The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland

Kennedy

I needed my head fucking examined.

Once I buckled into my seat in the row behind Riley, the gravity of what I was considering doing started to hit me. I hadn’t been home to Rochester in years for a reason. I shook my head and looked across the aisle at Riley. She was clutching the armrest, and her knuckles were turning white. I leaned forward.

“Nervous flier?”

She looked over at me and blew a strand of blond hair off her forehead. I noticed a few beads of sweat forming on her brow. It wasn’t hot on the plane.

“A little. But just for takeoff and landing. I’m okay with the middle part,” she said.

I unbuckled and stood in the aisle at her row. “Excuse me, sir?”

Riley’s row had three seats. There was an older woman sitting at the window, a pretty large guy stuffed in the middle, and her in the aisle. The big dude looked up at me.

“Would you mind changing seats? I have an aisle seat one row back.” I looked down at Riley, then back at him. “My fiancée is a nervous flier. I would really appreciate it.”

The guy looked thrilled. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

He got up and shimmied past Riley, and I buckled myself into the shitty middle seat. I felt Riley watching me, so I leaned my head back against the headrest and turned to face her.

“What?”

“Your fiancée?”

I winked. “What can I say? You’re a damn lucky girl.”

She chuckled. “You didn’t have to give up your aisle seat for me. I’m fine on my own.”

“I’m sure you are. But I figured I could use the extra time sitting next to you to debunk all the reasons your brain is tossing out about why we shouldn’t have a little fun at your mother’s house.”

She sighed. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“You’re overthinking it, Riles. It’s a fantastic idea. You know how I know that?”

“How?”

“Because I came up with it.”

She rolled her big blue eyes.

I laughed. “Seriously, though, you dread going home for the holidays. Why not make it a little fun and get your mom off your back?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe because it doesn’t feel right lying to my entire family.”

“Well, if it will make you feel any better, we can go into the bathroom and join the Mile High Club during the flight. Then you won’t be lying when you tell your mom I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

She blushed. Fucking blushed.

I felt a little twitch in my pants seeing it. Leaning in to her, I lowered my voice. “Exactly how long has it been, Riley? Your letter to that Dear Ida whack job said you hadn’t had a date in ten months, but you must’ve had a hookup or two since then.”

“It’s none of your business how long it’s been.” The slight blush on her face deepened to a crimson red.

Oh shit. It had been that long. The warning lights were flashing so bright, they should’ve blinded me. But all I could see was her pretty face. Not to mention, hearing that no man had planted his flag on planet Riley in a very long time made me a little crazy.

“I’ll tell you what, Riley. What if I sweetened the pot a little?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll go home with you for your party. I’ll even let you set the ground rules for what we’ll tell people at your mother’s. And then I’ll pay for the dress that you wear to the wedding that you’re going to with me.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“It’s not such a big deal. My mom owns a bridal boutique in Rochester. She’s got a store filled with gowns. It won’t cost me much at her price anyway.”

“Oh wow.” She nibbled on her lip like she was seriously considering it for the first time since last night. So I went big to seal the deal.

“And shoes. She’s got all those red-soled shoes women love, too.”

That got her attention. I could see the wheels in her head turning. Giving her a minute before I pushed again, I looked out the window. I was pretty shocked at what I saw.

“Hey, Riles.”

“Hmmm?”

“Did you even notice we’re in the air?”

Her brows drew together and then she leaned forward and looked out the window. She blinked a few times, and her eyes grew wide. “How is that possible?”

“You were distracted and forgot you were supposed to stress. Your mom’s party can be just like that, if you agree.”

Riley looked into my eyes. This woman wore her entire heart on her sleeve. She’d better not ever play poker. I read her fears, every reservation she had about lying, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was even a little attraction thrown in there. It was a good thing I was a hell of a better poker player than she was. Because while she was deliberating over lying, I was wondering how the hell I was going to get through two nights of pretending to be her boyfriend without biting those pink pouty lips. And I wondered what those big baby blues might do if I did—would they go hard with disgust or soft with desire?

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “So what’s it going to be, Riley? You in, or are you too chicken to have a little fun?”

She squinted at me. “Why are you doing all this? You could easily go to a wedding stag. I’m sure you could even turn on the charm and pick up some drunk, unsuspecting bridesmaid if you tried hard enough.”

“For the same reason you’re going to pretend you have a handsome boyfriend—to get my family off my back.”

“Your family is on your back too, huh?”

I nodded once wihout elaborating further. I wasn’t about to get into my fucked-up mess with her. Hell, I wasn’t even sure why the hell I’d decided to go home now. But I looked her in the eyes and told her something my gut thought she could relate to. “We all have reasons we do the things we do, don’t we, Riley?”

She swallowed, and for a millisecond that I could’ve missed if I’d blinked, her eyes dropped to my lips. “Fine. I’m in.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I know. I told you, my mother tends to go overboard with Christmas.”

We pulled up to a stately, two-story brick colonial that looked like Christmas had thrown up on it. There had to be a few hundred moving decorations all over the snow-covered lawn, lights flashed even though it was daytime, and “The Little Drummer Boy” blared from outdoor speakers. Riley’s mother’s house was one of those weird Christmas homes that people took their kids to visit.

“This is more than overboard. This is…” I shook my head. “Nuts. That’s what it is.”

Her face fell. “I know. But Christmas was my dad’s favorite time of year. When he got sick, she started doing a little extra decorating to cheer him up. And then after he died…she just kept adding things.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize your father died.”

She nodded. “Seven years ago now. Colon cancer. Mom has a collection box at the corner of the driveway. People come by the carload at night to see the Christmas display, and a lot of people leave a donation to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance while they’re here. It makes her feel better. But I know it’s a little weird.”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not weird. It’s cool. I shouldn’t have judged without knowing the facts.”

She smiled at me. “You mean, sort of like you did when you read my letter to Dear Ida? Well, you’re about to meet my family and understand all those facts firsthand. I think you might have a different perspective after spending all day with my mom and then being at the party tonight.”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

We got out of the car and stood at the curb with our bags. Light snow had started to fall during the ride from the airport, and the snowflakes seemed to double in size in the last few minutes. Though Riley didn’t seem like she was in a rush to go inside. I looked over at her as she stared up at the house. She was definitely nervous. I put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m just a little on edge.”

“I can see that.”

She took a deep breath and turned to face me. “Okay. I’m ready to do this.”

A snowflake the size of a quarter landed right on her eyelashes. It made me smile. “I don’t actually think you are ready yet, Riles.”

“No?”

I shook my head. “If we’re supposed to be a couple, you can’t be jumping every time I put a hand on you.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “You’re right. I’ll try to remember that.”

Her cute little pert nose was pink from the cold, and she pulled her jacket tighter.

I opened my arms. “Come here.”

“Pardon?”

“Let me hold you for a minute. You know…to get you used to my touch. So you don’t jump while we’re pretending.”

“Oh. Okay. That makes sense.” She took two hesitant steps toward me, and I wrapped her in my arms. After maybe thirty seconds I felt her shoulders relax.

Without giving it any thought, I kissed the top of her head. “You good?”

She nodded. I wasn’t sure if it was her shampoo or perfume, but a waft of something floral hit me, and I inhaled deeply to capture it all. How could she smell so good after a 6AM flight?

Riley tilted her head up to look at me, but made no attempt to leave my arms. “So how did we meet?”

I smiled. “I guess you’ll find out when someone asks us. That’s half the fun of it. We’re going to ad lib the entire thing.”

She laughed nervously. “I’m totally going to get caught. I just know it.”

“Not if you trust me and just follow my lead. Can you do that, Riley?”

She didn’t seem so sure of herself, but she nodded nonetheless.

My eyes dropped to her mouth. “I’m not so certain you can. Are you sure?”

She swallowed.

Did her lips get fuller since the flight?

I found myself thinking that maybe I should kiss her. I mean, what if the circumstances called for it during the party and she flinched at my touch or something? A warmup would be totally justified. Wouldn’t it?

I lifted one hand and cupped her cheek while my other glided down to rest on her hip. Even through her thick winter coat, I could feel the start of her curves. Riley’s body trembled as I slowly lowered my face to hers. It was going to take everything in my power to kiss her gently and not suck the lips right off her face right there in the driveway in front of her mother’s house.

She licked her lips, and I nearly groaned. The warmth of her breath met the cold air and formed a misty cloud between us as our lips moved closer. God I wanted to devour that damn mouth. And I was just about to. Until…

“Riley! Is that you, sweetheart?”