do you? I don’t have to go down on you. I could do something else to take care of you.”
“No, I’m good. I don’t really feel like doing anything else. I’m pretty happy.”
“Are you?” He sounded like he was on the verge of drifting off. “Are you happy?”
“Yes,” she whispered, telling him nothing but the truth. “I am.”
He gave her a sleepy kiss on the temple. “Good. Me too.”
He was sound asleep in less than a minute.
She loved it so much. That she’d been able to take care of him in that intimate way. That she’d given him that kind of release. That now he was so content and replete that he fell right back to sleep.
The emotion filling her chest wasn’t sexual pleasure. It wasn’t even pride at doing a good job and giving him a good time.
It was something deeper. Softer.
Tenderness.
Like Carter was hers to take care of.
She knew he wasn’t. She knew he was just her fake fiancé until Christmas was over. But right now it didn’t feel that way.
It felt like he was hers for real.
THAT EVENING, THEY went to a big Christmas party at the house of a couple who were friends of Carter.
It was a huge event with almost a hundred people in attendance. The house was another of the mansions on the lake, so there was plenty of room for all the guests in the expansive living room and big patio by the pool. The food was delicious, and the mood was festive. Ruth actually had a good time meeting people and looking at the decorations and singing Christmas songs with a group that gathered near the piano at the end of the evening.
She was squeezed next to Carter in a big chair. He was smiling and easygoing, obviously having a good time too. After several songs, the piano player, a woman in her thirties who could play skillfully by ear, started vamping “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Soon dozens of people were urging Carter to get up and sing it, but he resisted. He was laughing but kept saying no, until he finally declared, “I only sing that song for Ruth.”
Something about the way he said it made Ruth’s heart gallop, although she knew he must simply be playing a part.
That excuse was evidently enough to convince his friends, but they just switched gears, urging him to sing a different song. Finally he relented and got up to sing “Let It Snow.” He didn’t go all out the way he did when he was singing with Ruth, and he didn’t do any dancing. But he did a really good job with the song, and everyone ended up clapping and singing along.
Ruth was proud of him. He was smiling and sheepish as he came back to join her in the chair. He kissed her, and it wasn’t just a light peck on the mouth. It was a real kiss, and she couldn’t help but respond to it.
When they pulled apart, they had an audience. Ruth blushed hot red, although it was obvious no one thought anything unusual about them kissing that way.
After all, they were supposed to be engaged.
The party finally wound down just before midnight. When she and Carter got into his car to go home, she said, “That was pretty fun.”
“Seriously?” He gave her a sidelong look.
“Yes.” She blinked in confusion, putting a gift bag she’d received at parting on her lap. “Didn’t you think so?”
“Yeah. Of course I did. I’m just making sure you had a good time too.”
“I did. I don’t like everyone there. Some of those people are pretty snotty. But I like a lot of them. It was good to see Lincoln and Summer.”
“Yeah. It was. I had a good time.”
Satisfied that he meant it, Ruth dug into the gift bag, oohing and aahing about all the goodies she pulled out. Everyone at the party got a bag, and it was filled with gourmet candy, expensive samples, gift cards to local restaurants and shops, and a beautiful, tiny crystal Christmas tree.
“It must have cost of fortune to put these bags together! Look at this. Two kinds of shower gel. A girly one and a manly one. I know for a fact that these cost a lot since they come from that shop downtown. How much money did the Crofts spend on these bags?”
“Probably not as much as you think. They bought those little Christmas trees, so it was an investment. But a lot of the other