My plans included consuming copious amounts of hot chocolate and digging into a new sports romance series. I might not have been a sports girl, but I couldn’t get enough of hockey romances, especially during the winter.
Anything to distract myself from thoughts of my husband-to-be.
Noelle laughed. “I’m planning to brainstorm my next book when this one isn’t trying to get me down the mountain.”
Matthew ruffled her red hair. “You know you’re going to love it. Plus, I’ll be by your side the whole time, sweetheart.”
“Babe,” she groaned. “You’re messing up my hair.”
He smirked and kissed her cheek before leaving the two of us standing in the driveway.
“What are you guys doing with Snowball while we’re gone for the weekend?” I asked her, thinking of their large samoyed that was always excited when we came over.
“Oh, Matthew’s sister Tessa is in town for the holidays, and she’s staying at the house while we’re in Bend.”
“That worked out well, huh?” I had met Matthew’s little sister before, and like him, she had tall stature, striking blue eyes, and perfect Hollywood blonde waves. It was no wonder that she’d gone into acting, spending most of her year working out of Los Angeles.
Noelle nodded. “Really well. And I think he misses having her close.”
“Good thing she’s home for Christmas then, huh?”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “What about you? First Christmas living with D, huh?” Noelle nudged me, and I couldn’t help my blush as I watched Matthew and Daniel talking near the truck. “Any fun plans?”
“Oh. It’s just a few days after the wedding, so… I’m not sure yet.” I bit my lip.
Noelle raised an eyebrow. “When are you guys going on your honeymoon?”
How do you tell your best friendI’m not, because this marriage is totally a sham to hide the fact that I don’t want to be alone anymore and we’re just faking being in love?Oh, right—you don’t.
Instead, I lied. “Oh, we’re thinking about waiting until summer.” I shrugged. “It makes more sense.”
“Sure…”
“Ready to go, you two?” Daniel called out, distracting Noelle from asking me any further questions. Thank goodness.
“What time are we meeting the others?” He asked Matthew, the two guys promptly shutting the back of the truck bed now that everything was inside.
“Around thirty minutes, I believe.” We were meeting them and then all caravanning down to the house we rented together. Hunter, Gabbi, Angelina and Benjamin were all riding in Hunter’s jeep, since we figured carpooling would be easier than taking four cars.
“Shotgun,” Noelle announced with a wink, like she was doing me a favor so I could sit next to my fiancé. At least, she thought she was. I should thank her, but I couldn’t help but panic about our current situation. Faking it in this close proximity would be… interesting.
Daniel slung his arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer into his body, my head practically resting against his chest. “Let’s do this.”
Let’s hope our acting skills were up to the test for the weekend.
Otherwise, our friends were going to see right through us.
CHAPTER12
Daniel
“Are you good?” I murmured to Charlotte, squeezing her knee as we drove through the mountains, riding in the backseat.
Hunter, Gabbi, Benjamin and Angelina were riding in the jeep behind us, and I was grateful the weather on the pass wasn’t so bad that neither of our cars required chains, and the snow tires we swapped to every winter were enough.
She gave me a tight nod, and I knew something was on her mind, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what was causing her to retreat into her mind.
“Hey.” I wished I could reassure her further, but Matthew and Noelle were sitting in the front seat, and for all they knew, we were happily engaged. “It’s gonna be fine.”