I stood to the side of my living room windows, stalker style, peeking through the pale blue curtains at the darkened parking lot below. As I'd expected, Laurel talked me into taking Nate to Christmas with my family and presenting him as my boyfriend.

Then somehow, when I called him last night to plan for this morning, he'd been so sweet and funny in the few minutes we'd spoken he made me feel good about my decision. He hadn't even complained about leaving so early.

Now, here he was, strolling under the streetlights toward my building, carrying a large suitcase. I'm not sure why it struck me as odd. Of course Nate packed, he'd need clothes and toiletries to spend the week at Granny's house.

Where we'd share a bedroom.

Just me and the super hot guy I'd only spoken to once.

Cheese and crackers, this was a terrible idea. Nerves heated my face as I leaned my forehead against the cool wall.

For the first time, I wished Granny was less progressive, or didn't consider my age. Sixteen, twenty-eight, or fifty, it wouldn't matter. Most of her generation wouldn't allow unmarried people to share a bed in their house.

Dad and Mother wouldn't love it, but they just wouldn't mention the sleeping arrangements. That's the way of proper southerners. None of them drink, or do drugs, or have premarital sex, as long as you don't catch them, and even then, there's a good chance they'd deny it.

It'd been a decade since I'd lived under my parent's roof, it wasn't like they knew what I did regularly—I could be leading orgies on the weekends. I cringed and then cracked up at the ridiculous thought.

Pretty sure it took a smidge more confidence than I had to be involved in something like that. Not that I'd be interested, anyway. One guy would be plenty, if I could find one worth keeping.

Focus, Liv. What was I thinking?

I couldn't ask Nate to do this, and even if I could, no one would believe it was real. How could we pass for being a couple long enough to do Christmas week together, less than six hours after meeting?

I jumped as the doorbell rang and I realized the parking lot was empty. Damn it, he walked fast.

Nate was at the door.

My pretend boyfriend Nate.

A giggle started in my throat but I pinched my lips, trapping it. As emotional as the past couple of days had been, if I started laughing, I might not stop.

Straightening the thin cream-colored sweater Laurel bought me over the whiskey faux suede skirt she insisted wasn't too short, I dashed to the hall bathroom for one last check on my appearance.

Black tights made me feel better about the amount of leg showing, and my black ankle boots were comfy and cute, no matter what Laurel thought. Makeup and hair were on point with perfect winged liner and freshly dyed auburn waves falling over my shoulders.

I scowled at myself as I remembered considering an emergency appointment at the salon. Blonde wasn't my favorite shade, but if it made Mother happy, would it really be that bad?

The answer was yes, it would. That people-pleasing, do-anything-to-keep-everyone-happy-no-matter-what-I-wanted attitude was what led to things like still spending every Christmas with your high school ex a decade later.

I might not be strong enough to put an end to that yet, but my hair was the color I wanted, and that was a start. Baby steps.

The bell rang again. I flipped the bathroom light off and tried to even my breathing as I paced to the foyer. Nate was a nice guy. He wouldn't care if I'd changed my mind. He probably had something better to do, anyway.

I opened the door and a cologne that was both elegant and woodsy wafted from the giant leaning on the doorframe. Was he that tall in his picture?

My fake boyfriend smelled expensive and masculine—like a rich man that wasn't too fancy to chop his own wood. Anxiety struck hard, forcing my nervous gaze to his boots. Starting from there, I worked my way up.

Nate wore jeans with an unzipped, light brown bomber jacket. Under that was a snug olive henley that showed off his muscular chest and made his eyes appear brighter. Casually arranged hair that was styled but not overdone topped him off.

He was rugged with polished edges. A model they'd put on the cover of that catalog for rich people that enjoyed camping, or at least pretending they did.

The image of him wearing a bright red coat, dragging a cut pine through a snowy forest in its glossy pages filled my mind. That coat would be four hundred dollars on sale, and guys with desk jobs and soft hands would order it so they could imitate this man.

Blood rushed to my face in a warm wave. Get it together, Liv.

A smile tugged at Nate's mouth. "Hey, girlfriend."

That was it, the giggle escaped, and I couldn't even speak to invite him in. Instead, I just waved my arm like I was directing traffic as the sound I made turned into a cackle and stinging told me overly-emotional tears were on the way.

I rushed to my bedroom, shut myself inside, and grabbed a tissue from the vanity to hold under my lashes. What the hell did I let Laurel talk me into? This was insane. Staring up at the ceiling, I tried not to ruin my makeup.

A quiet knock came seconds later. "Liv? Are you alright?"

"Umm hmm." I took a shaky breath, and my voice wavered. "I'm great. How are you?"

He chuckled. "Good. Excited about our drive, actually; I love a road trip. What about you?"

"Yeah, I do too."

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong then?"

Why did every extreme emotion have to make me cry? It never mattered: happy, sad, angry, frustrated, they all equaled tears. I dabbed at my face, but another tear fell, so I sat on the bed and stared at the fan that hung above me, refusing to destroy all my hard work—this eyeliner wasn't easy.

"It's not a drive problem so much as a destination problem."

"I get that." He waited a moment and asked softly, "Can I come in?"

Puffing out my cheeks, I released a slow breath. "Sure. Why not?" Nate probably already thought I was insane, might as well give him a front-row seat to my meltdown.

The door squeaked open, and I could feel Nate studying me before he crossed the room. He tossed his jacket on the bed, sat beside me, then laid back. "Here, lie down. That angle has to be killing your neck."

He was right, so I did, and I found he'd moved a pillow for me since our heads were in the middle of the mattress. "Thanks."

"No problem. So, are you upset because of your family, the whole fake relationship idea, or is there something else?"

I huffed. "No, nothing else. That pretty much covers it."

After a few seconds of quiet, the tears finally stopped. I lowered my hands and closed my eyes. "Nate, listen, I appreciate that you're willing to do this for me or for Laurel or whatever, but it's okay. You don't have to. I'll just deal with my family like a big girl—with lots of alcohol. I'm sure you have better things to do."

"Nah, I really don't." He folded his hands behind his neck. "My office is closed for the week, and my family's Jewish. I visited with them once this month already, and that was enough for all of us."

His voice tightened, but before I could ask about it, he said, "I'm excited about getting to know you though. Laurel's sure we'll love each other. Besides, I haven't been to a beach in forever."

"I hate to disappoint you, but it'll be too cold on Wayden Isle to swim or anything."

"That's okay, just the view will be cool. If it's like Tybee, it should get up to the low sixties. That'd be warm enough for a long walk to soak up the scenery and escape for a while."

Roaming near the waves with a friend to get away from that hectic house and the snide comments sounded so nice that even the idea brought relief and a smile. I faced Nate and found him watching me.

"Feel better?" he asked with a smile of his own.

Stunning. It was the only way to describe him. A different kind of nerves buzzed in my stomach. He's gay, I reminded myself and squashed the urge to get up and fix my hair. He didn't care if I was rumpled.

"No one will believe we're together."

Rolling to his side, he waved the concern away and took the kleenex from my fingers. He patted the edge of my cheekbone where I'd apparently messed something up. "There, you look great."

Nate stood, tossed the tissue into the little silver trash bin, and offered his hand to help me up. "We have the entire drive to get our story straight and be able to pass as a couple," he said when I settled in front of him. "Plus, we'll keep getting to know each other while we're there. It'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not just that. Do we really expect everyone to believe that I went from hardly dating to having the hottest guy I've ever seen in real life as my boyfriend? They can be jerks, but they're not idiots."

He grinned and poked my nose. "Aww! Flattery will get you everywhere. But seriously, that's ridiculous. Do you know what Laurel says about you?"

"Oh my gosh, there's really no telling. Do I even want to know?"

"She said you're beautiful but too self-conscious to notice, and I think she's right."

"That's nice, but seriously look at us—"

"Yeah, let's." He took my hand and led me to the ensuite. Flicking the light on, we stood in front of the mirror. "How adorable are we?"

His arm went around my shoulders tugging me gently closer. I didn't say it out loud, but we were a better match than I'd thought, even if he was a solid foot taller than me.

"Oh! How about this one?" Nate turned to the side and positioned me with my back to his front and his hands resting on my waist in the classic prom picture pose.

"Tell me we're not a smokin' hot couple." He bit his lip at our reflection and I laughed at his silliness.

"I guess we're pretty cute."

He faced me. "Yes, we are. And I promise, no one will guess we're not together. It's been a while, but pretending to be attracted to girls was a necessary skill for me for a long time."

Sadness crossed his features and was gone so quickly I wasn't sure I'd seen it, but it would've been understandable. "Having to hide who you are must've been hard."

"It wasn't great, but it would've been a lot worse without Laurel buying me time to be ready for whatever reactions I'd get. She supported me and never pushed me to move faster."

Nate's somber tone was such a contrast to his teasing from a minute ago that I wanted to hug him, but then he seemed to shake it off and smiled. "That's why I'm happy to help you with this.

"It's not the same, but if you don't want to rush to the altar and start breeding, you shouldn't have to take crap about it. Live your life for you and tell anyone that doesn't approve to get lost. But if you're not ready for that, let's spend the holiday without you being picked on."

I did hug him then. With my arms around his waist and my cheek against his chest, I said, "This is ridiculous. You're freakishly tall."

His laugh rumbled against my ear. "I wouldn't say freakishly. I'm only six-four, but my boots probably add an inch."

"Yeah, that last inch is where you crossed the line from average to gigantic."

Nate stepped back with a grin. "Are we doing this or not? If not, we could still find something fun to do for the week. There are lots of beaches. Miami would even be warm enough to swim. I bet Laurel would meet us there after her family stuff."

"You don't know how appealing that sounds, but I think this might work." I admired the two of us together in the mirror again and nodded. "Let's show that bitch Briar my hot new boyfriend."

"Oh, catty! I love it! Who's Briar?"

Laughing, I strode toward the living room to collect my bags. This trip might not be awful after all.

First impressions are everything, right? So what do you think of Nate? 👀

Next chapter, we'll get to see how Nate and Liv get along. Do you think they'll be able to make a convincing couple after just meeting? 😬

I'm so surprised by how many people hopped on this story when only one chapter was posted. Thanks for the support!! I appreciate you guys! 💜