Page 19 of Fake Christmas Date
Dylan instantly shakes his head. "Nope. It's the only place to be for Christmas, obviously. And it's great for a couple of weeks in the summer. But I just bought that house in Kingsville. My business is set up there. And honestly? I really like a larger city."
He reaches over to squeeze my knee. "Not to mention, I think I owe Ray’s Diner my business until the end of time since that is where we met.”
"I still can't thank you enough for helping with my stupid work problem."
He frowns slightly. "Mmm. I don't think it was stupid. Corporations like that usually like to employ people they consider stable. I took one look at your big boss and realized he wants mature, steady people working for him. That usually means married or at least engaged. People who areplanted, you know?" He laughs, shaking his head. "It's very old-fashioned, and I'm probably generalizing terribly, but it's how those kinds of guys tend to think."
"I just wish that fixing my own problem hadn't created more troubles for you."
"What do you mean?" he grins, pulling into a freshly vacated parking spot and switching off the car engine. "I haven't had any of Mom's friends dropping by with their daughters and cousins and coworkers this year. I haven't had to listen to Mom ramble on about how incredible my brother's new wife is, and that she can't wait for me to settle down."
Dylan slips off his seatbelt and then turns to me. "Seriously, Emma, I haven't been able to just enjoy the holidays for years.”
"But she's going to be so disappointed when…" I drop my eyes as I take a slow breath. "When she finds out everything is fake."
"Emma, look at me." He takes my hand, forcing me to meet his gaze. "I can tell you’re worried. Yes, starting a relationship off the way we did is not exactly…optimal. And I truly wish things could have been perfect between us from the start. But how about we just focus on the here and now?"
"As in, just have a little vacation here?"
"Yes. And also, how about we embrace the moment and have a real date tonight?"
My bottom lip is starting to wobble, so I clamp my mouth shut for a count of three before speaking. "But…ugh… Tonight you're going to tell your family we’re engaged. And then a few months from now you're going to have to tell them we broke up and?—"
"Maybe not. There's no way of knowing what might happen with all this Christmas magic around us. Not to mention the whole ‘New Year, new energy’ thing." He flashes a dazzling smile. "Emma, can you please just keep an open mind with me for tonight?"
I think… No, I'm too scared to think. Does Dylan truly want to leave everything open-ended in case things become real? It's a delightful idea. All I have to do is let go of my fears, which is not easy when I feel like I’ve been put under a microscope.
"I know you're nervous, gorgeous. It's going to be a giant, as my grandfather used to say,hullabalootonight.” I laugh with him. "So why don't we go in and get you a fancy dress for tonight?"
"Oh. I packed a little black dress. I have a sparkly red necklace and hair clip to fancy it up a bit."
"If you'd rather wear that, it's no problem. But this evening is kind of a big deal to a lot of the women here. It’s a small townand they don't have many excuses to dress to the nines. Why don't we look around, and if there's something that grabs you, it's my treat. Plus, shoes, accessories and…" He waves his hand vaguely toward my breasts. "Whatnots."
I laugh hard. "Mister giant contractor guy refers to women's lingerie aswhatnots?"
Dylan's face scrunches up as he growls at me, but his eyes are definitely shining.
We go into the shop, where I discover that Dylan had already called ahead for a three o’clock appointment. A woman with a lovely smile and head of bouncy salt and pepper curls rushes over to hug him. "My goodness, look at the size of you! I swear, you’re bigger every year."
"Hi, Sheila." He reaches over and rubs my back gently. "This is Emma."
She clasps my hands, twisting my body back and forth as she analyzes my figure. "So lovely to meet you, Emma. I've got a rack of dresses already picked out. Don't be afraid to tell me if you hate something – we want you to be comfortable dancing all night."
I like her immediately, and the dresses she selected for me are all incredible. I narrow the choices down to five. Then three. I pull one out to examine it more closely, casually trying to sneak a glance at the price tag, but I can’t find one.
Sheila laughs quietly, glancing over to where Dylan is seated in a corner, scrolling his phone. "He asked me to remove all the price tags, honey. Don't you even worry about that. Just go with whatever is going to make you feel like a princess tonight." Her eyes twinkle. "It's your first Christmas here – why not go wild for the night?"
She picks up the three dresses I was looking at and adds one more. "Try these on. What's your shoe size?”
"Seven."
“Great. I'll grab a few options for you."
Twenty minutes later, Dylan and I are walking out of the store with a silver blue dress I could never have imagined myself wearing. Several hours after that, with my hair and makeup done, the proper push-upwhatnot, and kitten-heeled shoes with crystal bows, I feel every inch like a fairytale princess.
The dress is the color of a cloud. Or magic. Or just maybe the color of dreams and wishes, like the wish I made at the Holly Valley Christmas tree that this relationship would grow roots.
I'm going to be making that same wish again in Dylan's arms this evening as we dance the night away.
