The great charade, p.4
The Great Charade, page 4
“Sadly, no. But—oh, there she is! She’s looking for me.” Abby ducked her head down. “What should I do? Should I hide?”
“You should wave at her and get her attention. Geez, you’re losing your mind.”
Abby watched as Nic Bennett made her way through the courtyard, glancing around as she went. She was wearing baggy jeans again today and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Maybe she wasn’t looking for her. Maybe she was trying to decide where she wanted to sit. But no. She was looking for her. Oh god. What if she said yes? Was it too late to take back the invitation? She should, shouldn’t she? Beth had told her she was completely insane to even consider taking a stranger as her date. With all her friends tossing around the “crazy” and “insane” words, she was starting to question her mental stability.
But then Nic Bennett found her and smiled at her. Abby stared as she came toward their table. Her blue eyes seemed brilliant today. Her smile was friendly. She found herself returning it.
“Hi.”
“Hello, Abby.” Nic turned to Sharon. “Hi. I’m Nic.”
“Sharon. Nice to meet you.” Then Sharon looked at her and winked. “I’m done with this scrumptious salad,” she said dramatically. “I think I’ll go see if I can find some low-calorie dessert. You want anything?”
“No thanks. See you later.”
Nic claimed Sharon’s chair when she left. They both sat there, looking at each other without speaking. Abby wondered how she could gracefully get out of the deal. If it was necessary, that is. Maybe Nic was going to say no. Yes, that’s what she hoped. Wasn’t it?
“I…I should apologize for this crazy scheme I came up with. You’ve had time to ponder it and you probably think I’m nuts. I don’t blame you.”
Nic smiled at her. “Well, some of my friends thought you were nuts, yes.”
“Oh, mine too! Well, I don’t mean about me, I meant the plan.” Then she paused. “Okay, so yeah, some thought me, but most were warning me that you might be…well, a serial killer or something.”
“That’s funny. That’s what Addison said about you. She and Eric are my best friends. College buddies.” Then she leaned forward. “But I’m not the one who invited you on a trip so the serial killer thing probably wouldn’t apply to me.”
Abby held her hand up. “Look, I’m really not crazy. I was desperate, that’s all, and dreading the whole holiday thing so—” Let’s forget it, she was about to say. But no. Nic was apparently thinking something entirely different.
“I think it’ll be fun.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “What? Are you seriously considering it?” She stared as Nic actually winked at her. A wink? Why was she winking at her? What did that mean?
“It’s almost like it’s an invitation I couldn’t possibly turn down.”
“Oh my god. So you’ll do it? Seriously?”
“Sure. I mean, I guess so. It’s certainly the most entertaining proposition I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a few.” She tossed a business card her way. “My cell number is on there.”
Abby didn’t know what to say. Should she say thank you? Should she say she’d changed her mind? Had she changed her mind? Or was she really going to go through with this? She glanced at the card, then shoved it into her pocket.
“So…I’m not really sure how this works,” Nic continued. “Do we do a crash course on getting to know each other? Or do we pop in as new girlfriends, so we really aren’t that familiar with each other?” Nic eyed her suspiciously. “Do you have a plan?” She raised an eyebrow. “You do, right? A plan? You have one?”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to say yes. So my plan was to go alone and try to avoid Holly and Aaron as much as possible and hope she left me alone.” She mindlessly pulled a chip out of the bag. “Are you sure you want to do this?” She turned the bag toward Nic, offering her some. She took a handful on her first grab.
“Sure, why not? I’ve never had a white Christmas before.”
“You haven’t? We’ve been going to Red River for as long as I can remember. It was my grandparents’ place. It’s a huge mountain lodge and very beautiful. But they wanted to go somewhere warmer, and my parents were…well, they needed a change—they were both in real estate here in Dallas—so they bought the house from them, and the Christmas tradition continued. My grandparents live in Tempe now, and they’ll come up for a few days too.”
“Wow. So the whole family, huh?”
She smiled at her. “Having second thoughts?”
“No, no. I’m good. Always up for a challenge.”
Abby gave an exaggerated smile. “I find alcohol helps. That’s my stress relief while I’m there.”
“Is it that stressful?”
“Yes. Well, ever since the whole Holly thing.” She paused. “Although me and Aaron, we’ve never been warm and fuzzy. There’s always this tension between us. I’m not really a big drinker normally and I don’t know that Aaron is, but for these few days, yeah, we indulge. My mother is all wine, all the time. My father hates wine, so there is always scotch or bourbon. My brother likes beer, but he’ll join my father for a cocktail too. And…” —she paused a beat— “And Holly likes wine too, but margaritas are her favorite. They make her frisky,” she said with a shudder. “Her word, not mine.”
Nic laughed. “I like tequila too. Not a big fan of wine. I may join your father for a cocktail.”
Abby stared at her. “Do you think we can pull this off?”
“Oh sure,” Nic said with a smile. “But maybe we should go with the new girlfriend thing.”
“Like we just met?” She shook her head. “My mother would be suspicious. I’m usually very cautious when I meet someone new.”
“Cautious?”
“Yes. Like I don’t just jump in right away.”
“Ah. Like no kissing on the first date?”
“I’m saying, if we just met, I’m not very likely to invite you to meet the family. Not for a ten-day stay, that’s for sure. I think we should go with we’ve been dating for a couple of months, at least.”
“Okay. That’s still new-girlfriend territory. That means we’re having sex and lots of it.” Nic wiggled her eyebrows. “We’ll have to be a little more handsy, but that’s certainly okay with me.”
Abby stared at her blankly. Handsy?
“And you’ll need to tell me what to pack. I’ve not been in the snow before. Ever.”
Handsy? Abby shook that away. “You’ve not? So you don’t ski?”
“Afraid not. Now, I can water ski. Is it similar?”
“Umm, I don’t know. I’ve never been water skiing. But they do offer lessons, of course. You look athletic. I’m sure you can learn.”
Nic took another few chips without asking. “How cold will it be?”
Abby moved the bag before Nic stole all of them, and held her hand up. “Okay, wait. Why are you agreeing to this?”
Nic frowned. “Because you asked.”
“I’m a stranger. Why would you agree to go somewhere for ten days with someone you don’t know?”
Nic met her gaze. “Okay, is this like a test or something?”
“No, it’s not a test!” She leaned closer. “What did you mean about being handsy?” Then her eyes widened. “Oh my god! You think we’re going to have sex? Like for real? Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m beginning to think one of us might be,” Nic murmured just loud enough for her to hear.
Abby took a deep breath. “You’re right. I was completely out of my mind when I asked you. I admit, I freaked out a little, especially about the maid of honor thing.” She waved her hand in the air. “We should forget the whole thing. Forget I asked. I’m sure you’re a very lovely person, but—”
“Well, you see, I’ve already cancelled my Christmas plans with my uncle. So, I’ve got like ten or twelve days free.” She smiled at her. “And I am a very lovely person, yes. And sex? Well, yeah, I assumed. I mean, we’re going to be kissing and touching and all that stuff. I assumed that would carry over to our bedroom. For real.”
Abby’s brows drew together sharply. “What?”
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
“Well, yeah.” Nic smiled at her. “I thought that was your plan.”
Abby sat back, almost dumbfounded. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Nic gave her a charming smile. A charming smile that bordered on arrogant and conceited, both. Was she really thinking that they’d be real girlfriends on this trip?
“I thought you needed a girlfriend. Someone who was head over heels in love with you. You know, to make Holly realize you were so over her.”
“Yes. That was my plan.” She leaned closer. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex, for god’s sake!” she hissed.
Nic spread her arms out. “Then what’s in it for me if not sex?”
“Oh my god,” she muttered. She shook her head. “Obviously we’re not on the same page. We’re not even in the same book. What was in it for you was a ten-day vacation to a winter wonderland. Sex was never part of the equation,” she said pointedly. “So forget the whole thing. I’ll find someone else.”
She got up abruptly, nearly knocking the chair over.
“I think it’s a reasonable tradeoff, Abby. Call it a counteroffer if you will.”
“Counteroffer? Reasonable? You’re out of your mind! We don’t even know each other. Why in the world would you assume I’d have sex with you?”
Again, the charming—conceited—smile. “I’ve never had any complaints. I’ll make it good for you. It’ll be a Christmas you won’t forget.”
“Oh my god,” she murmured again, holding up her hand. “I’m leaving now. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. It won’t be with me.”
Chapter Seven
“Please. Don’t you know anyone?”
Marcos reached over and stole a fry from her plate. “It’s not like I have unlimited lesbians at my disposal, you know.”
Abby let out her breath. “I can’t believe no one wants to go with me.”
“I thought Beth said you had someone lined up.”
Abby leaned forward. “Oh my god. She wanted to have sex. She thought I was inviting her along to have sex!”
“And?”
“And? I don’t even know this woman! She’s a stranger!”
“Yet you invited her on a ten-day trip?”
She held her hand up. “Look. I thought I’d made it clear. Free vacation. That’s all. Ten days pretending to be my girlfriend. Pretending,” she said again with emphasis.
“Have you not slept with anyone since Holly?”
Abby pushed her burger away. “I have deep scars. I’m jaded. I have no faith in mankind any longer.”
Marcos rolled his eyes. “So I guess that’s a no. Maybe that’s your problem. Lack of sex. Go out. Have some fun. Take this stranger with you to Red River and fuck her brains out. Loosen up!”
Abby stared at him. “You’ve lost your mind too. Because that is so not me.”
“Well, what do you want? You want me to go with you? Try to convince your family you’ve fallen for a gay man?”
Abby groaned as she buried her head in her hands. “It shouldn’t be this complicated, should it?”
“No, it shouldn’t. You’re letting Holly—a royal bitch, I might add—get into your head. If you go alone, surely you’re strong enough to tell her to fuck off,” he said dramatically. “But if I were you, I’d take some cute-ass girl along and rub it in her face. Because I hate that woman. She’s caused you nothing but misery. I still don’t know what you saw in her, and I still can’t believe you slept with her again.”
Abby squeezed his arm. “Oh, Marcus, I know. I’m letting it all get to me. I should just go alone—like the grown-ass woman that I am—and deal with it. And tell her to fuck off, like you say.” She leaned her elbows on the table, wondering if she could actually say that to Holly. No, most likely, she’d cave as she’d done last year. “Did I tell you about the maid of honor thing?”
He laughed rather loudly. “No, but Beth did. They can’t be serious.”
“I know, right? It’s like they’re trying to piss me off.”
“I say, take the stranger with you. If she’s as cute as you say, rub it the hell in Holly’s face. Give her a taste of her own medicine.”
She finished off the last of her margarita. “Yeah, Nic’s really cute. She’s got that arrogant bad boy attitude, though. Like the kind of person your parents warned you about but the one you can’t resist.”
“Oh? So are you—”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I can resist her. I’m just saying, she’s kinda—”
“Like a rebel dream? A woman you’d never consider dating but one you wouldn’t mind having a fling with just for sex?”
“Yes. Only, as you know, I don’t have flings.”
“Well, maybe you should start. It could be fun. No strings.” He gave her an exaggerated wink. “You should seriously consider it.”
“Oh, Marcos, you know me better than that.”
“So you’d rather fall into bed again with Holly?”
“Well, at least Holly’s not a stranger,” she reasoned.
“No. She’s your brother’s fiancé. I’d say that’s worse.”
Chapter Eight
Abby headed out to the courtyard where Sharon was sitting at their normal table under the oak tree. She smiled at her friend, then sat down across from her.
“Hey. How was your weekend?”
Sharon shook her head. “Michael’s parents popped over unannounced on Saturday. The house was an absolute wreck and not primed for company.”
“Did they stay the weekend?”
“No. We went out for a very early dinner, and they went back to Waco. I spent all day yesterday cleaning house, doing laundry, and changing the sheets on our bed. I sent Michael to the grocery store to get him out of the house. So, not a fun weekend.” She stabbed a fork into her salad. “What about you? Do anything exciting?”
“Marcos took me out for burgers and margaritas yesterday. That was fun.”
“You haven’t been out with him in a while, have you?”
“No. I hadn’t seen him since Thanksgiving.”
“And the girlfriend search?”
Abby waved her hand in the air. “No. I’ve given up on that plan. I’m going alone. As I told Marcos, I’m a grown-ass woman. I can handle it.”
Sharon laughed. “If I were you, I’d take Nic up on her offer. It might be the only way you ever have sex again.”
Abby gave her a humorless smile, wishing she’d not told Sharon about Nic’s offer. Or rather, her counteroffer, as she’d called it. “Very funny. I’m sure I will meet some cute, charming woman someday who will sweep me off my feet.” She sighed. “At least, that’s my dream. Of course, I’d thought that about Holly once, didn’t I?”
“Yes. You thought you’d found your Princess Charming.”
“More like wicked stepsister.” Then she groaned. “And soon she’ll be my wicked sister-in-law.”
Sharon pointed her fork at her. “Whatever you do, do not sleep with her again. I’m not sure either of us could take that. I think you’d need a professional therapist then, not just me pretending to be one.”
Abby laughed. “No. I’m going with the mindset that I will not sleep with her, no matter how much she flirts with me. I won’t do it,” she said with confidence. “I admit, I was weak last year. I won’t make that same mistake again.” Right?
“Oh, look! There she is.”
Abby turned, finding Nic strolling through the courtyard, holding a tray from the cafeteria. She was wearing jeans. Tight jeans today, not the loose, baggy ones she’d seen before. No, these were curve-clinging, and Abby found herself staring.
“She’s cute.”
Abby pulled her glance away. “Yeah. And she knows it. You can’t trust people like that.”
“It seems like she’s been here a lot lately. Thursday last week. Here it is Monday and she’s already here.” Sharon smirked at her. “I think she’s here for your benefit.”
“What? Parading around in tight jeans so I’ll see what I’m missing out on?”
“I saw you staring at her. So that would be a yes.”
Abby shook her head. “You know me well enough to know that I don’t do anonymous sex.”
“Oh, I know. You like to thoroughly vet the person first. So romantic,” she said sarcastically.
“It may not be romantic, but it’s the sensible thing to do.”
“Worked out so well for you with Holly, hmm?”
Abby’s comment died on her lips. It was the truth, wasn’t it? She’d gone on four dates with Holly before she’d felt comfortable enough to move things past a goodnight kiss. Six dates before they slept together. By then, she felt like she knew Holly, knew who she was and what she was about. Oh, how wrong she’d been. She mentally shook her head. She did not want to rehash the whole Holly thing, even with herself.
“Well, as I said, maybe someday I won’t have to be so careful. I’ll be swept off my feet by someone without having the chance to dissect them.”
“I hope you’re right. Because that would be romantic.”
She sighed. Yeah, it would be nice. Had she ever had romantic? Had she been wined and dined and pampered in a relationship? Certainly not with Holly. Holly was the one who needed pampering. Who else was there? There was Cynthia in college. They’d dated for nearly a year, but she wouldn’t call it romantic. It was more just…well, hanging out. Devin? No. That lasted all of ten weeks.
She nibbled at her sandwich. Maybe it was her. Maybe she was expecting too much. Or maybe she was hard to live with. Maybe she was boring and predictable and no fun.
