“What about your sisters?”
“They’re actually all pretty decent at it now, but it’s been tradition that everyone else does it. Although…they started contributing more to the side dishes, so I guess that’s something. Even this year at Steph’s, my grandmother showed up early to cook everything.”
“I love to cook. Especially everything for Thanksgiving. If I didn’t live alone, I’d totally make a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings at least once a month.”
“What does living alone have to do with it?”
She looked at him like he were crazy. “The sheer amount of leftovers would be insane! Plus, by the time I finished eating them, it would be time to make another full dinner again. At that rate, the only thing I’d be eating is turkey and that’d ruin the entire Thanksgiving experience.”
Shrugging, he knew she had a point, but now all he could think about was how he would kill for some Thanksgiving leftovers right about now. The thought of eating more cookies practically made his stomach revolt, but a real dinner would certainly be welcome right now.
They were quiet for a moment before Hannah gasped, reaching out and shaking his arm. “Ooh-ooh-ooh…I know a good dare! Pick dare! Pick dare!”
“Um…”
“I dare you to hire a fake girlfriend to help you get through the holidays!” she said proudly.
“Hire someone?!” Was she crazy?
Nodding vigorously, she shifted again to fully face him. “Hear me out. A fake girlfriend for the holidays–someone you choose and you know you can stand having around you for all the parties and hoopla. You’ll pack on the PDA and look like you’re totally into each other and you drop little hints to your family like “she could be the one” or “I’ve never felt like this before’ and…voila! They’re off your back. Genius, right?”
“It’s lying, Hannah,” he said firmly, but…if he were being honest, he didn’t exactly hate it. So many issues would just go away if he could bring himself to do something like this, but…did he really want to hire someone? Like who? An actress? An escort? The thought made him shudder. “I don’t think I could hire someone. That just feels more than a little…desperate.”
She sighed loudly. “Okay, you’re focusing too hard on the word hire. What about a friend? Surely you have some female friends who could help you out. I mean…it’s a Christmas party or two, right? It’s not like you’re asking them to go on vacation with you.”
“Well…”
“You said it was just a party, Gage.”
“It is…followed by a week-long family thing. Now one of my sisters is bringing a friend of hers who apparently has always had a crush on me.” Closing his eyes, he groaned. “Maybe I can come down with the flu and avoid it all.”
“You’d still just be prolonging the inevitable. Eventually you’d have to get better and there they’ll all be, ready to pounce.”
There was no way he could argue because that was exactly what would happen.
“Just think about it,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “Maybe it’s crazy and a little dishonest, but don’t you deserve the opportunity to enjoy the holidays without everyone pressuring you and trying to fix you up with women you have no interest in dating?”
His mind started to spin with ideas of potential fake girlfriends, but…he felt awkward about asking any of them and ruining their friendships. Plus, he wasn’t that good of an actor that he could fake being in love with someone.
Was he?
In front of him, Hannah was going on about all the ways this would be beneficial for him and even though he wouldn’t come right out and admit it to her, she was right.
One hundred percent right.
So where did that leave him?
“You’d have to pick someone who knows a lot about you, otherwise your family will be able to sniff that out immediately,” she was saying. “Someone who knows your likes and dislikes, any quirks you might have, and a fairly good knowledge of your life–even the embarrassing stuff.”
And that’s when true inspiration struck.
“Truth or dare?” he blurted out.
“Excuse me?”
“Truth or dare?” he repeated with a little more urgency.
Her smile was slow and a little mischievous. “I want to say truth, but I have a feeling you really want me to say dare so…dare.”
“I dare you to be my fake girlfriend for the holidays.” And then he held his breath, unsure if he really wanted her to say yes or turn him down.
“Oh, Gage…come on,” she said sympathetically. “You know I have this big promotion thing happening and I already couldn’t commit to spending the holidays with my own family. I don’t think I’d have the time to put into what you need.”
Nodding, he tried not to look disappointed, even though–surprisingly–he was.
“Dammit,” she muttered. “And I would have been really good at it!” Stomping her foot, she continued. “This would have been an amazing story to tell them. We were trapped in the elevator and fell wildly in love! They would have gone wild for it!” After muttering another curse, Hannah reached over and rested her hand on his thigh. “I’m so sorry. Maybe I can see what my schedule is like and you can give me the dates you’d definitely need me with you…”
“It’s no big deal, Hannah. Really. And besides, I’m not even sure it would have worked. I mean…I don’t think we’d be able to fool my family. Or anyone, for that matter. We barely know each other.”
“I disagree.”
“How can you disagree? We just met.”
With an exaggerated eye roll, she leaned back against the wall. “Gage, I know more about you than the last three guys I dated. And one of them I was with for a year! All this conversation that we’ve crammed into the last few hours would take most couples months to go through. I bet I know you better than most of your friends!”
He was far too tired–both mentally and physically–to argue that with her and, without any of his friends present, it would be hard to prove. Still, she did have a point–again.
“And I know I may not look so great right now,” she went on, motioning to her casual appearance, “but I do clean up nicely. I’m sure if I were dressed up for a party and had on some makeup you could pretend to be attracted to me.”
Was she serious? “Hannah, there’s nothing wrong with you or the way you look right now. You’re an attractive woman no matter what.”
Her soft gasp and widened eyes were her only response.
“I mean…I’ve seen you around enough times to know what you look like. Every time we’ve crossed paths I always thought you were pretty and…you know…it’s not like you look bad right now.”
Ugh…why did that sound like an insult?
Hannah softly cleared her throat and straightened. “You think I’m pretty?”
I walked right into that one, didn’t I?
“Well…yeah,” he stammered, trying not to look directly at her because this was getting awkward fast. “But it’s a moot point,” he said after a moment. “Your schedule is going to be full and there’s no way I’d interfere with it. It was a good idea, but…it’s just not going to happen.”