5. Petra

CHAPTER 5

Petra

" N o fucking way, Jeremy! I'm not doing it!"

I stare at him like he's lost his mind. I mean, obviously he has because this idea is idiotic. There's no way that anyone would believe that we're dating. It's ludicrous!

"By the time we go into town tomorrow morning, I guarantee that the entire town is going to be talking about what just happened out there and they're gonna say that we were fucking around. I hate to say it but this is a small town and everyone's going to be speculating about why we were sleeping together. And some of it is not going to be nice for either one of us. Do you want your parents to come home and hear that kind of stuff? I know I don't want my parents anywhere near it."

I huff but my mind reels when I consider he might be right. If Mom and Dad come home and the whole town is speculating about why we were naked outside together? This whole thing might turn into some kind of train wreck and my whole body trembles when I think about what some of the gossips in this town might say.

But I absolutely cannot fake date Jeremy! Who the hell would buy that disastrous idea after he fired me and I lied to him and the town about my matchmaking articles?

Nobody.

"There's no way that anybody with half a brain would buy that we've been scrapping for most of our life and then all of a sudden we're dating and it's …. sexual !" I hiss.

Jeremy's handsome face dissolves into laughter. "You make that sound like you're a victorian virgin for god's sake! Please…say it again. I love it!"

I flush and glare at him, pointing. "You see! That right there is why they're not going to buy this half-baked plan! You can't keep yourself from harassing me and honestly…a lot of women, me included, do not find that attractive."

He shrugs. "Honestly, I can keep from doing it. I just like to." The smug smile on his face makes me want to throttle him.

"Yeah. That doesn't work for me. And then there's the fact that you fired me. In front of the whole town. There's no way on God's green earth that I'm going to forgive and forget that. Nobody would believe I would do that."

His dark head cocks. "Men would believe I would forget about it. For sex most men will forgive anything."

I cringe. "That is awful. If men can actually compartmentalize like that just to get sex it's terrible."

He throws his head back and laughs even harder. "Most men, baby girl. I wouldn't but definitely most men would. Haven't you ever heard the saying ‘happy wife happy life'. That's not just a saying for married men. Dating men are quite happy usually to let their date think the best of them by acting a little different than they usually would. To make her happy."

I stalk over to the door and prepare to leave. "You're just full of pithy sayings tonight, Jeremy. Maybe I'll sleep in my car," I mutter under my breath.

"Wait!" He growls under his breath and stalks over, blocking the door. "I promise I won't bug you anymore tonight. Just think about what I said. If it does become the talk of the town that we had sex…"

"Which we did not!" I stab a finger into his chest and almost wince at the hard muscles that barely give at the pressure.

"Which we did not," he concurs. "But if it does start getting around and grows like a huge snowball then keep what I said in mind. It might work out for the best for both of us. But stay here. You know we have room and I don't want you sleeping in your car tonight. It's unsafe."

I nod my head reluctantly. "Fine. But I don't want to talk about this terrible idea anymore. It's crazy to even think about it."

He shrugs. "It's the Christmas season. Crazier things happen at this time of the year. Season of joy and magic and all that. The season is just full of wonder and magic."

I choke on a laugh. "You don't believe in that kind of shit, Jeremy! You never did."

A strange look crosses his face. Almost like sadness or loss. "Maybe I'd like to."

I huff. "I really need some sleep, Jeremy. Can you please point me to a bedroom? I'm exhausted and it's been a super-long day."

He nods his head and holds his hand out. "Of course. Follow me. I'll give you some towels and stuff too so you can get cleaned up. I imagine you must feel like you're stuck beside a smoky campfire."

I don't say anything but he's right. I feel like I've been standing next to a bonfire all day. The acrid scent of smoke kinda hangs around me like a dark pall right now and I really would like to wash up before I hit the hay.

He leaves me at the door and then comes back after a few minutes carrying clean towels and another t-shirt for me to sleep in. "Here you go." He clears his throat awkwardly and I can see his adam's apple bob nervously. He lifts one hand up and pushes his black, rectangular frames up, the dark color highlighting the smoky gray of his eyes. "I hope you sleep well tonight, Pet."

I open my mouth but before I can blast him for the damn nickname yet again, he turns and leaves me at the door. I open it with a sigh and then smile when I see the soft blue comforter and the silver reading lamp by the bed on a dark espresso wood end table. There's a pale cream paint on the wall and the room is masculine but somehow soft and appealing. Restful.

I head to the bathroom and drop the clothes and towel to the floor before turning on the shower, the hot steam instantly filling the room and chasing away the cold chills that I've had since I stood outside in my birthday suit and a blanket.

Thank god he didn't know what I was doing right before he pulled me out of my house. That would have been so damn embarrassing I might have to leave town!

But for now I guess my secret is safe. I hope it stays that way because the smug smirk he'd get on his face….no. Just no!

I need every barrier I have left to all that weird charm and pull between us.

Maybe Christmas magic really is real and it's bewitching the both of us into feeling something that's not there anymore.