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His eyes went wide. “Let’s do it!”
We each had a small piece painted in an hour, and handed them in to be fired in the kiln with the promise of pick-up before we left Park City. Then we piled into the car and made our way back to the cabin, just as the snow began to fall.
I showered and got ready for the night, simply excited to see Elliot on stage again. Walking into the main cabin, I saw the kids in the living room and all the adults, ready to go. Everyone looked like they were ready for a night out, especially my parents. They had gone skiing and participated in all the family events, but they hadn’t been out without kids since they arrived. My mom was particularly excited to see Elliot play. They kept talking aboutDaxton and his band, Daxton and his business, Daxton . . . Daxton . . . Daxton. He had become a part of the family in the three short weeks he had been here.
“You keep that one, Jamie. He’s something different and we can tell . . . Daxton loves you.” My mom smiled as she gathered her coat.
Daxton.
“Uncle Daxton said he could keep teaching me guitar!” Dustin came up behind us, hoping we would change our minds and let him come to the show. “He said we can have Zoom sessions or he could visit. Auntie Jamie, you need to marry him.”
Daxton.
“I was talking to . . . Bennett . . . last night?” my dad sighed, slipping on his shoes, “He said Daxton has been wanting to sell his company for a long time and finally decided to take the plunge. Something about a record label?”
Daxton.
“Just wait until Dax sees you in that dress, Jamie . . .” Jillian began, her voice growing faint, after the word “Dax”—that was all I heard. He wasn’t Daxton.
“Okay I have something I need to tell you guys, and it’s a little weird, but I hope you’ll understand,” I blurted out.
Everyone stopped and looked at me, their eyes wide. Jillian grew a small smirk on her lips and every man in the room folded their arms over their chest. My mom stood still, causing me to lose my train of thought.
I heaved a sigh and looked at my feet.
Oh yes . . .
My fake relationship, that turned into a real relationship.
“Daxton’s name isn’t really Daxton. And he’s not really my boyfriend . . . well . . . he wasn’t . . . I’m not one hundred percent sure what he is, but he’s notDaxton.” I was talking faster than intended, and I could tell if I didn’t stop talking now, I would ramble and tell them everything—word vomit to the extreme—and I didn’t want that to be how I told them.
“It’s abouttimeyou tell us,” Harrison grumbled.
Wait . . .
“What?” I instantly looked over at Jillian. She shrugged her shoulders and bit her bottom lip. “You know?”
“I promise I didn’t tell them,” Jillian instantly defended.
“One Google search was all it took. We’ve all known since karaoke night.” Holden chuckled.
I looked at my mom and dad. They were being oddly quiet.
“Did you two know?” I finally asked.
“Well,” Dad sighed, “like Holden said, one Google search. Especially after talking with him about his company. Elliot . . . isn’t it?” I answered my dad by nodding. “He looks like an Elliot. How on earth did you come up with the name Daxton?”
“Well . . .” I looked at Jillian. She was the first one to hear that lie all those months ago. “I don’t exactly remember, but would you believe me that Elliot’s middle nameisDaxton.”
“Ah.” Holden laughed. “We were wondering what the ‘D’ stood for!”
“I said it was Daniel, Holden was trying to say Derek or something like that. Elliot Daniel Whittaker just has a nice ring to it.” Harrison laughed, opening the front door for everyone. “That’s actually hilarious that Daxton is part of his name. No wonder why he answered to it easily enough.”
“So, you guys aren’t mad at me?” I finally asked, wrapping my arms around my stomach as we stepped into the snow.
“Of course not.” My mom wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “I mean, I can’t wait to hear the reason why you thought you had to invent a boyfriend. But it must have been a good one. And then to find a guy to play the part? Sounds like something out of a Rom-Com.”
“He volunteered,” I added. “I really did meet him at Madeline’s wedding.”
