Page 50 of Fake It for Christmas

“Shane! How does this freakin’ coffee machine work?” my aunt’s voice came from the kitchen.

“We’ve got to head in,” I told Rowen, bringing him inside.

“How long until we all leave for the party?”

“We’ve got an hour,” I said. “An hour of last-minute baking and cooking and yelling before we all head to my parents’ place.”

“Oh my good golly,” Aunt Jeanine said as I walked into the kitchen with Rowen. “Look athim!”

She went in and immediately wrapped her arms around Rowen in a big hug.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Rowen said.

“Shane told me that he was dating someone and I just about dropped dead,” my aunt said.

“Aunt Jeanine, don’t embarrass me,” I groaned.

“What? It’s been too long,” she protested. “I was so happy to hear it. How are you doing today, Rowen? I hope you’re ready to help peel some potatoes.”

Rowen laughed. “I should probably take this blazer off, but yes, I amveryready to peel potatoes.”

I watched as Rowen seamlessly blended in with my family. Frankie and his fiance came over and introduced themselves too, and before long all of them were peeling and chopping veggies together while Aunt Jeanine told us plenty of stories from past Christmas parties. We baked up a cranberry cake andfinished up the mashed potatoes and roasted green beans, and in a flash, an hour had gone by.

“You ready to go, babe?” I said offhandedly to Rowen in the kitchen before I caught myself.

Everyone else was outside, and we were the only ones in here. I’d had no reason to say that, no reason to fake it when it was just us here.

But Rowen didn’t miss a beat.

“Got to grab my blazer, but I’m good to go,” he said. He leaned in, giving me a kiss on the side of my head.

Something bloomed in my chest.

He was doing it, too.

The moment stretched out a little between us, and when I looked in his eyes, all I felt was… connection. Real connection.

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to my lips as he reached down, squeezing my hip with one hand.

“You handle my family so well,” I murmured. “It’s going to be ten times the craziness at the party.”

“I love it,” he said. “Kiss me again.”

Fuck.

I kissed him immediately, not pausing to give a damn about the fact that we were doing this for no real reason. I sighed against his lips, calmer than I’d been all day.

My heart ached.

I didn’t want this to end after today. After tonight’s party there would be no real reason for us to hang out together. It was a long shot with the Fixer Brothers, and if I was being realistic, I knew we probably wouldn’t end up on the TV show.

In fact, tonight could be the last time I even hung out with Rowen for an extended period of time.

I didn’t want to face that reality.

So instead I just let myself kiss him.

12

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