Page 51 of Fa-La-La-La Faking It
“Merry Christmas,” she said, and then turned her attention to Jace.
He rose from the velvet throne, peeling off his fake beard as he walked toward her, eyes twinkling.
“Wow. I mean, just...wow.” She crossed her arms and mock-glared at him. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
“That’s right. You’ve always had a thing for Santa, haven’t you? Tell me, though. How exactly have I been holding out on you?” He grinned, but now that he was just an arm’s length away, Adaline could see a strain at the edges of his smile that she hadn’t spotted lurking beneath the fake beard and mustache all afternoon.
“I had no idea you had Santa Claus–level charisma. Tell me the truth. Is this Christmas tree farm of yours located at the actual North Pole?” She gave the white fuzzball at the end of his Santa hat a tug.
“Nope. It’s right here in Texas, I promise.” He cleared his throat. “Although, I’m not sure I’ll have it for long. I got an offer on it last week, actually.”
Adaline blinked. “I didn’t realize it was for sale.”
“It’s not, exactly. Life at the farm has been on hold while I’ve been here dealing with Gus. The offer just came out of the blue.” Jace dragged the hat from his head and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it just enough to give him a rather appealing case of bedhead.
Adaline tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but she was confused. Did this mean he was staying in Bluebonnet? Permanently?
“Ford didn’t mention it to you?” Jace asked, looking the slightest bit chagrined.
Ford knew about this? Was that the only reason Jace had decided to tell her?
She tried not to feel deflated. Jace didn’t owe her a thing. It wasn’t as if they were really, truly in love. “He didn’t, but that’s great. I’m happy for you.”
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it yet, and today...” His voice drifted off and he shook his head. “Let’s just say today has been a lot. This was a nice reprieve. I’m glad you called me and asked me to help. I actually thought you might be avoiding me.”
He searched her gaze, and she didn’t have the heart to lie to him. She’d told so many whoppers lately, and oddly enough, he was the one person she couldn’t bear to tell anything but the unfiltered truth.
“I was. I thought maybe I needed a cleanse to get you out of my system.” Her cheeks went warm as he regarded her. If he laughed at her, she was going to strangle him with that silly Santa hat still dangling from his fingers.
Fuzzy glanced up at them, his little head swiveling from Jace to Adaline and back again.
Jace didn’t laugh. He didn’t even crack a smile. “Did the cleanse work?”
“No.” She felt herself frown. “Unfortunately.”
“I thought we might need some time apart too.” He reached for her hand and tugged her closer until she could see tiny flecks of gold in the depths of his evergreen irises. “I hated every minute of it.”
Her lips inched upward into a grin. “You did?”
Jace nodded. “Worst idea I ever had.”
“Worse than pretending to be my boyfriend?” she asked as he ran a thumb over her palm, their hands still intertwined.
His answer was unequivocal. “One hundred percent.”
“I hated it too,” she whispered, just barely loud enough for him to hear.
He squeezed her hand in acknowledgment. This was new...this raw and unflinching honesty. She wanted to acknowledge it somehow and show him she really meant it.
So she met his gaze full-on and did it the best way she knew how—by breaking another rule. Only this time, she did it intentionally. “No more cleanses. Okay, Jingle Babe?”
“That’s the single most ridiculous endearment I’ve ever heard, but I’ll take it.” He tipped her chin upward with a touch of his fingertips and kissed her with a tenderness that felt like it broke her heart and stitched it back together all at the same time.
And then while she was still reeling, he murmured against her mouth. “Adaline.”
No one had ever said her name like that before—like it was something rare and sacred. A shiver coursed through her. “Yes?”
“I need to show you something.” His forehead crinkled, and there it was again—the tension in his face she’d spotted earlier.
