Disclaimer: Duh, I don't own Inuyasha and characters or the this story because Cynthia Rutledge had wrote the story of Loving Grace.

Summary : Nurse Kagome Higurashi needed a date for Thanksgiving- fast!. When she prayed for a handsome prince, suddenly Mr. Charming himself, Dr. Sessho Tashio, appeared to escort her! At the feast, Sessho convinced everyone that he was Kagome's adoring boyfriend, the man she'd been waiting for- and she found herself hoping their pretend relationship would blossom into true love

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Sorry about the wait...

Chapter Two

The farmyard was filled with cars but Sessho was able to find a spot for his Land Rover just east of the barn. Kagome waited for Sessho to open her car door. It hadn't taken her long to realize that the handsome Dr. Tashio was a rarity in today's modern world, a true gentleman. He'd insisted on carrying her overnight bag to the car and on opening the door. Though Kagome could have easily handled either task, she had to admit she like the pampering.

As they walked toward the house Kagome slanted him a sideways glance. How a guy could look so good in a sweatshirt and blue jeans boggled her mind. The jeans were nothing special but the way they hugged his muscular legs did crazy things to Kagome's pulse.

Of course she blamed her reaction on the fact that she'd rarely seen him in anything other than dress pants and a white lab coat. When he'd asked her what he should wear, she'd hesitated for a second before telling him honestly that holidays in the Higurashi family were extremely casual and that most of the men would probably be wearing jeans and sweatshirts.

To his credit, he didn't act surprised but merely smiled and said something about it sounding good. She knew he was just being polite. His family was quite prominent in the St. Louis social scene and Kagome had no doubt that Thanksgiving dinner in the Tashio household would include china, crystal and candlelight. Why, she wouldn't be surprised if they wore ties to the table.

Dear God, why did I ever think this would work?

"Looks like your dad farms quite a few acres." Sessho's pleasant voice brought her back to the present.

"How'd you guess?" Kagome hated talking farming but her stomach was a mass of nerves and she hoped some light conversation might have a settling effect.

Sessho gestured with his head toward several large storage silos. "Those were my first clue."

His smile was so warm and friendly that Kagome couldn't help but return it. And for a fleeting moment she forgot to worry about how she was going to make it through the weekend. Unfortunately, the minute she set foot on the front porch and heard the buzz of conversation from inside the house, her neck tightened into a thousand knots. "This was a mistake."

"Just relax." He treated her to a flash of dimples. "These are your family members. If anyone should be nervous, it should be me."

Shame filled her. He was doing her a favor and all she'd been able to think about was herself. She hadn't for a moment considered that Sessho might have some qualms about the weekend.

"Are you?" She asked. "Nervous, I mean?"

Sessho shrugged. "Not really. I've played the boyfriend role enough in real life to have it down pat. I can do the devoted act in my sleep."

Though Kagome smiled, his words were clearly a warning, one she'd better heed. It would be so easy to get caught up in this charade and forget it was just a game. She Had to remember that men like Sessho Tashio only fell for the girl-next-door plain-Jane type in the movies, not in real life.

She reached for the screen door, but Sessho beat her to it. "Allow me."

A moment later, Kagome stood on the doorway to the home that had been in her family since the early 1900s and inhaled the atmosphere. The grandfather clock her father had built stood in one corner. The lace doilies her mother had tatted one summer graced the antique side table. Everything was so familiar. An overwhelming urge to call it all off nipped at her tightly held control.

How many times had she imagined bringing home a handsome man to meet her parents? How many times had she prayed that God would send her a man she could love and respect? How many times had she told herself to be patient and remember that things happen in God's time?

So what was she doing stooping a childish game of Let's Pretend? Though Sessho had already brought their bags inside and set them down in a corner of the foyer, Kagome was seized with a sudden urge to flee.

As if Sessho could read he mind, he reached up and rested his hand gently on her neck, rubbing it with slow circular motions. The mere touch of his fingers forced all rational thoughts from her head.

"Relax." His voice was as low and soothing as his fingers. "We can pull this off."

We

Kagome released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and reminded herself she wasn't in this alone. For whatever reason, Sessho had consented to be a part of this charade.

Propelled by emotions she couldn't begin to identify, Kagome turned toward the man and lifted her face to his.

The appreciation in his eyes took her by surprise and she took a stumbling step backward. She would have fallen if he hadn't grasped her arm, offering her a steadying hand.

"Kagome."

Kagome's heart stilled.

Nosy Aunt K had spotted them.

Kagome forced a smile to her face and gave a casual wave even as her heart sank. She'd known she'd have to face her aunt sometime this weekend, but she hadn't planned to be torpedoed the minute she and Sessho walked though the door of the family farmhouse.

Kagome knew it was ridiculous, the way her stomach twisted in knots over a middle-aged woman in a purple jogging suit.

But this wasn't just any woman. Her mother's sister had been meddling in Kagome's life since she'd had the unfortunate luck to be born with her aunt's coppery red hair. According to her mother, K had wept with joy, declaring God had blessed her with a child after all.

Kagome thought her mother should have put a stop to such nonsense from the beginning. But the two sisters were close and her mother turned a blind eye to K's domineering ways. To be honest, Kagome had enjoyed having tow "mothers" when she was very young. But by the time she'd reached her teens, her aunt had become an interfering thorn in her side.

Kagome had quickly learned it did no good to complain. Her parents had quoted Leviticus 19:32 so much, the verse was permanently imprinted in her brain.

She should have warned Sessho about K. But what could she say? My aunt looks sweet but she can be a pit bull when she's riled? No, it was best he find out for himself. Maybe K would be on her good behavior this weekend. And then again, maybe pigs would fly.

Kagome grabbed his arm and tried to divert Sessho toward the kitchen, but she was too late. He'd caught sight of K weaving unsteadily as she made her way toward them and had stepped forward to help.

K's shakiness was highly suspicious. Though hampered by a recent knee surgery, when Kagome had first walked though the door, she'd seen K maneuvering and dexterity that Michael Jordan would have envied. but all of a sudden, she could barely stand?

Sessho reached out and her aunt clung to his arm, like he was a life preserver and she was about to go under for the last time.

"Sessho, she's fine," Kagome said. "Really."

But Sessho ignored her and kept hold of K's arm. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

K's bony legs trembled beneath the silky fabric and Kagome to assume her aunt had been faking. But then she remembered the time K had faked an asthma attack to keep Kagome from going to an after hours high school party. By the time Kagome had figured out the scam, she'd already called 9-1-1 and had the fire trucks at the house.

"Kagome." K opened her arms. "I've missed you."

"It's been a long time," Kagome murmured, giving her aunt a dutiful hug.

K clung to her for a moment before she stepped back and held Kagome at arm's length, her eyes large and pale behind the thick tortoiseshell trifocals. "I was worried you wouldn't come."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." The lie slid easily from Kagome's lips. "This is my first chance to see Sango and the baby."

"I'm glad to hear you're taking this might be difficult to hear you were bringing a young man. It can be hard for the older sister when the younger one has a husband and a family and she has no special--"

"Aunt K, really, it's no problem." Her aunt's words hit too close to home and Kagome spoke more sharply than she'd intended. "I don't need a man to feel okay about myself."

Her aunt's smile faded and Kagome cursed her impulsivity. Regardless of how she felt about her aunt's meddling, there was no call to be unkind.

"You may not need us--" Sessho looped his arm companionably around Kagome's shoulders "--but you have to admit, we're kind of nice to have around."

Kagome cast Sessho an appreciative smile. His off-the-wall comment had clearly eased the tension.

"You must be Kagome's new boyfriend." K cocked her head and studied Sessho, a smile teasing the corners of her lips.

Kagome tensed, ready for the game of Twenty Questions to begin.

"Sessho Tashio." Sessho extended his hand. "And you are--?"

Kagome groaned. She must be more nervous than she'd thought to have forgotten her manners. "Sessho, this is--"

"Kikyou Best," K said, without waiting for Kagome to finish. "Kagome's aunt."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Best," Sessho said, his voice filled with such sincerity, Kagome could only stare. She could see why all the women at the hospital were half in love with him. The man had charm down to a science.

"It's Miss Best," K said, her smile widening. "But you can call me K." "K." Sessho rolled the word around on his tongue. He shook his head. "It just doesn't fit. May I call you Kikyou?"

K's eye widened in surprise and Kagome waited for her aunt to snap back some tart reply. Instead a pink duskiness touched K's cheeks. "If you'd like."

Kagome stared at her aunt. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone call you Kikyou."

"No one has in years,
" K said, a faraway look in her eyes. Not since I was your age."

"Well, it's a beautiful name and it suits you."

A noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle escaped her aunt's lips. "Mr. Tashio, I can see my niece is going to have trouble keeping you in line."

"Kikyou," Sessho said in a teasing tone. "I insist you call me Sessho."

"Sessho," Her aunt rolled the name around on her tongue, just like Sessho had done only moments before. "Sesshomaru is much more of gentleman's name. May I call you Sesshomaru?"

Kagome stared. Either she was hallucinating or her sixty-year-old aunt was flirting.

Sessho laughed. "I never could refuse a beautiful Lady.
"

"Sesshomaru," her aunt said in mock warning even as her laughter mingled with his. When K's gaze shifted to her niece, approval filled her eyes. "I like him, Kagome. This ones a keeper."

Kagome just smiled and nodded. If her aunt wanted to see Sessho Tashio as a knight in shining armor, so be it. But Kagome lived in the real world and Sessho was the type of man Kagome had spent most of her dating life avoiding, handsome man who asked women out only to stand them up if something better came along, or who automatically expected sex as payment for dinner and a movie.

Sessho leaned over and brushed her cheek with his lips. "What do ya say, Kagome? Am I a keeper?'

His touch sent a shiver of excitement racing through her Body, but Kagome kept a tight grip on her emotions, refusing to get sucked into whatever game he was playing.

Kagome turned toward him and trailed a finger down his cheek, hiding a smile at the surge of masculine interest in his eyes. "
Ses-sho-maru Tashio, I'd be a fool to answer that question. You are already way too arrogant for your own good."

He laughed. "Arrogant or not, you know you still love me."

"Does the term 'in your dreams' mean anything to you?" Kagome shot back.

"Kagome." K's hand rose to her throat, her voice filled with shock.

"Don't worry, Kikyou." Sessho pulled Kagome close