Page 9 of A Very Grumpy Thanksgiving

“Of course.”

I had asked him about his favorite foods yesterday when we were driving around together. I figure that the least I can do is feed him. Our deal isn’t really fair. He and I both have to be able to see that it’s heavily in my favor. I mean, he’s fixing up my whole house, and I’m going to one family holiday meal with him in return.

Why does he even need a fake girlfriend? I mean, Nolan is so handsome. I’m sure that he could convince anyone to go out with him. So, why me?

“You don’t have to keep feeding me,” he tells me as he heads into the kitchen and starts to clean up.

I watch the muscles in his back flex as he leans over the sink and washes his hands.

“I don’t mind. I mean, we both have to eat. It will be nice to cook in the kitchen here once that’s finished,” I say, looking around the space.

“I’ll work on that next.”

“Oh, I didn’t… I wasn’t saying that to rush you or anything,” I start, and he shakes his head.

“No, it will work out since the cabinets will be in before the bathroom stuff.”

I nod and grab some paper plates, handing one to him.

“How was work?” he asks as we each grab a slice.

“It was good. Busy. We started up some book clubs, and they all came in today to pick out their next book of the month.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Thanks. It’s helped with business. It was Ginger’s idea, actually. She’s amazing with all this marketing stuff.”

“Does she own part of the bookstore?” he asks me, and I shake my head.

“Nope, it’s just mine. She helps us all out with our shops. She’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.”

“How did you land on a bookstore?” he asks as he takes a big bite of his slice.

“I’ve always loved books. Out of all of us, I was the shyest. I was the quiet, nerdy sister who always had her face buried in a book, so opening my own bookstore was kind of a no-brainer.”

He smiles slightly, and I grab a slice and add it to my plate.

“What about you? What will you do now that you’re out of the military?”

“Well, I have some time to figure it out. I don’t need much, and I get checks now that I’m medically discharged.”

“You haven’t been getting bored? Just staying home all of the time?” I ask him curiously, and he shrugs.

“A bit. Doing this has been helping,” he says with a small smile, and I laugh.

“Well, I’m happy to help. If you ever feel bored after all of this, let me know and I’m sure that I could find something else for you to do.”

I don’t mean for that to come out so sexual, but it does. My cheeks flame and I know that they must be as red as my hair as I stare at Nolan. He’s staring at me, his pizza slice halfway to his mouth. I can’t tell if I’m waiting for him to say something or if I would rather that the ground opened up and swallowed me whole.

“I—” I start, but I’m saved by my phone ringing. “Oh, thank god,” I mumble as I scramble to answer it. “Sorry, I should take this,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Hello?” I answer as I head out to the front porch.

“Hi, I’m with Cellular Live, and I was calling to see if you would be interested in switching over your phone?—”

I hang up and groan as I scrub my hands down my still-hot face.I need to get it together,I think as I head back inside.Remember that this is just fake to him.

“I was thinking, we should get our story straight,” I tell him as I head back into the kitchen.

---