Page 3 of Christmas of Convenience

In the flesh, this whole situation is much different. First off, she’s way younger than I thought she was. Second, she’s cute as fuck in this nerdy little kitten sweater and light up earrings. Third, I’m clearly hornier than I thought I was.

“So, what should I know about you before we head out there today?”

She glances at me. “Oh, yeah… well, I guess you should know what I do for a living. I’m a schoolteacher. Third grade.”

“The kitten sweater makes sense now.”

Her cheeks turn red and she looks away, tugging on the knit fabric. “Oh, yeah. It’s… something.”

“No, I like it. Really. You look cute.” I think women hate being called cute. I remember that after I’ve said it. “Teaching is a difficult job. You like it?”

“Yeah,” she glances back toward me, knotting her small hands together as she talks, “love it. I get to be around kids allday. We do a lot of reading. They like all the voices I make for the different characters. Is the tree farm a year-round thing, or…”

“Yeah, we breed reindeer and horses all year, and we’ve got seasonal produce. Peaches in the spring, berries come summer, apples in the fall, and, of course, pine trees all winter long.” I clear my throat as I transition our conversation by saying, “I’ve been meaning to ask, how’d you findme?I wanted to ask you over the phone, but the few conversations we had always led to altitude concerns.”

She smiles and brushes her dark hair back away from her face. I can’t figure out why she’d need to pay a man for attention. She’s beautiful. Big brown eyes, bright smile, silky hair, thick curves. The girl’s got it all.

“Yeah, I was worried about the altitude, okay? And… my parents heard this was the best place to watch the eclipse, so they decided to celebrate Christmas here too. They’re renting a cabin in the area. I was tasked with finding somewhere to cut down the tree and your place popped up.”

“And how did you get to the part where you were hiring me for love?”

She narrows her brows playfully and relaxes her shoulders.Humor.Humor loosens her up. I need to make a note of that for later.

“I’m not hiring you for love. It’s just for show, and I don’t know why anymore, to be honest. I went overboard on the eggnog one night, sent the email, and the rest is history. I really can’t believe I’m even here. I mean, everyone is going to see right through this.”

“Why is it so important they see you with someone?” I pull into the steakhouse and park beneath the flashing neon lights. The Springs is a medium-sized city about an hour from Rugged Mountain and the number of cars buzzing around here proves it. I’m all for a good group of friends, but I’m not for the city life.

“My sister got married last year, and she’s currently seven months pregnant. Get where this is going?”

I nod and step from the truck, rounding to open the door for her. “So, you’re the one falling behind? They give you a hard time about it?”

“More than a hard time.” She wraps her coat around her curved frame tightly as a cold wind whips across the parking lot. “My mother is brutal. She’s compared my sister and I our entire lives. I think it’s the twin thing. No matter what, Jessa is always doing something better than me. Math class, dance class, dating, cooking, fashion, makeup, you name it, she’s better at it than I am.”

“Well, that can’t be true. You’re… I mean,” I scan her cute little frame up and down slowly, wanting her to know that I genuinely like what I see, “look at you.”

She glances down at herself, then draws her gaze toward me. “Trust me, you haven’t metJessayet. She’s perfect and my mom loves it. Not to mention that I think there’s a part of my mom that gets off on seeing her daughters stressed. Like if we’re at odds with each other, she gets to be the one in between who gets everyone’s attention.”

“Why would she do that?” I open the door and hold two fingers up for the hostess. It’s Christmas Eve, and the place is nearly empty. I imagine most folks are with their families right now. Truthfully, it’s whereIshould be. The guys are putting the last bit of work into the eclipse party and I’m up here gallivanting around the Springs with a woman I only just met… for cash none the less.

Jen glares at me. “She lives vicariously through Jessa. Every accomplishment or compliment my sister gets makes my mom feel like she’s getting them, too. But when it comes to me, she has to distance herself. She can’t tie herself to the family loser.”

“You’re not a loser,” I say, following the silver-haired hostess toward a small table in the back near a cozy little fireplace with a Christmas tree stood lit nearby. I wonder if it’s one of ours. “You’re accomplished. You care for kids. That’s huge. I mean, what does your sister do?”

She sighs hard enough that I feel the heat from her breath from across the table. “She’s a model. Bathing suits, underwear… she’s like perfect. Long blonde hair, tight little body, skin like an Indonesian pearl. I don’t know. It’s so weird seeing a perfect version of myself every single day. It’s like the world is screaming at me, reminding me… ‘Hey, Jen. This is what you could be if you cared about life and took care of yourself.’It’s depressing, ya know?”

I nod and bite back a smile. “Do you want to model?”

Her brows narrow as the waiter steps toward the table and fills our glasses with water, offering us a wine menu.

“We have a Christmas Eve selection of Prosecco and White Merlot. Also, today we’re offering our filet mignon with roasted rosemary potatoes and a street corn succotash. Can I interest you in any of these specials?”

“I’ll have the steak. No wine, but a beer if you have it,” Jen says, before glancing toward me.

Damn! This girl keeps getting better and better. We’re going to enjoy a steak and a beer. Most women I’ve dated would’ve gone for a grilled chicken salad and a glass of shit wine, but it has been a while. Maybe times have changed.

“I’ll have the same.” I nod toward the waiter dressed in all black. “And if you still have those little lava cakes, we’ll take a couple of those too.”

The waiter takes our order and heads to the back of the house as I turn my attention to the girl in front of me

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