Page 26 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

“I know this is probably uncomfortable for you,” Tyler told him. “I mean, like, this?” He gestured to their hands.

He never thought of himself as touchy, but he’d never had a reason to be. The more he held Tyler’s hand, the more he enjoyed the warmth of that simple gesture.

“We’re boyfriends,” Julien told him. “It’s fine.”

Tyler licked his lip and dragged his feet over the cobbled pathway. “Is it?”

“Do you not want to do this?” Julien lowered his voice. “I mean, not the whole thing, but is the touching too much?” he asked. It occurred to him that maybe Tyler wasn’t into it.

Tyler brought Julien’s hand closer, almost like he feared Jules would pull away. “No! Not for me. I was worried that it might be too much for you. Is it weird?”

It wasn’t. It was stupidly easy. Julien enjoyed touching Tyler the same way he enjoyed the man wiggling against his stiff prick that morning. It might have beenworrisome, but Julien didn’t want to think too deeply about it.Who says I can’t enjoy this job?

“Don’t worry about it. If I don’t want to do something, you’ll be the first to know about it, Baby.” He smirked and started to walk again. “What exactly are we doing here?” he asked as they found their group by the entry to the Christmas Tree farm.

The choir sang the Twelve Days of Christmas loud and cheerfully over the low din of a crowd wandering in and out of the lot.

“Well, we have to find the perfect tree but trust me, I’m just here for the hot chocolate,” Tyler said. “I know you don’t like it, but they make the best kinds.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“After we get the tree, we’ll also have time to explore the market. Then tonight, we’ll probably decorate and take some pictures,” Tyler explained.

Julien didn’t decorate for Christmas. It was pointless when he didn’t have anyone to share it with. The last time he had a Christmas tree was the year before his mom got sick. Juleswas sixteen and disillusioned with Christmas and spending time with his family.

When she got sick, the effort of decorating and cooking was too much for her. Julien had been too busy ensuring she was comfortable or making her doctor appointments to assemble anything.

After she died, it seemed stupid even to bother.

Mr. Ashford advanced in line and spoke to a woman at a table, who handed him a hand saw and a little flag. Once they had found the tree, it would be up to them to chop it down and flag it. Then, the helpers would load it up on one of those trucks.

“I’ll hang on to it,” Brad said with too much delight in his eyes as he took the saw from Mr. Ashford.

Tyler let go of Julien’s hand and went over to Hailey to whisper in her ear while she helped Cece wrangle the children. According to Kelsey’s cheers, they were already trying to escape and find Santa.

“Should he be trusted with a weapon?” Julien asked Wally, who stood at the back of the group.

Wallylet out one of his snort laughs. “Brad’s the muscle around here,” he admitted. “Or, he was until you came along. You must spend a lot of time at the gym.”

“You flirting with me, Wally?” Julien asked with a grin.

Wally laughed again. “Sorry, Buddy. You’re not my type, and we’re both spoken for. I’m just glad to have you.” He clapped a friendly hand on Julien’s shoulder. “Truth is, no one talks to me besides Hailey during these things.”

Julien looked back to the twins chatting. Their older sister held her daughter’s hand and balanced her phone against her ear. Brad loudly discussed the best way to saw a tree trunk while Mr. and Mrs. Ashford listened attentively to their son-in-law.

None of them seemed to spare Julien or Wally a thought as they proceeded down the dirt path lined with trees.

“They’re close, I guess,” Julien noted. “Is your family that way?”

Wally shook his head. “I mean, it’s only me. I don’t have any siblings, and my mom and dad are always busy. It’s nice to be around it. What about you? Do you have a big family?”

Julien shook his head. “No. It’s just me too.”

“Wait until they break out the eggnog tonight when we’re decorating.” Wally tactfully did not ask Julien anything else about his family. “It’s a blast.”

Julien couldn’t help but wonder if Wally thought it was a blast or if he wanted to seem enthusiastic because of his fiancée.

“We’re going to have to walk far back to get to the bigger trees,” Brad instructed with the tone of a man who spent too much time ordering people around. Tyler had said he and Cece owned a huge contracting and real estate business. He could easily imagine Brad as a micromanager.

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