Page 7 of Kissed By Her Fake Fiancé

That drew Faith’s gaze back to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her eyebrows were arched and her mouth slightly open. She was curious.

“Thank you,” he said. “That means a lot. And we’d love to come for dinner. If that’s okay, of course.”

Now Mrs. Ardmore broke into a big smile, and he let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t just extending the offer out of politeness. She’d genuinely welcomed him and J.J. to her home for dinner.

There was another reason for that sigh of relief, though. The pressure to make Christmas Eve special no longer rested solely on his shoulders. They’d have something to do—something besides eating takeout alone in the kitchen while talking about where Santa and his sleigh might be.

“That was something,” Faith said as they walked toward his Range Rover. “I still don’t think they believed us.”

Holden had been digging his keys from his pocket, but those words froze his movements. “What do you mean?”

She stopped in front of the passenger door. He’d locked it—not necessary in this town, but he still had New York habits. That meant she had to wait for him to hit the button on the key fob.

But he didn’t stop with unlocking the door. He pulled it open for her and waited for her to climb in. She didn’t move immediately, though. She had more to say.

“My parents are pretty smart,” she said. “I don’t think they bought for a second that we’re really engaged.”

“So, they think we’re scamming them for some reason?” he asked. He didn’t like the sound of that.

“No.” She shook her head and looked back at the house, still not making a move to climb into the now-open vehicle. “They’re probably curious what we’re up to, so they’ll go along with it. Mark my words. When we finally tell the truth, they’ll say they knew it all along.”

Holden mulled that over as he secured her inside the vehicle, then walked around to the driver’s side, glancing back at the house in the process. It was decorated for Christmas, but not the children’s wonderland he’d created for his own daughter. No, this was a much cozier Christmas look, complete with lights, wreaths, and a Christmas tree showing through the front window.

As they were backing out of the driveway, he asked his next question. “Do you think they’ll tell your sisters we’re pretending?”

Stopping at the end of the driveway, he glanced at her. She was biting her bottom lip as though thinking through his words.

“I don’t think they will,” she finally said. “Which means the secret stays between us and my parents.”

“And my daughter,” he said, pressing the gas pedal. “It’ll be like a fun game.”

But Holden couldn’t deny the pit in his stomach. He worried he was setting a bad example for his daughter, and that gave him second thoughts about what he’d agreed to do. But he’d made a commitment. And besides, he was enjoying spending time in Faith’s company. He had a feeling J.J. would like her as much as he did.

And that was what had him smiling as he flipped on the radio and switched the station to the one that played Christmas music.

4

Faith normally loved kids. They tried her patience at the store, but that had only been because parents tended to treat those aisles as a daycare. Kids would run up and down, sometimes even knocking things off and breaking them. Faith had been told to try to reduce it but not make parents pay when it happened.

As she stood on Pastor Murray’s front porch, though, fear gripped her. What if she wasn’t a good nanny? What if his daughter hated her on sight?

That last one was a real possibility. After all, her mother had died after her parents split up. Even knowing all this was pretend, she might give Faith a hard time. That was what happened with stepmoms in movies and books, anyway.

“Why, Faith Ardmore,” Mrs. Murray said as she opened the door to see Faith and Holden standing there. “I heard you’d be spending Christmas Eve with your new fiancé in London.”

Faith winced. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be easy. How could she have imagined it would?

“She’s with me now,” Holden said.

His tone was a little brisk. This time, Faith held in her wince, instead giving a big smile. A smile that said, “I’m happier than ever, despite being dumped just days ago.”

“Wow.” Mrs. Murray looked from Holden to Faith. “Well, I’d say it surprises me, but weird things have been happening in this town this Christmas. All year, actually. This seems to be the town to come to if you want to find love. Right now, there’s all this stuff about mistletoe.”

“Mistletoe?” Faith looked over at Holden, who shook his head, as if to say, “Don’t ask me.”

“It’s hanging all over this town,” Mrs. Murray said. “You’ll see. Every restaurant, shop… Look at me, standing here, yakking your ears off. You probably want to see your daughter. Come on in.”

Your daughter. The words were no doubt meant for Holden, but they hit Faith in a way she hadn’t expected. Was that what strangers would think when they saw the three of them together? Two parents, one daughter? She’d never been seen as a parent before, and she’d thought she had at least a year before she even started thinking about being one.

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