Page 36 of The Santa Swap

Olivia was stiff beside Luke. What were either of them supposed to say to that?

“It’s a good thing we are still friends, right?” Luke asked. He bumped his shoulder against Olivia’s. “I mean, that’s why I was helping her with her tree.”

The tension in the air was relaxing. If Luke played it cool for just another minute, Brittany would leave and then he’d be able to talk to Olivia. He went back to clearing off the table, searching through a pile of ribbon pieces to find the lid to one of the paint containers.

Olivia had joined Brittany at the front of the room while Luke cleaned. He tried to keep his focus on picking up one item after another, but his heart was a jumbled mess. If Brittany didn’t leave soon, he was going to burst.

Finally, just when he was counting out any chance of a conversation with Olivia, Brittany left. Luke breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“That was awkward,” he said.

Olivia bit the side of her lip. “Brittany said she wasn’t going to tell anyone, but she isn’t the only employee in this company with eyes. We shouldn’t have been on the same team. Why didn’t you go with Susan?”

“I thought we had fun together.”

Now her eyes were turning stormy. “That’s not the point. Why didn’t you join Susan’s team? It wasn’t like I needed you to drag me into the competition.”

The phrase about looks killing shot through Luke’s mind but he decided to brush her comments off. “I didn’t think it would be fair to leave one team without a company head. I know we didn’t do much, but I was trying to keep things fair.”

“Then I should have been on a different team. What if someone else puts the pieces together? What am I going to do?”

Olivia’s voice was rising, and with it, the red on her cheeks were deepening. Luke needed to deescalate the situation quickly or he was going to be left with a hysterical woman. He walked to her side, wrapping both arms around her.

“Breathe. Relax. No one else will even care that there is a photo of me hugging you. And even if they think they recognize you, there is no proof. All they can see is the back of your head.”

“And my plants.” Olivia’s voice dropped to a low whisper. “You can see all the plants on my window sill. If anyone has half a mind, they will put the two together.”

Luke dropped his hands to his side. “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to deny that I had feelings for you?”

“It’s not like they were real.”

It was Luke’s turn to be angry. “That isn’t fair. Our date meant something to me.”

“Yeah. It meant that you found another woman to remind you of your wilder college days, right? Was it a joke to you when you kissed me? Was I some sort of a bet you made with your friends?”

The situation was spinning out of control. If Luke didn’t leave soon, he was going to say something he deeply regretted.

“I don’t kiss women unless I have feelings for them. And you certainly weren’t a joke or a bet, although I’m beginning to wonder what I was to you.” Luke threw a pair of scissors into the bin and then he pushed away from the table.

“Look. I’m sorry someone put you in the newspaper, but I’m not sorry I met you that night. You can regret it all you want, but I won’t.” He walked to the door, effectively shutting down any retort Olivia may have.

* * *

A foul moodhad settled on Luke’s shoulders, and it carried through the week. It was lingering long after the contest winners had been announced and the red team had claimed their prize. Olivia had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since the contest. The only bright spot was that the newspapers were finally getting bored with Luke and his relationship with Susan. That was a relief. He didn’t think he could handle fake dating her for much longer.

They were sitting in his office discussing the plan of attack when Susan pushed her chair back. “How much longer are we going to do this?” she asked.

“You mean the dating thing? I thought we just finalized plans for Friday night.”

“No. I mean the whole fake relationship. I know you needed my help, and I was seriously glad to jump in, but now I think it’s time we break up.”

Luke looked up, startled at where the conversation was heading. If Susan dumped him, how was he going to protect Olivia or her reputation? Then he realized that the way Olivia had been treating him, it didn’t matter anyway. No one would believe they had ever had a connection.

“What did I do?” Luke asked.

Susan began to fiddle with her necklace, which Luke knew meant she was hiding something.

“Alright. Out with it or I’ll ask Tara.” From Susan’s body language, he guessed it was about a man.

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