Invited Home for Christmas Read online

  “Oh, you’re killing me. Remember I get home from work late. Like, one in the morning late.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll be here at six thirty sharp waiting for the fun to arrive.”

  She nodded slowly. “Okay. You’re on.”

  Her smile grew and spread across her face in such a beautiful way that he was stunned. “Okay.”

  She stood and rose from the water. “I’ll see you tomorrow, big guy.”

  He laughed. “What did you call me?”

  “Oh, ha. Big guy. Before I knew you were Xander, I called you ‘big guy’ in my head.”

  “So, I was in your head?” He splashed his hand down on the water. “I knew it!”

  “You did not know it.”

  “Well, okay, I didn’t. But now that I do…” He rubbed his hands together, and she shook her head.

  “I’m really regretting my eight-hour shift at Walmart, but off I go. See you tomorrow.”

  “See you.” He kept his hand in the air until long after she’d left and then lowered it, feeling like a dufus.

  Everything in life was suddenly better and brighter now that he had a new workout partner. He laughed at himself. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And he could work with something.

  4

  Sam drove to Walmart with a confused heart. What was she doing? Nothing. She was just working out every morning, same as before, only now a super-hot and friendly guy would be joining her. And he seemed honorable. At least, up to this point he had been.

  She clocked in and made her way to her register. The manager had her on the register for most of her shift, which could be good or bad. Hopefully the store would be packed and the time would fly by.

  If it was slow, she would drive herself crazy over-analyzing her situation with Xander.

  But if she opened herself up to something with Xander, that meant she was ready to have something with someone again. And that meant someone might care for her back. Then they might kiss, and he might invite her home for Christmas. And if that happened, she was just setting herself up to be hurt.

  Who was she kidding? NFL players didn’t fall for girls like her. He was probably just trying to get a date for his dinner. Well, he’d just have to move past that.

  He was definitely good for one thing: motivation at the gym. She’d never worked harder at a workout. Ever. But running at his side had been…special, for lack of a better word. She’d felt close to him, and now she longed to feel it again. But that couldn’t happen.

  Could it?

  Several hours into her shift at Walmart, she finally got her break. Her feet ached, and she was dying for a place to sit.

  Xander stepped in front of her, with two huge mugs. “Hot chocolate?”

  A great wave of gratitude rushed through her. “Just what I was wanting.”

  “Can we go sit somewhere?”

  “The very next thing I’ve been wanting.”

  “Perfect.” The corner of his mouth lifted in an adorable smirk.

  They headed to the back corner of the coffee shop inside Walmart, and he scooted his chair as close to her as he could.

  Everything about him showing up was doing amazing things to her insides. Her stomach flipped around in a happy dance that she didn’t want to fight.

  He grinned. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

  “Oh yeah? About what?” She pulled out her peanut butter sandwich. “Want half of my sandwich?”

  “Is that all you’re eating for lunch?”

  And dinner likely. “Yeah. It’s healthy.”

  “Hmm.” He stood. “We can fix that. What would you like?”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t need fixing. I’m fine.”

  “What will you eat for diner?”

  She didn’t answer, and he started moving toward the counter. “If you don’t tell me what you’d like, I’ll just choose something.”

  “You really don’t need to do that.”

  “Of course I do.”

  She rose and stood beside him, not sure what to do. “Um.”

  “What do you like?”

  Tory behind the counter chimed in. “When she orders, it’s always our signature salad or the turkey wrap.”

  “I’d like both of those, then.”

  “I won’t be able to eat both.”

  “Save one for tomorrow.”

  She was admittedly sick of peanut butter, and the thought of a green, leafy salad made her mouth water. So she just said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Then she went back to sit at their table before her emotion showed. Whether or not he knew it, he was an angel right now. She was just about out of money. She wrapped up her sandwich carefully and stored it back in her lunch bag.

  He returned and grinned with so much pleasure at being able to buy her lunch. She smiled. “This is great, thank you.”

  “You know, I was just going to try to talk you into coming to my alumni dinner again. I mean, at least there’s gonna be an amazing meal. Filet mignon, shrimp, lobster. Pounds and pounds of food. These guys eat more than you can even believe.”

  “I believe it.” This dinner started to sound a bit better. A part of her wanted to go, but how could she? The dress alone made the whole night impossible. “Look, Xander, this is real sweet. You showing up here, buying me lunch. It’s great. But we can’t. I really can’t…” What couldn’t she? She couldn’t be falling for this guy, that’s what. “I’m just not interested in having any kind of relationship with you.”

  The look on his face about broke her heart. The light in his eyes dimmed, and his mouth lowered. “Okay.” He toyed with his napkin. “I’m not sure what to say…are we still working out in the morning?”

  She exhaled. “Sure. I mean, we both go to the same gym. I’m sorry if I let you think we could make something of this. I’m just not ready for something like that.”

  He nodded. “Can I have your phone number?”

  “Did you not hear what I just said?”

  “Of course. I’m not trying to do anything, but if I don’t see you at the gym or whatever, I have no way of contacting you.”

  She studied him. “Okay. Give me your phone.”

  He did, and she typed in her number, took a selfie, and handed his phone back. “There.” She looked at her watch. “Now, I gotta get back to my register. Thank you for coming.”

  “You’re welcome.” His smile held a new flicker of hope. And she wasn’t sure what was brewing in that mind of his, but she had to admit she was curious.

  The rest of the day flew by, including her long shift at Smelters.

  When she finally opened the door to her apartment, she couldn’t wait to fall into bed. She slipped out her high heels and fell onto the couch.

  Her notifications filled the lock screen on her phone. How odd. No one ever texted or called her, not really. All the texts were from Xander. She started reading.

  “I have an idea.”

  “I know you’re at work, so I’m just gonna text you, ’cause I wish we were talking.”

  Sammy laughed at that and scrolled up.

  “So, I can’t help but notice you might need some extra cash.”

  She bristled a bit at that but kept reading.

  “And perhaps you’ve noticed I need a date.”

  Where was he going with this?

  “So, what if—stay with me—what if you come to the dinner with me, and I pay you to be like my escort or whatever they call those.”

  A torrent of rage, shame, and anger coursed through her. She chucked the phone. How could he even think she would do that? What kind of a girl sold herself? She closed her eyes against the base humiliation. But she hadn’t read the rest of his text stream, so she picked it back up.

  “I wonder how long it took before you picked your phone back up after reading that last bit.”

  She pressed her lips together.

  “So, if you’re still reading, I wanted to make sure you know this is for a dat
e only, no doorstep scenes, no sleepovers. Though I would never complain about either—I think you can tell I’m into you.

  “This means more to me than an arrangement, but since you’re not interested in anything particular with me, I thought maybe we could come to an agreement that would help us both out. ’Cause I can’t handle the thought of you eating peanut butter every day of your life.”

  She laughed. His offer intrigued her, but she would never do such a thing.

  Would she?

  No. But how much money was he talking about here?

  She started texting. “I don’t have a dress.”

  He immediately started replying. “Is that all? I’ll buy the dress.”

  “I need to get my hair done. And nails, spray tan, new shoes.”

  “Done. Whatever you need. This is easy, Sammy. I thought you were gonna disagree on some philosophical level.”

  “How much are we talking?”

  “How about five thousand.”

  She dropped the phone. Her heart pumping blood through her at a deafening rate. Her ears literally pounded. Five thousand dollars. Five. Freaking. Thousand. How could she turn that down?

  “Are you there?” he texted.

  “Sammy?”

  She called him.

  “Hello?” His timid voice made her smile. “Have I totally offended you?”

  “You’re on.” The silence on the other end lasted longer than she thought it should. “You there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. I’m just wondering if I’m dreaming. You awake?”

  “I’m awake.”

  “Then I’m awake. Okay. Okay, great. Just tell me what you need for the dress and the other stuff. I’ll pay you up front for all of it.”

  She couldn’t believe this was happening. “No one can know.”

  “Of course not. We both agree there.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “Let’s work out details tomorrow morning.”

  “Great.”

  “I’m going to sleep now.”

  “Oh yeah, me too.”

  Xander hung up.

  She couldn’t believe her luck. Five thousand dollars would get her out of her financial mess. She might be able to pay off the rest of her debt and move down to one job. She could get her car fixed. She could buy food. Any number of things. Maybe not all of that at once, but wow, she would be a heck of a lot closer to being in a better place.

  Is that what escorts usually got paid? She had no idea; she’d never considered lowering herself in such a way. But now, with the offer looking at her in the face, she wondered what would be so wrong with being paid for her time? And the way Xander asked didn’t seem lowering, for some reason. It felt like she was doing him a favor. And she was so willing to do him this favor for five thousand dollars plus a new hair cut! And shoes! She couldn’t wait. She pulled up her old contacts and texted Julia for an emergency hair appointment.

  “Sure thing, honey. I’m so happy you’re coming back in to see me.”

  Now, she needed to get work off. A day off from Walmart for pampering and the night off from Smelters. She had it coming, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Could this really be happening? She could hardly believe it, but she went to sleep with a smile on her face.

  The next morning they worked it all out. She would have a dress allowance and the payment for the evening. The total worked itself up to six thousand. “You sure about this?”

  Xander laughed. “Am I sure? Are you sure? I’m just happy you agreed to go with me.”

  “You drive a hard bargain.” She studied him. How should they handle this? Were they friends? Was this just a business agreement? She guessed she’d just follow his lead.

  “I can’t wait till the guys see me walk in with you on my arm.”

  And that’s what she hated most about this whole arrangement, and she hadn’t realized how much until he spoke the dreaded words. Wasn’t she more than just someone’s arm ornament? She turned away.

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. This is great. Like you said, I can use the money.”

  “Sammy…”

  “No, I’m being silly. This is great. Really.”

  He studied her for a moment but then hopped up on a treadmill. “We’ve got to hurry if you’re gonna make it to work.”

  “I took today off.”

  “Oh, I’ve got a whole day with you?”

  “Well, I mean, you can come get your nails done, get a spray tan, go dress shopping, and watch me get highlights if you want.” She wiggled her eyebrows, certain he would run as fast as he could away from a day of girl stuff.

  His eyes perked up. “Okay.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “If you’re serious, I’m serious.”

  “Um, well, okay. You can come.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about him being there when she got her eyebrows and lip waxed, but she guessed it was fine. He was paying her, so she didn’t have to worry about impressing him. “We’re going to do nails first.”

  “I’ve always wondered about getting a pedicure They’re supposed to be for guys too, right?”

  “Sure. Guys get them all the time.” Metrosexual guys, which Xander seemed as far from as she would be to dancing ballet. But there was a first time for everything.

  They hurried through their workout. Then they both took showers. She came out without make up, her wet hair hanging in great sheets around her.

  He paused when he got a look at her, his eyes travelling the length of her. She skipped up to him.

  “You are one beautiful woman.”

  “Whatever, Xander. This is what most women say is their scary face.”

  “Well, not you. You’re stunning.”

  She was secretly pleased, but she didn’t let on. “Do you want to follow me?”

  “Let’s take my car.”

  “Oh good. Cause I’m almost out of gas.”

  “I can fill up your tank.”

  She shook her head. “No, Xander, we can’t do that. You’re not my benefactor.” She almost choked on the words, the shame of it rising to her throat. She looked away, trying to hide her expression from him.

  ‘What? Hey now, are you not comfortable with this?”

  “No, I’m great.” The truth behind her lie was forcing itself into her expression.

  “We don’t have to do this.”

  She shook her head. “We do. Because now that I know you are willing to give me five thousand dollars, I can’t say no. That money will save me. You don’t know…” She wiped at the tears, furiously refusing to acknowledge them.

  He reached for her hand. “Is this okay?”

  She nodded.

  Then he tugged her closer to him and wrapped her up in his arms. “And this?”

  She nodded against him.

  “I didn’t think about how difficult this might be for you. Really, I just wanted to do something to help you out…and I needed a date.” He laughed.

  “I know. I’m sorry I’m being silly. I’m really very happy about the whole thing.”

  “How about this? How about we think of ourselves as, like, best friends?”

  She waited.

  “And I’m, like, doing you a huge favor, and you’re doing me a huge favor, and the favors are unrelated.”

  She laughed. “Okay. I can do that.” She knew she’d never be able to look at herself the same way, even still. But there was no need for him to carry her emotional baggage.

  “Friends?” he offered his fist to bump.

  “Friends.” She knocked his hand.

  “Now, let’s go get our nails done.” He skipped out to the parking lot.

  “Oh, this is gonna be one interesting day.”

  She knew now that she might actually fall for this man. He was sweet and understanding as well as hot. And she might be dealing with a heartbreak when they were through.

  5

  Every eye in the nail salon turned to check Xander out as soon as he wa
lked in the door. This was going to be interesting.

  But it was much more fun than he predicted. Especially when the lady was working on his feet. He gritted his teeth and jerked his foot around so much that he had Sammy laughing to tears.

  “It tickles so dang much.” He squinted his eyes and pressed his mouth together.

  “I sorry, sir. You have callous. I take them off.”

  “Yes, that’s good. I’ll try to hold still.”

  Sammy wiped her eyes. “This is so classic. Didn’t you tackle people? Like all the time?”

  “No, people tackled me.”

  She laughed louder. “That’s even better. You were thrown to the ground on a regular basis, but you can’t handle a little loofah on your foot?”

  “I guess not.”

  He clenched the arm rests of his chair until she said, “Okay, I done now.”

  “Oh, whew. Thank you.”

  When they were finished, his toes were nice and clean. As he admired them, Sammy nudged his shoulder. “You look great.”

  “Thanks.”

  They checked out, and he paid. “Let me see yours again.” He reached for her hands. The tips were white. They looked natural and beautiful. “Perfect.”

  She smiled. “Now we’re off to get our hair done.”

  “Our?”

  “Well, sure. You could get yours done, too, while you wait. It takes a while.”

  “Like how long?”

  “Well, since I’m doing a partial highlight, at least ninety minutes.”

  He nodded. “I guess I’ll get mine highlighted too.”

  “What?” She studied him. “Maybe just the tips?”

  They entered her favorite hairdresser’s. “Whatever you think. I’m putty in your hands.”

  The lady at the desk eyed him from top to bottom and across the breadth of his chest.

  Sammy laughed. “Now you’re putty in their hands.”

  They were seated in chairs next to each other, and Sammy didn’t look embarrassed even when her head was full of foils.

  He took a picture.

  “Wait, hey now, that’s not to be shared.”

  “Just a bit of something to remember you by.”

  “Heh. Maybe if you want to forget me.”

  “That will never be something I want.”