Page 33 of A Christmas Bargain

“Would it be too intrusive of me to ask why you don’t just… have a girlfriend?” I winced as the words left my lips. No matter how I delivered the question, it felt nosy.We’ve only just met!That wasn’t a question anyone should be asking too soon.

“I don’t want one.”

Oh. Wow.I did my best not to react with a flinch. His reply was so final, so cold.

“I’m not ready for one,” he amended, perhaps belatedly realizing how firm he sounded. “Since my wife passed away, I’ve focused on raising Naomi the best I can.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I told him sincerely.

“Thank you. It’s been years. She passed away during childbirth.”

“Oh, whoa. So Naomi never even knew her.”

He shook his head. “No. But we’ve… been fine. We’ve figured out how to make this work.” He furrowed his brow, glancing to the side for a moment. “Just the two of us. Unfortunately, my sister disagrees and is convinced that I have to find a woman to make us ‘complete’.”

“I bet she’s thinking that Naomi would benefit from having a maternal figure in her life.”

“Yeah. A female role model. I get that.”

“But she’s her aunt, and from the little I saw at the market, she’s involved.”

He nodded.

“And there’s nothing wrong with being raised by a single parent.” I couldn’t speak from too much firsthand experience on that note. My mother passed away when I was older, but herabsence was a hard thing to adjust to. Dad had done the best he could with Grace and me going into our tween and pre-teen years without a mother to guide us. But I had known her. She hadn’t passed away when giving birth to either of us like Naomi’s mother had. That made a difference. “My dad raised me and my sister. And we turned out fine.”

Mostly.I held back a cringe as I wondered if anyone could ever claim to be fine and a wholly adjusted adult. Grace was reckless. I was a workaholic. No one was perfect.

He smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Are you…” I pursed my lips, lowering my gaze. “Are you just waiting for the right time?” These still felt like intrusive questions and the answers wouldn’t be my business. “If you’re not ready but might be when Naomi is older, wouldn’t it be wiser to avoid a fake dating ordeal and bide your time for the real thing?”

“You’re acting like this is a grand plan I’ve been sitting on for a while.”

“Is it?” I asked.

“No. I just thought of it.” He chuckled lightly. “Just coming in here and seeing them all flocking like that. It’s annoying. It’s getting old, no matter how many times I tell them no, thanks.”

“Ah. The pains of being sexy.”

Oh. My God.My cheeks went warm again.

“Thanks?” he said, voicing it like a question yet not.

“So, um, no worries about this lasting, then? This fake…” I gestured between us. “Fake dating.”

“Just until the end of the year. Just for some peace and quiet. I don’t want to be too forward, but you’re… I like being near you. It’s not hard. It’s not like I have to deal with any pressure. You’re easy to get along with, Claire. We’ve only just met, but you even get along with Naomi.”

I scrunched my face. “Well, of course, I do. She’s funny. And smart.” I hated the thought of another adult implying that curious little girl wasn’t easy to handle.

“You’re saying that if I do this, you’ll sell some of your property?” He had plenty of it to spare, but I doubted he’d be letting go of anything too close to his home that he shared with Naomi.

“Yeah.” He didn’t look me in the eye for long.

“How much?”

“Some.”

Hmm.That was vague. Still, I smiled, sticking with this weird mesh of mixing business with pleasure. Well, not that kind of pleasure. Fake pleasure? Weweretalking about a deal, and I had to keep my eye on the end goal. “I doubt you’re planning to move or anything…”

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