Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle) Read online

  “I cannot believe that Biff just turned the car around and took you home.”

  “Maybe his name was Jeff…” Lily said, wracking her brain for at least a hint at what exactly the guy’s name really was.

  “Biff, Jeff, it doesn’t matter. That was incredibly rude of him. I’m sorry, Lil. You deserve to have someone take you out and treat you like a princess.”

  “I’d just settle for someone to take me out and talk to me like I had a brain.”

  Now it was Cam’s turn to have his heart hurt. Lily had a bigger heart than anyone that he had ever known and he knew that even though she made light of the situation, she was hurt. It didn’t help that her parents were always making her feel like she wasn’t living up to her full potential or that she had an older sister who everyone seemed to think walked on water. Cam knew the real Lily and if anyone just took the time to get to know her and saw beyond the inability to find a career, they’d see a person who’d give them the world.

  “You have a brain, Lil. You just intimidate people with your creativity.”

  “Nice try, Einstein,” she deadpanned. “I think you have me confused with you. You intimidate people. People just think I’m weird.”

  “Well then they’re not worth knowing.”

  Lily settled back against her pillows and got comfortable again. “I’m so lucky to have you, Cam; you know that, right?”

  “Nah, we’re lucky to have each other.”

  “I wish you were here right now. I could make grilled cheese and popcorn and we could watch a movie and just relax.” She toyed with her tablet and contemplated turning Solitaire back on.

  “While that sounds nice, wouldn’t it interfere with your game of Solitaire?”

  “Dammit! How do you do that?” she asked, looking around her room for hidden cameras.

  “Like I said, I know you better than you know yourself.”

  “We certainly are a pair, aren’t we?” she said wistfully.

  “A pair of what?” Cam wasn’t sure what Lily was talking about most of the time but that was mainly because her brain was normally going a million miles an hour and her mouth wasn’t that far behind.

  “A sad pair. We can’t even find people to have a meal with. If you won’t come over and have grilled cheese and popcorn with me, then I’ve lost all hope. You were my last hope, Cameron Greene, and even you don’t want to share a midnight snack with me!” Her tone held just a hint of mirth and theatrics and she added a long suffering sigh for good measure.

  “And you know what’s worse?” he asked, ignoring her

  “That I got kicked out of acting classes?”

  Cam sighed. He loved that Lily kept things light and always made him smile but sometimes he wanted to reel her in and have a serious conversation. “Thanksgiving is right around the corner.”

  “And you’ve suddenly lost your love of a turkey dinner?”

  “Focus, Lily!” he snapped and then immediately apologized for his tone. “The holidays are here, my friend. That means that there will be a steady stream of parties and get-togethers that we are going to be forced to go to and will have potential spouses thrown at us from every angle.”

  “Personally I’m waiting for them to just position us at the foot of the driveway with mistletoe over our heads and signs taped to our chests that say ‘Please marry us’.” The thought sent a shiver down her spine because she was really only partially kidding. Lately her mother had really seemed to kick up the campaign to marry Lily off. Not a day went by where Lily wasn’t asked if she’d met anyone decent or what her plans were for the future.

  Dealing with her mother was an exhaustive full-time job within itself.

  “I think it’s safe to say,” Cam began, breaking into her train of thought, “that neither of us is looking forward to another holiday season spent ducking and weaving through get-togethers to avoid the matchmaking patrol. Agreed?”

  “Agreed. But what choice do we have? Other than packing our bags right now and both of us moving overseas to get away from the insanity?”

  “I’m being serious here.”

  “You’re always serious, Cam. I’m trying to get you to break that habit.” When she got no response from him she sighed with annoyance. “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

  “We take ourselves off of the market. If we’re involved with other people, they can’t spend their time trying to marry us off.”

  “But we’re not involved with other people; that’s the problem. Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about for the last hour? I’m so confused…”

  “You’re not confused, Lily, and don’t play the ditzy card with me,” he said patiently. “I’m saying that we pretend that we are involved. We. You and me.”

  Another snort of laughter broke free before she could stop it. “Are you crazy? Have you completely lost your mind? No one is going to believe that for a second!”

  “Why not?” he snapped, not liking being laughed at.

  “We’ve been friends for, like, ever, for starters. If anything was ever going to happen between us, it would have happened by now. You know it, I know it, and they know it. It will never work.”

  “Just…hear me out, okay?” he asked and was grateful when she didn’t argue. “I’ve got a conference up in New York next week. Come with me.”

  Lily sat there in silence wondering where her level-headed friend went. When he didn’t elaborate on the rest of his plan, she finally spoke up. “What will that prove?”

  “The day we’re due back is the official beginning of the season, at least according to my mother. You know that both of our families get together and map out the party strategies and travel plans. We can show up there together, announce our newfound romance and they’ll be so thrilled that they’ll leave us alone. We can break up after New Year’s and then they’ll be too heartbroken over the whole thing to upset either of us and we can milk the breakup angle for another month or two. If all goes as planned, we can be off of the radar for about four months.”

  “Cameron Greene, I always knew that you were a genius, I just never realized you were an evil genius!” Lily said excitedly. “It’s brilliant! They love us both so they’re not going to have an issue with us dating; they’ll get all giddy at the thought of merging our families and while they’re busy picking china patterns, we will have a relaxing holiday. I’m telling you, you’ve done me proud.”

  “Aw…I’m blushing,” he teased. “So what do you say? We leave Monday morning for New York.”

  “Wow, that’s quick,” Lily said, mentally going over her calendar. “I don’t know, Cam; that’s only three days to get someone to cover for me at the coffee shop and…”

  “When did you start working at a coffee shop?”

  Lily growled in frustration. “You need to keep up, Cam! If we’re going to be all in love and dating and whatnot, you are going to have to keep up with what’s going on in my life.”

  “Maybe try doing a little…shall we say…less with your life for the next couple of months.”

  “What would be the fun in that?”

  “We leave for the airport Monday morning at seven. I’ll make all of the travel arrangements; all you have to do is show up.”

  “What am I supposed to do all day while you’re at your conference?”

  “Seriously, Lil? Do you think you’ll be bored in Manhattan?”

  “Okay, you’ve got a point.” She stopped and thought of all of the possibilities. “I do have one request as your girlfriend.”

  “Already?”

  “I’ve only just begun,” she teased. “Can I get an afternoon at a spa? You know, manicure, pedicure, facial, massage…the works?”

  “Is that all?” he asked, knowing that with Lily, things were never quite that cut and dry.

  “And can I eat food from the street vendors without getting a daily lecture from you?” Lily waited for Cam’s response. And waited. And waited. “Cameron?”

  “You’re going to be the death of
me, you realize that right?”

  “Me? After your traumatic date with Kitten?”

  “Her name wasn’t Kitten,” he laughed. “And it wasn’t traumatic.”

  “Okay, maybe it wasn’t traumatic but you have to admit, dating me is going to be way more fun than any of the other women you’ve dated.”

  “That is certainly true,” he agreed and then paused. “I’ll be in meetings during the day and we have a couple of dinners to go to but maybe we can take a night to just go sightseeing. What do you say?” Lily was quiet and if Cam knew anything it was that a quiet Lily was not a good thing. “Lil? What’s the matter?”

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she said quietly. “I mean, this conference is a big deal for you I’m sure and I don’t want to do anything to embarrass you.”

  Cam wished that he was there with her right now so that he could hug her. “Why would you even think such a thing?”

  “Because you’re you – this super genius guy – and I’m…me. A woman with no real job, no real talent and no idea of what I want to do with my life. I don’t want your colleagues looking at you like you’re an idiot for dating someone like me. I mean, you can go to the dinners and all that; I can hang out at the hotel. You don’t have to take me along.”

  “Are you kidding me?” he asked, more than a little offended. “Lily, I am tired of you putting yourself down. I know why you do it; your parents have made sure that you feel like you’re inferior but let me tell you what I see. I see a beautiful woman with an amazing smile and the greatest laugh that always makes me feel better. You have a way of making everyone around you feel special and I am going to be the envy of every man at that conference because I’m going to have the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm.”

  And he was telling the truth. For as far back as Cameron could remember, he’d been in love with Lily Cavanaugh. While everyone else around them treated him like a freak because of his intelligence, Lily always just treated him as Cam; her friend. He’d never once considered telling her how he felt because the last thing in the world that he wanted was to lose Lily as his friend. Most days she was the only thing that kept him sane.

  “Thank you,” she finally whispered and Cam knew that people didn’t compliment Lily nearly as much as she deserved.

  “Get some sleep,” he said softly, loving the fact that Lily’s voice was the last thing he was going to hear before going to bed. “I’ll call you on Sunday and let you know our itinerary.”

  “Cam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for asking me to be your pretend girlfriend,” she said sleepily. “I promise that I’ll be the best pretend girlfriend that you ever had. You may never want to let me go.”

  That was Cam’s biggest fear.

  “Good night, Lil,” he said in a near whisper. “Sweet dreams.”

  “Night, Cam.”

  Two

  Lily couldn’t fall asleep.

  Fake dating Cameron was the closest she was ever going to get to seriously dating him. Something was better than nothing, she supposed, but still. The thought of them being a couple – even if it was only for show – had her wondering what it could be like if Cameron would give them a chance.

  For years Lily only saw Cam as her pal, her buddy. But one fateful night when she was seventeen and feeling rebellious, he became her hero and so much more. After a particularly harsh fight with her parents over her poor grades in school, Lily had climbed out her window and went to a party that she had been forbidden to go to. Once there, she’d had too much to drink and found herself being hit on by a guy that she really didn’t want anything to do with.

  With no way to get home other than walking and scared that the boy from the party would follow her, she had called Cam. Sneaking out of his own home and taking his father’s car, he’d come to her rescue. Lily had made it home safely thanks to him without her parents ever realizing that she’d left. Cameron, however, was not so lucky. When he arrived home, his father was up waiting and wanted an explanation as to why Cam had snuck out with the car. He’d refused to share Lily’s part in the story and ended up being grounded for a month.

  Later, when Lily had asked why he didn’t just tell his father it was her fault, he had simply shrugged. “What’s the point in both of us getting in trouble?” he had said and in that instant, Lily saw him as her white knight. It wasn’t the first time Cam had done something to help her but it was the first time that he had to pay the price for doing so.

  Unimpressed with her walk-on-the-wild-side, Lily had changed her habits a bit and began spending even more time with Cam. He was the perfect guy to her but he was always so engrossed with his studies and planning his future that Lily kept her newfound feelings to herself.

  “I am so in trouble,” she said as she punched her pillow to try and get some sleep. “How am I supposed to play the part of the girlfriend when I don’t just want to play?”

  ****

  Monday morning came way too soon for Lily. She’d given herself multiple pep talks and reminded herself of how important it was to do the right thing for Cam.

  It just sucked that the right thing for Cam was torture for her.

  Ever on time, Cameron arrived to pick Lily up at exactly seven a.m. and she made sure that she was ready and waiting for him. He was a stickler about time and she could tell by the look on his face when she opened the door that he was surprised that she was actually ready.

  “What?” she said when she saw his expression.

  Cam looked her up and down and then at the suitcase beside her. “You’re ready,” he said with just a hint of disbelief.

  A shy smile crept across Lily’s face. “You told me you’d be here at seven and so I was ready for seven. Actually, I was ready at six-forty-five. Impressive, right?”

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re never ready when I tell you what time I’m coming to pick you up.”

  The smile shifted to playful annoyance as Lily cocked a hip and crossed her arms over her chest. “If it would make you feel better, I can go and change clothes and decide that I want a bowl of cereal before we leave.”

  “No, no,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I’m sorry; I’m just not used to you being on time. I guess I should have just said thank you, right?”

  “No,” she corrected, “you should have offered to take my suitcase and put it in the car because all of this chit-chat is going to make us late.” Without another word, Cameron reached beyond Lily and grabbed her case while she locked up her condo. “I watched the weather channel last night while I was packing and they said it’s going to snow while we’re up there. Won’t that be beautiful? We can see snow in Central Park!”

  Cam shrugged; he’d never given much thought to snow in Manhattan and it really didn’t give him much to think about now. They lived in North Carolina so it wasn’t as if neither of them had seen snow before. It was just one of the things about Lily that he adored, it was the little things in life that made her happy.

  Once they were on the road, Cam glanced over at Lily and saw the serene smile on her face. “What are you thinking about right now?” he asked.

  “Actually, I was wondering if we were going to play the part of boyfriend and girlfriend during your conference or if we were waiting to kick it into gear when we got back.”

  He nodded and then pondered the situation. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try out the act around my colleagues before we return home.” His tone was rather cut and dry; like he was talking about a root canal.

  “How about a little enthusiasm, Champ?” she asked sarcastically. “This was your idea, remember? And if we’re going to try and pull this off and get four months of freedom from our parents then you can’t talk about our relationship like it’s a chore.”

  Cam turned to her and looked at her as if she were crazy. “Talk about our relationship? It’s seven-fifteen in the morning, Lil. We haven’t been around anybody other than each other. What do you want me to do
?”

  She sighed. “I just want you to be aware that you’ll need to show a little more excitement if you’re going to be believable as my boyfriend.”

  What had he gotten himself in to? “Why, exactly, do I have to do that?”

  “Cam, anyone who knows me knows that I’m a fairly happy-go-lucky person. You and I are complete opposites. I’m going to have to tone it down a little but, on the flip side, you’re going to have to kick it up a notch. You know, crack a smile, or a joke, once in a while. Laugh.” She saw the way his brows were furrowed and knew that being a genius in the world of astrophysics wasn’t much help to him in the world of everyday life. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

  Honestly, he didn’t. When he had thought up the plan to play make-believe with Lily to survive the holidays, Cam had simply thought that by them saying that they were involved would be enough to get people off of their backs. But now as Lily explained the complexities of the situation, he realized that he was greatly unprepared.

  And that was simply unacceptable.

  Taking a fortifying breath, he said, “Okay. It’s not like we have to play twenty questions with each other to know one another better; we already know everything about each other. What do you suggest?”

  “Well,” she said, considering her options and how far she could push this, “it would probably help if we held hands when out in public.”

  “Seems simple enough,” Cam said. “Done.” He reached for her hand and held it while he focused on the road and driving one-handed. Something that he normally didn’t do because safety dictated that you drive with your hands in the ten-and-two position. It took all of thirty-seconds for him to start to squirm.

  “This is physically painful for you, isn’t it?”

  “What? No,” he denied although he was lying through his teeth.

  Lily carefully pulled her hand away and almost burst out laughing at the how quickly Cam’s hand went back to the steering wheel. “Okay, baby steps. We’ll only hold hands when we’re walking. How does that sound?” She asked it as if she were speaking to a child and smiled at the annoyance on Cam’s face.