Spending time with Amy and Abigail was great. After we joked and laughed over coffee, and talked about Abigail and the baby- the attention was turned on me.

“So, what do you do for work, Holly?” Abigail asked me.

“Well, I’m in between jobs at the moment. I’m trying to get a handbag business going. I make great bags, and have an Etsy shop. Holly’s Handbags, but it isn’t going so well. Thirty years old, and nothing to show for it.”

I felt like shit, I hated my current situation. Hated I had no money or career in my life. All of my friends from high school were busy getting married and having babies, and I was nothing. But, I refused to give up. I wanted success so badly.

“Do you have any bags to show us?” Amy asked.

I pulled out my phone and swiped through my photos of my creations. Showing both Amy and Abigail, they both gasped.

“Wow, these are fantastic,” Amy said.

“Oh my, they’re gorgeous. I want one. Look at the one with the diamonds on it, are they real?” Abigail asked.

“Hardly, but they look it don’t they?” I smiled, hoping they were both being genuine.

“You know what Holly, I run a fashion blog. It gets quite a few hits daily. I would love to feature your shop.” Amy smiled as she glanced at a few more photos on my phone.

“Really? Oh my god, that would be amazing.” I was so happy, and hoped this would be what I needed to set my shop apart from the rest.

“Of course, these bags are really unique. I definitely want one.”

“Consider it done, just for you to feature me, I’d give you one. Thank you.” I couldn’t believe how my luck was changing and I only had Kevin to thank for it.

As if on cue, both men walked in and Kevin placed his hand on my shoulder. The warmth from his touch made me feel as though I really belonged there. Even though this was pretend, for one moment I wanted it to be real.

As we walked around outside alone together, I remembered seeing the willow tree and wanted to get a closer look.

“This land is really beautiful. You must have loved growing up here.” I said, running my fingers along the bark covered trunk. The wind swept through the branches and rustled through my hair.

“Yeah, it was great. My mother, Brandon, and I would have picnics in the summer under this tree.”

Kevin’s eyes focused on the tree as he stood there.

“I’m sorry she’s gone.” I didn’t know what else to say, and felt sorry for him as he tried to smile. It was strained and never reached his eyes. As I stood staring at him, I realized how good-looking he was. Yet, how shitty was his life he had to bring me along as his fake girlfriend.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked.

He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I met Abigail first, I got her a job here with my mother and Brandon. Her and I were dating, or so I thought but she fell for my brother instead. Which don’t get me wrong, I’m happy they’re together and I no longer have any feelings for her, but I don’t know. I was with a girl named Vivian for a while, and we broke up a few months ago and I guess I didn’t want to look like a failure in love in the eyes of Brandon and Abigail.”

“Wow. Was Vivian the tall redhead I would see you with?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but she was a bitch.”

Kevin burst out laughing as I stood there blushing. I couldn’t believe I had just said that.

“Why do you say that? Not that I don’t disagree.”

We began walking towards the big, red coops as I tried to think of a way to tell him about our encounter.

“Umm, when you two were dating, she confronted me. It was one night, and I stepped outside my apartment to see if the delivery man was on his way, I was starving. Anyway, she saw me in the hallway and told me how she saw the way her man would stare at me, and how I would stare at you. She told me to knock it off, but a little ruder than that.”

He stopped walking, turned to me and whispered, “I’m so sorry, I never knew.”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t a big deal.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Is that why you hate me?” His big eyes bore through mine as my cheeks reddened.

“I don’t hate you.”

He leaned closer as he chuckled. “Come on, you and I have hated each other for years. But, I can’t for the life of me remember why.”

I stood for a moment, remembering one of my first encounters with Kevin. “I guess one of the main reasons I never cared for you is one day after I had lost another job. I came home, had so many grocery bags in my hands, and was just feeling depressed. I went to open the door, and you almost knocked me out of the way, and didn’t even notice me. The door ended up slamming into me, and I broke my eggs all over the place.” I remembered what a mess it had been to clean the eggs out of the bag.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember that. I would never do it on purpose. Do you remember when it was?”

“About two summers ago,” I said.

Kevin reached his arms out to me, and with a sad expression rubbed his hands up and down my arms, sending goosebumps along them.

“I’m so sorry, I think that was when my mother died. I was out of my mind,” he said, apologetically.

I felt like shit, realizing sometimes someone can be having a shittier day than you. That day so long ago, I thought my life was going roughly, yet here was Kevin having a major life moment. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay. How would you.” He stopped the rubbing and I missed it.

“Okay, that’s me. So, why do you hate me?” I asked him.

He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled that snarky smile he loves. “How much time do we have? I could write a book about why I hate you so much.” He laughed as I pushed him.

“Asshole,” I said, chuckling.

“No, seriously. I’m not really sure. I know one thing stands out. I always thought you were pretty, I mean let’s face it you’re very pretty, I mean. Well, look at you.” He stuttered through his speech and I crossed my arms against my chest as I listened to him.

“Go on,” I encouraged.

“Well, anyway, one day your boyfriend was kissing you. And, I don’t know. Just the way he was doing it, he even pushed me out of the way. He wouldn’t let me get to my mailbox, and I felt like I was back in high school being pushed away while people made out in front of my locker.”

“You hate me because my boyfriend was an asshole to you?” I asked.

“Well, I’m not sure. You always had an attitude toward me.”

“Because you were a jerk.” My voice rose as Kevin stepped back.

“Let’s start over, friends?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He stuck his hand out for me to shake as we let the past drift into where it belonged, the past. I stuck my tiny hand in his, and his big hand wrapped around my fingers. My lips curved into a smile and then he dropped it as fast as he had grabbed it.

“Want to see everything?”

“Of course,” I said, laughing as I followed him through the yard and into the barn.

We climbed the steps and entered the room at the top.

“You’re going to love this,” he said as we stepped into the room.

The room was painted with flowers all along the walls, and a flowered couch sat in the center of the room, underneath a huge wooden-framed window. The room had big splashes of paint around the pink flowers on the wall, and it looked like a masterpiece.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Yeah, it’s different. It used to be all stars. I wondered why they changed it.” He glanced at me with confusion crossing his features.

“Well either way, I think it’s lovely.”

We sat on the couch for a while, in an easy comfortable silence. It was weird him and I being here together. This definitely wasn’t the way I thought I would be spending my Christmas.

After we sat for a while longer, we headed back to the house.

Everyone was in the living room when we walked in through the front door. We had made a complete circle around the house, and when we stepped through the door, everyone’s faces lit up.

“We have a question for the two of you,” Brandon said, laughing.

“Sure,” Kevin answered, rubbing his hands together.

“Well, you told me Holly asked you out, and Holly told the girls you asked her out. Which is it? We think we know.” They all sat around laughing as Kevin and I turned toward each other. We were both dumbstruck, unable to answer the question.

“Oh wait, look you two are under the mistletoe. You know what that means,” Amy cheered. Her voice was filled with happiness as everyone sat on the couch.

I laughed as I swatted my hands at Kevin. “No, it’s okay. We don’t want to kiss in front of everyone,” I said.

“No, you have to. It’s a mistletoe.” Abigail smiled, clapping her hands together.

Who invented the whole mistletoe thing, and why did people have to kiss under it? I never understood the holiday tradition. My heart erupted in my chest as I turned slowly to face Kevin. We couldn’t kiss, with everyone watching nonetheless.

Kevin turned just as slowly and caught my eyes. I shook my head the tiniest amount back and forth, with wide eyes.

Kevin swallowed and stepped closer. “One kiss, I mean, it is the mistletoe after all.”

I glanced nervously to everyone watching as I finally relented. “Okay,” I muttered.

He stepped even closer, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my waist. My breath hitched, and all I could see were his big, brown eyes. My eyes hazed over and traveled to his lips as he licked his.

Oh God, this can’t be happening.

I darted my tongue across my lips as Kevin watched. His hand moved up my side and landed on my cheek as my stomach tightened. A heat traveled up my spine as he moved even closer.

Closing my eyes, I pucker my lips as he moved in slow motion toward my mouth. His hand skated across my cheek, shaking down to my jaw. He guided my lips to his and pressed firmly.

My eyes shot open as our lips first met, and then I closed them tight as his face tilted causing our lips to rub closer together.

My knees trembled as I clutched onto his shirt and held on.