The Christmas Proposition by Cindy Kirk

Instead, she took a bite out of her humongous cheeseburger and chewed and chewed.
    “I think he felt funny,” Mickie said when Addie finally swallowed.
    Addie’s head cocked. “Funny?”
    Mickie glanced at the table by the window where Rachel sat talking to her friend. “Before we left Mr. Rossi’s house Monday morning I heard Rachel tell him she thought it ‘best’ if they didn’t see each other again.”
    “Grown-ups do crazy things.” Addie dipped a french fry into a cup of ketchup. “But Rachel likes Mr. Rossi. You said so yourself.”
    Mickie twisted her lips. “I thought she did. But you should have seen her at the grocery store this morning. She barely talked to him.”
    “Things will be better tomorrow.”
    Mickie stopped smashing the macaroni with her fork and met Addie’s gaze. “How can you say that? You don’t know.”
    “I know that everyone is getting together at Mrs. Vaughn’s house to make Christmas candy.” Addie shoved a fry dripping with ketchup into her mouth. “There’s always lots of talking at those things. Trust me, they’ll tell her she’s crazy to not be with a nice guy like Mr. Rossi.”
    Mickie’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you sure?”
    “Positive.”
    The lump in Mickie’s throat began to dissolve. “What if they don’t convince her?”
    “Then we’ll figure something out. Failure—” Addie leaned across the table as if her plate of burger and fries weren’t there “—isn’t an option.”
    Mickie liked the sound of that and she liked the confidence in her friend’s voice. For the first time in days, she let out the breath she’d been holding.
    Addie was right. If Rachel’s friends couldn’t convince her she was acting silly, well, Mickie would come up with another plan.
    Because, like Addie said, failure wasn’t an option.
     
    The afternoon at Mary Karen’s house flew by. Rachel made peanut butter clusters, haystacks and divinity. After that she helped Mary Karen form Oreo balls. Keeping busy kept her mind off Derek. She’d been having great fun until she spoke without thinking.
    When Lexi and July turned from the pan of fudge on Mary Karen’s stove top with identical expressions of shock, Rachel knew she had some explaining to do.
    It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that when Mary Karen had asked how the skiing with Derek had gone on Sunday, Rachel should have simply said fine. Okay, maybe she’d have had to spill a few more details to keep her friends satisfied. Still, there’d been no reason to confess she’d spent an entire night in Derek Rossi’s arms. No reason except Rachel desperately needed help sorting through her tangled emotions. And these women, her dearest friends, were as close to family as it got.
    “Thank goodness the fudge is ready to pour.” Lexi removed the pan from the stove. “I don’t want to be distracted while you’re telling us about your night of passion.”
    “I want to hear, too.” July pulled a baby bottle from a pan of warm water where she’d been holding it submerged. “Just give me a second to get Adam situated.”
    July retrieved her nine-month-old son from the high chair where he’d been playing with a colorful ring of plastic keys and settled into a chair at the table. After testing the temperature of the formula against her wrist, she popped the nipple into his mouth.
    Adam rested his head against his mother’s chest,sucking contentedly, his chubby fingers curling and uncurling.
    Rachel’s heart gave a ping. She’d once dreamed of holding Tom’s baby the way July held Adam. But that was a lifetime ago. And her son, if he’d survived, would be closer to the age of Mary Karen’s youngest, who sat on the floor crashing two trucks together.
    “Okay, I’m ready now.” July’s green eyes snapped with curiosity. “Details, girl. Give us details.”
    Mary Karen leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table, her entire attention focused on Rachel. “How was he? Was the sex a grand