Fake Christmas Read online

  “I’m flying out to California first thing tomorrow,” he said. “I haven’t seen my family in a year, and I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks again for giving me some extra days off, by the way.”

  “No problem,” she said with a smile. “You’ve only been working with us for a short time, but you’ve worked so hard. You deserve an extended holiday.”

  “I just hope you’ll be okay without me,” he said.

  She focused her gaze on him. “Of course. I mean, I’ve gotten used to having you by my side, but I think I can survive.”

  “Good. I’ll still miss you, though.” He touched her shoulder gently. “Just... make sure you take care of yourself.”

  His face turned red and he adjusted his glasses. It was a habit of his to fidget whenever he was nervous about something. Cameron was such a sweet and caring guy. Of course, he was concerned about her. She just hoped that her husband would one day understand what she had done with Cameron. And what she was about to do.

  Dane had never taken a liking to Cameron, and she worried that her husband would never forgive her for what she had done. A slight amount of jealousy had made Dane suspicious of Cameron’s motives since the day she had hired her assistant. She supposed it made sense. Cameron was handsome, young, and very charming. It was no wonder the women at Prescott’s New York office all seemed to have massive crushes on him.

  “I will,” she said finally. “It’s been a hectic few weeks, but things will be sorted out soon.”

  He nodded. “I hope everything at your appointment goes well.”

  Guilt gnawed away at her. Today was the twenty-first, and the appointment was the day after tomorrow. Cameron had arranged everything, so all she had to do was show up. Without Dane. Without telling her husband. Keeping secrets from Dane was the last thing she wanted to do, but that couldn’t be helped under the circumstances. That didn’t stop her from feeling awful about being so secretive. Especially around the holidays, when everything was supposed to be about family.

  Finally, they made it to the Snow Canyon Hotel and Cameron helped her out of the car. The hotel was immense, and it looked more like an enormous Swiss chalet than a hotel. The sky was turning hazy, casting the property in a grayish golden light. All the hotel lights had been turned on now that darkness was approaching, and the lights glowed cheerfully through the windows.

  They headed upstairs, and Cameron stopped her on the way to her room.

  “I have a surprise for you,” he said.

  “Oh?”

  He grinned. “Give me a second to get it and I can give it to you in your room.”

  “Okay,” she said, and hurried into her room.

  Casting off her scarf, gloves, and coat, she sank down onto the plush sofa in the sitting area. Exhaustion seeped into her muscles, down to her bones. Cameron had been right. She really had been running herself ragged lately. Her joints ached; her entire body was stiff. Not to mention her mind was filled with anxious thoughts. Thoughts about holiday plans, not seeing enough of Dane, and the appointment that only Cameron knew about.

  With a sigh, she leaned back in the chair. Everything would be fine as long as the Christmas she was planning for her family went off without a hitch. Dane would be here soon, and then they’d fly back to New York together. Their families would meet at his parents’ townhouse for drinks and gift-swapping on Christmas Eve, then they could all spend Christmas Day at the new house. The thought of finally spending quality time with her loved ones in her new home had kept her going all these hectic weeks.

  A knock on the door broke through her thoughts, and she rushed across the room to let Cameron in.

  Hands behind his back, Cameron stepped inside. “Close your eyes.”

  “What is it?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I can’t give you a surprise if your eyes are open,” he pointed out.

  Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes. She felt Cameron take her hands and place a heavy object in her hands.

  “Can I open my eyes now?” she asked, curious.

  “Yes.”

  She opened her eyes and stared down. The box was silver, and wrapped around it was a red ribbon tied up in a bow. Suddenly she felt like a kid again, excitement rushing through her as she untied the ribbon and opened the box.

  A gasp escaped her lips when she retrieved the gift inside. “It’s a snow globe!”

  “I know it’s a little cheesy,” Cameron said. “But you told me that you collected snow globes when you were a kid, so I thought you might want to start doing that again.”

  Inside the snow globe was an adorable polar bear ice skating merrily. Her heart swelled at the sight. “This is so thoughtful, Cameron. I love it. Thank you.” She paused. “I was going to give you your gift later tonight, but I’ll get it now.”

  Allyson headed over to the nightstand and took out a gift bag. She walked back over to Cameron, handed it over, and watched as he pulled out his gift.

  “No way!” Cameron took off his old watch and put on the luxury smart watch she had gotten for him. “This must have cost a fortune. Thank you so much.” He reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug.

  It was right then, with her arms around Cameron, that her husband stepped into the room.

  Chapter 2

  Seeing his wife in a loving embrace with her assistant made his blood boil. Allyson jumped out of Cameron’s arms, her face reddening.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Dane demanded, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

  “Nothing,” she stammered. “We were just exchanging gifts.” She held up the snow globe she was holding in her hands. “Look what Cameron got me.”

  Dane forced back the snarl that almost curled his lip. This was just his usual unfounded jealousy. The unease of a man who knew how beautiful and vivacious his wife was. Knew that being married to Allyson made him the luckiest man alive. And that many men would do anything to have a woman like her. It was natural for the sight of Cameron’s arms around her to unsettle him. No. More than unsettle him. It actually pissed him off.

  He eyed the gift, unable to hold in his contempt. “That’s... nice.”

  “I told him about how I used to collect snow globes when I was a kid,” she said.

  Frowning, he focused his attention on Cameron, who was staring at the floor looking sheepish. “Thank you, Cameron; I’m pretty sure that’ll be all.”

  Cameron nodded, and said to Allyson, “I’m glad you like the gift, Allys—Mrs. Prescott. I’ll be up bright and early tomorrow, so if you need me before the flight I’ll—”

  “Goodnight, Cameron,” Dane said testily.

  “Of course, sir,” Cameron murmured. “See you tomorrow then. Happy holidays, Mr. and Mrs. Prescott.”

  Dane barely grunted out a reply as his wife showed Cameron out of the room. Unable to shake his annoyance, he headed over to the sitting area and tossed off his coat.

  “What was that all about?” Allyson demanded as she stepped into the sitting area.

  He took a seat and started to untie his tie. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “You can’t seriously still be jealous of Cameron.” She sat on the sofa across from him. “He’s a kid. Barely voting age.”

  “Jealous?” He laughed humorlessly. “No. It’s not really jealousy. Just common sense.”

  Irritation flitted across her beautiful face, and her green eyes narrowed. “Common sense? Do I even want to know?”

  “I’ve seen the way Cameron looks at you,” he said. “It was amusing at first, but now he’s giving you gifts?”

  “You gave your assistant a gift,” she pointed out.

  “Penny is a middle-aged married lesbian with a keen interest in gardening,” he grumbled. “I doubt she finds me even remotely attractive.”

  Allyson laughed. “So, if she was younger, single, and straight you’d be running around with her?”

  “No, you know I’d never do such a thing,” he chided. “But if she was you
nger, straight, and single she’d probably have a crush on me.”

  She groaned. “You are the most arrogant man in the world.”

  “I’m not trying to sound cocky, but I’m speaking from experience,” he reminded her. “I specifically remember a beautiful young woman who was absolutely crazy about me long before we got married.”

  A smile played on her full, kissable lips. “I’m still crazy about you. Always will be. And you’ll never have to worry about anything. If you’re that upset, maybe I can shuffle Cameron to another department and—”

  “No, forget it,” he interrupted. “I trust you, Allyson.” He heaved out a sigh. “I just don’t trust Cameron.”

  “I know—you’ve said many times before.” She set the snow globe onto the coffee table between them. “But he really is a nice guy.”

  “After the year we’ve had, can you blame me for being paranoid?” he asked.

  They had been betrayed more than once over the past several months, and Allyson had paid such a heavy price.

  “I suppose not,” she replied. “It’s hard to trust. Especially when you live the kind of high-powered life we do.”

  “The upper class can be a very lonely place,” he said tightly.

  Over the past few weeks, he had relearned that lesson. Flying back and forth between Detroit, Snow Canyon, and New York left little time to spend with his wife. He’d been overseeing the opening of Prescott Global’s new office in Detroit, while Allyson had planned the Prescott-sponsored Snow Canyon Winter Sports Show. They hadn’t spent much time together lately. Sometimes they could go an entire week without seeing each other, and he missed her so much it was turning into a physical ache.

  “Well, things will be less lonely when we head back to New York tomorrow,” she reminded him. “We’ll have the chance to spend time with our families.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be able to take some time out for yourself?” he asked. “You’ve been working really hard on Christmas plans.” So hard in fact, that she had refused all of his offers to help. He suspected that Allyson was so obsessed with planning the perfect Christmas because she wanted to impress her family and his parents. Especially his mother. His mother might have finally accepted that Allyson was his wife, but she was still a demanding woman who expected perfection.

  She waved her hand dismissively. “I can take time out for myself after Christmas. Right now, the most important thing is making sure our families enjoy the holiday. We can show them all the new house, and we’ll get to spend even more time with Holly’s new baby.”

  Christmas with their families was just going to make spending time alone together even tougher. He knew it was probably nothing, but the fact that she had spent most of her time with Cameron over these past few weeks bothered him.

  It was like they had fallen out of sync, which wasn’t like them. Usually they were on the same page, and if they weren’t they were at least on the same team. Now he had the sinking feeling that, before long, if they weren’t careful, they would end up being strangers to each other.

  “Just promise me we’ll have some alone time together before the end of the year,” he said.

  Her bright green eyes had suddenly glazed over, like she was a million miles away.

  He cleared his throat. “Allyson?”

  She blinked. “What? Oh. What were you saying?”

  His jaw clenched in irritation. “I want us to spend some quality time alone together. Before New Year’s.”

  “We’ll have plenty of time after New Year’s,” she murmured.

  “I said before New Year’s,” he said with a frown. He knew that she had a lot on her plate right now, but it wasn’t like her to be this distracted. This distant. Her mind was clearly on something, and that something wasn’t him.

  He hated to admit it, but Dane had the sneaking suspicion that his wife was keeping something from him. The sheepish expression on Cameron’s face earlier had been a clue. Whatever it was, Cameron seemed to know a hell of a lot more than he did.

  “Is everything okay?” he continued. “You look worried.”

  “Worried? What do I have to be worried about?” she asked, her voice a little too shrill. The blood drained from her face and she started toying with a lock of her shiny black hair.

  His stomach knotted up. This was all wrong. What was she hiding from him? Why was she acting so strangely all of a sudden?

  “You seem a little... distracted.” His brow furrowed as he realized he hadn’t even asked her about her day. He had been so irritated at finding Cameron in their room that he’d forgotten to ask. Now he felt like a heel. “I should have asked you... how was the final day of the sports show?”

  Her lips curved up into a tiny smile. “It went well. All the snow boarders crashed out on the final slope except for Nadia. She saved the day.”

  “She nailed it?”

  “Yup. The crowd went nuts,” Allyson replied. “The press was all over her, and you should have seen the look on all the kids’ faces.”

  He smiled. “Folks around town really love Nadia. It’s good to hear she made them proud today.”

  “Sales went well,” she said. “We’ll be getting the final numbers tomorrow, but from what I saw at the exhibits a lot of women and girls showed up to buy gear and sign up for lessons. I couldn’t have pulled this off without your advice.”

  “Getting Nadia to agree to do that final stunt was all you,” he said. “You got through your first winter sports show all by yourself.”

  “It wasn’t all by myself,” she insisted. “You were a huge help, even though you had your own stuff to worry about. Plus, there were all the exhibitors, senior staff at Prescott, your dad, everyone in town, and Cameron.”

  He groaned inwardly. Every time someone brought up Cameron, he got more and more annoyed. It was probably ridiculous but, damn it, he couldn’t help it. Being away from Allyson made him crazy, and seeing how much time she was spending with another man was bound to make him jealous. Still, he trusted his wife; he wasn’t going to insult her by bringing up his unease again.

  “I’m proud of you,” he said finally. “You’ve done so much in the brief time you’ve been in a senior position at Prescott. Not to mention, these past several months have been difficult.”

  She nodded. “It has been hard, but as long as I have you I can do anything. Besides, this Christmas is going to be perfect. Everything will be wonderful, and we can end the year on a high note.”

  The truth was, she had worked so hard this past year. Too hard, if he was being honest. The holidays should have been a time for her to relax. Dane didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm, so he said, “Let me know if you need help with anything.”

  “Just be your loveable self.” She paused. “How has your day been anyway?”

  “Things finally slowed down today,” he said. “But next time, remind me to never approve of an office opening at the end of the year.”

  “That bad, huh?” She got to her feet, walked over to him, and curled up on the sofa beside him.

  “I’ll get over it,” he said, pulling her close.

  It felt good to have her in his arms again. Allyson snuggled up against him, her dark hair brushing against his face. He inhaled the feminine scent of her shampoo. When she planted a kiss on his lips he leaned back in the sofa, not letting her go.

  Dane had missed having quiet moments like this with her. Their lives had gotten far too hectic too quickly. When they got back to New York, he was going to insist on them spending more time together. So many couples in their line of work ended up drifting apart because of long work hours. He refused to put his marriage in jeopardy.

  She wove her hand in his and sighed. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed us.”

  “So have I.” He kissed the top of her head.

  They lounged on the sofa together and talked about their day. She filled him in on all the details of the winter sports show, while he updated her on what was going on in the new Detroit office.
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br />   Afterwards, she slipped away to get ready for bed while he called his parents. When he got off the phone he found her in the bedroom, brushing her hair. She was sitting on the bed, dressed in a silky negligee that skimmed over the curves of her breathtaking body.

  It took every ounce of strength he had to not interrupt her and kiss her senseless. Instead, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get undressed.

  When he stepped back into the bedroom, she was getting under the sheets. He turned off the bedroom light, climbed onto the bed, and lay down beside her. There was an intoxicating scent in the air. Her shampoo and something else. Lotion? Perfume? He didn’t know what it was, but it was already driving him wild with desire.

  Running his hand down her hip, he said, “You look so sexy in that negligee.”

  His eyes were still adjusting to the darkness in the room, but he could still see her arch her back to wrap her arms and legs around him. He was already hard. Aching to be inside her.

  His lips found hers and he groaned. His hand started to wander up under her negligee, caressing her supple thigh.

  Over the past several weeks they hadn’t had much time to be intimate. Whenever they got the opportunity to have sex, it tended to be quick. Hot, dirty, and fast. Right now, he wanted to take his time with her. Make love to her slowly. Show her how much he had missed being with her.

  Suddenly, she broke the kiss and pulled back. “Not tonight, Dane.” Her words were like cold water. A cold water that scared him badly enough to wonder if he was losing her. Because it was rare for her to not want sex. So rare in fact, he couldn’t remember it ever happening.

  “I’m exhausted,” she continued. She rolled over. With her back to him, he couldn’t help wondering if the gulf growing between them was because of him.

  Or because of another man.