Page 86 of Hot Mess

I raised my brows to Nick in a silent question. I slid a nail under the bottom flap and peeled the paper back. A manilla file folder and two rings slid out. I picked up the rings and looked at Nick. They were the bands we agreed on for our wedding rings.

“What’s this? Our rings.”

“Keep going.”

I flipped open the file folder. I scanned over a lot of words that my brain wasn’t assembling into any comprehension. They were legal documents from what I could tell. “Is this the trial results?”

Nick nodded. “It’s finally over, we won.”

His smile took over his entire face.

“We can get married now.”

I sat next to him on the couch. He wrapped his arm around me. He had Chrissy on one shoulder, and me on the other. “Thank you. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect present.”

Nick kissed me on the top of my head, “I love you. Merry Christmas.”

36

EXCERPT: A FAKE FIANCÉE FOR CHRISTMAS

My sister is the reason I’m in this mess, and on the hunt for a fake fiancée to show off to our grandmother…

“Jace has a girlfriend.”

She justhadto say those words, didn’t she?

Oh, I hate her.

But I think I love Bailey… the matchmaker I thought would introduce me to my fake fiancée.

She agreed to play the role herself, just for Christmas.

And it’s perfect because she doesn’t want anything real either.

Heck, she even told me she had a boyfriend.

I couldn’t have asked for a better deal.

Except… that my feelings are all over the place.

A playboy like me doesn’t know how to fall in love…

And yet, here I am, admiring the way Bailey walks, the way her hair falls over her shoulders.

But this playboy is about to lose the love game…

Does she really have another man in her life?

And what about the little secret that would be born on Christmas?

Bailey

A brisk breeze attempts to lift my skirt as I walk down the busy Manhattan sidewalk and shove my hands down to keep it in place. It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving and everywhere I look, people are putting up Christmas decorations. This is the time of year when everyone is full of extra cheer and holiday spirit. Joy permeates the cold air all around me yet, for the life of me, I can’t feel an ounce of it.

Because the holidays are made to be with your family. And me? I don’t have any family left. As much as I try to get into the spirit of the season, it’s actually a very lonely and depressing time for me.

It’s not easy being 29 years old and knowing you have no one. My parents passed away when I was only ten– victims of a drunk driver who crossed the median and struck them head-on. After that, my grandparents took me in and raised me. But they both died within the past 5 years, and it makes my heart cry. After my grandma had a stroke and passed quickly and unexpectedly, my grandpa was never the same. He always said she was the love and light of his life.

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