Page 20 of Screw Christmas
“You really are sucking up,” I said. Licking my lips, I felt a childlike giddiness come over me.
“The least I could do. Now go take a seat at the table, I’ll serve up the food in a few minutes.”
Doing as told, I made my way around the island and took a seat at the table which he’d already gotten set for us. “How did your meeting with the agent go?” Looking at the table, my grin widened. He’d bought a few long-stemmed, red roses and had them as the centerpiece for the table.
He kept his back to me while he drained the spaghetti and mixed it with the sauce. “It went well, she’s already lined up six auditions for me next week. I have a stack of scripts to go through, maybe later you could read lines with me?”
“Auditions for what?”
“One’s a soap opera. There’s a couple of small parts in movies and three television shows.”
“Nice. Will there be much competition?”
“Probably.” Grabbing a couple of plates, he began plating it up.
I really hoped that it worked out for him. It wasn’t an easy career to break into.
As if reading my mind. “But don’t worry, I’ll be getting a regular job and getting out of your hair before you know it. I know having me here is a bit of a hassle.”
The thought of him leaving hit me a little harder than I expected it to. “Don’t feel like I’m rushing you or anything.” I shrugged hoping my true feelings of disappointment weren’t showing through.
“I know.” Placing the plates on the table, he sat down across from me. “You’re a good person, I don’t want to overstay my welcome—that’s all. And I hope what happened between us last night isn’t going to make it awkward. It’s something that happened.”
My heart sank, feeling the ache straight through to my bones. Fuck, why did I have to let myself get fooled into thinking last night was anything more than stress relief? He’d been a playboy back then and he was one now.
Forcing a smile to my lips, I shook my head. “Of course not. We’re adults and we let the moment and the holiday go to our heads. No strings attached.”
He hesitated a moment. I could have sworn I saw a flash of something in his eyes, but it was gone before I could verify or not. “Exactly what I was thinking. Anything beyond that, considering our history and our parents’ history would be a bad idea.”
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Chapter 10
Maya
“What is it about Christmas that you hate so much? I mean it’s not that bad.” Dylan asked flopping himself down on the sofa next to me.
“I never said it was horrible, it’s just not all it’s cracked up to be.”
Grabbing the remote, I flicked on the television hoping that it would dissuade him from attempting to continue the conversation, after our supper conversation, I felt silence would be the best all-around. I’d let my childhood fantasies of being with him override my common sense. Of course, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I couldn’t be so lucky.
“There’s something more.” His eyes narrowed at me. “I can feel it. You used to love it too much. You’d be trying to put up decorations in early November and get annoyed when you were forced to wait until December first.”
“I grew up.” I motioned towards the television. “So, if you don’t mind.”
“Hmm.”
I watched him as he clapped his palms onto his knees and stood up making his way to the kitchen while pretending to be engrossed in the stupid sitcom that was on, wondering what he was up to. We just had supper; surely, he couldn’t be hungry again.
“You may have become a holiday Grinch, but I know what you will have. Those Christmas chocolate truffles that come out each year that you love. Where are they?” He began to rummage through the cupboard on a hunt for the candy that didn’t exist. Well, not that it didn’t exist, it certainly had, however I’d just eaten it all already gorging on it as a way to fill the void I felt this holiday season. My diet was generally quite healthy—it had to be in order to be in the line of work that I was in—but I indulged from time to time.
“I don’t have any.”
He looked over the breakfast nook to catch my gaze. “You’re lying. Where are they?”
“In my stomach days ago. They’re gone.”
“Bullshit, you always keep some extra around until well past New Year’s as an extra little treat.”
