Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
I ran my hands through my hair, standing up from my place on the couch. “You did way better than I did. Every time you have a camera on you, your acting skills show up like you’re a damn superhero.”
He gave me a casual shrug. “I’m here to make sure you get on your favorite TV show.”
But how much of what you said was real?
Was any of it real?
I barely had any chance to wonder about the Fixer Brothers, or time to see Rowen at all, for the rest of the week. The inn was hosting a huge group for a family reunion, and I was working overtime each day. I thought of Rowen more than I should have, though, his smile floating through my mind anytime I looked too long at any holiday decorations and every time I went home at the end of long days.
And by the end of the week, it was time for my own version of a family reunion. Family members started arriving in town prior to the Christmas party, and my cousin Frankie, his fiance, and his parents were all staying in my house.
Rowen arrived on the afternoon of the Christmas party, and I was wearing my brand-new apron as I swung open my front door.
“Holy fuck,” I murmured as I looked out at him.
He looked better than I’d ever seen. Better than I’d ever seen anyone look, to be honest.
“Do you like the green? I didn’t know if it was right,” he asked, looking down.
He was in a forest green colored suit with a cream-colored shirt underneath. His tie was covered in a pattern of holly branches with little red berries throughout.
“It’s fucking perfect,” I said. “You look like you belong in a catalog. Goddamn, you can rock a suit.”
He leaned in and gave me a hug.
“How are you feeling, Shane?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “For so long, it had seemed like the Christmas party was something in the far-off distance, but now it’s here. It snuck up on me.”
“Me too,” he said.
A clattering sound came from behind me, emanating from my kitchen.
“Frankie, that is not how you do it!” my aunt Jeanine’s voice called out.
Rowen grinned in the doorway.
“You ready to meet my extended, extended family tonight?”
“I was born ready, babe,” Rowen said. “Fake boyfriend extraordinaire.”
My heart panged in my chest. I’d been trying not to think about how much Rowen had affected me during the Fixer Brothers interview, but in the back of my mind it had been there ever since.
I knew it hadn’t been real when he’d talked about falling in love with me, but it had stuck with me.
“Is he here, Shane?” Frankie called out from the kitchen.
“Yes! Just a sec,” I called back, then turned to Rowen. “They’ve been excited about meeting you, if you can’t tell.”
“I’m a little nervous,” he said.
I lifted my eyebrows. “You? Nervous?”
“What?”
“I’m the one who gets nervous, not you.”
He bit his lower lip. “Maybe I get nervous more than you realize, but I’m just good at hiding it.”
“Nervous to meet my family,” I said. “Maybe you should be. They’re totally crazy.”
“I like crazy,” he said. “I’m also nervous to see you, a little.”
“Now I know you’re fucking with me.”
“I’ve missed you, this past week,” Rowen said. “I thought about coming to the inn about a hundred times, but I didn’t want to bother you at work.”
Something shifted in my chest.
That felt real. What he was saying to me right now, nowhere near my family where he’d have to be faking it.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I said truthfully.
His eyes scanned over me, like he was considering saying something.
“Shane! How does this freakin’ coffee machine work?” my aunt’s voice came from the kitchen.
“We’ve got to head in,” I told Rowen, bringing him inside.
“How long until we all leave for the party?”
“We’ve got an hour,” I said. “An hour of last-minute baking and cooking and yelling before we all head to my parents’ place.”
“Oh my good golly,” Aunt Jeanine said as I walked into the kitchen with Rowen. “Look at him!”
She went in and immediately wrapped her arms around Rowen in a big hug.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Rowen said.
“Shane told me that he was dating someone and I just about dropped dead,” my aunt said.
“Aunt Jeanine, don’t embarrass me,” I groaned.
“What? It’s been too long,” she protested. “I was so happy to hear it. How are you doing today, Rowen? I hope you’re ready to help peel some potatoes.”
Rowen laughed. “I should probably take this blazer off, but yes, I am very ready to peel potatoes.”
I watched as Rowen seamlessly blended in with my family. Frankie and his fiance came over and introduced themselves too, and before long all of them were peeling and chopping veggies together while Aunt Jeanine told us plenty of stories from past Christmas parties. We baked up a cranberry cake and finished up the mashed potatoes and roasted green beans, and in a flash, an hour had gone by.