Married and Bright

He groans. "Damn, it's really good."

"And the thing is, it's two days until Christmas and he has no idea what this gingerbread means to me, what Grandma means to me."

"Tell me," he says, "what she means."

I smile. "She means everything."

"Well," Andrew says, "I think you're lovely just the way you are. Allister's a fool. I bet your grandma thinks you're lovely, too."

I smile. "She does. You'd love her."

CHAPTER 3

ANDREW

Watching this angel talk has my heart pounding. Fuck, this woman, she takes my breath away in ways I’ve only experienced from a distance.

Now, I'm up close and personal and there's no lens between us. Just her and me, us.

Fuck, I want her. I've got to keep my head on straight. I know she's upset. And the last thing I want to do is come on too strong no matter what Tammy at the coffee shop suggested. I'm not going to ask her out right now when she's all mad at her boss. Instead, I keep the focus on her and her grandma.

"So, are you going to go see her for Christmas?" I ask.

Angel hesitates. "Yeah, I want to. In fact, I should leave right now. I mean, screw the shoot. Christmas is in two days. I could leave right now and I could be at her house by morning and then I could give my grandma what she really wants for Christmas."

"What does your grandma really want for Christmas?" I ask, laughing.

Angel smiles. "The only one thing my grandma really wants is for me to be happy."

I lean back. I shrug again. "Well, that's not too surprising. Isn't that what most families want? For the kids to be happy?"

"Well, it's a bit more specific than that," Angel says with a smile. "She wants me to be married and bright."

"Married and bright. What does that mean?"

Angel laughs, which is better than bursting into tears over Allister. "She wants me to be married. She wants me to have a fiancé for Christmas. That's what she's been talking about for the last year. She says, 'By Christmas time, I want you to be engaged, Angel.' She thinks a girl like me who is, you know, the marrying age – I'm 24 – shouldn't be single at Christmas. She thinks I should be engaged. She calls it married and bright."

"That's cute," I say, doing my best to not act eager because damn, I'd put a ring on this girl's finger right here, right now. She wants to get engaged, I'll do the damn thing this minute. After all, City Hall is just around the corner.

"So where does your grandma live?" I ask her. "You said you could be there by morning?"

"Yeah, she lives just through Oregon, on the edge of Oregon and California."

"Really?" I say. "My family doesn't live far from there. They live just past the California border."

"Really?" Angel says. "Are you going home for Christmas?"

I nod. "Yeah. I was going to go tomorrow. Instead, I thought as soon as the shoot ends, I'd go home, pack up my stuff, and head out. I promised my mom I'd be home for Christmas morning. But I thought I'd surprise them and get there for Christmas Eve."

Angel smiles. "You're a good son."

"Yeah, I try," I tell her. "But I think she's mad at me because I didn't return her phone call today."

"You're ignoring your mom's phone call?" Angel tsks.

"Well, not intentionally. But my sister called on my drive into work and I took that instead of answering my mom's call. And now, well, I'm probably going to hear it later."

Angel laughs. "It sounds like your family's pretty close?"

"Yeah. What about your family?"

Angel shakes her head. "It's just me and my grandma. That's why she means so much to me. And that's why the gingerbread meant a lot to me. And that's why giving her that Christmas wish would mean a lot to me. But," her shoulders lift, then they fall, "we're in Seattle and the bus ride home is long and..."

"Well, let's go," I say.

"What do you mean, let's go?"

"Let's go give your grandma her Christmas wish."

Angel raises an eyebrow. "And how exactly am I supposed to pull that off?"

"I’ll help you," I say. "Let's go tell her you're engaged. I'll be your fake fiancé for Christmas."

"You'd do that for me?"

I laugh. "There are worse things than playing the part of your husband-to-be."

Angel rolls eyes. "And what's in it for you?"

"Well, after I pose as your fiancé for your grandma, you can come with me to visit my parents."

Angel laughs. "Okay."

"Or not. You don't have to go to my family's for Christmas. But hell, your place is on the way to mine, Angel. I don't mind."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asks. But she's standing. She's reaching for her bag. She's willing to go.