Page 20 of His Christmas Gift

Dean followed my lead, shaking hands with my parents before quickening his steps to catch up to me.

“Autumn, wait!” he said, reaching out to grab my hand when we got close to the rental car. He stopped me from diving into the car, drawing me closer to him. “Are you okay?”

“Do you see how they are to me? Nothing I do will ever make them proud,” I replied bitterly, shaking my head. What did I ever do wrong? I wasn’t ever a bad kid. I wasn’t irresponsible. I just couldn’t be a lawyer. I couldn’t marry some rich, successful guy without faking it. I wasn’t the dream child that they had in mind.

Dean didn’t let go of my hand as he frowned.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said.

I couldn’t help but feel surprised. I expected some talk about how they just wanted the best for me or that I had to ignore them. Instead, he was just sympathetic. That hit me harder than anything else he could’ve said. Finally, he understood why I didn’t look forward to going back home.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it through the week and a half,” I sighed as I lowered my eyes. This was already so hard, and it was still hard with him by my side. They thought that he was wonderful and impressive, but that didn’t rub off on me. He was just what I needed to have a good life.

Dean let go of my hand and cupped my face, holding me firmly as he stared into my eyes.

“You’re going to make it through the week. You're my fiancée, and trust me, I don’t propose to anyone but winners,” he said.

I couldn’t help but crack a smile and shake my head at him, feeling somewhat lighter as he gave me a much-needed pep talk.

“They’ll never make me feel like a winner,” I told him in a quiet voice.

Dean’s thumb slightly brushed my cheek. It was so subtle that I almost didn’t notice it. His face softened.

“You’re going to be my winner,” he said. “We’re going to make it out of here in one piece with them thinking that we’re ridiculously in love.”

My heart stopped for a moment as I stared up at him, warmth coursing through my body. Why did he always have to say the right thing? It was hard to tell half the time if his words were even genuine or not, but they still hit me hard. His charm was impossible to ignore, and I felt captivated by him, even if I knew that I shouldn’t be.

“Well, you’ve been doing a damn good job acting like it,” I admitted. He had put on a stellar performance, touching me and complimenting me. I felt more supported by him at that moment than any other time I was with my parents.

“I’m a winner, baby,” Dean smirked before letting go of my face and unlocking the car. “Come on. I think we deserve a drink.”

I felt nervous about drinking again. Last time, that led to a lie that I had to keep up for a whole week and a half and possibly even longer. I didn’t want to get myself in a tough situation again. However, I could feel my sanity already slipping, and it was only the first day.

“Ah, what the hell.”

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