickedly. “Silly, silly man. Never underestimate the shopping powers of a woman.” She started going through each bag one by one and showing him what she had purchased while telling him about the store. Thirty minutes later, Cam stopped her. “What? Too much?” she asked.

“No, no. This is riveting, really. But if we don’t stop, we’ll be late for dinner. As it is, we only have,” he looked at his watch, “about twenty minutes to get ready.”

“Well, damn,” she sighed and then looked at all the stuff around them. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lose track of time. Again.”

“No worries,” he said, standing and holding out a hand to her. “But we really should get ready.”

Lily took his hand and stood. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“We don’t go to the dinner and play tourist instead,” she said quickly, clearly excited at the prospect of having time to explore with him. The look on his face told her they weren’t on the same page.

“I promise we’ll go out tomorrow night,” he said solemnly. “Tonight, I need to talk with some people about an upcoming project. I’m sorry.” Cam saw the disappointment on her face and hated being the one to put it there.

Doing her best to shake it off, Lily pulled her hand from his. “No biggie. Let me go freshen up and change. I promise to be quick.” She flounced away, and although her tone was light, Cam knew she was putting on an act for his benefit. When he heard her go into the bathroom, he went to the bedroom to retrieve his things and use the half bath to get ready. A shower would have gone a long way to revitalize him after such an exhausting day, but he’d just have to make do with what he had.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily joined him in the living room, wearing a more conservative dress than before but still with a killer pair of stilettos, black this time to match her dress. Cam stood back and admired her while she gathered up her purchases and took them into the bedroom. The dress came to just above her knees but was still formfitting like the red dress from the night before. The simple black sheath was sleeveless and delicately adorned with black sequins along the hem, and had a sheer back. Her accessories were minimal, and when she came back into the room, he noticed a simple black wrap.

“It helps so much that we don’t have to leave the hotel to go to dinner,” she said as she draped the wrap around herself. “I get to wear pretty dresses without having to worry about freezing to death.” Walking toward Cam, she admired his dark suit and then smiled at his light blue silk tie. “Nicely done, Cam,” she complimented him. “Not quite so somber.”

“I’m learning,” he teased and then held out his arm to escort her to the elevator.

They rode down to the main floor and joined a group of Cam’s colleagues as they walked toward the banquet hall. Outside the entrance, they had all stopped and were chatting when Lily spotted the mistletoe from the night before. Turning toward one of the other women in the group, she said, “I love the holidays. Everything looks so festive and bright. Plus,” she pointed upward and winked, “it gives us an excuse for a little PDA, right?” The other woman nodded, and before Lily knew what was happening, Cam turned her in his arms and kissed her.

Oh, and how he was kissing her.

It took Lily less than a second to happily wrap her arms around him. When Cam’s tongue gently grazed her lower lip, Lily more than willingly opened for him and let him deepen the kiss. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that he could kiss like this. He was all heat and passion, and she let out a small whimper of need before she could stop herself.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Cam reluctantly ended the kiss. Pulling back, he looked at Lily’s flushed face and hated that they were here in this crowd. All day he had dreamed about kissing her again under the mistletoe. This time he wanted to be the one to initiate it, to see if it would be any better than his fantasies.

And it was.

Without a word, Cam took Lily’s hand in his and joined the group heading into the banquet hall for dinner.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Cam couldn’t say why he was doing it, but he was being a jackass. There was no other way to put it. By ten o’clock, he had had enough of social chitchat and talk about projects and research and work in general. He was done. Every time he heard Lily laugh at something somebody said, he felt rage building inside him. When she turned to talk to anybody else, he wanted to demand that she talk to him. He was out of control and mad as hell, and he didn’t know why.

Actually, he was lying to himself. He knew exactly why.

The kiss.

Looking around the room, Cam decided he was done for the night because he wanted Lily all to himself. They had danced, they had mingled and socialized, but now it was time for them to be alone.

And to hell with the consequences.

He stood suddenly and made their excuses and then held his hand out to Lily. She looked at him questioningly, but didn’t object. After she said her good nights to everyone, she and Cam walked out of the room. They silently rode the elevator up to their floor, neither saying a word until they were safely back in their suite.

“Are you okay?” Lily finally asked. The room was bathed in only the soft light of one small lamp set in the corner. It felt oddly intimate and she had to wonder why neither of them seemed willing to move from the confines of the entryway.

“No,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “I’m not.”

He didn’t elaborate, didn’t think he’d be able to find the words, so he did the only thing that he could. He stepped in close and kissed her again. Without the crowd, without the noise and the flurry of activity around them they’d had earlier, he was completely focused on the scent of her perfume and the feel of her body pressed against his as he backed her up against the wall. It was madness, and Cam made sure that he never let himself succumb to madness.

But it couldn’t be helped.

He had wanted Lily for so long, and all the pretending in the world wasn’t going to be enough, not after he’d touched her and tasted her. That only made the longing worse. His mouth left hers only long enough to trail kisses along the slender column of her neck, and then he needed to feel her lips under his again. He said a silent prayer of thanks when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even closer, her hands seeming as frantic as his to explore and touch.

“Cam?” she whispered when he broke away to stroke his tongue along the delicate shell of her ear. He reached up and placed one strong finger over her kiss swollen lips. Her own tongue reached out and licked a path along his finger, and she smiled when he groaned with pleasure. “Is this wrong?” she asked. “We never… we’ve always been…”

His mouth silenced hers. He didn’t want to think about before or what they’d never dared to do. If he allowed his mind to go in that direction, his overly practical side would take control and he’d never get the chance to experience this incredible sensation of intimacy with Lily again.

Just tonight.

For just this one night, he’d allow himself the pleasure of stepping out of himself and loving her the way he had always wanted to.

“Tonight, Lily,” he murmured against her lips. “Please. Just give me tonight.” His words were tinged with a hint of desperation that was foreign to him. He almost didn’t recognize himself. His own voice sounded like it was coming from somebody else. When Lily didn’t immediately respond, he forced himself to pull back, hating how cold and alone he suddenly felt without her body pressed against his.

Lily’s breathing was ragged, and her eyes were glazed and intense as she studied him. “Yes.”

The relief he felt at that one little word was so great that Cam nearly sank to his knees. Both of his hands snaked up into her hair and ruined its beautiful, upswept style, but he didn’t care. He kissed her with a ferocity that scared him. For once in his life, he was going to give in and be impulsive and allow himself to simply feel. He heard Lily’s purse drop to the floor and then felt her wrap shimmy down her arms. “I want to make love to you, Lily Cavanaugh,” he said huskily as he leaned his forehead against hers and did his best to regain his breath.

She smiled shyly. “I’d like that very much.”

And then, hand in hand, they walked into the bedroom where Cam closed the double doors and turned to the woman who was his every dream come true.

Five

The Sun was just beginning to rise when lily opened her eyes and instantly smiled. They had made love. Repeatedly. She felt a little giddy when she thought about it, because she’d always known that Cam was thorough in everything he did, but that thoroughness had a whole new meaning now.

He was pressed against her back, completely wrapped around her, and Lily loved the way he felt. She wanted to bask in the afterglow of it all, but a little voice of doubt crept into her thoughts. One night. That was what he had asked for just the one night. After such a night, could she really be okay with it never happening again? Cam’s lips on her shoulder told her he was awake.

Turning her head slightly, she looked at him and smiled. “Good morning.”

Rather than speaking, he continued to trail kisses along her shoulder and then down her spine, all the while, his hands conducting their own exploration.

Interesting, Lily thought. Clearly, the super genius mind of Cameron Greene did not recall his one night rule. That was more than fine with her. If she had her way, there would be no rules, no limits. Forever actually worked quite well for her.

Arching her back, she purred with delight as he worked his way back up and rolled her beneath him before diving in for a kiss so hot, so deep, and so wet that she simply forgot how to breathe. Just when she was about to completely wrap herself around him in silent invitation, Cam pulled back and smiled at her.

“Good morning to you too.” His hair was mussed and he had stubble on his chin, but he looked good enough to eat. Cam always was the portrait of neatness, never a hair out of place, but she liked this look a heck of a lot more. She smiled as she ran her hand along his cheek and then down to his chest. “See anything you like?” he asked lightly.

Her green eyes met his, and her expression turned serious. “Everything.” And then she pulled him down for another searing kiss, forgot all about rules and nights, and gave him a morning he was sure to remember.

* * *

For the first time since… well, ever, Cam was late for a meeting. He’d felt a moment of pure panic when he first looked at the clock after he and Lily had nearly destroyed one another with their enthusiasm, but then he couldn’t find the strength to care. Time had no meaning right now because he had a beautiful woman wrapped around him.

Now that had meaning.

He just wasn’t sure what it was.

Everything was different and yet it wasn’t. Cam had expected that they’d make love and be done. Maybe there would be a little awkwardness, but then they’d move on. He’d never expected her to respond to him the way she had or that he’d be so insatiable for her. And she for him! He certainly hadn’t expected them to still be so needy for one another this morning, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d never want to leave this room today.

Reluctantly, he slowly got up and smiled at her sleepy protest. He kissed her forehead. “Believe me, I’d much rather stay here, but I’m already late.”

Lily instantly sat up and looked at the clock. “Oh, my gosh! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, Cam! I didn’t mean… I mean, I didn’t even think that…”

He silenced her with a kiss. “Stop worrying,” he said. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and then I’m leaving, but after this afternoon’s session, I’ll let you show me all around Times Square.”

“Because I’m such a pro after my day yesterday?” she teased.

“Something like that,” he said as he walked toward the bathroom and shut the door.

Lily sighed and smiled at the same time. Okay, so Cam had completely forgotten about his rules and about time. That had never happened. Ever. But what did it mean for them? For all Lily knew, this morning was just a small detour or an extension of the night, and now Cam was done. She pouted slightly. Well, she wasn’t ready to be done. No, she was about as far from done as a person could get. Pretending wasn’t an option for her anymore, and she only had six weeks to convince him that their reality could be so much more than either of them had imagined.

* * *

Cam had never been a clock watcher, but today he was. Every meeting seemed endless, and all of his conversations were forced. All he wanted was to be done and to get back upstairs to Lily. The thought of going out on the town with her filled him with anticipation. Images of her from the night before kept flashing through his mind, and when he thought about the things they had done this morning? Well, several times during his meetings, he found himself shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. While Lily didn’t seem outraged or even shocked by them becoming intimate, Cam wasn’t sure it had been smart. Lily was a woman who led with her heart; she put everything she had into everything she did. Cam was a lot more closed off. He was studious and serious, and while their friendship had always worked for them, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that if he pursued a serious romantic relationship with Lily, he’d end up killing some of the essence that made her who she was.

What made him love her.

Shaking his head at his own negative thoughts, he almost wept with gratitude when the afternoon session finally came to a close and he was free to leave. Doing his best to stay under the radar, he quickly left and hit the bank of elevators before anyone noticed his departure. Tapping his foot and waiting for the doors to open, Cam looked at his watch and saw it was only two minutes after five.

A new record.

At the sound of the elevator’s arrival, he was glad there was still no one around as he quickly stepped on and pushed the button to close the doors. By the time he arrived at the suite, he had only used up another two minutes. His fingers fumbled with the key card, and when he finally got through the door, he was treated to the sight of Lily walking across the room in nothing but a towel.

“Cam!” she cried, and then looked for the nearest clock. “You’re early. Is everything okay?”

He tried to tell himself he had planned on coming back to the room and taking Lily sightseeing, and making love to her wasn’t on the agenda. He would not allow himself to do that again. But one look at her, and all of his good intentions flew right out the window.

He knew the second she caught his train of thought because her smile went from sweet to sexy in the blink of an eye. She walked toward him slowly, and Cam wondered when she had become as eager to be with him as he was to be with her. For years he had pined after her, and she had never given even a hint that she was interested in pursuing a more intimate relationship. But now? Now they were clearly on the same page, and he loved it.

“So?” she said sweetly as she stood nearly toe-to-toe with him. “Are you okay?”

Cam’s hand crept slowly up to where her towel was knotted between her breasts and lingered there. His eyes met hers, and the heat he saw there mirrored his own. With a gentle tug, the towel dropped to the floor. “I am now.”

* * *

Snow had begun to fall again as Lily and Cam walked along Seventh Avenue. “Isn’t this amazing?” Lily asked excitedly. It had been well after seven when they finally left the hotel, and an hour later, they were strolling hand in hand and trying to decide where to eat. Every few minutes, she would stop Cam so they could either take selfies in front of something she considered fun or ask random strangers to take their picture. She was having a blast. “All the lights and the activity are invigorating.”

Cam wasn’t sure he fully agreed. What they’d done earlier in the room had been invigorating. Walking along Seventh Avenue and now Broadway in the cold and the snow was something he could easily live without. He was starving, and as much as he hated to admit it, he’d go along with anything Lily wanted for dinner, even if it came from a street vendor.

“Ooo, we have to go in here,” she said as she dragged Cam into the Disney Store.

“Why? Why do we need to stop in here?” The sheer magnitude of the colors, music, and lighting assaulted him as they walked in. “Seriously, Lil. Why?”

“I haven’t been to Disney since I was a little girl. I came in here yesterday, and it just made me wish I could hop on a plane to Florida right now.”

“It would be a lot warmer, I can tell you that,” he grumbled.

“Oh, stop being such a baby. We’re having fun.”

“If you have to remind me, then no, I’m not.”

Lily stopped and made a face at him. “Remember the trip we took to Disney World when we were eight? Remember how much fun we had?”

“Remember how I got sick on the rides?” he replied sarcastically, then hated himself when her expression fell. “Okay, okay. Yes, it was a fun trip. If you don’t count the throwing up. So, we’re here in this… monstrosity of a store. What are you looking for?”

“Looking for? Cam, you don’t come to a place like this to look for something specific. You come in and explore and then surprise yourself when you find something that you absolutely have to have.”

Cam didn’t need a store to do that. He’d already found something he absolutely had to have.

Lily.

She dragged him around and commented on just about everything they saw. The way her whole face lit up with each new thing she discovered had Cam smiling as well. It was hard to stay serious and stern when she was bursting with excitement. Cam wanted so badly to free himself up enough to find something that made him so happy and carefree. Something that would make him grin from ear to ear when he saw it.

Something like the woman standing in front of him wearing a sparkly tiara and posing like a princess.

Cam took the tiara off her head and led her to the front of the store. When they approached the registers, she blushed as she watched Cam pay for the tiara and then hand her the bag.

“Thank you,” she said as she leaned in close and got on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. Once they were back outside, she looked around, trying to decide which direction they should go to find a place to eat. “Okay, what are you in the mood for? Italian? Burgers? Steak?”

He chuckled at the fact that she mentioned burgers, even though she knew his feelings about them, but decided to throw caution to the wind. “You decide,” he said lightly. And found that he enjoyed letting go. The smile that lit up Lily’s face was worth it.

Even if it meant eating burgers.

“Um… let’s see,” she said, looking around again. “There’s a diner with singing waitresses we can try.”

Looking at Cam, she saw him merely shrug.

“Or… we can do the Hard Rock.”

Another shrug.

“You know, it’s a lot easier when you just tell me where we’re going rather than letting me decide. We’ll probably eat a lot quicker, too.”

“You were so excited about going out and exploring that I want you to choose the place,” he replied. “Tonight is all for you, Lily.”

Well, if he had said that sooner, life would have been a whole lot easier. “Okay then,” she said with a firm nod of her head. Taking his hand, she turned them around and took off in the direction she wanted with a purposeful stride. It didn’t take long for Cam to question what she was doing.

“Uh, Lil? Why are we back at the hotel?”

With a saucy glance over her shoulder, she smiled. “You said tonight was for me, right?”

Cam nodded.

“Well, then what I want is room service and you.”

Far be it from Cam to argue.

* * *

The next night was their last in New York because they had a flight out the following morning. Cam’s last session of the conference had ended at noon, so they spent the afternoon doing more sightseeing and finally went out for an Italian meal outside the hotel. As they lay in bed, Cam knew what he had to do. It wasn’t what he wanted to do, but in the long run, he was doing what was best for Lily and their friendship.

“I’m really glad you came with me this week,” he said softly as he tried not to focus on the way her hand was tracing lazy circles on his chest.

“Mmm… me too,” she said. “This was a great idea.”

It was hard to focus, but Cam trudged forward. “We’re supposed to have dinner with everyone tomorrow night, and I know we had planned to pretend to be involved and announce our relationship, but…”

Lily lifted her head from his shoulder, not liking where this was leading. “But what?”

“Well, things took a bit of a turn here, and I think it would be best if this stayed here,” he said awkwardly.

Lily sat completely upright and looked at him with disbelief. “Excuse me?”

Cam sat up beside her. “Lily, you and I have been friends forever, and I don’t want to do anything to risk that. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if you weren’t a part of my life. Your friendship has gotten me through some pretty rough times, and I treasure what we have.”

“I do too. I don’t understand where this is all going.” Lily was thoroughly confused. Her gut was telling her he no longer wanted to sleep with her, but more than that, he didn’t even want to have a fake relationship with her.

“The physical turn in our relationship wasn’t something I had planned on, and I think lines are getting blurred. We both know it’s never good to combine sex with friendship. Eventually things get too awkward and the friendship suffers. I don’t want that for us. So I’m thinking that this,” he cleared his throat, “isn’t something we should continue once we get home.”

She stared at him like he was insane. Not continue this? Was he out of his mind? This was some of the most amazing sex of her life, and things hadn’t gotten weird between them at all. Why end it? Which is exactly what she asked him rather snappishly.

“It has been amazing; I’m not denying that. I just value our friendship more. Can you understand that?” His eyes were earnest as he tried to get her to see his point of view.

“And the fake relationship?” she asked coldly. “Is that something we should continue when we get home?”

Cam nodded.

“Just without the sex,” she stated matter-of-factly, and Cam nodded again. Lily considered her options. While this was not the way she had envisioned things going, all was not lost. The rules had changed several times already, and after these past few days, she was certain she could get him to change the rules again.

And she could even make him think it was his idea.

Reclining back on the pillows, Lily pulled the sheet up snugly around her and stared at the ceiling as she continued to ponder. She knew it was a tactic that would drive Cam mad. He was used to people quickly falling in line with what he wanted, and whenever she didn’t, it infuriated him.

Good. Let him stew.

Without a word, she kicked off the sheet, walked completely naked into the living room, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge, and then came back to bed as she drank. Then she resumed her earlier position and stared at the ceiling again. The tension was rolling off Cameron in waves to the point that Lily had to stifle the giggle that was dying to come out. After a solid five minutes, she turned and simply said, “Fine.”

Cam’s eyes grew wide. “Fine? That’s it? All this pressure, and all you have to say is fine?”

“What would you have me say?” she asked innocently. “Should I kick, scream, and carry on? I can’t force you to keep having sex with me, so what would you have me do? You want to go back to us just being friends who are pretending to date? Fine, that’s what we’ll do.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t like it. Cam couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong, but Lily never gave in to anything this easily. “So, we’re good?”

Lily nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we be? We tried something new, and it didn’t work for you. Besides, you’re right; being friends is a better option. You’d probably make me crazy after a while with this dating thing. This way, we stop before any real damage is done. Plus, this means that if either of us meets someone we’re really interested in, even if it’s during the holidays, we’re free to date or sleep with them.” Lily did her best to sound blasé about the whole thing, and the play of emotions on Cam’s face was nearly comical.

“No,” he said adamantly. “Absolutely not.”

Lily quirked an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

“Until the week after New Year’s we are exclusive. No dating, and certainly no sleeping with anybody else!” Cam never raised his voice to Lily and he was surprised he was doing it now, but how dare she even suggest such a ridiculous concept! Sleep with other people while they were pretending to date? Why would she even consider that?

“So, you’re telling me I’m not only supposed to play the part of the fake girlfriend, but I’m supposed to be celibate too?”

“I didn’t think it was such a sacrifice,” he replied snarkily. “I mean, I never knew you to be unable to go for a couple of weeks without being intimate with a man.”

Unable to help herself, Lily burst out laughing. “Being intimate with a man? Is that how we’re speaking now? It’s sex, Cam. Sex. And I happen to enjoy it. And since you’re just my friend,” she reminded tartly, “and not my real boyfriend, you have no real say in what I do on my own time.”

This was so not going as he had planned. How had he lost control of the situation? Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cam counted to ten and then looked at Lily, who was sitting beside him like the picture of innocence. “Look,” he said calmly, “all I’m saying is that we both know a lot of the same people, and how would it look if someone knew you were sleeping with somebody else when you were supposed to be dating me?”

“How do we know it’s going to be me sleeping with somebody else? Maybe you’ll meet someone you want to sleep with.”

He highly doubted that. After these last couple of days, Cam doubted that he’d want to sleep with another woman for a very long time. “I’m not the one who can’t go without sex.”

“Good to know,” she said confidently. “Then you won’t mind if this last round of sex we just had was indeed our last round of sex.”

Cam's jaw dropped. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that since you think our sleeping together wasn’t the smart thing to do, you won’t mind sleeping on the sofa bed tonight. We go back to our old relationship starting now.”

Like hell. If he was going to sacrifice having Lily to himself from now on, he wasn’t going to give up his last night with her. “As a matter of fact, I do mind.”

Lily smiled confidently. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Cam. I’m just following your rules.”

With lightning speed, Cam turned and pinned Lily beneath him. “I don’t want cake,” he said huskily, “but I could definitely eat.” His mouth claimed hers, and Lily didn’t even bother trying to fight it. She instantly wrapped herself around him, and Cam wasn’t sure who the winner was in all of this. But as her tongue dueled with his, he realized that, right now, he didn’t even care.

Six

They walked into the usual controlled chaos at the home of Cam’s parents, Richard and Angela Greene. Everyone was talking at once while they were hugging and kissing Cam and Lily hello. After years of experiencing the same scene, Lily could have several conversations with different people as she made her way through the group and into the kitchen where she found her own parents and said hello.

Cam was by her side with his hand low on her back, and Lily couldn’t help but smile. He might not want to touch her, but she knew that deep down, he couldn’t help himself. Was he even aware he’d done nothing but touch her since they’d left the hotel that morning? He’d held her hand, touched her arm, kept his hand on her back. Other than while she was getting ready at her apartment once they got back into town, Cam had always had his hands on her in one way or another. It was both amusing and arousing.

Cam had stepped away for a moment to tell his father and Lily’s dad about the conference when he noticed his mother heading toward Lily.

“So what’s new with you, Lily?” Angela Greene asked as she handed Lily a glass of wine.

“Well,” she began, and then looked over her shoulder at Cam. He nodded, so Lily turned back and faced their parents and siblings. “Cam and I just got back from New York.”

“Oh really?” Angela said. “Did you have business in the city too?”

“No,” Cam said, coming over to stand beside Lily and put his arm around her. “I invited Lily to come with me. I thought it might be nice for us to get away before the hectic holiday schedule kicks in.” The room fell silent as their parents all looked at one another and then back at Cam and Lily.

“I don’t understand,” Angela said, confusion written all over her face.

“Well,” Lily said with a shy smile, “Cam and I wanted to have a little time away before we came here and told all of you that,” she looked at Cam again for confirmation, “we’re dating!”

The room became a flurry of activity, and it was like walking in all over again. Everyone began talking at once and asking questions. Lily and Cam were so in sync with one another that even though they had never discussed their “story,” their accounts were close enough that no one seemed to notice.

“It’s just so romantic…”

“We always hoped the two of you…”

“So, it was a romantic getaway?”

“How long has this been going on?”

The questions came at them in rapid-fire succession, and they each took turns answering. Lily had to wonder if their announcement was real or fake because they seemed to be pulling it off. They really weren’t lying, because in her mind, what she and Cam were doing was one hundred percent real. She just had to convince Cam. Conversation moved to the dining room as dinner was served. Angela made sure the two of them sat together, and by the time everyone was seated, their mothers seemed to be of one mind. “So this is real? This is serious?”

Cam picked up one of Lily’s hands and kissed it. “Yes, it is. I’ve been in love with Lily for a long time, but I never wanted to risk our friendship.”

“So what changed?” Mary Cavanaugh asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Cam looked lovingly at Lily as he spoke the truth for what seemed like the first time tonight. “Some things you just can’t fight. We didn’t plan this. It just sort of happened, and now that it has, I’m sorry we waited so long.” Lily’s gaze softened at his words, and it took all of Cam’s strength to not lean in and kiss her right now. But he remembered his rules. Although he knew he would have to kiss her in front of other people during the upcoming weeks, he had to be strong and only do it when absolutely necessary or he’d make himself crazy.

“The trip was amazing,” Lily said while everyone at the table simply sat and grinned at them. She told them all about Times Square and their hotel and the dinners they’d had with Cam’s colleagues. “We danced, and the food was amazing, and everything was already decorated for Christmas. It was all so beautiful. There was this spot by the banquet hall that had the most amazing display of mistletoe, and we always made sure we stopped and kissed under it before going in to dinner.” The women at the table sighed collectively, and Lily glanced back at Cam while doing her best to look like the adoring girlfriend. “It was all very romantic.”

“It sounds like it,” Angela said, and then looked at her son with a wink. “Who knew my son could be such a romantic? I’m glad you finally came to your senses, Cameron. We’ve all known for years that you cared for Lily as more than a friend. I think I can speak for all of us when I say this is going to make the holidays even more special.” She looked over at Mary. “Just think of the excitement this is going to cause at all the parties! I think people were starting to take bets on when the two of them would get together, weren’t they?”

Mary nodded. “I believe so.” She turned and looked at her daughter and Cam. “Seems like the two of you were the last to know.”

Lily knew she shouldn’t take that as a dig, but somehow she did. Her whole body tensed, but Cam gave her hand a slight squeeze to let her know he was there for her. He spoke up. “We don’t really care what everyone else was thinking; we needed the time to be right for us. Let them think what they want. What Lily and I feel for each other needed to come out when the time was right. Our trip only confirmed it was the right decision to wait.” He kissed her hand again. “She was worth it.”

Their fathers finally interrupted and turned the conversation to something they all could participate in. Cam was more than a little relieved for the break. He’d known their mothers were going to be thrilled about their dating, but he hadn’t expected them to make such a big deal out of it. Slipping under the radar was no longer an option, and he had a feeling they were going to be thrust into the spotlight more than he had ever dreamed possible.

Once dinner was over and things were cleaned up, Angela and Mary took out their calendars and went through the list of social engagements they were all expected to attend. “And now with Cam and Lily’s big news, you know everyone is going to want to see them,” she said to the group. They were all sitting in the living room, and Cam had Lily tucked beside him with his arm around her. It felt natural and very comforting, although at the same time a little bizarre, because everyone kept looking at them and wanting to talk about them.

When Cam had come up with this idea, he’d figured they’d announce they were dating, and everyone would be happy and then move on. He didn’t expect them to become the event of the season.

“We’re going to decorate here tonight, and then we’ll all meet for dinner on Sunday at Mary and Jack’s to do all of their decorating. Thanksgiving will be here on Thursday,” Angela continued as she checked her list, “and then the Christmas parties will kick into gear!” Everyone began talking at once, and then Mary spoke up.

“We’ll be doing the Christmas cookie baking for the exchange at our place on the fifth, followed by the open house for friends and family on the eighth, and,” she said, looking to Angela to confirm, “you will host the neighborhood get-together on the tenth, and then you have Richard’s company party on the twelfth, right?” Both Richard and Angela nodded. Then she double checked her list. “We have Jack’s company party on the sixteenth.” Again, everyone nodded.

“But this year we have a surprise,” Richard Greene said, addressing the group. He looked at his daughters, Megan and Lisa, and their husbands, John and Michael, and then to Cam and Lily and Lily’s sister, Beth, and her husband, Kevin, before finally focusing on the senior Cavanaughs with a smile. “We’re breaking tradition this year for the first time. We’ve rented a place up in the mountains to spend Christmas week and New Year’s!” All the adult children looked at one another and then their parents, and mass confusion ensued as everyone began asking questions at once.

Jack Cavanaugh stood and tried to quiet everyone down. “Now, we realize some of you here have in-laws you will want to spend part of the holidays with, and we understand. The house is ours for ten days, and you are free to come and go as you please. But we’re hoping you’ll want to spend a lot of that time up there with us. We have the house from the twenty third to January first, and it would be wonderful if we could enjoy some quality family time after all these parties,” he said with a laugh.

“Well, we know Cam and Lily will be there the whole time because the only in-laws they have are us!” Angela said with obvious delight. “We’ll be able to spend time talking about what your plans are, and not to put too much pressure on you, we might talk about engagements and weddings and all of that good stuff.” Mary readily agreed and threw in her own two cents on how she saw them spending time with the couple and helping them plan their future.

Cam felt ill, and Lily wanted to run screaming from the room.

“Um…” Lily interrupted and raised her hand. “I don’t think I’ll have the whole week off, Dad. Especially after taking this week to go to New York.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Lily,” her sister, Beth, said with a hint of irritation. “It’s not like you have a real job. I’m sure the coffee shop will run fine without you. Get a grip.”

Cam literally felt Lily shrink beside him as she simply nodded and bowed her head. He loved the Cavanaughs; they were a second family to him. But he had listened to them all dismiss Lily for years, and he’d never understood why. Furious with himself for never speaking up before, Cam knew that even as her pretend boyfriend, he needed to do it now.

He turned directly to Beth. “And why exactly isn’t it a real job?” Before she could answer, Cam cut her off. “I mean, she goes to the coffee shop. She has a schedule. She works her shift, and she gets paid for the work she does. Tell me, Beth, how is that not a real job?”

“Well… um…” Beth stammered, looking around the room for someone to back her up. Usually her parents would, but they were remaining surprisingly quiet.

“Lily may not go to an office to work, but that doesn’t mean what she does is any less important. Instead of giving her life to a company, she tries to find the things that give her pleasure so she can actually enjoy her life.” He looked around the room now with condemnation. “We could all learn something from Lily. How many family dinners were missed because of work? How many school events did you skip because of your jobs?”

Finally, he turned to Lily.

“You are an inspiration because you are out and experiencing life while the rest of us experience the four walls of our offices. I, for one, am proud of you.” Leaning in, he kissed her on her forehead and then leaned back and put his arm around her to pull her close. With one last sweeping look around the room, he asked, “Anyone else have a problem with Lily needing to work a couple of shifts that week?”

Everyone shook their heads in stunned silence. “Good,” he said with a nod. “I’ll probably have to work a couple of days myself, but I will line my schedule up with Lily’s so we can enjoy our time together with all of you.”

Only Lily knew that was really a tactic so they could present a united front and wouldn’t have to deal with either set of parents on their own. Once again, he was her knight in shining armor. She leaned over and kissed his cheek and murmured a thank you to him.

“Well,” Richard Greene said as he stood up, “I guess we can work out all of those details later. For now, why don’t we break out the decorations and get things going here?” Everyone stood and they all knew the drill because it had been a tradition for years.

When Lily started to walk away, Cam took her hand and held her back. “You okay?”

She nodded, still unwilling to speak. He forced her to look at him.

“Hey, it’s me. Are you sure you’re all right? Because if not, I’ll make an excuse for us and we can go.”

She smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I know I shouldn’t let those little comments get to me, but they do. And really, it’s not like they enjoy having me around, so I don’t see what the big deal is if I miss a couple of days. You’d think they’d be glad. A little less time they have to spend staring disappointment in the face.”

“That’s enough,” Cam said with more force than he intended. “I’m not going to stand here and let you keep putting yourself down. I’m done listening to it, Lil. I should have spoken up and put an end to this years ago, and I’m sorry I never did. But from now on, they’ll have to deal with me if they open their mouths against you.”

Tears filled Lily’s eyes, and she didn’t even try to wipe them away. “You really are my knight in shining armor. You know that, right?”

Cam actually blushed at her praise. “I don’t know about that.”

“It’s true. No one ever stands up for me except you, and I want you to know I really love…”

“Hey, you two!” Angela popped back into the room and walked toward them with a big smile on her face. “We’re about to start.”

Cam looked from his mother to Lily and then back again. “Uh, Mom… could you just give us a minute?”

“Okay, but just a minute because we have a ton of decorating to do, and you know it takes all of us to get it done.” She gave them a knowing grin and a wink before leaving the room.

“You were saying,” Cam prompted.

Lily could have kicked herself. She had almost blurted out that she loved him in the middle of his parents’ living room. What was wrong with her? “I just wanted you to know I appreciate you being such a good friend.”

Disappointment flooded him. Cam had been certain Lily was going to say she loved him. True, she could have been about to say she loved him as a friend, but he had a feeling it was more. Was that even a possibility? Could she really feel more for him than friendship, or had their vacation fling simply confused her? Cam hoped that wasn’t the case, but he was too afraid to get his hopes up.

“I’ll always be here for you, Lil. Always.” He kissed her forehead again, and together they joined their families to get the Greenes’ house ready for the holidays.

* * *

Standing back, everyone admired their handiwork. “Great job,” Angela said as she stood beside her husband and beamed at the way the house had been transformed. “I love the way we all come together to get this done. Every year it just comes out better and better.” They all nodded in agreement. “But,” she said with a big smile, “there is one final touch and I saved it until the end.”

Cam did not have a good feeling about this. There was never anything left until the end. His mother ran holiday decorating like a five star general, and there was never any room for surprises. When she reached behind her and pulled out a box, he had a feeling that he and Lily were about to be forced into the spotlight.

“Mistletoe,” she said as she pulled a sprig out of the square gold box. “I know it usually gets hung during all the hoopla, but after Cam and Lily’s story of how magical their mistletoe time was in New York, I wanted them to hang it and to see them kiss under it.”

His mother was going to be the death of him. Before he could say or do anything, Lily spoke up. “Angela, you know Cam isn’t big on PDA. Don’t embarrass him, or I’ll never get him to do anything spontaneous again.” She said it lightly, like his reaction wasn’t a big deal, but Lily knew that if their families forced the issue, Cam would back out of the fake relationship out of sheer embarrassment.

Then, much to her surprise, Cam stepped forward, took the mistletoe from his mother, and then winked at Lily. “C’mon,” he said, moving across the room to take her by the hand. “You know the drill. The mistletoe goes right in this doorway.” The archway was ten feet tall, and normally one of the men stood on a ladder to hang it. Lily let out a screech when Cam lifted her up and balanced her on his shoulder before handing her what she needed to hang it.

“Cam, let me down.” She giggled as the whole family formed a crowd behind them.

“Nuh-uh. Not until you hang the mistletoe,” he said teasingly, loving the happiness he heard in her voice again.

“I can’t believe you are making me do this,” she said, but reached up and put the decoration in its proper place. “There. All done.”

Cam maneuvered her so she was facing him as he slowly slid her body down the front of his. He was torturing himself and figured in for a penny, in for a pound. “You know what they’re waiting for,” he whispered with a wicked grin.

Without a word, Lily looped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for the kiss she had been missing all day. This was no kiss between friends; it had the intimacy of lovers, and soon there were hoots and hollers behind them and a whistle or two. She smiled against Cam’s lips as she reluctantly pulled away. She hugged him as they faced their audience. “I guess he’s getting over his aversion to PDA,” she said with a laugh, and everyone joined in.

The rest of the night was uneventful and when it was time to say good night with the promise to do it all again on Sunday, Cam walked Lily out to her car. “Do you think they’ll think it’s weird we didn’t drive here together?” he asked, searching for something to say to take his mind off the kiss they’d shared.

Lily shook her head. “We’re dating, Cam. That doesn’t mean we’re joined at the hip. They know we still have our own lives.”

“I guess.” When they reached Lily’s car, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. She turned to face him and then looked behind him and chuckled. “What? What’s so funny?”

“I don’t mean to put any pressure on you, but clearly we’re still this evening’s entertainment.”

“What do you mean?” He started to turn around, but Lily stopped him. “What? What’s going on?”

She giggled. “They’re trying very hard to be discreet, but I can see them all peeping through the curtains to watch us say good night.”

“Why? What’s the big deal about us walking out to our cars?”

Men were so clueless, Lily thought to herself and sighed. “They aren’t used to you being so… affectionate. They’re hoping to catch you kissing me again.”

“Seriously?” The urge to look over his shoulder was strong, but he held back, not wanting anyone to think he was doing this for show. Well, that was exactly why they were doing it, but there was no reason to give their families something to doubt already. Cam had seriously hoped to not have to be this, physical, again with Lily, especially not for an audience of their family, but he had a feeling this was only the beginning.

With his mind made up, he decided he might as well give the people what they wanted. Lily was digging in her purse for her car keys when he stepped in, cupped her face in his hands, bent his head, and kissed as if his life depended on it.

And on some levels, it did.

* * *

Lily couldn’t sleep. She had been home for hours, and yet her mind wouldn’t shut down enough for her to relax. The events of the evening kept playing through her mind. The looks on everyone’s faces when they announced their relationship, how their moms were so excited, and then the announcement of the trip to the mountains for Christmas and New Year’s.

And the kissing.

Oh, the kissing.

She sighed and reached for her tablet and kicked up a game of solitaire. The fake dating had seemed like such harmless fun in the beginning, but now? Now it was torturing her. She thought back to that innocent first conversation and the fun it seemed it would be to touch Cam and flirt. The fake dating had seemed like a good idea. Not so much now. No, now she wanted it to be real. The flirting and kissing for the crowd just made her feel empty, because at the end of the night, she was here alone.

Her cell phone rang, and a glance at the clock showed it was after one in the morning. She reached over, saw Cam’s face on the screen, and smiled sadly. “H’lo,” she answered, trying to sound sleepy so that he wouldn’t know thoughts of him were keeping her awake.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Did I wake you?”

“Not really.” It wasn’t a total lie.

“Are you winning?”

“What?”

“At solitaire? Are you winning?”

She couldn’t help but laugh and look around her room. “How do you do that? Seriously, do you have a camera hidden in here somewhere?”

“I just know you, Lil. So… are you?”

“No,” she said and relaxed back against the pillows. She loved lying in bed and listening to the sound of Cam’s voice. “Actually, I just turned it on. What are you doing still awake?”

“I can’t sleep.”

His honest confession spurred her own. “Me either.” They were both silent for a long time. Lily turned off the game and simply lay in the dark waiting for him to speak. Finally, she broke the silence. “Cam?”

“Hmm?”

“Was it weird for you tonight?”

“What? With the family?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know. Was it weird for you?”

“A little,” she admitted shyly. “I guess I wasn’t expecting such a big reaction from everyone. They’re all so excited and already making plans, and now I feel kind of bad lying to them.”

“I know what you mean. I wasn’t expecting all of that either.” He sighed wearily. “So what do we do?”

The easiest thing to do would be to just end it and force herself to go back to playing the part of his buddy. Although it would be awkward with their families, she’d survive. Hell, most of the time she spent with her family was awkward, so why should this be any different? She was just about to suggest that to Cam when he spoke again.

“I think it will get easier as the weeks go on. Soon the newness will wear off. They’ll get distracted by the actual holidays, and we’ll be able to push them off a little. Honestly, they can’t keep up this level of enthusiasm forever. Once the parties get going, there will be so many other people around who are bound to have bigger and more exciting news than you and me.”

Lily considered his words. “I guess you’re right. How much worse can it be?”

Seven

Famous last words.

Lily was sitting next to Cam as they drove up to Blowing Rock for the first day of their vacation. The last month had been near exhausting, and her nerves were on edge now every time she and Cam were near one another. After they had decided to continue with their farce of a relationship, things had indeed gotten worse.

It started with the decorating party at her parents’ house. Just like at the Cavanaughs, a little ceremony was made of the two of them hanging the mistletoe and kissing. They got a round of applause after that one.

Then there was the Christmas cookie baking party. How that ended up the way it did, Lily still didn’t know. Normally just the women did it, but somehow all the men decided to join in. Her mother had made a game out of all the couples decorating batches of cookies and surprise, surprise had found a way to incorporate mistletoe into the project. Every time a cookie was done being decorated, Lily and Cam had to kiss.

Her lips had practically been numb by the end of the night, and who knew Cam had such a talent for cookie decorating?

The open house wasn’t any better because everyone who came in was greeted first with a cheery “Happy Holidays!” and then a Reader’s Digest version of Cam and Lily’s newfound romance. And, as predicted, they were positioned under the mistletoe.

She left that party with a migraine.

And so it went with the neighborhood get-together and then each father’s company Christmas party. No one seemed to remember the reason for the season, focusing solely on the fact that Cameron Greene and Lily Cavanaugh were finally an item.

In the midst of the family party schedule, both Cam and Lily had social engagements of their own to contend with. Keeping with tradition, Cam had taken Lily to his company Christmas party, she had met some of his colleagues in New York, and Lily had done the same with her small work party. At least those two events didn’t hold the same pressure as the family ones. Even though Lily knew she wouldn’t be home for Christmas, she had wanted a tree and so Cam had gone with her to pick one out. On a rare night off from celebrating and she used that term loosely, they had shared a pizza and decorated her little tree. She asked Cam if he was going to decorate this year, and he declined. The sensible part of him didn’t see the need since he would not be there on the actual day, and thanks to their loaded social calendar, he wasn’t home much at other times to enjoy it.

He had a point, but Lily couldn’t imagine coming home during December and not seeing a tree in her living room. It just wasn’t right, and it wouldn’t seem like Christmas. That was silly, since everywhere they went, everyone was celebrating the holiday. But tucked into her own place at night, Lily found a little peace sitting in front of her own tree and dreaming about a time when she’d get to start traditions of her own that weren’t dictated by somebody else’s schedule.

Now, as they drove to meet their families, she wasn’t sure what to expect. There had been an awkward conversation with their parents one night when they approached the topic of the rental.

“When we rented this place, well, we had no idea the two of you were dating. So, there are six bedrooms and we are a party of twelve, but…” Jack Cavanaugh looked at his wife to continue.

“We just figured, Cam, that you’d sleep on one of the sleeper sofas,” Angela finished.

“That’s fine,” Cam said, wondering what the big deal was.

Angela blushed a little. “What we’re saying is that we’re not going to be prudes about this. You and Lily can share her room. We don’t mind, and we completely understand you’ll want some private time to be alone.”

Cam and Lily had looked at one another and did their best to not look horrified. Lily didn’t think they’d pulled that off. “Um… do we really need to talk about this?” she had asked, feeling uncomfortable and queasy at the same time.

“We’re just letting you know we respect your relationship,” Mary Cavanaugh had added. “We’re just so thrilled that the two of you are together. We know ten days is a long time, and we want the two of you to be comfortable enough to want to stay, rather than find some excuse to leave and head home so that you can have some privacy.”

It was possibly the most awkward conversation of Lily’s life and that included the infamous birds and the bees talk she had gotten when she was twelve. “Well… um… thank you,” Lily had said on both her and Cam’s behalf. “We appreciate the fact you’re all being so cool with all of this. We certainly don’t want anyone being uncomfortable.”

Especially us.

“We were going to be completely fine, no matter what the sleeping arrangements were. Normally in these big houses you end up with some twin beds or bunk beds, so really, you don’t need to make any special arrangements on our account.”

“Nonsense,” Jack added. “We were all young once too.” He winked at them before standing and getting himself a drink, and Lily thought she would never want to have sex again after this conversation.

Brought back to the present, Lily noticed their exit on the freeway and listened to the GPS instructions. “I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I don’t have to go into work until after New Year’s,” Cam said blandly, clearly not excited by the prospect at all.

“Oh,” she said just as dejectedly. “That’s good.”

Before she knew what was happening, Cam pulled into the first parking lot they came to and turned the car off. “Okay, spill. What’s going on?”

Lily looked at him with pure confusion. “Spill what?”

“Clearly you’re not happy, and if I can tell, then they’re all going to be able to. So what’s going on? Let’s clear the air before we get to the house and have to get into happy fun mode.”

“That!” she cried, pointing a finger at him. “That is the problem. I’m sick and tired of happy fun mode! It’s exhausting! I can’t walk around like I’m freaking ecstatic over everything when I’m not!” She banged her head back against the seat and sighed with frustration. “This wasn’t supposed to be this much work!”

Cam mirrored her position. “I know, I know,” he said wearily. “Who knew we would be the biggest news of the season? Why isn’t anyone getting married or divorced or having an affair?” That was the normal gossip around the holidays, and it really stunk that there was none this year to take the spotlight off of them.

Lily turned her head and looked at him sadly. “Ten days. We have ten solid days to be the picture of a happy and in love couple, and you know what? I don’t know if I can do it.” Tears sprang to her eyes, and this time, she did her best to wipe them away.

Reaching over, Cam pulled her into his embrace with a console between them. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

Lily pulled back and looked at him with surprise. “Your fault? How is this your fault? Our crazy parents are to blame! If they had just left us alone, we wouldn’t have had to concoct this stupid act that has everyone we know throwing mistletoe at us at every turn!” She growled with frustration. “Or, even if we had to go with this farce, if they had just reacted like normal people and not carried on like ‘Oh, thank goodness our two misfit children finally found people to love them’ and turned it into a spectator sport, it wouldn’t be so bad. But it’s exhausting. And that whole private time conversation? What was that?”

“Oh, I know. I had nightmares for a week after that. I feel like every time we leave a room while we’re there, they’re all going to be smirking.”

“Exactly,” she said. “So what do we do?”

“Well, I don’t see we have a choice.” Cam thought for a minute, and then a wicked glint in his eyes told Lily he had come up with the perfect solution. “What if we turned the tables on them and used all of their enthusiasm against them?”

“Cam, you’re starting to scare me. You used to be so mild mannered, but lately you’ve been walking a little too close to the dark side.”

“No, this will be perfect. Our original plan was to break up after New Year’s, right?” Lily nodded. “Well, our reason for the breakup is going to be because of all the pressure they put on us. We couldn’t handle it. We had no privacy. They pushed too much… blah, blah, blah. You see where I’m going with this?”

Lily gave him an equally wicked smile. “I do, and you know what? I like it. I like it a lot.”

“We’re going to have to fight a bit in front of them. You know I hate that because in all of our lives, we’ve never had a fight.”

“I know,” she said thoughtfully. “What’s wrong with us?”

Reaching out, he traced his fingers on the side of her soft cheek. Cam loved just touching her and soon there would be no reason to because they’d go back to being just friends. Well, if he was honest, he’d acknowledge they didn’t have an audience now and there wasn’t a reason to touch her, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “There’s nothing wrong with us,” he said softly. “There was just never a reason to fight.”

Lily sighed and rested her cheek in his palm and simply enjoyed the feel of the skin-on-skin contact. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it,” she said honestly. “I’ll want to argue with them, not with you.”

Cam leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Don’t worry. We’ll work something out.”

* * *

The house was magnificent. There was no other way to describe it. As they drove onto the property, Lily marveled at the scenery. “Dad said the property was big, but it just seems to go on and on and on,” she said.

“I think it’s over one hundred acres,” Cam commented, equally in awe of their surroundings. “There’s supposed to be a private lake where we can go fishing, but it’s catch and release because it’s stocked by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources people.” Lily nodded, and he remembered that fishing was not something she was interested in.

When the house finally came in to view, Lily gasped. “Oh, my goodness! Look at that, Cam. I can’t believe that we’re staying here for Christmas!” It looked like a log cabin, but to Lily it was like a luxury log cabin on steroids. There were tons of windows and decking that wrapped around the exterior, and no matter where you stood outside, you had a magnificent view.

Even if she hadn’t gotten the week off work, she would have called in sick because the house was too amazing to leave. And she hadn’t even seen the inside yet!

Both sets of parents were waiting on the front porch when they pulled up. With a quick look around, Lily guessed they were the first of the siblings to arrive. “Oh,” she sighed in awe as they got out of the car. “I’m just blown away.”

When she turned and smiled at him, Cam knew exactly what she meant. While yes, the house and property were amazing, her and her smile and her enthusiasm were what never ceased to blow him away.

“We can get the luggage later,” Lily said as she walked over and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go pick out our room!” She fairly dragged him up the front steps, and they stopped to hug their parents. “This place is amazing,” she gushed to them. “It’s so much bigger than I imagined.” Bouncing on her toes, her hand still firmly gripping Cam’s, she asked, “Can we go in? Can we go in?”

Opening the front door of the house, Lily stopped and gaped. Their families had always been well-off, but nothing that she had ever seen compared to the natural beauty of this home. Log walls and stone fireplaces, exposed beams, and twenty foot ceilings in spots. It was breathtaking.

“There are three master suites, and since you were the first ones to arrive, you are more than welcome to the third one,” Angela said.

Cam and Lily both looked at one another and grinned. As the youngest in each of their families, they always seemed to get the last pick of everything, so with one mind, they turned to their parents and said, “Done!”

Mary Cavanaugh was the one to take them through the house, and by the time they got to their room, they had seen all six bedrooms, four stone fireplaces, a kitchen that was a chef’s dream with granite countertops and stainless steel commercial grade appliances, and views that were awe inspiring.

The main living area boasted floor-to-ceiling windows with vistas of three mountain ranges and had one of the biggest flat screen televisions Lily had ever seen. On the lower level, there was a family media room and a game room that rivaled an arcade. Outside, there was a large private Jacuzzi spa, a fire pit overlooking the mountain sunsets, a badminton court, and a backyard big enough to host any sport they might want to play.

By the time they were alone in their suite, Lily felt like she had walked a mile. Cam shut the door and smiled at the fact that all of their luggage was already there. He mentally reminded himself to thank whichever father had done it because he was exhausted from the drive and then the tour. Both he and Lily collapsed on the bed side by side.

Lily giggled, and Cam turned to look at her. “What’s so funny?”

“You know our sisters are going to be majorly upset that we snagged the last master suite, right?”

Cam couldn’t help but nod and laugh.

“And I mean, they totally should be, because look at this place! King size bed, private bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and what is that? Like a fifty inch TV mounted on the wall. Never mind going home. I may not leave this room all week.”

Cam found he was completely on board with that idea, especially if it meant they could spend some of their time here like they had in New York. And then he got worried. He knew their parents had implied it and everyone had joked about it, but the reality was that for ten days he and Lily were sharing this room, and it was positioned far enough away from everyone to afford them more privacy than they would probably need.

The problem was that he wanted to take advantage of that privacy and forget his rules and reasons for making those rules, and have what they’d had on their last trip. He would never, ever suggest that to Lily because he knew she was struggling with keeping up appearances, but he couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen when just the two of them were under the blankets later that night.

It took a moment for him to realize she was staring at him, and he quirked a brow at her. “What?”

“Nothing. You just got really quiet over there. Don’t you think this room is amazing?”

Cam nodded. “It certainly is. We are definitely going to be the envy of our sisters.”

“We can’t cave, Cam,” Lily said seriously as she sat up and looked at him. “We can’t let them bully us into giving up this room. You know they’re going to try, so we have to mark our territory now.”

Cam had his own ideas on how they could do that, but he waited to see what Lily was going to suggest.

“We have to unpack right now, put all of our stuff away, and totally settle in.” She scrambled from the bed and began unpacking her toiletries in the bathroom. “It is like a spa in here,” she called out to him.

Laughing once again at her enthusiasm, Cam forced himself to rise from the bed and join her. There was nothing any of their sisters could do or say that would make him leave this room. He had ten days left with Lily, and they were going to spend it in this luxurious room that was making her happy.

By the time he joined her in the bathroom, Lily had pretty much commandeered the entire vanity area. Cam carefully placed his meager belongings in one corner and neatly arranged them before examining the space more closely. It was spa quality, with tiled floors, a jetted tub, granite countertops, and a shower that could easily fit two people.

An image came to mind that was so vivid he almost blushed.

By now, Lily had moved on to the closet and was hanging her clothes. “It’s a shame we’re only here for ten days because this closet looks a bit ridiculous with just our few measly belongings in here. We’d have to stay a month to fully utilize it.”

Cam followed suit and hung up his stuff and then placed the rest of his belongings in the dresser in the main bedroom. Even though he and Lily had shared a hotel room, this seemed more intimate. They had pretty much lived out of their suitcases in New York, but now they were sharing a dresser, a bathroom, and definitely a bed. There wasn’t even a sleeper sofa so he could offer to be a gentleman. They were in this room, pretending to be a couple, for ten days.

Heaven help him.

He was placing their suitcases in the large walk-in closet when he heard a weird sound coming from the bedroom. Walking out, he saw Lily jumping on the bed. He stopped dead in his tracks. “What are you doing?”

She looked down and stopped, a guilty smile on her face. “The final step to staking our claim. I’m messing up the bed so they’ll think we’ve already done all kinds of things on it and no one will want to take the room from us!”

All she had to do was ask, and he would have gladly done all kinds of things with her on the bed. He quirked a brow at her. “Are you done?”

Carefully, she sat in the middle of the bed. “Spoilsport.”

Cam joined her and gently pushed her so that she was flat on her back. Then, for no reason except that he couldn’t seem to help himself, he kissed her. Lily instantly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, and Cam felt himself sigh with relief. It was wonderful to do this because they wanted to and not because someone had positioned them under some blasted mistletoe or they had an audience. He was kissing Lily because he wanted to, and she seemed more than willing to do the same. He didn’t want to read too much into it, so he simply let himself enjoy the moment.

When he finally raised his head and looked at the peaceful expression on her face, he smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said. “You know, I kind of like doing that when it’s not so forced.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” Cam saw her features relax even more, and when she reached up to touch his face, he turned and kissed her palm. “Lily, I…” They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hey, you two!” Angela said. “The others are arriving, and we’ve got food out in the kitchen. Are you coming down?”

Boy was he.

Lily stared up at him with wide, green eyes, unsure of what they should do or say. When Cam didn’t say anything, Lily shouted, “We’ll be down in a few minutes!” and waited until she heard Angela walk away. Then she waited to see if Cam was going to finish his earlier thought. When he rolled off of her, she figured the moment was gone, but held on to the hope that maybe he was feeling all the things she was. Maybe he wasn’t as unaffected by their pretend relationship as he was letting on.

And maybe, just maybe, by the end of the ten days, there would be no more pretending.

* * *

“But that’s not fair,” Beth was saying snappishly as she looked accusingly at Lily and then back at her parents with a pout. “Why do they get the master suite? Shouldn’t it be done in age order?”

Lily rolled her eyes but held her ground. “Aren’t we a bit old for that? I mean, honestly, what’s the big deal?”

“If it’s no big deal, then take another room. I’m the oldest and I should get the master.” Beth looked imploringly at her parents. “It’s only fair.”

Cam had heard enough and was just about to open his mouth when Jack Cavanaugh did something Cam had never witnessed before. “Stop being such a pain in the ass, Beth. I mean, really. Aren’t you a little old to throw temper tantrums?” When his oldest child nearly gaped in horror at him, Jack shrugged. “Too bad there isn’t a room with bunk beds. It seems to me you would have done well in there.”

Beth stood in pure, infuriated glory and stared at her mother for help. Mary simply picked up her glass of wine and followed her husband out to the deck. Then Beth turned to Cam and Lily. “I bet you’re feeling pretty smug right now, aren’t you?”

Lily walked by and picked up her own glass of wine and then handed one to Cam. “I don’t need to feel smug, Beth. The house is huge, and each room is magnificent. I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

“Then, like I said, take another room.”

Cam pulled Lily in close and kissed the top of her head. “That’s not really an option. We’ve already unpacked and settled in and used the bed.” He gave Beth a wink and then led Lily from the room before either of them could burst into hysterical laughter at the horrified look on Beth’s face.

“Cameron Greene,” Lily said as she pulled him into a tiny alcove on the deck. “I do believe I have corrupted you.”

He gave his best evil laugh, and when he heard someone approaching, he pressed his body against Lily’s, pinning her against the wall and kissing her. Cam heard her soft whimper as he touched his tongue to hers and sank into the kiss. If he could have, he’d have taken them right back up to their room and said to hell with all of this family bonding. So far, they weren’t off to a great start with that. He heard a disgusted snort behind him and slowly lifted his head to see Beth glaring at them. “For crying out loud, if the two of you are going to carry on like that, at least have the decency to use the room you stole from me.”

This time there was no hiding the hysterical laughter as they joined hands and went to join everyone out on the deck.

* * *

Cam had put it off as long as he possibly could.

It was time to go to bed.

The day had gotten way better after their little confrontation with Beth. Once Cam’s sisters arrived and neither of them even commented on not having a master suite, Beth calmed considerably. They’d all worked together to do some makeshift decorating with supplies both the Greenes and the Cavanaughs had brought with them, and the men had gone out and purchased a live tree.

All in all, it was a festive afternoon and evening. Dinner was lively, and thankfully Beth had been the only one to draw any attention to Cam and Lily, so they had been able to enjoy themselves for the first time in weeks.

Looking over to where Lily was sitting beside the fire pit with her parents, Cam was hesitant to go over and interrupt them. They seemed to be deep in conversation, and from where he was standing, Lily definitely looked relaxed. That was out of the ordinary for whenever Lily talked one-on-one with her parents. Cam looked at his watch and saw it was nearly midnight. His whole family had gone up to bed. Should he interrupt their discussion to say good night or just go up to their room?

Good manners prevailed, and he walked over and quietly excused his interruption. “I’m going to head up,” he said to Lily. The Cavanaughs looked around and noticed everyone else had turned in.

“Are we the last ones up?” Lily asked, and Cam nodded. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to say good night to you,” he said to Mary and Jack, “and to tell you I’ll see you upstairs,” he told Lily. He kept his tone light and hoped her parents could still see him as Cam, the boy they’d always known, rather than Cameron, the man who was sleeping with their daughter. Without checking to see their expressions, Cam leaned down and kissed the top of Lily’s head and turned to walk away.

“Wait,” she said as she stood and stretched. “I’ll see you both in the morning.” Lily turned and kissed both of her parents good night and then walked over to catch up with Cam. Her gait was a bit lazy, and she hadn’t realized how tired she was until she got up from her comfortable position by the fire. Taking Cam’s hand in hers, she walked into the house with him and up to their room.

As soon as her hand slid into his, Cam was certain he knew what a ticking time bomb sounded like.

Eight

Cam quietly closed the door to their room, leaned against it, and watched as Lily walked around, settling in. She took off her earrings and placed them on the dresser, then opened a drawer and pulled out what he guessed were her pajamas. With a sleepy smile, Lily went into the bathroom and closed the door, and Cam finally let himself breathe.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered as he did his best to settle in. Kicking off his shoes and putting them near his side of the bed, Cam sat and wondered what he was supposed to do. In the grand scheme of things, this situation was nothing new. They had shared a bed in New York for four nights, so he knew they could do it.

They’d even managed to sleep that first night.

The problem with the current situation was that Cam didn’t want to sleep. He and Lily were supposed to be laying the groundwork for their breakup, and making love was not going to be helping make them believable. “This is why I hang out in a lab all day,” he said quietly, rising to get his own pajamas from the dresser. “I should have just made the move overseas, and none of this would be happening.”

“Are you back to moving overseas?” Lily asked around a big yawn as she stepped out of the bathroom. As in New York, she had on a pair of red flannel boxers, this time with snowflakes on them, and a green cami.

“Very festive,” he said, motioning to her attire. “Thanks. It came with a Santa hat, but that just seemed like overkill.” She trudged over to her side of the bed and began moving the mountain of decorative pillows off it and pulling the blankets back so she could crawl in.

Cam took that as his cue to take his turn getting ready for bed. With any luck, Lily would be asleep by the time he came out, and all of his worries would have been for nothing. He worked slowly and went through every nighttime hygiene chore he had ever been taught. Confident he had wasted enough time, he shut off the light and quietly opened the door to the bedroom.

And there sat Lily with her tablet, playing solitaire. “Seriously,” he said with a chuckle as he walked toward the bed, “you have a problem.”

Lily looked up from the screen and smiled at his green flannel pajama pants and white t-shirt. “Are you sure you don’t want to add a hat and gloves to that getup?” she teased.

“We’re in the mountains, Lil,” he said blandly as he climbed into the bed. “We have no idea how well the heat works in this house.”

She shot him a look of utter disbelief. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? Poor heating in the luxury house?” With a tsking sound, she went back to her electronic card game. After a moment, she spoke. “I’m a little disappointed in you, Cameron.”

“Me? Why?”

Lowering her tablet to her lap, Lily turned her head to look at him. “We’ve known each other our entire lives, and you’re tiptoeing around here like I’m a land mine or something. It’s painfully obvious you’re uncomfortable with this whole situation, and I don’t understand why.”

How could he tell her he wasn’t as much uncomfortable as he was turned on? Was there a delicate way to say he wanted to lose himself in her arms and her body that wouldn’t come off sounding crude?

“For crying out loud, Cam,” she sighed. “I can hear you thinking from here.” She twisted around to place her tablet on her nightstand and turned off the bedside light, leaving the room dimly lit by the lone lamp on Cam’s side of the bed. “Fine. Don’t tell me what’s going on.” She flopped down and turned on her side, her back to him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Staring at the ceiling, Cam tried to think of something to say to break the tension, but he had a feeling that no matter what he said right now, it would only anger her. With a sigh of defeat, he reached over and turned off his own bedside lamp and then simply lay there in the dark, wide awake and still staring at the ceiling.

He could hear her breathing and could smell the soap she’d used to wash her face before she came to bed. Even though it shouldn’t have been sexy, it was. Cam inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, savoring the scent. He let out his breath slowly and was surprised when Lily rolled over toward him.

“Want to watch a movie?” she asked quietly. “We have that ginormous TV at our disposal. I’m sure we could find something.” As she spoke, she managed to curl up beside him, and Cam lifted his arm so her head could rest on his shoulder and her hand could touch his chest.

“I thought you were tired,” he whispered, his hand playing with her long, silky hair.

Lily shrugged. “You know I’m a night owl. I always want to go to sleep, but sometimes…” She sighed. “Sometimes it’s hard to just unwind and relax.”

“And a movie will help you with that?”

She was taking a huge risk. Thoughts of their earlier time in this room came back to her. She may very well regret what she was going to do, but for now, Lily didn’t have the strength to care. “No,” she said huskily as her hand wound up Cam’s neck and into his hair to pull him toward her. “But this would.” And then she kissed him.

In a heartbeat, Cam had Lily beneath him and cursed his excessive attire. If he had just worn boxers like he usually did, he’d be feeling Lily’s silky skin as she wrapped her legs around him and her soft hands as they raked up and down his back. They had all night, and yet right now he was desperate for the feel of her. His mouth left hers briefly to rain kisses along her cheek and her jaw, and then along her throat until he reached the swell of her breasts right above the lacy edge of the cami she wore.

“Are you mad at me?” Lily asked as she writhed beneath him.

“Mad?” he asked between kisses. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Your rules,” she said breathlessly. “I’m making you break your rules. I know how you hate that.”

“To hell with the rules,” Cam growled as he worked his way back up to her lips. He felt her smile against his own. “I need to break the rules more often.”

“I don’t know,” she said as she pulled Cam’s shirt over his head. “I think I’ve become a very bad influence on you.”

As soon as his shirt was off, he returned the favor and rid Lily of hers. “I don’t look at it that way at all,” he said as he reverently ran a hand over her breasts and heard her sigh of pleasure. “You’re finally freeing me to live.”

And that was the end of that.

* * *

Christmas Eve dawned like something on a Christmas card. Snow was falling, and the house smelled of freshly baked cakes, cookies, and pies as Christmas carols played on the sound system. Lily skipped down the stairs in her Santa hat with a grin from ear to ear. When she entered the kitchen, she found her mother and Angela hard at work on the preparations for the evening meal.

Clapping her hands together, Lily asked, “Okay, what can I do to help?” Both women looked up and gave her knowing smiles. “What? What’s with the creepy smiles?”

“Look at you,” her mother said. “You’ve got a spring in your step and a smile and a glow on your face. Cam is good for you.”

“Ew, Mom, please.”

Angela nodded. “And you’re perfect for him. I always knew that. When I see him being affectionate with you, it just makes my heart smile. Cameron’s always been a bit standoffish, and yet with you, he just seems lighter. Happier. It’s just so obvious he loves you.” She came around the counter and hugged Lily. “I am so happy for the two of you. You’ve given us the best Christmas present ever.”

Lily felt majorly uncomfortable. She hated lying to her parents and the Greenes, but if she had her way, this wouldn’t be a lie for much longer. She and Cam had made love throughout the night. And despite how he had talked about rules and them not doing that again, the scout in him had come prepared.

She loved that about him.

A blush crept across her cheeks, and both women laughed and hugged her again. “It’s good to see you so happy too, Lily,” her mother said. “Maybe with Cam’s guidance, you’ll finally be able to settle down and find a career.”

And there it was. Lily knew last night had been too good to be true. She’d had such a wonderful time just sitting with her parents and talking about current events and topics that interested her without them making snarky comments on how she lived her life, but clearly Mary Cavanaugh could only keep her opinion to herself for so long.

“I don’t think Lily needs any such guidance,” Cam said as he walked into the kitchen. He walked straight to Lily and kissed her, leaving no doubt in her mind that he wanted more of what they had shared last night. When he finally stepped back, he smiled as his mother handed him a cup of coffee with a sappy grin on her face. “Good morning to you too, Mom,” he said and kissed her cheek.

He took a sip of the hot beverage before returning his attention to Mary. “You know, Mary, not everyone has to define themselves by a nine to five job. I love how Lily is out there exploring the things she enjoys. When she finds the one she wants to stick with, maybe she’ll make a career out of it. In the meantime, you should be proud she has so many talents.”

“Well, I realize she has always been creative, but she’s easily distracted and I think that’s why.”

“Maybe it’s not that she gets distracted, but that she doesn’t get encouragement or support from the people around her to make her want to stay with any one job or position. Every time somebody shoots down or dismisses what she does, maybe she takes that as her cue to move on to something else in order to please you. Have you ever considered that?” His words weren’t harsh, but they were truthful. Cam had always felt that part of Lily’s inability to choose a career was because her parents always disapproved of what she did.

In his heart, he knew she wasn’t a typical career woman. She would never be happy sitting in an office or a cubicle. She was too carefree for that. When he pictured Lily, he saw her working with kids or with animals, doing something that allowed her to nurture and be creative.

Lately he pictured her being the mother of his children, but he would not say that in front of their mothers because they had been on their best behavior and not gone overboard talking about planning for weddings and grandchildren. No need to encourage the crazy ideas already in their heads.

Mary put down the spoon she was using to whip up another batch of cookie dough and walked around the counter to hug Cam. Taking his face in his hands, she forced him to look her in the eye. “I always knew you were the one for Lily, Cameron. When you remind me of how often I forget how gifted my daughter is, it just reinforces the fact I was right about you. I’ll never have to worry about my girl as long as she has you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Then she turned to Lily. “I know saying I’m sorry doesn’t make up for all the times I’ve belittled the things you do,” she began as tears welled up in her eyes. “But I want you to know that not a day goes by that I’m not proud of you. You’re a beautiful, independent woman. Believe it or not, I envy your ability to try new and different things. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel inferior. I’m so sorry.” She wrapped Lily in her arms as the two of them cried.

Angela looked over at her son as her own tears began to fall. Cam rolled his eyes as he put his mug on the granite countertop and pulled his mother into his embrace. “You’re quite a fine young man, Cameron,” Angela said as she held her only son tight. “I am so proud of you, and I love seeing this new side of you. I knew Lily would be the one to bring it out in you, if the two of you only gave one another a chance.”

He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he simply held on to his mother until she was ready to let him go. “How about some breakfast?” Angela finally asked when she stepped away from Cam and wiped at her eyes. “I could whip up some pancakes if you’re interested.”

Picking up his mug, Cam smiled at her. “You know they’re my favorite.” Turning, he saw that Mary and Lily had moved to sit at the large kitchen table, and he continued to smile. He had done some good here. Even if he was forced to go back to just being Lily’s friend, Cam knew that during their short time as fake boyfriend and girlfriend and real lovers, he’d helped Lily and her mother repair a broken relationship.

Just as Lily was repairing a part of him that hadn’t been whole for far too long.

* * *

They ate dinner in the massive dining room, which could easily have housed another two dozen people. They talked endlessly about previous Christmases and their hopes for the New Year. Cam was puzzled by how much the focus on his relationship with Lily had lessened. It was almost as if their parents had some insight into what he and Lily had talked about and were purposely pulling back so they wouldn’t have anything to argue about.

Everyone helped with the cleanup, and then Richard called them all into the family room to hand out a small part of the pile of presents under the tree. As was tradition, each child (and he used the term lightly) got to open one present on Christmas Eve. They could each decide if they wanted to give any presents that evening as well. Richard reminded them all to make sure something was left under the tree for everyone to open on Christmas morning.

In keeping with tradition, Lily and Beth both received new Christmas pajamas. “Seriously, Mom,” Beth said. “Aren’t we getting a little old for this?” Her tone was light, but it had been an ongoing argument for years. “How do you know I even wear pajamas?” she teased and watched as both of her parents blushed.

Lily joined in the laughter with her sister. It was the first time in recent memory that the two of them had seemed to be on the same page about anything. While Beth’s pajamas had been of a tailored, two piece design, Lily’s was far more risqué. “Mom!” she said with embarrassment as she pulled the slinky, green silk from its wrapping. There were hoots and hollers all around, and she saw Cam grinning from ear to ear.

“What?” he said. “You don’t think I’m going to complain and tell her to stop, do you?”

“That’s my boy.” Mary beamed at him. “Consider it a gift for the both of you.”

Cam shifted in his seat, more than a little uncomfortable with that thought, but he smiled and thanked Mary anyway. Lily quickly put the garment back in the box, put on the lid, and inquired who was opening the next gift.

The Greenes didn’t quite have the same tradition, but each of their children received their practical gifts on Christmas Eve. Cam was expecting a new shaving kit or a robe or something of that nature, so he nearly choked when he saw green silk that looked suspiciously like it matched what Lily had just received. “Um…” he began and looked up to see everyone grinning at him.

“Whatcha got there?” Lily said teasingly as she nudged his shoulder with hers. “It’s not fun when the shoe is on the other foot, now is it?” Cam mumbled his thanks and quickly put the lid on the box and placed it on top of Lily’s as he glared at her.

“What?” she asked innocently. “You don’t think I’m going to tell her to stop, do you?” The entire room erupted with laughter as a blush crept up Cam’s face. Leaning over, Lily kissed him on the cheek and whispered for his ears only, “I can’t wait for the fashion show when we get upstairs.”

Before he had a chance to respond, more gifts were exchanged, and then everyone headed back into the dining room for dessert. Once they were all around the table, Cam’s father stood and addressed them. “I want you to know how much it means to me that you were all willing to come and spend Christmas here with us. I know there are in-laws who are missing you right now, but when the opportunity came to rent this house, I just couldn’t pass it up. So I thank each of you for indulging me.”

Taking a moment to compose his thoughts, Richard looked at his wife and smiled. “We have so much to be thankful for. You kids are such a blessing to me and your mother. We’re so proud of each of you, and it does my heart good to see you all doing so well.” He turned to the Cavanaughs. “Jack, Mary,” he began, “you’ve always been more like family to us than friends, and Angela and I are so thankful you wanted to spend Christmas with us like this. We’ve been friends for a long time, and your friendship is one of the best gifts we could ever ask for.”

With a final nod, he turned toward Cam and Lily. “We realize we all went a little overboard when you first announced you were dating, and you both were obviously uncomfortable with all the attention. We’re trying to tone it down, but it was the greatest surprise when you announced you were a couple. We don’t want to put any pressure on you because you’re still in the early stages of your relationship, but nothing would give us more pleasure than seeing the two of you build a life together. You’ve always been the best of friends, and that is the single greatest component to a successful marriage. So, we promise to do our best to stand back a little and give you space to explore your relationship but just know,” he said with a laugh as he looked to his wife and his friends, “that we would not be opposed to some grandchildren.” Holding up his wineglass, he toasted the group and sat down.

Dessert was being passed around, but Lily had lost her appetite. No one seemed to notice she was pushing her pie around her plate and not really taking part in any conversation. Grandchildren? Heck, she was just wrapping her head around not being in a fake relationship with real sex and everyone was already thinking about grandchildren? That signified marriage and futures and… forever. A sigh escaped before she could stop it.

“Are you okay?” Cam whispered as he leaned toward her, his voice laced with concern.

“Yeah, sure,” she lied, unable to meet his knowing gaze.

Cam wanted to pursue the topic, but sitting around the dining room table with ten other people was not the place. He rejoined the conversation, which was about whether they were going to hike or ski over the next week. Cam wasn’t athletic in any way, shape, or form, so if it was up to him, he’d opt for hiking. Less chance of embarrassing himself that way.

He wasn’t immune to the fact that Lily had gone quiet after his father’s toast, but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it. They’d known from the get go that their folks were going to start planning their future, and if he could be honest, there was nothing he wanted more than to plan a family with Lily. He glanced at her and saw she was still playing with the pie on her plate and figured that was a sign she wasn’t on the same page. Clearly, the thought of having kids with him wasn’t appealing.

Now he fell silent.

Conversation was flowing, and without looking at Lily again, Cam excused himself from the table and left the room. He didn’t expect anyone to follow, and he wasn’t disappointed. There was something he had to do and it seemed like now was as good a time as any.

* * *

Where the heck did Cam go?

Lily watched as he left the room and had to wonder where he was going. True, it could just be a simple trip to the bathroom, but she was still irritated that he left her alone with their grandchildren hungry family.

Okay, so maybe that was an over-exaggeration; no one had picked up where Richard left off, so maybe they weren’t as baby-crazy as Lily had been telling herself. Maybe she was the one who was feeling a little baby-crazy. And speaking of babies, why weren’t their sisters being harassed about procreating? Why was the comment about grandchildren directed solely at her and Cam? Seriously, each of Cam’s sisters had been married for over three years, and Beth had been married for two. Where were the grandchildren requests to them?

“You’re frowning, Lily,” her mother said from across the table. “Are you all right?”

Lily looked up and saw everyone looking at her. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired. Mountain air and all that.”

“Hmm…” Mary said and winked at her daughter before addressing the table. “I know we have a mountain of desserts here, but I also brought all the makings for s’mores! Who wants to join me out by the fire pit?” You would have thought none of them had eaten in days given the level of enthusiasm that request was met with. Before Lily knew it, they were all sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmallows.

Except Cam.

Lily kept looking over her shoulder for him, and she had finally put together her first gooey concoction when he reappeared. “Everything okay, Cameron?” his mother asked from across the fire.

Cam nodded, took a seat behind Lily on the lounge chair she had pushed over, and pulled her back against his chest. He loved the way she instantly relaxed against him, and then he smiled when she offered him her first s’more. Reaching out, Cam wrapped one large hand around Lily’s wrist as she fed him the first bite. His eyes never left hers. As the sweet chocolate melted on his tongue, he nudged her to take a bite. Hesitantly, she did.

They held one another’s gazes as they each finished their taste of the s’more, and then Cam noticed the chocolate at the corner of Lily’s mouth. Lowering her hand, he did his best to turn her toward him while he leaned in, touched his tongue to that sweet spot, and slowly licked the chocolate away. He heard her soft whimper right before claiming her mouth with his.

Audience be damned. Lily Cavanaugh was like an addiction Cam couldn’t get enough of. He might never get enough of her, and that suited him just fine. For once, no one seemed to be paying them any attention, so he took his time teasing her lips with his tongue before she opened for him. Cam deepened the kiss, wrapping a hand around the nape of her neck and into her hair to hold her to him. He never wanted to let her go.

A popping sound from the fire startled them both, and they reluctantly ended the kiss. They shared the remaining few bites of their treat before Lily leaned forward to make another one. Deciding to rein in the passion that was becoming so easy to ignite, Lily handed Cam a s’more to enjoy on his own. “Spoilsport,” he murmured against her ear, and she shivered with delight.

They sat around the fire until well after midnight, when everyone rose and say their good nights. “Since we’re all adults,” Jack said with a smile as he stood, “there’s no need for us to be up too early. Let’s plan on brunch at eleven, and then we’ll open the rest of our presents. How does that sound?”

Everyone agreed, and soon Lily and Cam were approaching the door to their room. “Where did you go earlier?” Lily asked as Cam stopped and blocked her entry.

He shrugged. “I just had some last minute Christmas wrapping to do.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “You are such a guy,” she said with a laugh. “I could have helped you when I was wrapping all of my stuff.” Without another word, Cam opened the door to their room and Lily gasped with surprise. She turned to him with wide-eyed wonder. “You did all of this?”

He nodded.

The room was set up as their own Christmas wonderland. As Lily walked around, Cam lit some candles he had strategically placed around the room. Twinkly lights were also scattered around the room, a small live tree sat on top of a makeshift stand in front of the large picture window, and beneath it was a pile of presents. Cam flipped a switch, and the tree lit up with what seemed like hundreds of white lights. He watched as Lily stepped closer and looked at the decorations on the tree before turning to look at him. “How did you do all of this?”

“I have to admit I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it, but I packed some ornaments in my luggage. Then when I went into town with everyone to get the big tree for the family room, I saw this little guy and knew we had to have him. I know you’re a sucker for a Charlie Brown tree.”

Tears glistened in her green eyes. “This is just amazing. I am simply blown away that you put so much thought into this.” Closing the distance between them, Lily leaned in and kissed him softly, then stepped back and eyed the presents under the tree. “So…” she began, looking from the gifts to Cam and then back again. “Who are all the presents for?” Now she was back to being the Lily he had always known, the woman who would forever be a kid on Christmas. She was practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.

“Oh, there might be something for you under the tree. But I have to ask something and it’s on Santa’s behalf.”

Her eyes went even wider as her smile spread. “On Santa’s behalf? That sounds pretty serious.”

Cam nodded. “Oh, it is.” Now it was his turn to step closer. “Have you been naughty… or have you been nice?” His tone was very seductive. Lily wanted to strip them both down and forget about the presents, but the lure of the twinkly lights and the tree was just too much. “Well? Which is it, Lil?”

“I think I have been… nicely naughty.” Her grin turned wicked as she got up on her toes and kissed him again. She smiled against his lips. “Was that the right answer?”

She shrieked when Cam lifted her up and playfully tossed her onto the bed. “I’d say that just about sums it up,” he teased as he laid down beside her. Reaching out, he played with her hair and then stroked her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Lily,” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Cameron.” They lay there studying one another for a long time. Lily rested her head in the palm of Cam’s hand. “I have to admit, I have your presents hidden under the bed.”

He smiled lovingly at her. There was no way he would ever grow tired of looking at her. Thinking back, Cam realized he knew Lily’s face better than his own. For years he had watched her, watched over her, and being here like this with her just felt… right. His mind flashed back to the look on her face earlier in the evening when his father had mentioned grandchildren. Now he had to wonder if Lily truly felt what he did, or was she doing as she always did and just living in the moment?

Right now, he didn’t care. She was his, and he was going to enjoy whatever she wanted to give him. “Well, I have an idea,” he finally said. “How about I draw us a bath in that massive tub while you put your presents under the tree?”

“Ooo, a bubble bath?” Lily said as she waggled her eyebrows.

Cam ducked his head and shook it with a laugh. “I may get my man card revoked, but yes, a bubble bath. Then we can slip into the matching green silk robes that I still can’t believe we received, and then we’ll open presents. What do you say?”

Scooting up onto her knees, Lily leaned forward and kissed him soundly. “I like the way you think!” She bounced off the bed and began gathering her bounty from under the bed while Cam started the water in the tub and moved some of the candles into the bathroom for softer lighting.

Lily came up behind him a few minutes later. “You’ve been holding out on me, Cameron.”

Looking behind him, he arched a brow at her. “How’s that?”

“All this time you’ve come off as being kind of stuffy and straitlaced, and yet underneath it all, you are quite the romantic.”

He kissed her nose and turned so he could take her in his arms. “Well, I had to keep some mystery in our relationship,” he said lightly. “I can’t have you knowing all of my secrets.”

Lily’s expression turned serious. “But I want to know them. These past weeks have shown me that as well as we know each other, we still have so much to learn. And to be honest? I’m really enjoying it.”

“Me too, Lil,” he said solemnly. “Me too.”

* * *

Soaking in the large, jetted tub almost overflowing with bubbles, Cam found Lily’s laughter contagious. “Maybe we added too much bubble bath.”

“You think?” he asked, but rather than being annoyed by the mess, he was feeling light and playful. They were blowing bubbles off the top when Cam finally realized they needed to shut off the jets to get the bubble factor to calm down.

“You’re no fun,” Lily said with a pout as she leaned back against his chest and sighed. “Good thing we’re sleeping in tomorrow because I am not the least bit tired after all this.”

“The bath was supposed to be relaxing,” he reminded her.

“Well, that was before we had to deal with the tower of bubbles.”

He smiled as he rested his head against hers. “Hey, Lil?” he asked softly, tentatively. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Tonight at the table, after my dad made that toast, you got really quiet. What were you thinking about?”

Lily squirmed slightly before settling into his embrace again. “This is just such a weird position. I mean, what are we doing, Cam? This was supposed to be about dodging bad blind dates, and now we’re… we’re lovers and our parents are asking us about grandchildren.” She sighed. “I’m not used to anyone taking anything I do so seriously, and I can’t believe that they chose this to get on board with.”

“People take you seriously,” he corrected. “It’s just hard keeping up with you sometimes.”

“How do they know I’m not going to lose interest in you like I do with everything else? How do they know I’m not just going to walk away and leave you brokenhearted?”

Cam was worried about the same thing. Lily could just be passing the time with him and, after New Year’s, be content to go back to the way things were. For all he knew, she was just making the best of a bad situation. His body tensed at the thought.

“Now you’ve gotten quiet,” she said, twisting around to look at his face. “What are you thinking right now?”

His gaze was serious as he met hers. “Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Going to lose interest in me and just walk away at the end of the month?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” she asked hesitantly, not sure if she was ready for the answer.

Meanwhile, Cam knew wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for them to talk about the end when the present was so gloriously fine. Without a word, he turned her around so she was straddling his lap. Water flowed over the edge of the tub, and Lily gasped at the intimate contact. “I want you,” he said roughly, right before his mouth descended to devour hers. Water continued to slosh over the edge of the tub, but neither seemed to care.

* * *

“I’m not going to lie to you. I feel utterly ridiculous. What were they thinking?”

Lily couldn’t help but giggle. The hunter green silk boxers Cam was walking around in were completely out of character for him, and with every step he took, she could see and feel his discomfort. “I think you look cute,” she tried to say with a straight face, but failed.

“Keep laughing, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to open your presents.”

“It is tomorrow,” she reminded him.

“Well, after brunch. How do you like that?” Hands on his hips, he faced Lily, who was sitting on the bed in the super short, green silk slip nightie she had gotten. The color matched her eyes perfectly, and with her hair beautifully mussed up, she made a very erotic picture. If it were up to him, he’d forgo opening presents and spend his time unwrapping Lily from her silky garments.

“Okay, okay… no need to get all cranky,” she was saying, holding up her hands in surrender. “You know I don’t want to wait until after brunch. I’ll go crazy before then.” Scooting off the bed, Lily walked over to their tiny tree, picked up a stack of presents, and carried them back to the bed. She watched as Cam arched a brow at the pile.

“We’re opening all of our gifts tonight? You don’t want to do that with the family tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I like that it’s just the two of us. Do you mind?” There was no sarcasm, only concern. In response, Cam gathered the rest of the gifts from under the tree and brought them to the bed. Once he was comfortable, or as comfortable as he was going to get in the ridiculous boxers, he handed Lily his first gift.

Her eyes lit up at the generic sized box. “What is it? What is it? What is it?” she said as she tore at the paper. Lifting the lid and moving the tissue paper aside, she stared at the contents and smiled. “One Hundred Careers for Creative People Looking to Change the World,” she read aloud and then looked up at him and smiled. “I cannot even believe someone actually wrote a book about this.”

“It just screamed Lily to me,” he said, relieved when she laughed with him. “I figured I’d start with something light first.”

Lily’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “First? That sounds promising.” She looked at the pile in front of him, which had several more boxes, and her mind raced at what could possibly be in the rest. “Okay, my turn.” Looking through her stack, she chose a box and handed it to him.

Cam opened the box and smiled. “Ah, how did I miss getting one of these for myself?” he asked as he held the t-shirt up in front of him.

“See? It’s an ‘I heart New York’ shirt, but the heart is in the shape of Mickey Mouse! How cool is that?” She was bouncing on the bed with excitement. “Do you like it?”

“Absolutely. Thank you.” Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek and then picked another box from his pile and handed it to her. He laughed at how fast she tore through the wrapping. “You know, it took me a really long time to wrap this stuff. Maybe you can slow down and admire my handiwork for more than a tenth of a second.”

“What fun would that be?” she asked as she took the top off the box and gasped. “Oh, Cam,” she said with a dreamy sigh. Inside the box was a snow globe she had admired when they were in New York. It was a miniature of Times Square. “I love it.” Her eyes shone bright with tears. “Every time I look at it, I’m going to remember our time there.” Before she gave in and cried, Lily reached for the next box and handed it to Cam.

He smiled as he opened a hardcover copy of the latest bestseller by his favorite author. “Thank you for not mocking my refusal to switch over completely to an e-reader. As much as I see their appeal, there is still nothing like holding a book in your hands.”

When Cam handed Lily her tablet rather than another box, her brows furrowed. “What’s up?”

“Turn it on,” he prompted and then sat back while she did and waited for her response.

“Oh. My. Gosh.” She looked up at him with a big grin. “Is this the super deluxe solitaire app I’m seeing?”

He nodded. “That’s right,” he said proudly. “I figured if I can’t get you into a twelve step program for your obsession, I might as well feed it.” He saw her getting ready to boot it up and placed a hand over the screen. “Seriously? You’re going to play solitaire when there are still presents to unwrap?”

Grumbling about too many rules, Lily placed the tablet back on her nightstand and handed Cam his next gift. He smiled when he opened the new iPod. He was forever dropping his, and he thanked her for remembering he needed another.

Taking the next present from Cam’s hand, Lily made a big production of shaking it and admiring his skill as a gift wrapper before slowly opening the paper only tearing where there was tape so nothing got ripped. After five minutes of theatrics, Cam gave her the go ahead to tear into it. There was an envelope inside the box, and Lily looked at him quizzically. “What in the world,” she began before opening the envelope. She gasped with giddy surprise when she saw it was five days of park passes to Disney World. “Oh my God, Cam!” she squealed and launched herself into his arms, toppling him over and almost off the bed. “When are we going? When are we going?”

Trying to right them on the bed, Cam sat up with Lily in his arms and laughed at her impatience. “They don’t expire for a year, so you can go anytime you want.”

Lily’s head tilted to the side. “You’re going with me, right?”

He hadn’t wanted to make that assumption because, for all he knew, by the time she wanted to go, she might be dating somebody else. “We’ll see,” he said lightly and then looked around her for his next gift.

“Well, now I feel silly because I wasn’t nearly as extravagant as you,” she said, reaching for the last box. It was large and flat, and she felt a little embarrassed as she handed it to him.

“Hey,” he said softly, tucking a finger under her chin so she’d have to face him. “What’s the matter?”

“You got me a Disney vacation, and well… I didn’t think… I should have…”

Cam moved his finger from her chin to cover her lips, silencing her. “It wasn’t a competition. I love everything you got for me and whatever is in this giant box? I’m going to love it too.” Silently, she sat back and watched as he unwrapped it and then held her breath as he studied it.

“It took me a little while to get it right,” she said quickly, “but once I figured out the software, I really had fun with it.”

He was speechless. In his hands was a large, framed collage of pictures of the two of them from their trip to New York. Lily had done them all in black and white because she knew he preferred that to color photos. Looking at the dozen or so pictures, Cam barely recognized himself. Gone was the geeky scientist who spent his days deciphering the secrets of the universe. In his place was a man who stood smiling from ear to ear, looking more relaxed than he ever had in his life.

Looking up at her, Cam saw her uncertainty, her hesitation. His throat was clogged with emotion. “It’s the most perfect gift I’ve ever received,” he said hoarsely. “You outdid yourself, Lily.” He studied the photos again and then ran his hand along the frame before looking up at her. “Did you make the frame too?”

She nodded. “There was a Groupon deal for a woodworking class. I decided to try it.”

He smiled as his heart swelled with love for her. Of course there was a class. “You do beautiful woodwork.” Standing up, Cam took the framed picture to their dresser and placed it in front of the mirror so they could see it from the bed. “It’s perfect.”

He turned back to the bed and collected all the boxes and placed them back around their tree. Then he picked up all the discarded wrapping paper and crammed it into the bathroom trash can before turning off all the lights in the room except for the twinkly ones. Walking back over to the tree, Cam reached behind it and pulled out one last gift, a small rectangular box. His heart raced as he sat beside Lily and handed it to her.

She wasn’t sure what to expect. Every year, they got each other several gifts, but this year there was more meaning behind them. In years past, they had done gag gifts and practical gifts, but these were more from the heart. Her hands shook as she unwrapped the small velvet box.

Nestled inside was a simple gold chain with two charms, a gold moon and a diamond star. Carefully lifting it from the box, she wordlessly handed it to Cam before turning and lifting her hair so he could put it on her. Once it was in place, Lily turned back to face him and then touched the delicate charms. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said reverently.

“Remember all the nights when we’d sit out in the yard and look up at the sky?” he asked, and she nodded. “You would listen to me talk aimlessly about constellations and the names of the planets, but you were always fascinated with finding the brightest star after questioning the size of the moon. Do you remember that?” Again, Lily nodded. “When I saw this necklace, it reminded me of all of those nights. I wanted you to have this so you would remember them too.”

“I’ve never forgotten,” she whispered. “Thank you.” She continued to touch it and memorize the feel of it while Cam reached forward and cupped her face in his hands. She didn’t question the move; she welcomed it.

Someday, she thought, we’ll make love under the brightest star, and then… maybe then… he’ll love me.

Nine

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve.

They were supposed to be planning their breakup.

Neither Cam nor Lily had broached the subject all week. Instead, they’d spent their days and nights living like lovers, much to the delight of their families. Lily had spent the morning out shopping with her mother and Angela. When they returned to the house, she went out in search of Cam.

“He went on a hike,” her father said. “He seemed pretty somber when he left. Did the two of you have a fight?”

Lily shook her head. No, they had been getting along better than ever and that was really saying something because they had always gotten along. “How long ago did he leave?”

“About an hour ago. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. It’s pretty cold out there today.”

He didn’t need to tell her that. Unease settled in the pit of her stomach, and before she could doubt herself, Lily pulled her gloves out of her pocket and walked out on the back deck to see if she could spot Cam. For ten minutes, she walked from one end of the large deck to the other, trying her best to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. Just when she was about to go back in the house, she spotted a splash of blue among the greens. Zipping her coat up higher and taking a fortifying breath, Lily headed down the deck steps and toward where she had spotted Cam.

The cold air burned her lungs as she walked out into the lush greenery hoping to be able to navigate it and find him. She wasn’t feeling overly optimistic and was losing her bearings when she heard Cam say her name. Turning, she smiled with relief. “Hey, you. Dad said you went out hiking. I thought I’d try to find you.”

“Well, you did,” he said flatly.

“Is something wrong?” His tone worried her. Things had been going so well, and she’d thought they were both happy. She had no idea what had brought on this change of attitude. “Did something happen?”

“I got a call from work today,” he began, not looking directly at her. “I need to be back in the office on the second, and then they’ve scheduled me to do a lecture circuit in Canada and then in Europe. It’s a three month gig.”

“Oh.” Lily wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. The thought of not seeing Cam for three months was like a kick in the gut. They had never spent much time apart, not when Cam had gone to college, and he’d never taken such a long business trip. “Wow. That’s a really long time.”

He nodded. “A colleague got the assignment, but she just had an emergency appendectomy and won’t be able to travel. I was next on their list.”

“Don’t you want to go?”

No, he didn’t. Career wise, it was the trip of a lifetime and would help him, but personally? It was the last thing he wanted to do. Being away for that long didn’t bode well. Cam knew that if he went, his friend Lily would be right here waiting for him when he got back. But Lily, his pretend girlfriend and real lover? She would probably move on without him, and he hated that. Hated the fact that he had doubts and that they hadn’t taken the time to talk about their future. They had been so focused on living one day at a time to get through the holidays that they’d never taken the time to stop pretending.

“Cam?” she prompted, doing her best to get a read on him.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said simply, emotionlessly.

“Then you should do it,” she said with equal emotion.

Cam’s head snapped toward hers. “What about us?” he finally asked, needing the answer more than he needed his next breath.

Lily had always known how important Cam’s career was to him. Ever since he was a little boy, Cam had been fascinated with the workings of the universe, and she had admired his determination. Deep in her heart, she wanted him to stay. She wanted to be selfish and tell him he could let this opportunity go because there would be other ones. But by the dark and serious look on his face, she didn’t think he would agree.

Maybe that was why he was out here in the frigid cold, wandering aimlessly in the woods. Maybe he was trying to find a way for them to end their make believe relationship so he would be free to follow his dream and achieve the level of success in his field he had always wanted.

Taking a breath she didn’t feel she had, Lily stood a little taller, willed herself not to cry, and kept her voice steady. “We had planned to break up right after New Year’s,” she said, forcing a confident edge to her voice, “so really, this plays perfectly into the grand scheme of things. We won’t have to stage some fake fight. You’ll leave for your trip, and then we can just phase out. You know, long distance relationships and all that.”

Cam’s whole body went rigid. He was furious. Had he been truly alone in his feelings all this time? Did he not know Lily at all? How could she have made love to him with such emotion and carefree abandon and then stand here and talk about ending their relationship as if it were meaningless? Was he that big of a fool, or had he only been seeing what he wanted to see? Was he so naïve about relationships and the opposite sex that he hadn’t realized this relationship was all one-sided?

“I suppose,” he said through clenched teeth.

Lily looked away and shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what else to do or say because she didn’t think she could hold back the tears much longer. “Well then, that settles it. Are you planning on staying for the festivities, or do you need to leave sooner to go home and get everything in order before you have to fly out?”

Cam hadn’t allowed himself to think that far ahead because, in his mind, he’d thought he would tell Lily, and she would ask him not to go, that she’d say she didn’t want them to be apart. He shook his head in disgust. This was why he didn’t do relationships. Clearly he had no clue about the opposite sex, even with his best friend.

“I guess there’s no point in hanging around. I have to close up my town house, stop the mail service, organize my notes, and all that.” He looked around at the scenery, the sky, his shoes, anything to keep him from looking at Lily. “No time like the present, I suppose.” And with that, he strode off.

Lily watched him go and stood perfectly still until she could no longer hear his footsteps crunching on the frozen ground. It was only then that she crumpled to the ground and cried for all she was worth. Her heart was breaking, and it hurt more than she’d ever thought possible.

How did this happen? How had she gone and fallen in love with her best friend? This wasn’t supposed to be the way it went! Tears fell hard and fast until she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Cam had gone away before, but never for long periods of time, and she’d never hurt like this, never ached as if a part of her were missing.

She wasn’t sure she’d be able to survive it. Lily knew she was going to have to go back into the house at some point and return to an empty room, then look at the sad expressions on her family’s faces. She was going to have to sleep alone in their bed and then drive home with her parents, back to her lonely life.

Without Cam.

Why hadn’t she stopped him? Why couldn’t she, for once, be selfish and go after what she wanted? It wasn’t fair that she always stepped back and let the things that made her happy slip through her fingers. Over the years, she had left jobs she loved and lost touch with friends she enjoyed because of someone else’s disapproval.

This time it was all on her. Cam wasn’t leaving because of anyone else’s issues, only hers. She wasn’t confident or brave enough to tell him how she really felt. Lily was certain Cam must have been able to tell how she felt during their time together over the past six weeks. But in the end, at the ultimate moment of truth, he couldn’t see it and Lily couldn’t say it.

Some pair they made.

For all of their talk about how in tune they were with one another, at a pivotal point in their relationship, they had no idea what the other was even thinking or feeling. What did that say for them and their friendship?

She was freezing and her teeth were chattering, but Lily wasn’t ready to go back into the house. She needed to wait a little longer to make certain Cam was packed and gone. He was very efficient when something needed to be done, and she knew he’d gone straight to their room to collect his belongings. He’d want to be on the road before it got too late, to be back at his home before dark.

Her ears perked up when she heard footsteps approaching. Was it Cam? Was he coming back to tell her he wasn’t leaving? That he didn’t want to leave her for three long months because he loved her?

“Lily?”

Great. It was her sister.

Could she not catch a break today?

“Over here,” she murmured, and turned to see Beth making her way through the trees. She didn’t move from her spot on the ground and was surprised when her sister, her forever neat and tidy sister, sat on the cold ground beside her.

“So, Cam said he’s leaving,” Beth said, staring forward. Lily simply nodded. “He said he got this great opportunity to travel to Europe and Canada and whatnot, and it’s supposed to be some big feather in his cap.”

“That’s what he said,” Lily confirmed, hating having to have this discussion with anyone.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Beth asked as she finally faced her sister.

Lily shrugged. “It’s something he’s worked his whole life for. He’ll leave, he’ll travel, and I guess we’ll see what happens after three months.”

Beth snorted with disgust. “Wow, I cannot believe you just said that.”

“What? Why?”

“The two of you are crazy about one another, and you’re willing to just let him leave and get all wishy-washy about the future? What is wrong with you?” Beth demanded.

It was no use pretending anymore. What good had it done her? “Look, the truth is that Cam and I were never really dating. We made the whole thing up.”

Beth laughed out loud, and Lily’s head snapped toward her. “What the hell’s so funny?”

“You know, I was a little suspicious of the whole thing when you first announced your relationship. I mean, after all these years, why now? But then I watched the two of you these past weeks, and you know what I think?”

“No,” Lily said with a weary sigh, wishing her sister would just get up and go away.

“I saw two people who were genuinely in love.”

Lily shook her head. “You’re wrong. It was all an act.”

“Please,” Beth snorted. “I’ve seen your acting, and that, little sister, was no act. Not on your part and not on his. You’re lying to yourself if you believe otherwise.”

Lily looked at her with sadness and confusion. “Aren’t you listening? We did this to get Mom and Angela off our backs. We were tired of the endless stream of blind dates, so we thought we could have at least one peaceful holiday season if we pretended to be involved.”

“Were you just pretending?” Beth asked gently, with a tone that was very unlike her usual self.

Shaking her head, Lily began to cry. “I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t supposed to be real, and yet after that first kiss? It was like everything I had been searching for my whole life was finally right there in front of me.” She did her best to compose herself, wiping furiously at the tears streaming down her cold face. “But at the end of the day, Cam is this supersmart guy who has this amazing career that means more to him than anything. How could I possibly ask him to stay?”

“How could you possibly let him leave?” Beth took Lily’s hand in hers and tugged to get her sister to look her way. “Most people aren’t lucky enough to fall in love with their best friends. Normally you fall in love and then learn to be friends. You and Cam? You’ve always been perfect for one another. We all thought so. Watching the two of you together? It was like watching a love story. Look, we’ve known the Greenes all of our lives, so I’ve known Cam as long as you have. He’s always looked at you with longing, Lil, but lately? He watches you with love. You can’t just let that go.”

“He didn’t want to stay, Beth,” Lily said sadly. “Maybe he’s a better actor than I am because when all was said and done, he was able to just walk away.”

* * *

Cam had packed with his usual efficiency, even as he kept one eye on the door. He kept expecting to see Lily come barreling through it to stop him, but she didn’t. When he had no other choice, he loaded his belongings into his car, said his goodbyes to everyone, and drove away.

For the first twenty miles, he was numb. For the next sixty miles, he was indecisive about whether or not he had done the right thing. Indecision turned to sadness, and sadness gave way to anger. “Dammit!” he cursed, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. Why hadn’t he fought more? Why didn’t he demand that Lily tell him what she was feeling? He’d known her his whole life, so he knew that when she was faced with a difficult situation, she tended to retreat and say what she thought other people wanted her to say. How could he have forgotten that?

Thinking about the upcoming trip, Cam felt annoyance rather than excitement. He was damn good at what he did, and he had made a name for himself in his field. This was a great opportunity, but it wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, no matter how much his bosses tried to tell him that. And even if it was, what would it really do for him? He would have a higher title; he’d have the accolades and the fame, but when he returned home, what would he have?

Nothing.

Just like six weeks ago, he’d still have nothing. His work was thrilling and fulfilling, of that he was certain. But it wasn’t everything. It didn’t give him joy, it didn’t make him smile, and it certainly didn’t fill him with a sense of lightheartedness or make him laugh.

Only Lily did that.

And he had walked away.

For as successful as Cameron was, his career was fairly safe. He was studying the universe and there were infinite possibilities and new things to find, but he was part of a very small community where even if people didn’t agree with his theories or his findings, the masses still did.

Taking a risk with Lily was something completely different.

What if he drove back to the mountains and professed his love to her and she told him it hadn’t been real? That what they had shared had been nothing more than a pleasant diversion, and that was it? What if she laughed in his face, and he lost the best friend he had ever had?

Could he risk it?

Should he risk it?

Back at his house, he looked around. Everything was neat and tidy. The only personal items were things Lily had given him, and not just for Christmas, but over the years. Cam had already placed the collage from their trip over his fireplace. Standing in the middle of his living room, he looked at the images and his chest ached. Over on his coffee table was a photo of the two of them from their high school graduation.

Turning around, Cam realized that every photograph in his home was of the two of them or of his family. Lily was everywhere, surrounding him because he needed her to feel safe, to feel secure in his lonely home and to feel loved.

What had he done? Had his plan, his stupid plan that had seemed so simple when he thought it up ruined everything? By avoiding a few unwanted dates, had he lost everything important to him and vital to his very existence?

Cam’s first instinct was to get in the car and go back.

Go back and beg Lily’s forgiveness, profess his love, and even if she didn’t love him back, ask for just one more night to hold her in his arms. He’d have to learn to be okay with having her in his life as just a friend and watching as she went on and found the man she would settle down with, have children with. He’d do his best to be happy for her.

He was tired. He was used to spending hours pondering the workings of the cosmos, and yet the exhaustion he felt after doing that was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. His sense of duty told him he had a team of scientists expecting him to do the right thing.

And Cam always did the right thing.

It was what was expected of him, and what he was good at.

Sometimes doing the right thing and living up to everyone else’s expectations wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Ten

“Lily, sweetheart, come inside,” Mary called from the doorway. “It’s freezing out here.”

It was New Year’s Eve, 11:00 p.m., and Lily stood out on the far end of the deck and stared up at the sky. It was a cloudy night and there were no stars to be found, but she was determined. “I’ll be in soon, Mom,” she said distractedly. “Don’t worry.”

Mary Cavanaugh stepped out onto the deck and walked over to her daughter. She came to stand beside her, leaned against the rail, and looked up at the night sky with her. “It looks like snow again.”

Lily nodded. “Smells like it too. I love that.”

Sighing, Mary placed an arm around Lily and pulled her close. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I know how upset you are about Cam leaving, and although I still have hope the three months apart won’t mean the end of your relationship, I hate that it happened now, over the holidays and when everything was so new for you.” Surprisingly, Beth had kept Lily’s secret. She didn’t tell anyone that Cam and Lily’s relationship had been a sham. Part of Lily was thankful, but another part of her simply wished Beth had been her usual self and blabbed the news to everyone so they would be angry with her rather than looking at her with sympathy and pity.

She hated the pity.

Lily knew how to deal with a bratty sister. She didn’t know how to deal with a sister who was kind. It was a novelty, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was waiting for the time when Beth would use that secret information for her own personal gain and to make Lily look stupid.

It felt wrong even thinking about it.

During those precious thirty minutes when they had sat on the cold ground and actually talked, Beth had shared how her own marriage was less than perfect. She told Lily that she had actually been jealous of her and Cam because she and her husband had never had the kind of affection they had. Hearing that had filled Lily with both pleasure and pain. There had been affection between her and Cam, and it had been real. It wasn’t the stuff of friendship; it had been the kind of affection shared between two people who were soul mates.

Cam and Lily had often joked about how they believed they were soul mates but in the context of being friends. She realized now that really wasn’t the case. Looking back, she knew she had always been in love with Cameron Greene, scientist, computer geek, and all around good guy. And she had let him walk away.

“You really should come inside by the fire,” her mother said, breaking the silence.

Lily turned to her mother and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Soon.”

Once Lily heard the door close, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to cry in front of her mother. Again. She had done enough of that yesterday and today. Most of the current day had been spent wallowing in bed until her mother had physically dragged her out of it and forced her to take a shower and come downstairs for something to eat. Lily had to admit she had been starving, but it had taken too much energy to physically move.

She missed Cam.

She’d hated having to sleep alone last night and dreaded going to sleep tonight.

Maybe after the ball dropped at midnight and they spent the next hour drinking and laughing and having fun, Lily would sneak down to the media room to watch a movie and sleep in one of the plush leather recliners. No one would have to know, and it would save her from another night of torture. The sheets still smelled of Cam’s soap and cologne, and that big bed was just too much for one lonely person.

Nodding with approval at her own plan, she resumed her search of the night sky. Why couldn’t she find one measly star? It was one of her favorite things to do every New Year’s Eve. She’d step outside right before midnight, find the biggest and brightest star to wish upon, and then go back to whatever party she was at and wish on it again at midnight before she kissed whomever she was at the party with.

Funny how she’d never wished to be with the person she was actually at the party with. They were all very nice guys who just… well, they weren’t Cam.

Another sad sigh escaped her as the clouds seemed to move restlessly in the sky. “Just keep moving,” she said in an urgent whisper. “Just clear out for a little bit so I can find my star.”

The door opened behind her, and Lily silently prayed that another family member wasn’t coming out to offer her sympathetic advice.

“You have your star,” a deep voice said from behind her.

No. It couldn’t be. Lily was too afraid to turn around. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. Ignoring the voice, she leaned out farther over the railing, craning her neck to get a better view of the night sky.

And then a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

Okay, that was a little harder to ignore. “You have the brightest star around your neck, over your heart, for whenever you want to make a wish,” he whispered against her ear and felt her shiver slightly before she relaxed against him.

Without missing a beat, Lily spoke. “I can’t break tradition,” she said simply. “I always stand outside and find a star to wish on. Help me find one.”

Wrapping her more securely in his arms, Cam felt like he had truly come home. He looked up as the clouds seemed to part, and there, barely visible to the naked eye, was one lone star. “Look up there,” he whispered and pointed to the break in the clouds. “It may not be the biggest one, but it’s there just for you, Lily.” He inhaled the sweet scent that was solely hers and said, “Make a wish.”

Lily closed her eyes tightly and did just that. Satisfied with her wish, she turned in Cameron’s arms and looked up at a face as weary as her own. “You came back.”

He nodded. “I did.”

“You got all of your things organized that fast?”

This time, he shook his head. “There was nothing to organize.”

Lily’s brows furrowed at his words. “Why? Are you just going to use the notes from your New York presentation?”

He shook his head again. “No, I’m not recycling my notes.”

Now she was even more confused. “Then what are you going to do? Did your boss make up a presentation for you? Can he even do that? I mean, doesn’t it work better if you create the presentation for yourself so you know what you’re…”

He cut off her words with the kiss he’d needed and craved ever since he left. Cupping her face in his cold hands, Cam pressed his body fully against hers and did his best to pour everything he had, everything he felt, into the kiss.

At first, Lily was too stunned to respond. Cam was here! He came back, and he was out here under the night sky kissing her. As soon as her brain shut off, she wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss with the same urgency she felt from him. Soon she was no longer chilled. The coolness of the winter night was no match for the body heat they were generating.

Finally, Cam lifted his head and rested his forehead against Lily’s and took the first real breath he’d had in days. She was here, in his arms, and no matter what happened next, he had this moment with her under the stars.

Well, star.

“Stop talking,” he said as he caught his breath.

“But…”

Cam placed a finger over her lips to silence her. “I have something I need to say, and if you keep talking, I’ll never say it.” He took a small step back and smiled at the wide-eyed confusion on her face. “I’m not going on the lecture circuit.”

“What? Why?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re talking again.”

Lily promptly closed her mouth and pretended to zip it so he could continue.

“I made it all the way home before I realized I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to be away from home for three months.” He stepped back to her. “I didn’t want to be away from you for that long.” His heart felt full to overflowing when he watched her sigh with obvious relief. “This whole thing between us started out as a joke, as a way for us to pull one over on our parents to keep them from making our holiday miserable. But the joke was on us because it’s real.”

Cam’s gaze deepened as he looked into Lily’s upturned face.

“It stopped being fake for me the first time you kissed me. I’ve wanted you for so long, and once you took that step, even though I know it was for show, it just made me realize I didn’t want to pretend. I want you for real, Lily Cavanaugh. I want what we’ve had these past six weeks to be real.”

“Cam.”

“I’m not finished,” he said, cutting her off gently. “I know I’m not the type of man you usually date. I’m boring and straitlaced. And we’re best friends, but I don’t want to go back to just being friends. I’ll do it, if that’s what you want, but I want more, Lily. I want to be your boyfriend, your lover, and if you’ll have me, your husband.”

“Cam.”

“Still talking,” he said and put his finger back over her lips to silence her, because if he didn’t finish what he had to say, he might never get the chance to do it again. “I went back to my house, and it was quiet and empty. Yet everywhere I looked, you were there. The only items that personalize my home involve you. If it wasn’t for you, Lily, I wouldn’t have a life. You make me live. You make me step out of my comfort zone and try new things. You make me stop taking myself so damn seriously, and I don’t want to be that man anymore. Please don’t make me be that man anymore.” Cam rested his forehead against hers and let out a breath. There. He had said it all. The ball was now firmly in her court. He waited for her to respond.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, he realized his finger was still resting on her lips and she was looking up at him with amusement. He quickly pulled his finger away and rested both of his hands on her waist. “Sorry.”

“Am I allowed to speak now?” she asked, tapping her foot in mock irritation.

Cam nodded.

“One of the greatest things about our friendship was that we always told one another everything. It was the thing I treasured the most. Whenever I had a problem or something was bothering me, I always knew I could talk to you.”

For a moment, she just stopped and studied Cam’s face. He looked so serious and she knew he was patiently waiting for her to speak her piece, and she gave a small smile at that.

“But then I fell in love,” she said with a shrug. “And I really wanted to talk to my best friend about it, but I couldn’t because the man I fell in love with and my best friend were one and the same. I didn’t know how to tell you what I was feeling because I thought I’d scare you away. As much as I know you’ve always been there for me, I also know that you, just like everyone else, think I have a short attention span. That simply isn’t the case here. I don’t see myself ever tiring of being with you. And not just as a friend, but as your girlfriend, your lover, and yes, even your wife.”

Cam felt as if his knees were going to give out because his relief was so great at hearing his words coming back to him. Lifting Lily into his arms, he held her tight. “I’m so sorry I left,” he said, his breath warm against her neck. “And I know exactly what you mean because I fell in love with you, but was afraid to talk to you about it because I didn’t want to risk hearing you didn’t feel the same.” He placed her back on her feet. “No one has ever loved me and accepted me for who I am like you have, and I realized when I was all alone last night that I don’t want anyone else. It’s you, Lily. It’s you and only you I want. I love you.”

Not waiting another minute, Cam kissed her. Lily’s arms immediately wound around his neck as her fingers raked through his hair, anchoring him to her. They stayed like that, drinking from one another, for a long time until a strange noise slowly brought them out of their haze. Cam lifted his head. “What is that?”

Lily pulled back and looked around and then burst out laughing. “What?” Cam asked. “What’s so funny?”

Taking him by the shoulders, she spun him around so he was facing the house. There, lined up against the wall of windows, were their families, watching them and applauding. Lily rested her head on Cam’s back until she could compose herself.

“We’ll never have any privacy, will we?” Cam asked with a chuckle.

“With this group? Never.”

Cam took a step to the side and then put his arm around Lily so that they could both face their families with a smile and a wave. “I guess we should go inside.”

Lily nodded. “Absolutely. My work is done out here.”

Frowning, Cam looked at her. “Work? What work were you doing out here?”

She rolled her eyes. “Sheesh, Cam. You’ve forgotten already?” When he still looked at her with confusion, Lily shrugged and pulled him toward the house. He’d figure it out eventually, but as far as Lily was concerned, she’d done a great job of finding a star to wish on tonight.

And that wish had already come true.

Epilogue

NINE MONTHS LATER

“I feel ridiculous.”

“You look fine.”

“Easy for you to say. I don’t see you wearing anything like this.”

“Even if I were, I wouldn’t feel ridiculous in it.”

Cam sighed. It didn’t matter how long he and Lily had known each other, which was basically since before either of them could talk. She’d always had a way of talking circles around him and making him crazy. “How long do I have to do this?”

Lily looked up at her new husband and grinned from ear to ear at his ears! Actually, they were mouse ears, compliments of a mouse named Mickey. Lily had asked that they spend at least part of their honeymoon at Disney World, and she had chosen a groom’s top hat with mouse ears for Cam. She was letting him sweat it out for a bit before she pulled out her white sequined mouse ears with the veil to match. After all these years, it was still fun to make Cam squirm.

“Lighten up. We’re on our honeymoon. We’re having fun, remember? You’re even supposed to smile and laugh once in a while,” she teased.

“Well, maybe I’d smile and laugh if we could just go back to bed and spend the day as I suggested earlier.”

Lily blushed at the memory of what Cam had suggested. It was rather decadent, and she promised that when they arrived at the second stop of their honeymoon, New York City, she’d let him have his way. For now, however, she was going to act like a little kid and run around the theme park and have fun.

“I have waited years to come back here, and not even sexy promises will make me miss my chance to skip down Main Street.”

“I’m not skipping, Lil. I love you, but there is no way I’m doing that. Isn’t the hat enough?”

Giggling, Lily reached into her suitcase, pulled out her mouse ears, and put them on before striking a pose and grinning at Cam. “How about now? We can match, and then we can skip!”

He shook his head, sending his own ears flying across the room. “You’ll have to do better than that to get me to skip.” He saw that familiar look on her face, the one that told him she had gotten an idea, and held up a hand to cut her off before she could even say what it was. “Don’t even bother. There is nothing in the world you can come up with that will make me skip anywhere, especially while wearing the ears, so forget it.”

She turned to pouting. “Well, I was going to say we could come back here to the room after lunch and do the second thing you suggested,” she said seductively, with a wicked smile to match her words. “Twice.”

All of Cam’s blood seemed to head south at the image she put in his head. With a growl of frustration, he stalked over and picked up his mouse-eared top hat before grabbing his wife’s hand and dragging her out the door, her laughter trailing behind him.

“What’s the hurry?” she asked as she giddily tried to keep up with him.

“We’ve got some skipping to do.”

* * *

Six Hundred Miles Away

“It was a beautiful wedding, wasn’t it?” Angela asked her best friend as she poured them each a glass of wine.

“It certainly was,” Mary said, savoring her first sip. “Cameron looked so nervous but so handsome. I can’t wait to get some of the pictures back from the photographer.”

Angela nodded as she came and sat across from Mary at the small table on her deck overlooking the pool. “By the time the kids get back, we should have some proofs. I never thought it was going to happen, you know.”

Mary looked at her and smiled. “I was running out of misfits to fix Lily up with!” She laughed at her own clever doings. “I think Biff was the last straw!”

“Biff.” Angela chuckled and shook her head. “That name is just a cruel thing to do to a child.” Settling down, she turned toward her friend. “And you want to know the best part?” Angela asked, waiting for Mary’s attention. “Biff is now engaged to Kitten!”

“No! How in the world did that happen?”

Angela had to stop laughing before she could continue. “Well, you know how we all run in the same circles. After Cam’s date with her ended so perfectly and then Biff took Lily home practically before the date began, I thought that I’d play matchmaker. I ran into them both at Richard’s company Christmas party and introduced them to each other.”

Mary held up her hand for her friend to high five her. “I pray the two of them have mercy on their future children and give them normal names!” She laughed at the thought and then sobered as her thoughts returned to their own children. “I had my doubts we’d ever get the results we were looking for. It wasn’t easy to keep fixing Lily up with men I knew she would hate.”

“I felt the same about Cam, like I was being a bad mother.” Angela took another sip of her wine. “They just needed a little nudge.”

Nodding, Mary agreed. “They are going to make beautiful grandchildren.”

“Which is what we wanted all along.” They raised their glasses to one another before sitting back and enjoying the scenery in companionable silence.

Looking for some more fun, holiday romance??

Read on for an excerpt from

Prologue

Riley Walsh was a free man.

Only it wasn’t by choice.

“So, what are you going to do with yourself now?”

Riley stood staring out the window of his commanding officer’s office, lost in contemplation. Turning, he faced the man who had become like family to him over the past twelve years. “I’m heading home to see my mother. After that, I’m not sure.”

“How’s her recovery coming along?”

With a slight shrug, he replied, “I guess it’s going okay.”

His CO quirked a brow at him. “Okay? Don’t you know for sure? When was the last time you talked to her?”

Riley shrugged again and began to pace the sterile office space. “Before I got injured.”

The lieutenant colonel stood and came to a halt in front of him. “Is there a problem?”

Riley knew that tone of voice. Over the years, it had made him tremble in fear at times. There was no fear this time. “No problem. I just didn’t want her to worry. If I’d called while I was in the hospital, she would have instantly known something was wrong. I didn’t want to add that kind of worry while she was dealing with her own recovery.”

Relaxing his stance a bit, his CO placed a hand on his shoulder. “You did an outstanding job for your country, Riley. I know this isn’t the way you wanted your career in the Marines to end. Go home, spend some time with your family, and finish recovering. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“To do what?” he asked, with more than a hint of bitterness.

For the first time in his military career, he saw a hint of a smile on his CO’s face. “Whatever you want.”

If only that were true.

Riley knew what was waiting for him at home, and he didn’t like it one bit. Truth be known, if he hadn’t gotten injured, he would have made the Marines his entire life and only gone home when absolutely necessary.

That sounded cold even in his own head, but it was the truth. His whole life, he’d been told how the family business would one day be his. Riley shuddered at the thought. There was no way he was taking over the family business. Not in this lifetime. Maybe now that his mother was dealing with her recovery, she’d see that running the place was too much for her. Of course, he’d have to make it abundantly clear that although his time in the service was up, he wasn’t coming home to take over the reins.

After all, how could anyone expect Riley Walsh, a dedicated Marine injured in the line of duty, to run a bed-and-breakfast?

Especially one called the Snowflake Inn.

One

“Whose idea was it to move to the mountains?” Grace Brodie mumbled to herself as she pulled her wool scarf a little tighter around her neck. “I left the possibility of sun and sand…for this?” As if Mother Nature herself had heard her, a biting wind kicked up. “Perfect.”

Actually, it had been her own idea to make the move, and on most days, she loved it. Today, however, was not one of those days. It was cold, it was gray, and Cute Angry Guy was walking behind her again. She chuckled to herself. She was sure he had an actual name, but she hadn’t had an opportunity to find out. When she had first noticed him around town a couple of days ago, she had named him Cute Serious Guy. The next day he had become Cute Brooding Guy, but today, he was looking pretty fierce, so she went with Cute Angry Guy.

Every morning, she came into town, did a jog around the park, ran her errands, and grabbed a coffee at Starbucks before heading to work. The park was the first place she had noticed him. There was something oddly familiar about him, but for the life of her, she couldn’t put her finger on it. He was well over six feet tall and clearly worked out, because as he jogged around the same path she did, he didn’t seem to get winded.

She usually felt like stopping to vomit three times. Every day.

Sure, she could feel nervous about the fact that this guy had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and seemed to be following her around, but she had a feeling he was harmless. But it rattled her a bit when he showed up at Starbucks. The first thought to pop into her head was that he was clearly attracted to her and had followed her to get coffee hoping to strike up a conversation.

But he stayed ten feet away from her at all times. The closer she moved toward him, the farther he moved away. It was a little odd.

And disappointing.

Now, as she finished the last quarter mile of her jog, Grace couldn’t help but wonder what his story was. Did he live here? Have a family here? Did she somehow know him and had just forgotten?

Hell no. If Cute Angry Guy had ever been in her life before, she was certain she would have remembered him. Clearly. In great detail. And he would have starred in every fantasy she ever thought up.

She was feeling the burn and could clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel—or in this case, the clearing in the trees that meant the parking lot was close—when it happened. Her knee buckled. A cry of dismay escaped before she could help it, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground.

“Dammit,” she cried, pulling her knee to her chest as she rocked. “Why now?” Tears threatened to fall, and all she could think about was the walk to the car and how painful it was going to be. As much as her physical therapist had told her recovery would take time, Grace felt like her body had betrayed her.

“Are you all right?” a deep male voice said from behind her.

Uh-oh… Cute Angry Guy is here, and he’s talking to me! Looking up…and up…and up, her eyes finally met his. Holy cow.

“Miss?”

Oh, right. He asked you a question. “What? Oh, sorry… Um… Yes, I’m fine,” she stammered and tried to stand. But her darn knee wasn’t quite on board with the rest of her, and she went down again. She muttered a curse and felt a blush creep up her cheeks in embarrassment.

He quirked a brow as he looked at her. “You don’t look like you’re fine,” he said seriously and crouched beside her. “Did you hurt your knee?”

She nodded. “About six months ago in a skiing accident. I was in rehab and physical therapy for months. I just decided to try to go back to my jogging routine—at a slower pace, of course—and I thought I was doing okay. Until about five minutes ago.”

Cute Angry Guy nodded. “You probably just pushed yourself a little too hard.”

She shook her head. “In therapy, I can run twice as long with no issues.”

“That’s on a treadmill. This is an uneven jogging path. It’s completely different.”

Now she glared at him. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious,” she snapped. If she had better luck, she’d be able to jump to her feet and walk away with a sassy sway to her hips.

Clearly, she had no luck. On her third attempt at standing, Cute Angry Guy wrapped a muscular arm around her back and helped her to her feet. “Thank you,” she said quietly, and did her best to disengage from his embrace. But he didn’t let her go. Looking up, Grace found herself trapped by the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Her breath seemed to catch, and she couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. The only thing saving her from complete and total embarrassment was the fact that he seemed just as mesmerized by her as she was by him.

“Can you walk?” he finally asked, his voice sounding rough to her ears. Nodding weakly, unwilling to break their eye contact, she tried once again to move away, but his arm seemed to tighten around her. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

He clearly wasn’t big on conversation. At the moment, that suited her just fine because she was having a hard time remembering how to form words. Cute Angry Guy was big and a feast for all of her senses, but she had to be careful to remember that he was a stranger. She knew nothing about him, and as much as she wanted to ask him at least a dozen questions, there was something to be said for companionable silence.

And walking really close together.

Deciding to just enjoy the moment, she pressed herself more firmly against his warm, solid frame and began to walk slowly with him toward her car. With the way they had been seeing each other all around town for the past couple of days, she figured he’d know which car was hers without her saying anything.

Sure enough, he did.

When they reached her little white sedan, they stopped and Grace pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket. It was then that she realized what a complete mess she must look like: black leggings, white jacket, and a green wool scarf to match her green socks…ugh. And then there was the hair.

She was so not going to think about the hair. Normally after her jog, she would take a few minutes in the car to relax and apply some lip gloss and fix her hair before going anyplace else. That was why she hadn’t been worried about approaching him the other day in Starbucks. But now that he’d seen her in this—well, in all her ill-fated glory—she was certain her current appearance had killed any attraction (real or imagined).

Quickly and painfully.

Awesome.

“So, um…thanks for the help,” she said, feeling awkward. She fidgeted with her hair, doing her best to tame it, and cursed herself for refusing to wear a hat. At least a hat could have camouflaged the flyaway mess.

His lips twitched with an almost-smile as he watched her fidget around. “Are you going to be okay to drive?”

She ran her hand through her hair and cursed when it got stuck. With a wince, she pulled it out and forced herself to play with her keys and try to remain calm. “Yes,” she said, wishing that the parking lot would just open up beneath her and take her away. “I’ll be fine. I’ll go home and do the whole ice-and-heat thing, take some ibuprofen, and call it a day.”

“You should probably call your therapist and let him look at it.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have one here.”

“Then you should set up an appointment for when you get home.”

Grace gave him an odd look. “Get home? I am home. I live here.”

Now it was Cute Angry Guy’s turn to give her an odd look. “You live here?”

She nodded. “I just moved here about six weeks ago. I thought I was done with therapy, so I haven’t bothered to look up a therapist. But I guess I’ll have to now.” She shrugged and turned to unlock her car. Once the door was open, she turned and forced a smile on her face. “Anyway,” she said and did her best to relax, “thank you for the help.”

“My pleasure.” His voice was deep and a little rough, and Grace almost wanted to purr. Hearing the word pleasure come from that mouth—which was pretty spectacular too—had her heart rate going into overdrive. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” she said brightly and sat in the car, wincing slightly as she bent her leg. “Don’t wait to find a therapist. Call the one you know and see if you can get a referral.”

“Thanks, I will.” She was just about to ask his name, but he turned and walked away. And the rear view was as enticing as the front one. She almost had to fan herself. Her first instinct was to call out to him, but really, it was probably better not to. If he had been following her these past couple of days, wouldn’t he have asked for her name or phone number? The fact that he hadn’t just proved that she was imagining things. Bad hair and wardrobe aside, the man couldn’t seem to get away from her fast enough.

With a depressed sigh, she pulled the car door shut and decided to cut her losses and go. The drive through the small downtown area didn’t take long, and when she saw Starbucks coming up, she decided she could deal with the pain for a little longer. A white-chocolate peppermint mocha would go a long way in helping her deal with it, of that she was certain.

It didn’t take long to park, and then she was surrounded by people she was coming to know. She smiled and made small talk while she waited her turn in line at the coffee shop. When one person was left in front of her, Grace felt an odd tingle go down her spine. Turning her head, she had to suppress a grin. There in the doorway stood Cute Angry Guy, and if her eyes weren’t deceiving her, he was doing his best to suppress his own smile.

She wished he’d stop trying to hide it. With a face like that, he had to have a smile that was positively breathtaking. Certain she’d never really know, she turned her attention back to the counter, placed her order, and made her way to the register to pay. She was mentally congratulating herself on the fact that she hadn’t turned around again. Self-control—she’d known she had it in her somewhere.

“Thank you,” Grace said with a smile as she took the hot beverage from the young barista. Turning slowly in the crowd, she made her way carefully to the door, still doing her best not to look around and see if Cute Angry Smirking Guy was still there. I guess I’ll never know. She sighed inwardly and headed back out to her car.

If her knee hadn’t been in so much pain, she was certain she’d have a little pep in her step. Being rescued by a sexy stranger was certainly a great way to start her day. A quick glance at her watch showed she needed to get moving or she’d be late for work. And with so much on the line, the last thing she wanted to do was mess that up.

Although she doubted anyone would blame her if they had seen the sexy reason for her delay.

Two

She lived here? How could she possibly live here? Riley’s mind was spinning. For three days now, he had been trying to make himself go home to the B&B to see his mother, but when he checked, only one car was parked there. Her car. He’d figured she was just a guest and would be gone by now. If she wasn’t a guest and she lived in the area, what did that mean? Maybe she was just working part time at the B and B during his mom’s recovery. Or maybe she was a friend who was staying there to help out.

Slamming his head against the headrest in his car as he sat in front of Starbucks, Riley had to face the hard truth. He was going to have to face his mother, and chances were there was going to be an audience.

Dammit.

The thought of going to see his mother and not only telling her he was out of the Marines but also that he wasn’t planning on sticking around and helping her with the business wasn’t going to go over well. First, he would have to relive the hell he’d gone through in combat and how it had landed him back in civilian life. She’d most likely be devastated that he hadn’t told her about his injuries sooner. Biting back a curse, he knew she had every reason to be angry. What kind of son doesn’t let his mother know he almost died?

The same kind of son who plans on letting her family business go to a stranger.

Not his finest hour.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. This was so not the way he’d imagined his homecoming. Choosing to go to a hotel outside of town for a few days to mentally prepare suddenly seemed like the coward’s way of doing things. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he knew he’d just been delaying the inevitable.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the little white sedan pull away. Without knowing her name or anything of significance about her, Riley knew somehow that the woman was going to be a factor in how things went down with his mother. Growling with frustration, he started his own car and decided he was done mentally preparing himself.

Or hiding, whatever.

He was going back to the hotel to pack his meager belongings, and then he’d do what needed to be done. He was a U.S. Marine, damn it. He had faced the enemy in combat. He’d killed when necessary and walked into dangerous situations where he had no idea who he’d be facing more times than he cared to remember.

And yet the thought of facing his mother was scarier. Still, he knew waiting would not change anything, and he believed in owning up to his fears and overcoming them. She was his mother; she’d raised him. Surely, she would not be surprised when he told her about his plans. On some level, she had to have seen this coming.

He hoped she’d seen this coming.

With everything packed up, he headed to the front desk, checked out, and walked back to his car.

Here we go…

* * *

She closed the heavy front door behind her and promptly sagged against it, thankful to finally be home.

“Is that you, Grace?” a voice called out.

“Yes…” And before she could utter another word, her good friend Corrine was rushing toward her.

“You’re back sooner than I expected. Is everything okay?” One look at her and Corrine had her answer. “Oh no…your leg?”

She nodded.

“I knew you were going to overdo it. Come on, let’s get you on the couch.”

“Corrine, I’ll be fine. I just need…a minute.”

“Please…how many times have I said the exact same thing to you?”

Frowning, she said, “Dozens?”

“And how many times did you listen?”

“None.”

With a look of victory, Corrine helped her cross the main entryway and led her to the sofa in the massive living room. Once she was settled, Corrine looked at her friend and waited.

She knew that look and swiftly rolled her eyes in defeat. “Okay, so I overdid it. I’ll survive.”

“Grace, you know what the therapist said. You have to take these things slowly.”

“How much slower can I possibly take it? It’s been months! Months!” She threw up her hands in disgust. “I’m tired of walking on a treadmill. I’m tired of not being outside and enjoying the fresh air.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Corrine admonished. “No one is locking you away. You can walk outside, just don’t jog every day. Eventually, you’ll build yourself back up.”

“It wasn’t supposed to take this long,” she said softly, emotion welling up inside her. “People break their legs all the time, and within six weeks, they’re back to normal.”

“You broke your leg in four places, Grace. You’re lucky to be walking at all.”

That was something she had heard what seemed like a hundred times while in the hospital and in therapy. Not that she wasn’t thankful that she was, indeed, walking, but she wanted to be back to her old self. Right now, she doubted that would ever happen.

“Look,” Corrine began, “you came here to start over for a new life. This recovery is part of it. I don’t want to see you hurting yourself because you think you have something to prove.”

“I don’t think that,” she protested, but when her eyes met Corrine’s, she knew she was lying. “Okay, so I’m trying to prove to myself that I can be like I was before the accident. That’s not a crime.”

“No, it’s not. But wouldn’t you rather do this the right way so that you can get back to your old self, rather than overdoing it and ruining those chances?”

Grace hated when her friend was right. Well, that wasn’t completely true. She valued Corrine’s honesty and friendship. She just hated when it meant she herself was wrong.

The two had met while Corrine was recovering from hip replacement surgery and staying at the rehabilitation center where Grace had not only spent her own recovery, but was also working as a chef. The two had bonded because she saw a lot of herself in the older woman. Actually, they had gravitated toward one another, and a friendship had been born.

Having lost both of her parents ten years earlier, Grace found in Corrine the mother figure she had been missing. And Corrine? Well, she only had one child—who was in the military and rarely came home—so she figured she was filling a hole in Corrine’s life as well. For whatever reason, they had become fast friends, and when Corrine was released from rehab and ready to go, she had asked Grace to come and help with her bed-and-breakfast in the mountains of North Carolina.

Over their many conversations about their lives, Grace had told Corrine about her previous life as a chef at an exclusive hotel in New York City. Unfortunately, when she returned from the extensive rehabilitation after her skiing accident, she found her position had been filled, and she was out of a job. Not one to sit still for long, she had taken a position in the kitchen at the facility where she had recovered. “Came for the therapy, stayed for the job,” she always said.

“Is this really what you want to do with your life?” Corrine had asked one afternoon.

Grace shook her head. “No, this is definitely not where I imagined myself.”

“So? What’s keeping you here?”

“Essentially, I have no place to go. I don’t have a job to go back to. My roommate put my bigger stuff in storage, sent me my personal items, and found someone who could actually live there and pay the rent. So really, until I find someplace to go, this is it for me.”

“If you could have your dream job, what would it be?”

A slow smile crept across Grace’s face. “My dream? Well, if I delved deep into the fantasy, I’d have to say I want to run a place of my own.”

“A restaurant?”

She shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that. I found the pace at the hotel to be a lot more hectic than I was comfortable with. I think I want something smaller, more intimate. A place where I can create different menus every day. Maybe a café or bistro—you know, a place where I’m not catering to the masses but can actually take the time to leave the kitchen and meet my customers.”

A smile of pure joy crossed Corrine’s face. “Grace, I believe fate has brought us together.”

“Really? Why?”

Corrine looked around as if she wanted to make sure no one was listening before leaning in close. “Back home, I own a bed-and-breakfast.”

“You do? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

Now it was Corrine’s turn to shrug. “People are funny. Most of the time when I mention it, I get asked if they can stay for free. I pick and choose who I share my information with.”

“That’s terrible! I would never expect to get a free night just because we’re friends. I’m sorry people do that to you.”

“You get used to it. But my point is,” she began as she reached out and placed a hand on top of Grace’s, “I’m getting too old to run the place on my own, and I think you would be a perfect fit.”

Looking at her in confusion, she said, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s not only my hip and the recovery that are slowing me down,” Corrine said. “My husband has been gone a long time, and the B&B belonged to my parents, so I’ve been there my entire life. I love what I do—I’ve been doing it since my mid-twenties—and I can’t imagine doing anything else, but…” She sighed. “It’s a lot for one person.”

“How big is your place?”

Corrine’s entire face transformed as she spoke about it. “Oh, Grace, it’s such a lovely place. It’s very rustic. We’re in the mountains of North Carolina, and I have about twenty acres.”

“Wow! That’s huge! How do you maintain it all?” “I have a groundskeeper, Ben. He and I grew up together, and after my husband died, Ben approached me about helping out. At first I told him no, that I’d hire a landscaping company to do it, but he wore me down. He told me they’d rip me off and charge me more than the job was worth. And he was right. They did.”

“That’s terrible.”

Corrine nodded. “Ben always loved working outdoors. He ran a construction company for years, but he said he much preferred working with the land rather than building. So he comes around and makes sure our walking paths are clear and the main house and the few cottages we have are always in good shape.” She blushed slightly. “I have to admit, it’s nice to have a man around the house sometimes.”

“Why, Corrine,” Grace teased lightly. “Do you have a crush on Ben?”

“Don’t be silly—I’m too old to have a crush.”

“You’re never too old to have a crush.” Actually, she thought it was sweet. Even from the little Corrine had shared, Grace had a feeling that, if given the opportunity, Corrine wouldn’t mind having Ben in her life for more than his grounds-keeping skills. But she’d keep that to herself for now.

“The main house is about three thousand square feet, with four guest rooms, and then I have three guest cottages that are each around eight hundred square feet.”

“Do you do all the cooking and cleaning yourself?”

Corrine nodded. “It wasn’t so bad when I was younger or when Jack was alive and Riley was home, but since it’s only me… Well, I believe all of that contributed to the osteoarthritis and this hip replacement.”

“Why don’t you hire someone to at least do the cleaning portion?”

“I could, but it’s hard to admit I can’t take care of it on my own anymore. It’s been my entire life. The thought of strangers working here isn’t easy to come to grips with.”

“What about your son?”

“I’m hoping that once he’s done with the military, he’ll come home, get married, and take it over.” Her eyes welled with tears. “He’s never made it a secret that it’s not what he wants to do with his life, but there’s still a small part of me that prays he’ll change his mind. If I can’t deal with strangers coming in to clean, how will I handle selling my beloved home to strangers to run? To live there?”

She squeezed her friend’s hand. “I can’t even imagine, but I’m still not sure how I fit into all of this.”

“Grace, you have become a very dear friend to me. I know we only met a few weeks ago, but…you’re like the daughter I never had.” Corrine’s voice clogged with emotion. “Jack and I always thought we’d have more children, but that wasn’t in the cards. I love Riley and I miss him so much, but this was never his dream. I think pushing him about it made him enlist in the Marines as soon as he graduated from high school.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she began, but Corrine cut her off.

“I don’t try to kid myself. I pushed a lot, started making plans for him to take over, and the next thing I knew, he was leaving for Parris Island.” She stopped and composed herself. “I don’t know when he’s coming home, or if he ever will. We don’t talk much. I know mainly because he’s been in Afghanistan, but there’s always the possibility…”

“Corrine,” Grace said softly, “don’t think like that. He’ll come back. I’m sure of it.” She actually wasn’t, but she needed to say something to comfort her friend. “You never know. He might come home after years of combat and decide running a bed-and-breakfast is exactly what he wants to do.”

Corrine looked at her doubtfully. “From your lips to God’s ears.” The two women smiled at one another. “The thing is, I really need the help, and I believe you are the perfect person. You are a hard worker and a fabulous cook, and really, I’ve been doing this for so long that it might be a good thing to have a fresh set of eyes to see what I can to put a little life back in the place.”

Grace’s heart beat frantically. It was everything she could ever dream of. A bed-and-breakfast had been on her list of possibilities for her future, but she never thought she’d be able to have one. The thought of running her own kitchen and catering to a small clientele was practically making her giddy. While she knew the place wouldn’t technically be hers, she was certain she and Corrine would work together beautifully.

She looked up and met Corrine’s hopeful gaze. “You’re on.”

That had been eight weeks ago, and when she had showed up at the Snowflake Inn six weeks ago, it had been love at first sight. The house looked like something off of a winter postcard, and the thought of decorating it for Christmas—heck, the thought of having a home for Christmas—was more than Grace had dared to let herself dream of.

Now, sitting on the sofa while Corrine went to get her some ice for her knee, she really felt a sense of belonging. The Snowflake Inn was like no place she had ever seen before. It enveloped you, soothed you. It was as if the structure itself really loved you. In her twenty-eight years of life, she had never lived anywhere that felt so right. She had lived in beautiful homes with her parents, but to her, they were showplaces that always felt cold and unwelcoming. But this? This was a home. Grace jumped when Corrine placed the ice on her knee. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard Corrine come back into the room. “Thank you,” she said with a sigh as she relaxed back on the cushions. “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

The older woman merely made a tsking sound. “Nonsense. I know I do more than I should here some days. But luckily, I catch myself before I do too much harm.”

“I hope I learn to catch myself,” she said with a chuckle. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

Corrine sat beside her. “Well, we don’t have guests coming until Friday, so that gives us three days to finish sprucing up the place.” Since Grace’s arrival, they had spent most of their days refreshing the inn. There had been guests every weekend, but during the week, the two of them had painted and made minor renovations with the help of Ben and some local college students. “There’s not too much left to do. The cabins are the last things on the list, and we don’t have anyone booked for them until next month.”

“Perfect,” she said. “I hope my knee doesn’t slow us down.”

“Don’t worry about that. You know Ben and the crew can handle the heavy stuff. I want you to make sure the kitchen is the way you want it. Make a list of anything else you need, and I’ll go shopping for it.”

“Corrine…” Grace began.

“Stop. I consider you to be my partner in this now.” That discussion had taken place recently. Corrine knew the chances of her son coming home and taking over were between slim to none, but she still wasn’t ready to sell the place or to take on a formal partner, even though she had made the offer and had the money ready to make good on it. Instead, they had agreed that Grace would lend Corrine the money to do the renovations, but it would be paid back. They were informal partners, and who knew? Maybe someday they would make the necessary changes to become formal business partners. “I’m more than ready to do that, Corrine. You know that.”

“I do, and I’m sorry if I’m making you feel like I don’t appreciate the offer.”

“I know you have your reasons, and I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

Corrine smiled. “I’m so thankful for you, Grace. You not only helped to breathe new life into the inn, but you’ve encouraged me to be an active participant in my own life again.”

“You were always an active participant, my friend. You just forgot to go out and have fun once in a while.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I want you to know I appreciate you.” They sat back in companionable silence and then heard a knock at the door. Corrine stood. “I’ll get that.” She made her way to the door and then stopped dead in her tracks.

Clearly she was seeing things.

It wasn’t possible.

Turning, she noticed Corrine’s still form in the entryway. “Corrine? Are you okay?” She tried to stand and grimaced at the pain in her leg.

“It’s not possible,” Corrine whispered, a hand lying across her heart.

“Corrine? You’re scaring me. Who is it?”

She turned toward Grace, her complexion pale. “It’s Jack.”

Get your copy of THE SNOWFLAKE INN here:

https://www.chasing-romance.com/the-snowflake-inn

Also by Samantha Chase

The Magnolia Sound Series:

Sunkissed Days

Remind Me

A Girl Like You

In Case You Didn’t Know

All the Befores

And Then One Day

Can’t Help Falling in Love

Last Beautiful Girl

The Way the Story Goes

Since You’ve Been Gone

Nobody Does It Better

Wedding Wonderland

Always on my Mind

Kiss the Girl

Meet Me at the Altar:

The Engagement Embargo

With this Cake

You May Kiss the Groomsman

The Proposal Playbook

Groomed to Perfection

The I Do Over

The Enchanted Bridal Series:

The Wedding Season

Friday Night Brides

The Bridal Squad

Glam Squad & Groomsmen

Bride & Seek

The RoadTripping Series:

Drive Me Crazy

Wrong Turn

Test Drive

Head Over Wheels

The Montgomery Brothers Series:

Wait for Me

Trust in Me

Stay with Me

More of Me

Return to You

Meant for You

I’ll Be There

Until There Was Us

Suddenly Mine

A Dash of Christmas

The Shaughnessy Brothers Series:

Made for Us

Love Walks In

Always My Girl

This is Our Song

Sky Full of Stars

Holiday Spice

Tangled Up in You

Band on the Run Series:

One More Kiss

One More Promise

One More Moment

The Christmas Cottage Series:

The Christmas Cottage

Ever After

Silver Bell Falls Series:

Christmas in Silver Bell Falls

Christmas On Pointe

A Very Married Christmas

A Christmas Rescue

Christmas Inn Love

The Christmas Plan

Life, Love & Babies Series:

The Baby Arrangement

Baby, Be Mine

Baby, I’m Yours

Preston’s Mill Series:

Roommating

Speed Dating

Complicating

The Protectors Series:

Protecting His Best Friend’s Sister

Protecting the Enemy

Protecting the Girl Next Door

Protecting the Movie Star

7 Brides for 7 Soldiers:

Ford

7 Brides for 7 Blackthornes:

Logan

Standalone Novels:

Jordan’s Return

Catering to the CEO

In the Eye of the Storm

A Touch of Heaven

Moonlight in Winter Park

Waiting for Midnight

Mistletoe Between Friends

Snowflake Inn

His for the Holidays

Wildest Dreams (currently unavailable)

Going My Way (currently unavailable)

Going to Be Yours (currently unavailable)

About Samantha Chase

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot.  She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than eighty titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017!  She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 32 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

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