Page 11 of Take Me Home for Christmas

I’d have to lay down the rules. Be nice to my mom. Help clear the table. And absolutely no sex.

Eww. Every muscle in my body tensed. It was all I could do not to walk away from Drake, but a little voice inside me whispered one word, loud and clear:Desperate.

Which indeed I was.

While Gabe and Brax could possibly be taken for brothers, Drake, with his wheat-blond hair, beefy form, and rather thick neck, looked nothing like Brax. My mother, who was capable of naming the exact country from which every one of the fifty Santas in her Santas-from-around-the-world collection hailed based on the details of his outfit, would not be fooled. And while Gabe would do anything for me, including allow himself to be called Brax for a weekend, I really couldn’t imagine Drake doing the same.

Maybe I should do what Gabe had suggested and just tell my parents the truth. But then I suddenly imagined my mother’sface. Worried about me, as always. But mostly disappointed—so disappointed that I’d been lying for months. She’d been so excited and happy for me after all we’d been through—her cancer and these lonely years where I’d dated dud after disheartening dud.

The truth might set her back. No, she was too strong for that. But it would surely upset her.

I hadn’t gotten to this point in my life because of indecision. But first things first. “Brax, don’t you have something you need to do?”

He held up a plastic knife, poised to cut another piece of the awful cake. “Just getting a snack.” He innocently sawed off a few chunks and placed them on a napkin.

Oh, eff it. I didn’t care whether he heard or not. I took a big breath and plunged in. “Drake, I—need to ask you a favor.”

“Anyone want some?” Brax held up the napkin.

I tossed him a glare. Drake reached up, took a piece, and popped it into his mouth, something that made me question my judgment even more.

“What kind of favor?” Drake asked. His gaze raked me up and down. Then he broke into a suggestive smile. “Anything for you, gorgeous.”

Gag. Every feminist cell of my feminist body cringed. “Okay, it’s a weird favor,” I began. “It involves…”

I suddenly felt a hand at my elbow. “Hey, Drake, Mia will be right back.” Brax set the entire fruitcake box in front of Drake as he whisked me off down the hall. As soon as we were out of earshot, he added under his breath, “Nothing.”

“What?” I asked, balling my hands into fists.

He pushed a hand through his thick, gorgeous hair. If I did that, it would scare people. And why did I even notice that detail in the midst of being furious? “You heard me,” he said in a slightly agitated voice. “It involvesnothing.” He waved his handin front of my face, as if he were about to magically pull a bunny out of thin air. “You’re not asking him anything.”

“What thehell, Brax?” I pulled my arm back and mock dusted it off where he’d held it. As if I could dust off the attraction that flowed so strongly through me. We ended up at the end of the hall, glaring at each other, in front of a mosaic mural of children happily playing in the midst of a wild, colorful garden, one of my favorite pieces in the hospital. Did you know that children’s hospitals had amazing art like, everywhere? “What did Gabe tell you?” Whatever it was, I could handle my own life. I’d been handling it for as long as I could remember, and not doing too terrible a job.

He crossed his arms. “Surely you aren’tthatdesperate.”

Oh, the arrogance. “I’m not asking him for a date.” I didn’t need to defend myself. “But even if I were, it’s none of your business.”

“Tell me you weren’t about to ask him to go home with you.”

That did it. I was going to kill Gabe. Right after I told Brax to cut the protective big-brother act. Fury coursed through me. Brax had passed on the opportunity to be a real friend. He’d rejected me romantically and then pretended every day that we’d only ever been friends. And somehow, I’d gone along with this.

“He’s a tiger. A panther.” He paced the stark white linoleum floor. “He’s…whatever animal he is, he’s on the prowl. And you know it.”

I didn’t understand his concern. It was pity-concern. It had to be.

“I can handle him,” I whisper-shouted back. “You—you don’t get to weigh in. I already have two big brothers. I don’t need a third.” What I really wanted to say wasWhy do you even care?

I hated him for caring. Because it made me fall for him even more. Just when I’d finally stopped asking myself what on earth had happened between us.

He snorted. “He’s not going home with you.”

“Excuse me?” I fisted my hands at my sides. We were all but duking it out in the hallway, a phlebotomist and a pharmacist quickly passing by and shooting us strange looks.

I tipped my head toward the nurses’ station. “I’ve got to go, before he leaves.”

Brax’s gaze drilled into me. “He’ll—take advantage.”

I threw up my hands. “Okay, knight in shining armor, last I checked, I was an adult, capable of saying no.”

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