Midnight Mistletoe

KATHERINE

I look around while I wait for Derek, my eyes wandering over the pictures on the walls and the diners at the other tables. My gaze stops on something unusual. There’s a woman glaring at me from a seat at the counter. She looks like she’s about to rip my head off. I quickly look away, determined to ignore her.

I wonder what’s her problem.

I take a salt packet to play with while I calm myself down. I’m nervous, but not because I’m going to see Derek. It’s the proposal I have for him that’s making me worry.

The tattoo on my ass itches as I sit there, thinking about the man that inspired such a stupid idea. As soon as I gather enough money, I’m getting rid of it.

Derek walks in, his eyes stopping briefly on the woman at the counter. He frowns and turns toward me. I’m having trouble swallowing as he makes his way toward my table. I take a sip from my glass as he leans down.

“Hello, Freckles,” he whispers in my ear.

His breath tickles my skin, and I cough, choking on the water. He sits in front of me, a smug smile on his face. His eyes flick toward the woman at the counter and back to me. I clear my throat, putting my hair behind my ear.

What’s up with him?

“You always do that when you’re nervous.” Derek observes.

We’ve known each other all our lives. Of course, he knows a thing or two about me. Just like I know when he’s deep in thought, he messes with his beard.

“Why’d you ask me to meet you?” Derek asks me suspiciously.

Before I can say anything, the woman from the counter appears beside us.

“I thought nothing was going on between you two.”

What? Who is this woman? How does she know Derek?

“What happens between Freckles and me is none of your business. We’re no longer together, Amanda,” he says, frowning.

Realization hits me. The angry woman from the counter is Derek’s ex, the one he just broke up with. The one who cheated on him. I look at him, noticing the tense look on his face. He didn’t expect her to be here.

I lean forward and put my hand on his arm. His eyes meet mine. I give him a quick nod, and he smiles.

“You know what, baby?” he says. “You were right. There is a funny smell in here. Let’s find somewhere else to eat.”

Without another word, Derek takes my hand and leads me out of the restaurant. His skin is warm against mine, and all I can think about is how it gave me goosebumps when he called me baby.

“Where did you leave your car?” Derek asks, looking around.

“Over there,” I inform him, pulling my hand from his and wiping it on my coat. My skin still tingles from Derek’s touch. A frown appears on my face as we walk toward my car.

“Great, after you explain why you wanted to speak to me so badly, you can drop me back at my place.”

“What about your ride?”

“I took an Uber.”

We get in the car, and Derek turns to face me. “So, what did you want to ask me?”

I stare ahead as I start the engine. “Forget it. It was a stupid idea.”

Derek grabs my chin, making me look at him. “Tell me.”

“Seamus, my boyfriend, ended things with me. I was supposed to bring him home to meet my parents.”

He releases my chin. “What does that have to do with me?”

“My mother is expecting me to introduce someone at Christmas. I don’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes when I come back single again.” I swallow my pride. “I want you to be my fake boyfriend.”

“What?! Are you crazy?”

“Hear me out, please. You’re right. It’s crazy, but you know damn well our mothers dream of us becoming a couple. If we pretend for the holidays and then break up after, they’ll give up on us being an item and finally leave us in peace.”

Derek is quiet for a minute, hopefully considering my offer. He takes a deep breath.

“I can’t believe I’m even considering this. It will break both their hearts.” He pauses. “But it would be nice to spend one holiday without my mother driving me crazy about us being together.”

A feeling of optimism washes over me. “So, is that a yes?”

“Calm down, Freckles. I’m still debating.” He messes with his beard. “If we do this, we have to make it look real so they won’t get suspicious.”

“I’m aware.”

“Are you sure?” The atmosphere inside my car shifts radically as he takes my hand in his.

My eyes widen. “What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m playing my part.” He leans closer to me, his voice deep. “To convince our mothers, we’re going to have to get a lot closer, Freckles. Flirting, touching”—his eyes flick down to my lips—“kissing.”

Our lips are an inch apart. My brain is screaming. Abort! Abort! Abandon ship!

Panicked, I shove him away, my face warm. “What the fuck, Derek?!”

He bursts into laughter. I want to slap that smug grin off his face. I put my hair behind my ear.

“Clearly, we need some ground rules.”

“Easy, Freckles. I didn’t agree yet.” He shakes his head. “Besides, there’s no way we could pull this off.”

I glare at him. “Why did you try to kiss me then?”

He snorts and looks away. “To mess with you, of course.”

Annoyed, I put the car in drive and pull out of the parking lot. Derek is still laughing at me as we head back toward his place.

This is going to be a disaster. ~I should have never asked~.