The Twelve Dates of Christmas (16 page)

“Of course not!” I retorted.

To be honest, I hadn't gotten that far yet. But now that I thought about it, I realized my cousin was right. I couldn't treat
any guy like some lab rat, no matter how important it was to get Cam back. Maybe a little of Cam's niceness had rubbed off on me over the years after all.

“No,” I said thoughtfully, reaching for another french fry, “the other guy will have to be in on the plan.” I smiled as the perfect guy popped into my head. “Hey! How about your friend Charlie?”

“You mean Charlie Welles from baseball camp?” Nick asked.

“Yeah. He's perfect—he's good-looking, he's smart, he has a sense of humor, and you're always saying he's kind of a player when it comes to women. And most important, Cam has never met him.” I smiled at Nick hopefully. “Think he'll go for it?”

Nick shrugged and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. “I can ask him. Actually, it kind of sounds like the type of crazy plan he'll think is a riot.”

“Wait,” Allie said before Nick could punch in Charlie's number. “Even if this Charlie guy is willing, how are you going to make sure Cam sees you guys together?”

“That's easy.” My mind had already worked out that next step while we were talking. “I'm betting I know what their
next date is. Holiday Harmonies is this weekend.”

Allie's eyes widened. “Of course! I bet you're right. Everybody goes to that.”

The Holiday Harmonies concert was another of the town's myriad annual holiday events. It was a fund-raiser for the Claus Lake Fire Department, traditionally held on the Friday before Christmas. As Allie had said, just about everyone in town attended to socialize with their neighbors, discuss the upcoming Ball, and listen to various local musical groups and soloists do their thing. I figured there was roughly a ninety-nine percent chance that Cam and Jaylene would be there.

“Okay, then.” Nick lifted his phone. “Let's see if we can get you a fake date for Friday night.”

I looked out the window as Charlie maneuvered his Saab into the last remaining parking space on the block. Dozens of concert-goers were hurrying toward the fireman's hall, most of them with their hands in their pockets and their shoulders hunched against the cold wind gusting in off the lake, which was blowing around the
snow that had been falling steadily all day.

“Hang on.” I dug into my purse as Charlie cut the engine. “I have the tickets in here somewhere. Let me find them before we get out in the cold.”

When I pulled out the tickets, Charlie held out his hand. “Let me hold on to them both until we get inside.” He winked. “That's what a
real
date would do, right?”

So far Nick's friend really seemed to be enjoying this whole scheme. Maybe almost
too
much. I couldn't really complain, though. He was just as good-looking as I'd remembered, with mischievous blue eyes, tousled dark hair, and a rakish grin.

“Okay, Prince Charming.” I handed over the tickets. “Ready to go in?”

“Can't wait, my love.”

Soon we were among the people rushing through the cold and snow. Charlie put one arm around my waist as we walked and reached over and took my hand with his other hand. It felt like overkill, but I didn't complain. It was warmer that way.

“See your ex anywhere yet?” he murmured into my ear as we entered the hall. “Be sure to point him out so I know who my audience is.”

I glanced around at the sea of familiar faces. Nick and Allie were just coming back from the coat check window. When they saw me, they hurried over. Nick immediately started into some elaborate high-five ritual with Charlie, but Allie grabbed my arm so tightly it hurt.

“They're here,” she hissed. “Over by the snack table.”

Looking that way, I saw them. Cam was leaning against the wall, looking casually handsome in cords and the Nordic print sweater I'd bought him for his birthday the previous year. Jaylene was totally overdressed for the occasion in a sparkly midnight-blue dress and high heels, though she didn't appear at all self-conscious about the fact that most of the other female concert-goers wore something closer to my own attire of nice black pants and a sweater. The two of them were chatting with several girls from Jaylene's class.

“Come on,” Nick said. “Let's go over and say hi, shall we?”

“Absolutely.” Charlie reached over and took my hand. “Shall we, my princess?”

“Sure. Just remember, we're supposed to
be on, like, our second date, okay? Don't go overboard with the princess thing.”

“Got it.” He winked. “Just having a little fun.”

The other girls drifted away as we approached. “Well, hi there, y'all!” Jaylene greeted us with her usual enthusiasm. “Cam said the whole dang town comes to this concert, but Ah guess Ah didn't believe it until Ah got here.”

“Yep, we never miss it. We're all addicted to Christmas.” Nick gave Cam a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Isn't that right, buddy?”

“Definitely.” Cam smiled at him. But I was pretty sure I saw his eyes dart curiously toward Charlie.

Jaylene's curiosity was much more open. “So Lexi,” she said with a coy smile. “Who's your handsome friend? Ah don't think we've met.” She held out a hand toward Charlie. “Ah'm Jaylene.”

“Charlie.” He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jaylene. Any friend of the lovely Lexi is a friend of mine.”

I tried not to wince. So much for not going overboard. “Charlie, this is, um, my other friend, Cam. Cam, this is Charlie. My—my date.”

“Good to meet you, Cam.” Charlie held out his hand.

Cam took it. “Likewise.”

I tried to watch him without letting on that I was doing it. Was it my imagination, or had his jaw clenched slightly when he'd taken Charlie's hand? I wasn't sure.

“So how did you two meet?” Jaylene asked, snuggling up against Cam until he put his arm around her.

Charlie slung one arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “It's a cute story, actually,” he said with a chuckle. “I live over near Dornerville, but I was here in Claus Lake one day last week doing some Christmas shopping. When I stopped at the red light on Elf Street, I looked over and saw the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen in the car next to me. It was our Lexi, of course.” He squeezed again and bent to give me a kiss on the top of my head. “I tried to get her attention, but just then the light changed, and she drove off without even looking over. I was heartbroken.”

“Aw, so sweet!” Jaylene cried. “Then what happened?”

Charlie shrugged. “I followed her, of course. What else could I do? I'd been
struck by Cupid's arrow.” He put his free hand to his chest. “I knew I had to meet her. So I forgot all about my shopping and followed her. I had to run a red light at one point to keep from losing her, and a traffic cop pulled me over. But when I explained, he let me go—he said Lexi Michaels is well known to be the most beautiful girl in town, so he couldn't blame me for chasing her.”

If I could have muzzled him at that moment, I would have. Or better yet, strangled him. I'd conveniently forgotten that the main reason Charlie was friends with Nick was because they shared that wicked sense of humor.

“He's just kidding,” I said quickly. “He didn't really get stopped by the cops.”

Charlie squeezed again. “You don't have to be modest, baby,” he said. “Anyone with eyes can see that you're gorgeous. Aren't I right, guys?” He nudged Nick.

Nick coughed. “Uh, she's my cousin, dude.”

“Oh, right. Well, I'm sure Cam here agrees with me.” Charlie turned and beamed at Cam instead. “Back me up here, buddy.”

Cam looked uncomfortable. He shot me a quick glance, then shrugged. “Sure,” he said quietly. “Lexi's beautiful.”

I felt a pang. How many times had he told me that over the past four years? Somehow, though, I'd never fully appreciated the compliment until right now.

“Sure she is,” Jaylene put in happily. “And that's
such
a sweet story, Charlie!”

“Not as sweet as my Lexi.” Charlie reached over and chucked me under the chin. “That red light was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. It was fate, you know?”

I shot Nick a helpless glance. He shrugged at me.

“Um, so did anyone catch the Packers game last weekend?” he spoke up. “Kind of a heartbreaker, wasn't it?”

“The only heartbreaker for me is Lexi,” Charlie put in. “It would break my heart if I couldn't be with her.”

Things were rapidly spinning out of control. There was no way Cam would believe this guy was for real. Maybe it was better to 'fess up now, admit that Charlie and I were just friends, and play the whole thing off as some kind of joke. . . .

Before I could decide, a buzzer went off to call people into the hall. The concert was about to start.

“Come on, guys,” Allie said, sounding relieved. “We'd better go find our seats.”

Charlie and I had seats near the middle of the room on the aisle. Nick and Allie were sitting together across the way. Cam and Jaylene were a few rows ahead of them.

“What's the deal with that ridiculous how-we-met story?” I hissed at Charlie as soon as we were sitting down. “Where did you come up with that, some bad romance novel? There's no way anyone would believe that's really how we hooked up.”

He leaned back in his seat and grinned at me. “Oh, I don't know. Fact is stranger than fiction, right? Anyway, I think they bought it.”

I blew out a sigh. “Well, just cool it a little, okay? Try to keep things more believable.”

“Sure, sure. Hey, don't look now, but your pal Cam is looking this way. Let's give him something to look at.”

Before I could respond, he leaned over and planted a kiss right in the middle of my
forehead. Then he grabbed me and hugged me, running his hands up and down my back.

“Okay, enough.” I shoved him back into his own seat before he could get carried away. “This is a family event, you know.”

I shot a look toward Cam out of the corner of my eye. He was turned away from me, talking to Jaylene. Had he really looked over and seen me and Charlie just now? Or had that just been another one of Charlie's little jokes?

The house lights started to go down. Just then, I saw Cam turn and look over. His face was somber. When he saw me looking, he immediately turned away again.

My eyes widened even as the place went dark. Was I imagining things, or had he actually looked a little bit . . . jealous?

No way,
I thought with a sudden flare of hope as the first singer stepped out onstage.
Could this goofy act of Charlie's actually be working after all?

I had plenty of time to ponder it over the next hour or so. Finally the last act before intermission came on: a kids' choir. As they began their first song, “I Saw
Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” I had a brainstorm. I leaned closer to Charlie.

“Listen,” I whispered, “are you up for a little kissing?”

“Anytime, anywhere, my love,” he whispered back, his teeth gleaming in the dark as he grinned at me. “As long as it's you I get to kiss, and not some fat guy in a red suit.”

“Good. Let's see if we can get out of here fast at intermission. If we time it right, maybe we can make sure we have an audience for our first kiss, if you know what I mean.”

“Reading you loud and clear.”

As soon as the lights came up, I dashed across the aisle to where Nick and Allie were sitting. “Get Cam outside,” I hissed in Nick's ear.

Then Charlie grabbed me by the hand, and we darted up the aisle and into the lobby. Once there, we immediately headed for the door.

“Wait a second, can't we do this inside?” Charlie complained as I pushed open the door.

“Don't worry, we're not going all the way out.” There were two sets of doors
leading into the main lobby. In between was a sort of outer lobby, really just a small space with a bulletin board for local announcements and a little table full of safety pamphlets. “I don't want to do this in front of the entire town.”

He grinned and stepped closer. “Why not? You ashamed of me?”

“Maybe.” There was a window in the door leading inside, and I caught a flurry of movement on the other side. “But never mind that. Kiss me!”

I didn't need to tell him twice. Just as the door swung open, he bent down, wrapped both arms around me, and pulled me to him.

I'd been expecting a first-kiss type of peck on the lips. But what I got was more like a the-world-is-about-to-end-so-kiss-me-dammit type of kiss. I'm talking full contact make-out move. I was so taken by surprise that I just kissed him back. He was actually a pretty good kisser, as far as I could judge—after all, I hadn't really kissed anyone but Cam in a long time.

“Oh, my!” Jaylene's voice broke in with a giggle. “Are we interruptin' something?”

Finally Charlie and I broke apart. I was
feeling a little breathless and discombobulated. Glancing over, I saw Nick, Allie, Cam, and Jaylene standing in the doorway. Nick looked amused. Jaylene looked delighted. And Cam . . . well, I couldn't quite tell how Cam looked. Usually he's as easy to read as a large-print book. But at the moment his face wasn't giving anything away.

“Whoops! You caught us.” Charlie grinned with a total lack of shame or sheepishness. “Can you blame me for wanting to sneak off for a little of this?” He reached down and patted me on the butt.

I felt like smacking him. Instead, I forced a smile. “Um, sorry,” I said. “Guess we got a little carried away. Come on, Charlie. Let's head back inside.”

I didn't quite dare look at Cam again. Was this going to work? Or had I just made a big fool of myself?

Once we were back in the lobby, Jaylene excused herself to go to the ladies' room. Allie went with her. That left me standing there with Nick, Cam, and Charlie.