Page 68 of The Christmas Arrangement

Dash finds me in the crowd and presses his mouth near my ear. “Wanna sneak out?”

“Yeah.” My voice sounds hollow. “Let’s do that.”

We slip out the kitchen door and walk through the courtyard. A light snow falls. Christmas lights twinkle. Soft music floats out from the teahouse. It should be romantic. It’s not.

“How’ve you been?” Dash laces his fingers through mine as we head toward the cottage. “I feel like we’ve barely talked since my mom arrived.”

“That’s because we haven’t. She’s kept both of us pretty busy.”

He flashes a smile. “That’s Rachel Pine for you.”

“About your mom. I’m sorry if my surprise was too much. I just wanted you to have the Christmas you never had with her.”

He stops walking and takes my shoulders. “I was stunned at first. I’ll admit it seemed like a lot. But now that I’ve had some time to get used to the idea, I’m thrilled.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You should know I called her before I asked you to stay in bed with me, and before you decided to extend your visit.”

“I figured as much given the timing.”

“In retrospect, that’s a lot all at once.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a lot,” he tells me.

We reach the cottage and I key in the code. I wait until we’re inside to say, “I heard you and your mom had an argument this morning.”

A shadow passes over his face. “It happens. That’s a natural consequence of radical honesty. Sometimes people say things you don’t like.”

He kicks off his shoes and settles on the couch, opening his arms in an invitation. I take off my boots and join him but don’t snuggle into his chest, despite how much I want to.

“I’m about to say something neither one of us will like.” I force myself to look at him.

“What’s that?”

“We have two more days of fake dating. After that, you should go back to Los Angeles, the way you originally planned.”

He goes very still. “What?”

“You should take the meetings Brody set up for you. You should definitely audition for the musical. This”—I gesture between us— “was supposed to be temporary. We both knew that.”

“It was until it wasn’t.”

“It’s fake, Dash. I forgot that, and let myself fall for you. But this will never work. And now your mom’s here, and reality’s setting in.”

“She did this, didn’t she?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“My mother. I didn’t tell you about the musical. So she must have. She told you to back off, didn’t she?” he demands roughly.

“She told me how much she loves you. How hard you’ve worked for everything you’ve accomplished.“ My voice cracks. “You should go home.”

“Forget what Rachel Pine wants. Is that what you want?” His voice is dangerously quiet.

“Yes.”