Mistletoe Between Friends (2 page)

“Maybe this isn't such a good idea,” she said quietly. “I mean, this conference is a big deal for you, and I don't want to do anything to embarrass you.”

“Why would you even think such a thing?”

“Because you're you—this super-genius guy—and I'm…me. A twenty-six-year-old woman with no real job, no real talent, and no idea of what I want to do with my life. I don't want your colleagues looking at you like you're an idiot for dating someone like me. I mean, you can go to the dinners and all that, and I can hang out at the hotel. You don't have to take me along.”

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, more than a little offended. “Lily, I am tired of you putting yourself down. I know your parents have made you feel inferior, but let me tell you what I see. I see a beautiful woman with an amazing smile and the greatest laugh, who always makes me feel better. You have a way of making everyone around you feel special, and I am going to be the envy of every man at that conference because I'll have the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm.”

“Thank you,” she finally whispered.

“Get some sleep,” he said softly. “I'll call you on Sunday and let you know our itinerary.”

“Cam?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for asking me to be your pretend girlfriend,” she said, her tone relaxed. “I promise that I'll be the best pretend girlfriend you've ever had. You may never want to let me go.”

“Good night, Lil,” he said in a near whisper. “Sweet dreams.”

“Night, Cam.” Going to sleep with Cam's voice the last thing she heard would make those dreams very sweet indeed…

Lily couldn't fall asleep.

Fake dating Cameron was the closest she'd ever get to seriously dating him. Something was better than nothing, she supposed, but still. The thought of them being a couple—even if only for show—had her wondering what it could be like if Cameron really gave them a chance.

Growing up, Lily had seen Cam as her pal, her buddy. But one fateful night when she was seventeen and feeling rebellious, he'd become her hero. After a particularly harsh fight with her parents over her poor grades in school, Lily had climbed out her window and gone to a college party that she and her friends had been forbidden to attend. Once there, she'd had too much to drink and found herself being hit on by a guy that she really didn't want anything to do with.

With no way to get home other than walking—and scared that the boy from the party would follow her—she'd called Cam. Sneaking out of his own home and taking his father's car, he'd come to her rescue. Lily had made it home safely thanks to him, and her parents had never realized she'd left. Cameron, however, was not so lucky. When he'd arrived home, his father had been up waiting and wanted to know why Cam had snuck out. He'd refused to share Lily's part in the story and ended up being grounded for a month.

When Lily had asked why he hadn't just told his father it was her fault, Cam had simply shrugged. “What's the point in both of us getting in trouble?” he had said, and in that instant, Lily saw him as her white knight. It wasn't the first time Cam had helped her, but it was the first time he'd had to pay a price for doing so.

Unimpressed with her walk on the wild side, Lily had changed her habits and begun spending even more time with Cam. He was the perfect guy, but he was so engrossed with his studies and planning his future that Lily kept her newfound feelings to herself.

“I am
so
in trouble,” she said as she punched her pillow to try and get some sleep. “How am I supposed to
play
the part of the girlfriend when I just want it to be real?”

* * *

Monday morning came way too soon for Lily. She'd given herself multiple pep talks and reminded herself how important it was to do the right thing for Cam.

It just sucked that the right thing for Cam was going to be torture for her.

Ever on time, Cameron arrived to pick Lily up at exactly 7:00 a.m. Knowing he was a stickler about time, she'd made sure that she was ready and waiting for him. But she could tell by the look on his face when she opened the door that he was surprised she was ready.

“What?” she asked.

Cam looked her up and down and then at the suitcase beside her. “You're ready,” he said with just a hint of disbelief.

A shy smile crept across Lily's face. “You told me you'd be here at seven, so I was ready for seven. Actually, I was ready at six forty-five. Impressive, right?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “You're never ready when I tell you what time I'm coming to pick you up. I build a cushion for Lily time.”

The smile shifted to playful annoyance as Lily cocked a hip and crossed her arms over her chest. “If it would make you feel better, I can change clothes and decide that I want a bowl of cereal before we leave.”

“No, no,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I'm sorry. I guess I should have just said thank you, right?”

“No,” she corrected. “You should have offered to put my suitcase in the car because all this chitchat will make us late.” Without another word, Cameron reached beyond Lily and grabbed her case while she locked up her condo. “I watched the Weather Channel last night while I was packing, and they said it's going to snow while we're up there. Won't that be beautiful? We can see snow in Central Park!”

Cam shrugged; he'd never given much thought to snow in Manhattan and didn't care about it now. They lived just outside of Raleigh, so it wasn't as if they'd never seen snow before. But that was just one of the things about Lily he adored—that the little things in life made her happy.

Lily had a bigger heart than anyone he'd ever known. He knew that even though she made light of it, she was easily hurt by her family. It didn't help that her parents always made her feel like she wasn't living up to her full potential, or that she had an older sister everyone seemed to think walked on water. Cam knew the real Lily. If anyone took the time to get to know her and saw beyond her inability to find a career, they'd see a person who'd give them the world.

For as far back as Cameron could remember, he'd been in love with Lily Cavanaugh. While everyone else around them treated him like a freak because of his intelligence, Lily always considered him Cam, her friend. He'd never once thought about telling her how he felt because the last thing he wanted was to lose her as his friend. Most days, she was the only one who kept him sane.

And now he was going to have her to himself for nearly a week.

Once they were on the road, Cam glanced over at Lily and saw the serene smile on her face. “What are you thinking about right now?” he asked.

“Actually, I was wondering if we were going to play the part of boyfriend and girlfriend during your conference or if we were waiting to kick it into gear when we got back.”

He nodded and then pondered the situation. “I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try out the act around my colleagues before we return home.” His tone was rather cut-and-dried, like he was talking about a root canal.

“How about a little enthusiasm, champ?” she asked sarcastically. “This was your idea, remember? And if we're going to pull this off and get four months of freedom from our parents, you can't talk about our relationship like it's a chore.”

Cam turned to look at her as if she were crazy. “Talk about our relationship? It's seven fifteen in the morning, Lil. We haven't been around anybody except each other. What do you want me to do?”

She sighed. “You'll need to show a little more excitement if you're going to be believable as my boyfriend.”

What had he gotten himself into? “Why, exactly, do I have to do that?”

“Cam, everyone who knows me knows that I'm a fairly happy-go-lucky person. You and I are complete opposites. I'm going to have to tone it down a little, but on the flip side, you're going to have to kick it up a notch. You know, crack a smile or a joke once in a while. Laugh.” She looked at him quizzically. “You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?”

Honestly, he didn't. When he had devised the plan to have a make-believe romance with Lily to survive the holidays, Cam had simply thought that by saying they were involved, people would get off their backs. But as Lily explained the complexities of the situation, he realized he was greatly unprepared.

And that was simply unacceptable.

Taking a fortifying breath, he said, “Okay. It's not like we have to play twenty questions to know each other better. We already know everything about each other. What do you suggest?”

“Well,” she said, “it would probably help if we held hands when out in public.”

Cameron considered her suggestions and—without reacting in any way, shape, or form—decided that this wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all. He'd finally have the opportunity to touch Lily, to kiss Lily, and it was all her idea. He really was brilliant.

“Seems simple enough,” Cam said. “Done.” He reached for her hand and held it while he focused on the road and drove one-handed. He wouldn't normally do that because safety dictated that he drive with his hands in the ten-and-two position. It took all of thirty seconds for him to start to squirm.

“This is physically painful, for you, isn't it?”

“What? No,” he denied, although he was lying through his teeth. He wanted to concentrate on the feel of her hand in his but couldn't when they were on the road.

Lily pulled her hand away and almost burst out laughing at how quickly Cam's hand went back to the steering wheel. “Okay, baby steps. We'll only hold hands when we're walking. How does that sound?” She smiled at the annoyance on Cam's face.

“Safety isn't something to take lightly, Lily.”

“Of course it isn't,” she agreed. “I mean, driving twenty miles
under
the speed limit and one-handed? What was I thinking?”

“It's a little early for all of this sarcasm,” he said dryly. “So other than hand-holding, what am I supposed to do?”

Was he kidding? At this rate, she could probably convince him to act out every one of her fantasies that she'd ever had about him. But that would be wrong.

Wouldn't it?

Yes, yes, yes.
Bad Lily! What were you thinking?

“Kissing,” she said before she could stop herself. “We'll probably have to kiss in front of people from time to time. And none of that buddy-buddy, on-the-cheek stuff. Like…real kissing.”

Bad, bad Lily!

She saw him considering the idea from all sides as usual. He never agreed to anything without thinking it through. “I guess I can,” he said, seeming bored with the idea.

“That's the spirit,” she said and was relieved to see them turning onto the exit ramp for the airport. If all went well, within a matter of hours, she would be walking around Manhattan with Cam and presenting the image of a happy couple.

Project Girlfriend had begun!

* * *

Snow was falling when they landed at Kennedy Airport, and Lily was practically bouncing in her seat with her eagerness to get out and walk in it.

“It's just snow, Lil,” Cam said teasingly. “This isn't something new.”

She punched him in the arm playfully as they walked off the plane. “Yes, but this is my very first New York snow! I'm so excited!” Taking a chance and more than ready to jump into character, Lily took Cam by the hand and headed toward the baggage claim. Walking hand in hand felt wonderful and more than natural. Why had they never done this before? “I'm not crazy about the crowds, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.” Truth was, she actually loved the crowds because they were forcing her to stay super-close to Cam who, interestingly, wasn't looking all that uncomfortable either.

“Hopefully we'll get our bags quickly and grab a taxi. I'd really like to have a little time at the hotel before my first meeting,” he said.

“What time do you start?”

“Two o'clock. We'll check in at the hotel, have lunch, and then I'll need to go.” That was all said very matter-of-factly, much like everything Cam said.

“Oh, okay,” Lily replied, her mind racing with thoughts of how she was going to spend her first afternoon in the city. “And there's a welcome dinner tonight, right?” Cam nodded. “What time is that?”

“It starts at seven thirty.”

“Did you still want me to go with you?” She hoped that she sounded casual about it, but deep down, Lily was terrified that she would do something to embarrass Cam and let him down.

He was about to reach for her suitcase on the carousel when Lily asked the question. “Why would you even ask me that?” he replied. Lily noted with surprise that he let the suitcase pass. Missing it was unlike him, though he did grab his own as it went by.

“You know, it's your first night and maybe you'd rather just have the time with your colleagues without me tagging along,” she said lightly before muttering, “and ruining it.”

Cam set his suitcase at his feet before taking Lily by the shoulders to face him. “Listen to me,” he said in a stern but loving way. “There's nothing you'll do to ruin anything for me. I asked you to come with me, and I want you there with me tonight and all the nights that we're here.” When she still didn't look convinced, he added, “Besides, you're my girlfriend. What would people say if I left you alone in the room while I went out on the town?”

That made Lily laugh. “You are
so
not going out on the town. You're a group of scientists with big brains. You'll sit around and debate the universe until you realize the night is over.” She said it lightly, but there was more than a hint of truth to it. Without thinking about it, she leaned in and hugged him. “Thanks, Cam. I needed that.” For the first time in the history of their friendship, Lily broke their embrace first. She was just about to comment on that when Cam motioned that her luggage was coming around again.

Maybe it was for the best. If Lily started analyzing every touch and look, she'd make herself crazy. Cam was pretending to be in love with her. That was it; end of story. She might have to remind herself of that several times a day because they had only been playing the part for a few hours and she was already blurring the lines.

* * *

Their hotel was right in the middle of the Times Square neighborhood, and Lily couldn't help but gape at the flurry of activity going on around her as they arrived. “Oh my gosh,” she gasped when the taxi came to a stop. “You didn't tell me we were staying right in the heart of everything!”

Cam simply shrugged and paid the driver as they got out of the cab. Once in the hotel, Lily stood silently while Cameron checked them in. As he was signing the paperwork, he said, “I booked us a suite so that you can have some privacy and I'll have a little more space to work.”

“So there are two bedrooms?” she asked as she looked around in awe of her surroundings.

“No, but the living area has a sleeper sofa. I'll take that and you take the bedroom.”

Lily didn't want to put him out. “Cam, you need your rest more than I do. You take the bedroom and I'll take the sleeper.”

He thanked the front desk clerk as he took their room cards and paperwork and then turned to Lily, who had her roller case by her side. “Let's just get to the room and we can argue logistics later, okay?” Cam took his luggage in one hand and Lily's hand in the other and led them toward the elevators. He was really starting to get the hang of this, Lily noted with delight.