Page 1 of Christmas of Convenience

Chapter One

Jen

“This isn’t something I make a habit of. Cut me some slack!” I stare at my friend Heather with firm intent. Maybe if I look confident, my decisions will sound more confident too.

She laughs, “Yeah, no slack here. Sorry. I mean, what are the chances that a guy who owns a Christmas tree farm is also an axe murderer?”

“I mean, he already owns the axe, so I guess it’s possible.” I laugh at my own joke, but my stomach tightens a little as I speak. I don’t usually make a habit of getting together with men I meet online.

“You should’ve talked to him more before you flew out there. I mean, what if he’s not even who he says he is?” Heather and I met at work a few years back and we became fast friends. She’s the school counselor, which explains a lot.

“I didn’t want to jinx it.”

“What exactly are we jinxing bytalkingto the man? Talkingseems like the least of the requirements before meeting up with someone. Do I need to give you the pamphlet on online dating? I feel like teenage girls have more sense about this than you right now.”

“Ouch! You jealous or what?”

She lets out a short laugh and I have a feeling I’ve struck a chord. “No. I’m not jealous of your paid boyfriend. I’m just, ugh… I’m being a bitch. Sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Bryan broke up with me last night. Well, technically, I broke up with him, then he told me he was planning on breaking up with me anyway, so…”

“What the hell? What happened, babe? I’m so sorry!” I roll my suitcase through the busy airport as I hold the phone to my ear, attempting to filter Heather’s voice out from the announcements and Christmas music playing over the speakers. I’m not sure how many more times I can hear the same Mariah Carey song, but the universe is tempting my sanity as we speak.

“He’d been acting weird lately, so I showed up at his office last week and followed him to lunch with some girl.” Her voice shakes when she talks. “He was… yeah. I… he was cheating. I don’t know for how long.”

“Jesus, babe!” I’m gutted for Heather. She’s one of the sweetest people I know. The kind of person who spends days coming up with plans for families in need of their free time. The kind of person who looks out for everyone else before herself.

“Why didn’t you tell me before I left? I would have brought you out here with me. You guys were together for as long as I can remember. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I’m fine, just feeling dumb and not sure what I’m doing for Christmas anymore. We had this whole thing planned. How could he be shopping for Christmas gifts with me and also,” she huffs out a sigh, “it doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Love is just some stupid excuse to get people to help with your bills.”

“Okay… you’re coming out to Rugged Mountain. I’ll send you a ticket. Consider it my Christmas gift.”

“No, you’re not buying me a plane ticket last minute on Christmas Eve. That’s insane. I know how much money we make. Besides, I’ll be fine here with Fargo.”

“You are not spending Christmas alone with your cat. You’re coming here to spend Christmas watching me make an ass out of myself. End of story.” I pull up the flights as I talk. There’s one left leaving in the next hour and arriving in Colorado Springs right after the eclipse. “I’ve got you on the two o’clock. Throw some shit in a bag, ask your neighbor to feed the cat, and get to the airport. I’m sending the ticket right now.”

“What?”

“Yes! Now go get ready. Maybe you’ll meet a nice, big, mountain man who can help remind you how great you are.”

I can almost hear her eyes roll. “The last thing I need right now is another man, but since I see you’ve already bought the ticket, I guess I’m on my way. How are you? Throwing up yet?”

The automatic glass doors that lead onto the sidewalk open and I pull my small suitcase through, making note of every truck, car, and SUV currently waiting. None of them are Sam. “Kind of. I know this is dumb. This guy is way out of my league, and everyone is going to see straight through the little play I’m putting on. I just,” I blow out a heavy breath, “I can’t take another holiday alone.”

Security motions for the cars parked in the drop-off zone to move. “I can wait here for you. I mean, you’ll be out here in—”

“No way. I’ll rent a car and catch up with you wherever you’re at. You have a man to meet.”

Right,a man to meet. Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I watch a family of four stand with their rolling cases in hand, waving down an SUV with a taxi sign on it. They’re dressed like they’re going skiing for the week, or maybe spending Christmas in some fancy cabin in the mountains.Everything about them is normal, and it’s never been more glaringly obvious that I’m not.

“Maybe I should bail on this whole thing. The cinnamon rolls smelled pretty good walking through the terminals. I could order two with a coffee and wait for you. I bet we could rent our own cabin and have a girls’ Christmas.”

“Next year, for sure. This year… you’ve just paid a man two grand to give you an adventure. I think you need to see how this plays out.”

When I hear it out loud, I sound desperate.Lord, am I this desperate?

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