Page 14 of The Make-Believe Marriage

“I have a present for you and a request,” Tom says when I walk down the stairs the next morning, wearing my Santa pajamas.

“That sounds familiar. What is it this time? Want me to pretend to be your sister?” I quip, taking the cup of coffee he holds out for me. It has a sprinkle of cinnamon in it which somehow makes it feel and taste festive.

“Cookie?” he asks, sitting back down on the couch where he must have been waiting for me.

“Tell me about this request first,” I say, sitting next to him and snuggling into his side.

“Sure you don’t want your present first?” he asks.

“Definitely not. Bad news first. What do you want?” I push myself up and turn, worried by his delay tactics.

“It’s nothing bad. I ... I was hoping you’d come with me to my parents’ house and meet the rest of my family.” He looks more vulnerable now than he did last night.

“Are they worse than your sister?” I ask, wrapping my hands more tightly around the Santa mug to soak up the warmth from the coffee.

“No. They’re nice. I think you’ll like them.” He grins before reaching for something under the coffee table and coming back with a package wrapped in shiny red paper.

“Hold on.” I put down my cup and run upstairs, pulling the gift bag that held his gift out of my closet.

Tom hasn’t moved an inch when I rush back down and hold the bag out to him.

“How do you want to do this?” he asks, exchanging presents with me.

“Let’s open them together. And by the way, it’s nothing big. I didn’t know we were ... you know.” I feel the warmth rising in my cheeks at the thought of our kisses last night.

“Doing this?” He leans forward and gives me another one. It’s sweet and over too soon, but I can taste the coffee on his lips.

“Pretty much.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling unsure about the gift I’d picked out days ago.

“I’m sure I’ll love it. Open yours,” he prompts, looking at me with those soft eyes of his.

“Together,” I say, and he nods, pulling tissue paper from the bag when I start to rip the wrapping paper.

Under it, I discover a box with a beautiful hanging plant holder.

“You mentioned your spider plant needed a larger pot. I thought this would work well. You can hang it up in whatever light that plant needs. I can’t remember if it prefers direct or indirect sunlight.”

“That’s so sweet. Now look at yours.” I watch him reach into the bag and pull out the gourmet garlic press I picked out.

“Interesting choice.” He grins and moves it around, looking at it from all angles.

“Since you like garlic and I loved that pasta dish you made, I thought it was something you could use.” I refuse to be too embarrassed of my practical gift. We weren’t more than friends helping each other out when I got it.

“Very thoughtful. I’ll have to cook for you more often. Especially since you can’t.”

I throw a pillow at him in mock rage, which only results in him tackling me and pinning me under him before kissing me senseless.

“You never answered me,” he says when he lets go of me much too soon. “About meeting my family.”

“I guess I could do that. When do they expect you?” I ask, sitting up and smoothing out my pjs.

“In about half an hour.”

“What? You can’t be serious.” I jump up and run upstairs, taking the steps two at a time while mentally flipping through my outfit options, desperate for something that screamed meeting the parents of the love of your life.

“Mom, Dad, this is Krysten. My girlfriend.” Tom holds my hand and pulls me inside the modest ranch on the other side of town. “You’ve met my sister, Stephanie.”

Stephanie smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. I’m sure it’s all she can do not to blurt out, “I knew it.” To her credit, she doesn’t, but I can feel she isn’t happy to see me. Tom’s mother is another story.

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