Page 35 of A Christmas Bargain

But I was working on a solution now. It wasn’t a traditional means of doing business, bartering with my time as a fakegirlfriend, but Iwasaccomplishing an agreement of some kind. I’d get it in writing later.

Derek seemed like a man of his word.

So long as he didn’t try to be a man who’d mess with my heart.

Pretending to date him was something I could walk away from in the end. But getting involved any deeper would be an obstacle to my dedication to my career.

“I really only need to be seen with you. To deter them.”

“Yeah.”

“For it to look believable instead of my just telling them to back off.”

“Yeah. I see that. Wait!”

He jerked back at my louder remark.

“What about Naomi?”

“What about her?”

I cringed. “I don’t like the idea that I’d be lying to her. We wouldn’t tell her, right?”

The responding smile he gave me was slow and sweet. Like he was touched that I’d consider her feelings.

“I don’t mind pretending and lying to everyone in Preston, but she’s just a kid and…”

“We won’t tell her. She can see us being together and form whatever opinions she wants.”

But what about afterward?I didn’t like the chance of hurting her at all.

“And then after the new year, we can just… break up. A mutual breakup as you go back to Denver for work.”

“Sure. That’s… Sure.”

“Think you can do it?” he said teasingly.

“Pretend to date you?” I blew a raspberry and rolled my eyes. “Easy.”

“You’ve got a secret background in acting?”

“No. But it can’t be that hard.”

He furrowed his brow. “You’re not seeing anyone, are you?”

I laughed. “A little late to check on that detail. No, I’m not. For so long, I’ve focused on work. On my career. It’s been go, go, go for years, and I’ve never really had the time or energy to concentrate on finding dates or seeing if any men would stick.”

He studied me, seeming to search my face. For what, I didn’t know. “Well, now you can have a taste of a different perspective of life for a while.”

I smiled, not as intimidated by that prospect as I thought I might be. Slow down? Be laidback and take it easy? It sounded so foreign.

As I looked into Derek’s deep blue eyes, I realized this change of pace might just be what I needed for the holidays.

And it’ll help me recover the loss and save the company, too.

It would be a win-win.

Right?

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