Page 35 of The Santa Swap

“It’s not. I never looked down on people. In fact, I admired the people who had to work hard to get to their station in life. No. My downfall was that I didn’t think most rules applied to me.”

There was a quick intake of breath as Olivia processed his words. “What did you do?” She fixed her eyes on his, searching deep into his soul as if she could pull the answer out of him.

“I was at a party, and I was the designated driver. I figured I knew my alcohol limits better than any stupid law did, so I had a couple of drinks. When I got behind the wheel, a voice in the back of my head told me I should call a cab for us, but my pride got in the way.”

“Please tell me you didn’t drive home like that.”

Olivia’s accusing tone hit him like a dagger.

“I was young and stupid. The accident was inevitable with my level of impairment. I wrapped my car around a tree.”

Luke could barely look Olivia’s way. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, concern written all over her face. “Was anyone hurt?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Luke wrung his hands together. “The guardian angels must have been out in full force that night. Aside from moderate cases of whiplash, no one was really injured. The paparazzi had a heyday with the story though. A photographer happened to be driving home along the stretch of the road where the accident took place. My very recognizable mustang was crumpled in from the front, and my friends and I were walking around in a daze. The next morning, my face was on every single newspaper.”

He stopped talking and raised his eyebrow at Olivia. “So, what do you think of me now?”

Olivia studied his face. Then she reached for his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. “What kind of a person are you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that is an awful story, but you don’t strike me as the type of person who is driving drunk these days.”

“I’m not. In fact, I swore off drinking after the accident.”

Olivia gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she let go. Luke wanted to reach for her hand, but it wouldn’t be proper.

“The way I see it, you made an incredibly selfish decision that night, but the person you are today is someone who is willing to spend company resources and time to take care of the people in our community. That isn’t the same guy as the one who wrapped his car around a tree.”

The pressure in Luke’s chest lessened. “So, you don’t think I’m a horrible person.”

“Well.” Olivia let her smile grow. “You did make a pretty awful ornament the first time I asked you to make one.”

He bumped her knee with his. “I mean about the newspaper article.”

Olivia gave his hand another squeeze. “As long as no one figures out it was me, I’m good. Besides, you and Susan make a cute couple.”

The words punched Luke in the gut, but all he could do was smile. Fake dating Susan was the only thing guaranteed to keep Olivia safe from scrutiny.

Olivia stood up from the table and turned back to the job at hand. As she slid more decorations into the bin, Luke’s resolve began to waver. It wouldn’t hurt if he told Olivia the truth, right? “Thank you for understanding,” he said. “I actually have something to tell you.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her an awkward side hug. It was the moment of truth.

He was opening his mouth to tell her he wasn’t really dating Susan when the door opened and Brittany came in. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Luke and Olivia. Then they opened wide. “It was you,” she said. She pointed to Olivia. “You were the other woman in the article.”

CHAPTER16

Mortification flooded through Luke’s body. What were the odds someone would walk in at that exact moment? He dropped his arm like it had been touching hot coals and slid a few inches away.

“Here’s the thing,” he said. “Those photos were fake. They were doctored to look like Olivia but they are really someone else. . .” He trailed off. The way Brittany was looking at him, there was no way she was buying the story.

Olivia put her hand on Luke’s arm, pressing down lightly. “It’s okay.” Then she turned to face Brittany. “The photos are of me. I went on one date with Luke before I knew he was my boss. As soon as we made the connection, that was that.”

“Why would you do that?” Brittany asked. “You guys would make a cute couple.”

Luke wanted to give Brittany a high five or raise. If only he could convince Olivia to think the same way. Then he remembered the point of the article. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” he said. “I’m dating Susan now.”

Saying the words filled his stomach with bile. He needed to come clean before he went crazy, but he wasn’t going to say anything with Brittany in the room.

“That’s true,” Brittany said. She walked to the front of the room, taking her time to inspect each of the entries before she dropped her tickets into three different containers. “For what it’s worth, I won’t tell anyone. I do think you could have been cute together though.”

---