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Nick opened my door. “You coming in?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Grabbing my purse, I followed Nick and the suitcases up the steps.
The front door flew open and there stood Nick’s mom. “Nick! Sydney! Welcome home!” She stepped out, embracing first Nick, then me in a tight bear hug. “It’s so good to see you, sweetie.” She smacked a kiss on his cheek, gave my arm a rub. “How have you been? Are you hungry? Can I get you a cup of tea?” The questions poured out of her as I stood there, mute. Nick waved a hand at me, ushering me into the warm hallway.
A matching garland with twinkling lights lined the banister and to the right was the living room, a silver-and-gold decorated tree the focal point of the room. Beyond the tree stood a brick fireplace, the mantle hung with matching stockings embroidered with names; they’d even hung one for me. This realization caused my heart to squeeze tighter, my stomach queasy with the fraud. Why did Nick put me in this position?
“Sydney, it’s wonderful to see you! You’re more beautiful than ever—I don’t how Nick ever managed to land a lovely girl like you!” She beamed at me, her stylish auburn bob bouncing as she teased her son.
“He’s quite a catch,” I said, smiling over at Nick, who seemed one-thousand percent fine with the charade.
“Well, thank you for saying so. I’ll fix you kids a snack and some tea. You can take your stuff upstairs and get settled in. The guest room is done up for you. I forgot to tell you—Gran’s staying in your old room this week, Nick. You kids can have the other bedroom; it’s fine.” She winked at us and my anxiety ratcheted up, my stomach roiling.
“Thanks, Mom. That’ll be great.” Nick grabbed both suitcases and I followed behind, not wanting to be stuck in the kitchen alone with his mother.
“Nick,” I harsh-whispered as we climbed the stairs. “You didn’t tell me your gran was here too!”
He glanced over his shoulder. “My gran’s here, too.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, climbing the last stair and following him to the end of the hall. We walked into the guest room and I froze in my tracks.
“One bed!”
“Who has two guest beds, Syd? It’s fine.” He shook his head, rolling the suitcases over towards the closet.
“Says the person sleeping on the floor.”
“Whoa.” He stopped, held up his hands. “I am not sleeping on the floor. I am a professional athlete. And I have a bad back.”
“Well, I’m not sleeping on the floor. I’m the guest.”
“That’s why we’re in the ‘guestroom’,” he said, using air quotes.
“Ha freaking ha.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I guess we’ll sleep together. In one bed.” I looked at the inviting queen bed, perfectly made up with a fluffy white duvet, then glanced down at the hard, wood floor. “Because I’m not spending a week sleeping on the floor.”
“And I’d never ask you to,” Nick said, stepping towards me, his hands circling my waist.
“Well, aren’t you the consummate gentleman?” I scoffed, gazing up at him.
“Always.” He bent down and kissed me again, a little longer and harder this time. I didn’t pull away, heat flashing through me. I couldn’t decide if the warmth was from excitement or aggravation. All I knew for sure was this situation just got a lot riskier.
“No pictures, Milton,” I said, breaking away and locking my eyes on his. “I need to keep my job.”
He nodded. “Agreed. I won’t post anything to social media. The entire week.”
“Me neither. From now until Christmas, we’re off the grid.”
“Sounds good. It’s just the two of us, home with my family in Starlight Bay for the holidays. No media, no press. No one needs to know.”
“Perfect. After Christmas, we’re back to business.”
“That’s the deal.”
“Okay. As long as we have that straight.”
“Loud and clear, Syd.” He stepped away from me, scrubbing a hand through his sandy hair, and my chest tightened.
WTF? That was our deal, so why did hearing him say it out loud leave me feeling so depressed?
