Blame It On The Mistletoe

She looked up and Sean gave her a look that said, “don't argue,” before he looked to everyone in the room. “I think this one has had enough excitement for one day,” he said. “Tell them goodnight, Macy.'

Macy turned her head, smiling at her father. “Night, daddy.'

'Goodnight, baby. We'll talk more in the morning.'

A round of goodnights followed in their wake and Macy was too tired to complain that she was being carried to bed. Her well thought out plan to ignore the entire ordeal was thrown out the window the moment Sean's arms were around her. As much as he'd irritated her today, she had to admit, if only to herself, being in his arms felt nice. She relaxed, sinking into his warm embrace, sighing heavily and laying her head on his shoulder when he reached the stairs and started up.

'You're still not sleeping in my bed,” she said, sleepily.

He laughed and rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. “I could always lay you in the hall.'

'You won't, though.'

'No, I won't,” he admitted. He reached her room, pushing the door closed with his foot and crossed the room. “I'm beat, Macy. Why don't we just sleep tonight and fight about the sleeping arrangements tomorrow?'

She mumbled something he didn't understand when he laid her down and he smiled when she curled into a ball, her hands tucked under her chin. He took her shoes off, tossing them to the floor before sitting down on the edge of the bed and removing his own. A nice, long shower would do wonders for his fatigue but he was too tired to even contemplate it for very long. Shaking his head, he stood, flipped off the lights, walked around the bed, and lay down with a groan of pleasure.

He turned to his side and stretched out, looking at Macy as she slept. He smiled as he thought of the way he'd teased her, her cheeks turning rosy red every time. He hadn't done it to make her uncomfortable, though. She was already uncomfortable. He figured if he made light of the whole thing, she'd stop being so nervous. If he noticed it, surely her family did. They were supposed to be a couple. If she flinched every time he was near, they'd figure out her little lie in no time.

He almost laughed out loud at the entire situation. Why she felt the need to lie about having a boyfriend to begin with was beyond him. Surely her parents wouldn't fault her for not having one. And why didn't she have one? She was certainly pretty enough to gain the attention of any number of men. She was cute, sassy and normally had a great sense of humor. Her laughter was contagious most days and one glance at those big baby blue eyes of hers would melt a man on the spot.

Yeah, a man could do a lot worse than Macy Carter. She didn't give herself enough credit. She was the total package. Any man would be crazy not to fall in love with her. So why haven't you? He smiled while looking at her. Maybe this plan wasn't so crazy. He hadn't ever asked her out because of his “no dating employees” rule and the age difference but if he were supposed to act like he was in love with her, then what harm would it do to take it one step further? If he couldn't have her on normal terms, then this was perfect, right? He had an entire week to find out what those plump lips tasted like. A week to feel her in his arms and if things went further than that…

His smile grew. Yeah, this harebrained idea of his just took a detour on the right track. A week pretending to be Macy's boyfriend? Not a problem at all.

* * * *

'Macy! Get up! It's snowing!'

Macy blinked open her eyes when the bed shifted, the tiny hands and feet of her nieces and nephews climbing across her drew a grunt from her when someone's elbow jammed into her stomach.

She pried her eyes open, squinting against the light spilling in from her open curtain and smiled as the happy chatter continued.

The kids jumped from the bed, running to the window and looked out, talking so fast she couldn't make out who was saying what. The snow was falling heavily, the large flakes brushing the window and covering the world in a blanket of white. She tried to sit up but stopped when she heard a groan behind her and the arm she hadn't noticed wrapped around her waist tightened. Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder. Sean was behind her, spooned closely to her back.

She panicked momentarily but noticed quickly they were both still fully clothed. They weren't even under the covers. A thin blanket was draped half way across them and she glanced around the room trying to remember how she even got there. It came back to her in an instant. Sean had carried her up to bed and she hadn't protested a bit. She blushed and ducked her head.

Lying perfectly still, she tried to get her cheeks to cool. The bedroom door was open and knowing one of her family members could walk by prompted her to reach for Sean's arm to lift it from her waist.

He grabbed her hand, tucking it back to her stomach and tightened his hold on her. “Lay still. If you pretend not to see them, they'll go away.'

'The kids?” she asked.

'Mmhum,” he mumbled. He pulled her closer to him, the warmth of his body seeping through her clothes and she wanted nothing more than to lay there for the remainder of the day. His scent surrounded her, the feel of his arms around her heavenly, but she couldn't let herself get comfortable.

Struggling free, she sat up, grinning when Sean mumbled out a complaint and grabbed the blanket, pulling it to him and wrapping himself up in a make-shift cocoon.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes and stood, walking to the window and looking out. “Wow.” There was already a good six inches of snow on the ground and it was still falling. “Do you know what this means?” she asked the kids.

'The sleigh?” they all chimed in unison.

'Has grandpa ever let a good snow go to waste?'

'No!'

Macy laughed when they rushed from the room, screaming for her father as they stomped down the stairs.

'What's so special about a sleigh?'

Macy looked over at the bed. Sean was propped up on one arm, his hair tussled in a mass of wild strands with sleep filled doe eyes and a hint of stubble darkening his chin. He'd never looked so tempting. She smiled and went to her bags. “Meet me downstairs for breakfast and you'll find out.'

She grabbed clean clothes and rushed to the bathroom.

Sean watched her go, blinking twice before looking to the window. The trees were covered with snow. Living all of his thirty-six years of life in Charleston he'd only seen snow in sporadic patches. Sure it snowed occasionally that far south but nothing like this. He grinned and climbed from the bed, grabbing his bag to find clean clothes.

* * * *

'It's a sleigh,” Sean said with astonishment.

Macy laughed and turned her head to him. “Of course it's a sleigh,” she said. “What did you think we were talking about?'

'I… well, I wasn't expecting a real sleigh,” he said, laughing. Sean shook his head as he stared at the sleigh sitting in front of the house. It looked just like every sleigh he'd ever saw on TV, complete with horses with jingling bells attached to their harnesses. It was bright red trimmed in gold with bench seats on either side, plus the driver's bench up front. Blankets were being loaded, thermoses of hot chocolate packed into the basket on the floor and a host of happy, smiling children being lifted and seated. He looked to Macy, watching her laugh and help the children up before she walked back to the porch and stopped beside them.

'Daddy always takes them first. We'll get our turn later.'

'Is this something he does every winter?'

'Every chance he gets.'

'We've got room for a few more,” Rose said. “Macy, you and Sean climb up. You can have the first ride, too.'

'That's okay, Momma. You go ahead and go. We'll wait.'