Page 19 of Welcome Home for Christmas
Chapter 5
Allison held up a hand as Troy pulled into her driveway. “You’re not walking me to my door.” Her stern voice fell away into a smile. “There’s no one to pretend for and we’re not ‘kissing and making up,’ as you put it.”
He nodded. “I see. So you’re afraid that I’ll try to kiss you good night?”
She turned to look at him, suddenly wondering if he would. But this wasn’t a real date, so of course he wouldn’t.
“And maybe you’re a little scared that you’ll want me to kiss you,” he said, watching her.
She scoffed a little. “Do you flirt with every woman so shamelessly?”
“No.”
His answer surprised her. “No?”
He shook his head. “I’m not flirting right now. I’m calling it like I see it. And, for your information, I wouldn’t kiss you.”
Rejection punctured through her. She hadn’t even opened herself up to being rejected and yet Troy was turning her away anyway.
He touched her arm. “Hey. The reason I wouldn’t kiss you is not because I wouldn’t want to. I would. I’d be a fool not to.” He paused. “The reason I wouldn’t kiss you is because I would never do something you didn’t one hundred percent want. That’s not who I am.”
She swallowed as her heart floated up into her throat. “Okay. Got it.” She reached for the truck’s door handle and scooted out. “I’ll, uh, talk to you later then.”
“You have my number. Call me anytime if you want to do more ‘research’ before the big event.”
Allison nodded, closed the passenger door, and hurried toward her town house. She didn’t breathe again until she was locked inside. Then she took several deep breaths and patted her racing heart. Troy had done that to her. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten close enough to a guy to let him play with her hormones this way. That’s all this was, pesky little hormones. Because falling even a little bit for him was not a good idea. In fact, maybe this whole farce was a bad idea. Maybe she should call the whole thing off right now. At the rate she and Troy were going, another few hours in close proximity to him and he’d charm the pants right off her. Her mind momentarily entertained that thought and her body went into full-force need.
Still haven’t bought those damn double As, she thought, cursing under her breath as she walked to her answering machine. She pushed Play and leaned against the wall as she listened to her messages.
“Allison,” her mother’s voice said. “I’m so excited about you bringing your boyfriend home for Christmas. The whole family can’t wait to meet him. I was just calling to see if he had any specific dietary needs. I can cook whatever it takes to keep this guy of yours around. Okay, call me tomorrow!”
The line went dead. So did that little idea about canceling her arrangement with Troy.My mother told the whole family already? Oh, God. This is getting real.
She blew out a frazzled breath. Good thing she hadn’t gotten to talk to her mother tonight because, while she now knew that Troy liked steak and cheesecake, she had no idea if he had dietary restrictions. He could be allergic to strawberries for all she knew. She didn’t know half of what she needed to know about her pretend boyfriend yet. What she did know, however, was that he would never turn into the real thing. She repeated that truth to herself. “Troy Matthews is not the real thing. Not the real thing.”
Heading down the hall, she walked into her bedroom, grabbed her favorite flannel pajamas, and looked longingly at the drawer that held something else that was definitely not the real thing. Tucking herself into bed, she grabbed her cellphone on the nightstand and made another memo into her dictation app. “Buy double A batteries.Beforeseeing Troy again.”
The next morning, after attending Sunday service at Seaside Chapel where her good friend Val’s dad was the preacher, Allison ventured to Seaside Drive for a little last-minute holiday shopping. She purchased her mother another scarf for her collection, her stepfather a soft rock CD—the man had been listening to Journey ever since she could remember—and her aunt Darla a bottle of flowery-scented hand lotion, mainly to offset the smell of her excessive holiday drinking. The Christmas party the year before last had threatened to turn into a family intervention. It probably would’ve if Darla hadn’t passed out before dessert was served. And, if not for Troy, this year’s party would turn into an intervention to get Allison back into the dating game. Not necessary.
As she walked along the sidewalk that connected numerous shops, her mother’s words haunted her:The whole family can’t wait to meet him.
She shook her head. They were going to flock poor Troy as soon as he got through the front door. Heck, they might even meet him at his truck and start the interrogation there.
Allison stopped walking as her cellphone beeped with an incoming text. She shifted her shopping bags and pulled her phone from her purse. It was from Troy.
If you had a boyfriend, he’d probably be happy to carry your bags for you.
She blinked, then whirled and sucked in a startled breath to find him standing right behind her. “Are you following me?”
He grinned. “Only for a block or two. I’m doing a little shopping of my own.”
She ran her gaze over him, which was a mistake because he looked good in those jeans he was wearing. He seemed to have an endless supply of fitted, butt-hugging jeans. “Okay, so where are your bags?” she asked suspiciously.
“I dropped them off at my truck already.”
“And you’re still out here walking around?”
“I spotted you and thought I’d say hi, seeing that we’re dating and all.” He winked. “And I’d be a jerk of a boyfriend if I didn’t carry those bags for you.”
