Page 34 of Once Upon a Christmas Kiss

I stare back with equal seriousness. “Sure.”

“Has Cherry Creek always been this odd? Or is this a recent development?”

I laugh and lean my elbows against the table. “Oh, I think it’s always been like this. People have believed in this book for more than twenty-five years, and it’s been connecting people with their true loves. We’ve at least been odd since then.”

“Right. And you want me…”

“To be the other half of my committed couple, yes. I know you’ve got the acting chops. You rocked drama with me in seventh grade. Don’t you see? It’s perfect. The book is worth a try. It won’t hurt anything to get it, and I really want to see my sister happy again. I know she’s lonely and broken in a way that’s only getting worse with time. And here you are, right before Christmas, and apparently the clue will take both of us to get. You’re here just in time. My Christmas miracle.” I beam at him like he’s the biggest gift on my list, tied up with a red velvet bow on his head.

I may have gone too far. Ollie’s eyes widen like a deer in the headlights of a Range Rover.

He leans back and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if I can do it. Pretend to be a couple with you.”

My heart sinks, not to mention my vanity. I have a sudden ache inside that he hasn’t been feeling this little spark of attraction for me that I’ve been feeling for him. I guess once you’re just friends, you’re always just friends. Or maybe he’s already in a relationship. Or in love with someone in Chicago. I swallow the sudden lump in my throat and scramble for the words to persuade him.

“It wouldn’t be real. It’d just be pretend. And not even for very long. Just long enough to convince Sadie and get the clue and the book. I promise I won’t get in the way of your normal dating life.”

He stares at the table for a long moment. Finally he blows out a breath. “All right. I’ll do it. But just to get the clue. No pretending after that.”

I want to clap and jump up and down, but I settle for making a check mark next toget Ollie to be my fake fiancéin my notebook. “Of course not. Why would I want to pretend longer? This is all about getting the book.”

He nods, though the slight pout of his lips makes him look less than swayed. “Sure.”

“Great. Thanks.” My happiness that he’s agreed evaporates. Instead I feel like I’ve done something to offend him, though I have no idea what it could be.

“Anything for you,” he says in an even tone. Is he being sarcastic? The look he’s leveling at me makes me squirm. I don’t know why he’s being reluctant. This is a temporary situation. It’s not like I’m committing him for life.

But he said he’d do it, so it’s a win. “Thank you. All we have to do now is go over to Sadie Foster’s house and ask her for the clue.” And make a plan. And agree on our cover story. I bite on the end of my pen. I may’ve made the task sound simple, but I have no idea what her screening practice entails. Just how will she know if we’re a couple or not?

“Super. Let’s go. Now.” Ollie stands and steps away from the table.

“Wait! What about the cookies?” I gesture to the Christmas trees, angels, and Santa faces we didn’t get to.

“Oh. We’ll save them for later.” He picks up the cookies with a napkin and puts them back in the pastry bag. “Hold on a minute. I’m going to get that dozen of cordial cherry cookies. Sadie Foster might have a sweet tooth too.”

ChapterFour

Oliver

I don’t want to give my cookies to Sadie Foster. I only said that to buy time alone so I could try to come to terms with this pretend-relationship thing. But I’ve got my box of a dozen in hand, and I’m following Amelia to her car. She said she’d drive because she knows where Sadie Foster lives.

Amelia glances at me twice on the drive when she thinks I’m not looking. She’s biting her lips and tucking her hair behind her ear—two characteristic gestures I recognize from elementary school that reveal she’s confused and doesn’t know what to think.

Join the club. I have no idea why hearing that I have to pretend to be her boyfriend has gotten under my skin. Scratch that. Of course I know why. Pretending to be the thing I actually want to be is giving me a rash. It’s an insult to the real thing. It also shows how far we are from reality. I might as well be a stranger. Amelia doesn’t have feelings for me like I have for her. The only thing these last ten years did was make her forget me…and make her see she never needed me in her life. All she needs me for now is pretend.

And I’m the willing schmuck who’ll take pretend over nothing.

“What side of the bed do you sleep on?” Amelia suddenly blurts out.

“Uh…the right side.”

Before I can ask her why she’s asking, she says, “Is that right when you’re facing the bed, or when you’re in it?”

I think for a sec. “When I’m facing the bed.”

“Great! I mean, that’s good. I sleep on the left side—that’s the right side when I’m in it. We fit perfectly.”

I pause for her to explain, but she seems to be concentrating on the icy patches on the road. Of course I have to ask. “Are we going to start sleeping together? You haven’t let me sleep over at your house since second grade. And then it was only because we both fell asleep when my mom was visiting yours.”

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