Page 29 of The Mistletoe Bluff
“Did you still need a ride?” I asked since she hadn’t turned around to face me.
“You know him, Maya?” her friend asked, nodding her head in my direction.
Maya’s shoulders slumped as she spun on her heel to look at me, pulling that fake mask on, the one that she wore with everyone else to make them think she was doing great. What would she think if she knew I saw straight through it?
“Oh, hey, Oliver. I, uh, forgot you were picking me up tonight. Elsie and I were going to grab dinner.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder.
Forgot?Right, because that made sense when I was her only means of transportation.
“Oh,” I responded, like an idiot, then cleared my throat. Did she hear the disappointment in my voice? “Not a problem.” I waved a hand in dismissal and turned to get back in my Jeep.“Have a good time.”
“Did you want to join us?” Elsie called, freezing me in my tracks. Maya’s trepidation was like needles stabbing at my skin, even from feet away.
“I’m sure he has better things to do, Els,” Maya chided.
Her words wiggled under my skin, and a flash of a night without Maya, going home to my empty houseagain, had me opening my mouth.
“Actually, I’d love to.”
“You really don’t have to—”
“I’d love to,” I repeated, holding Maya’s gaze.
“Great!” Elsie’s voice was vibrant like tinkling bells. “We’ll meet you at Get In My Belly.”
I nodded, giving Maya a wink that made her cheeks redden before we all got in our cars and left Dina’s. Get In My Belly was a local restaurant in the next town over that was somewhere between a bar and fast-food establishment. It was a strange mix of the two—with plenty of greasy food but amazing drinks and appetizers too.
Thirty minutes later, the three of us were seated in a booth, me on one side and Elsie and Maya on the other. Baskets of food were scattered in front of us, and country music blasted through the speakers.
“So, let me get this straight,” Elsie said, a waffle fry shoved in her cheek, “you two are going to pretend you’re dating at Oliver’s family Christmas, but you hate each other?”
Maya said, “Mmhmm,” at the same time I said, “I don’t hate her.”
Elsie cocked her head as she looked between us. Could she see my hidden feelings for Maya?
“Don’t you think your family will see right through you guys?” Elsie fixed her brown eyes on me.
“How do you mean?”
She gestured to Maya then to me. “For starters, you’re not even acting like a couple. Maya, you should be sitting next to Oliver.”
“We’re not actually dating, Els,” Maya argued.
“But no one’s going to believe you if you don’t evenactlike you’re together. You need to practice.” Elsie’s leg lifted from beneath the table, her snow boots dripping water onto the seat as she kicked Maya out of the booth. “Go sit by him.”
Maya’s face twisted in fury. “Els—”
“Go.”
I could’ve scooped Elsie up and given her a giant hug—that’s how excited I was that she was forcing Maya into my vicinity so we could practice being a real couple. I had wanted to suggest it for a while—my dad would be suspicious of us if we didn’t act like we were dating—but I didn’t know how to bring it up when her walls were already so high. The last thing I wanted was for her to back out, leaving me to face that dinner alone.
With a sigh, Maya scooted into the seat next to me. Her fruity perfume—like pears mixed with some sort of citrus scent—overwhelmed my senses.
“Good,” Elsie said. “Now, Oliver, put your arm around her.”
“Elsie,” Maya whined, keeping a careful distance between us in the booth.
Elsie simply fixed her with a death glare. “You meddled in my relationship, Maya. Now it’s my turn.” The two friends glared at each other, and I squirmed in my seat.
