Page 31 of Her Holiday Arrangement
The table quieted slightly. Just enough to feel the pause.
Riley’s eyes widened, briefly, beautifully, and then she fumbled, her fork tapping the edge of her plate. “Oh! Um. Well…”
“We met through work,” Elizabeth said smoothly, cutting in with a practiced smile. “We worked together for months, but then, it just became more.”
Riley turned to her in subtle gratitude, and Elizabeth let her hand slide slightly further down her leg under the table. A quiet, unspoken reassurance.
“Isn’t that a bit unethical?” Julian drawled, not looking up.
“Only if you assume I can’t separate professional from personal,” Elizabeth said. Her voice was level, composed. “Which I can.”
There was a beat of silence. Elizabeth lifted her water glass and took a sip.
Annette dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Well. It’s just so… delightful to have Riley here for the holidays. We weren’t sure if you’d be bringing anyone.” Her tone was almost polite. Almost.
Elizabeth’s fingers curled slightly against Riley’s knee. Riley’s hand brushed hers, gently, almost imperceptibly, under the table. A squeeze. A wordlessI’m fine.
But Elizabeth wasn’t.
She hated the way the lie sat in her mouth now. Hated how easy it had become to deliver. She was used to deception as a tool, strategy, control, public image. But something about lyinghere, in this room, with Riley’s warmth beside her and her perfume lingering faintly in the air… it suddenly felt heavier.
The act had become too convincing. Or maybe it wasn’t an act anymore.
Because the way Riley looked at her now, like she knew how Elizabeth took her coffee, like she saw through the cracks even Elizabeth had forgotten were there, it didn’t feel rehearsed.
And the way Elizabeth’s hand still rested on Riley’s knee? That was no longer about optics.
This is just strategy, she told herself.You’re keeping control. You’re managing the narrative.
Except it didn’t feel like control.
It felt like chaos. Slow, creeping chaos, curling under her skin in quiet, golden heat.
Someone at the far end of the table made a joke. Laughter rippled through the cousins. Toasts were raised. Silverware clinked gently on porcelain.
Riley leaned in, her voice low near Elizabeth’s ear. “Thank you for that. I panicked for a second and almost said we met in a Trader Joe’s parking lot.”
Elizabeth let out a breath, part relief, part amusement. “You’re welcome.”
Riley nudged her lightly with her elbow. “You still have your hand on my leg.”
“I’m aware.”
Another beat. The fire crackled. The world narrowed to the tiny pocket of warmth between them.
“You’re playing this a little too well,” Riley murmured, just quiet enough for Elizabeth to hear.
Elizabeth turned to her, eyes sharp. “You’re the one who charmed the pastry chef.”
Riley grinned. “I’m extremely likable. It’s part of the con.”
Elizabeth didn’t smile back. Not this time. Because her heart was thudding too loudly in her ears and everything in her feltwrong. Wrong in a way that meantdanger. Wrong in a way that felt like wanting.
She looked at Riley, really looked at her.
Messy hair. Freckles across her cheeks. That stupid, easy grin.
This isn’t real,she reminded herself.
