Fake it 'til you make it

Penelope Fetherington had always thought of herself as a romantic, but the reality of her dating life never quite matched up to the fairy tales she read about as a child. At 29, she had enough experience with relationships to know that none of them had quite clicked in the way she imagined they would. The most recent one, with Alfred, had ended amicably, but it wasn't hard to see that she had never felt the spark of true connection with him.
Her mother, Portia, on the other hand, had very definite ideas about what Penelope needed. The woman was a walking matchmaking service, and every time they spoke, there was a new man for Penelope to meet. Penelope, despite being grateful for her mother's concern, found herself getting increasingly frustrated.
Now, with Christmas approaching, Penelope knew there would be even more pressure. Christmas dinners at the Fetherington estate were notoriously family-centric, and this year, Portia would surely have a new list of men to present her daughter with. Penelope had had enough. A plan began to form in her mind-she will ask one of his friends to be her fake boyfriend for the holidays so she can get her mother off her back.