Page 49 of The Santa Swap

“Lucky, or Tara intervened.”

The words didn’t register. “What do you mean?”

“Luke, Tara totally rigged the contest. When we picked papers, she gave me the last one.”

“That’s not possible. I got the last one.” Her words sunk in. “Let me guess. Did you get my name?”

Olivia stared him down. “We’re not supposed to tell.”

“But you didn’t say no.”

Luke’s mind was spinning. “She’s so sneaky.”

Olivia nodded. “That’s why I’m here. I’m trying to figure out why Tara was trying to play matchmaker.”

Luke gulped. “Isn’t it obvious?” It was time to come clean.

The brown eyes were watching him. “Not to me.”

“Olivia, I’m crazy about you. I have been since the day we met, and my feelings have only been growing.”

He looked at Olivia, waiting for her to react. A smile would be great. Olivia jumping into his arms would be even better.

“Please don’t say that.”

Luke held his hands out. “Why? Is it really so bad for me to like you?”

Olivia’s eyes were turning cold. “You just broke up with Susan.”

Luke’s mouth went dry. He had talked to Susan the previous day, making sure she was okay if he asked Olivia out. She had given him her blessing.

It was time to tell Olivia the reasons behind their fake dating and see if there was a chance she would ever speak to him again. The thought of her being angry had his stomach tied in knots.

“Susan and I weren’t really dating.”

He dropped the words, letting them hang in the air.

The silence in the room was suffocating. Olivia blinked slowly, her mouth opening like she was going to speak but no words came out. She closed her mouth and Luke knew he had one chance to make things right.

“A few weeks after you started working here, I got a few threatening text messages. I asked Susan to pretend to date me so that the person bothering me would go away.”

“You invented a relationship because of a text message?” There was fire in Olivia’s eyes. Luke was coming dangerously close to losing her.

“I was trying to keep the paparazzi off your back.”

“That doesn’t make sense. They didn’t post any pictures of us until you and Susan went public.”

Luke pulled out his phone and scrolled down to the picture he had been sent. “See?”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “It’s the same picture they put in the newspaper. Like I said, you guys were already dating.”

Luke scrolled to the top of the text chain. “Look at the dates.” He handed the phone back to Olivia, waiting for her to read the messages. When she was done, she slid the phone back across the table. Her expression was impossible to read.

“Why didn’t you tell me someone had taken a picture of us?” There wasn’t a hint of a smile to be seen on her face.

“I didn’t want you to worry.” Luke tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“You didn’t think I’d be able to handle an uncomfortable situation? Instead, you thought it would be okay to let some creepy person follow me around without a head’s up?” Olivia crossed her legs, her foot tapping against the side of the desk. “How incompetent do you think I am?”

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