Page 26 of It Never Happened
I think thisispossible. My assistant is more than capable, and judging by the email response I received from my junior partner, he’s ready to take on my accounts. I have no doubt the two of them together can handle it.
And I could start fresh in Bluemoon with small accounts. Things that are manageable as I become the man Courtney needs me to be. First stop? Dress Me Up.
I get out of bed, throw my sweats on, and trudge across the hall to the bathroom. Then, I make my way to the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee. While it’s brewing, I look out the window to see the snow is still coming down pretty hard, and we’ve got about two more feet on top of the foot we already had.
“Morning.” I hear her voice and spin around to see her standing there, looking unsure in the middle of the kitchen. Her legs are bare and her short robe is pulled tight around her body. Her hair is up in a knot on her head, and her black-rimmed glasses make her look sexy as hell. And when her eyes linger on my chest, she makesmefeel sexy as hell.
I take two steps to her, reaching out for her hand and pulling her in close to me. I kiss her on the head and say, “Good morning to you too.”
She glances behind her. “He’s a late sleeper, but knowing you’re here, he may wake early.”
“Okay. And if he does come out, he’ll see me loving on his momma like he should have seen me doing all along.”She closes her eyes and lets out a breath. I cup her face, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. “Hey, are you okay? You’re not regretting last night are you?”
She watches me with an unreadable expression before pulling away. “No, I just don’t want to get used to it.” She backs away from me and reaches for two coffee mugs.
“Do we want to talk about this?”
She places the mugs on the counter but won’t turn to look at me, just stares out the window at the snow falling. “What isthis, Jack? I don't understand what’s happening.”
I come up behind her, covering her back with my front, and place my hands on either side of her on the counter. “I want to be the man you knew me to be, the one you saw yourself marrying when you were ten years old. You told me to choose, right?” I lace my fingers with hers and lean into her a bit more. “Look how well we fit, Co?—”
“Hi, Mom and Dad.”
Courtney spins around me so fast I’m almost caught off balance, and I chuckle at her but grab the back of her robe, holding her in place while whispering, “He’s such a cockblock,” in her ear. She swats at me, and I drop my hold but not before I give her a smack on her ass.
“Hi, baby, do you want some breakfast?”
“Yes, please. How much snow did we get?” He’s still half asleep, and I sit next to him, pulling him into my lap.
“We got a lot but nothing Santa can’t handle,” I assure him.
He snuggles into me, closing his eyes. Holding him in my arms feels so good, and I hate that I've missed so many years of this. I watch Courtney move around the kitchen, placing a cup of coffee in front of me and pulling out eggs to cook.
When she catches me looking, she asks, “What?”
“I’m just taking in the moment.”
“I think he fell back to sleep.”
“Did he?” She nods, and I begin to stand. “I’m going to lay with him on the couch. He wasn’t ready to wake up yet.”
“I’ll put breakfast on hold.”
I head to the living room but stop. “Thank you, Courtney. I don’t deserve the second chance, but I’ll prove to you it will be worth it.”
Chapter 13
Jack
“Merry Christmas Eve!” I hear commotion from the front door and see January and her daughter are walking in with Lief.
“Aunt January! Hey, Uncle Lief!” Joey goes running to them, and Lief scoops him up and throws him in the air.
“How did you guys get here?” Courtney asks, freeing January's hands of the bags she's holding.
“The snowmobile,” Lief answers, and January shakes her head.
“That thing is a death trap. He took the snowmobile because he’s a showoff. Lily and I chose life today and took the four-wheel drive.”
