Page 30 of A Gift of Time
“Yes,” I answered as my mind drifted to my current situation. If I could go back and tell myself not to make that stupid wish, I would. “But I think that we also learn from those moments, Cay. When we make mistakes, we can learn from them and grow to be better people. Having the bad will help us appreciate the good.”
I wasn’t the same man I used to be: in this life or the other one. Not by a long shot.
“Maybe,” he answered before taking a drink. “I just wish—”
“Be careful what you wish for,” I warned, raising my brows and quickly looking at the demon clock on the mantel before turning back. “You never know when it’ll come true.”
He smiled, despite the faraway look in his eyes. “Believe me… this is one wish I’d love to come true.” I waited for him to say more about the wish, but he didn’t. “But I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like it’d ever happen.”
“You’d be surprised,” I said, lifting my glass to take a drink, glaring at the clock again over the rim.
Conversation turned lighter after that as Caden asked about my favorite movies and music, and I suspected the reason was because he wasn’t at that level of comfortability to open up yet. Which was fine. It was only the first night.
We talked for another two hours before he yawned and looked at the time.
“Don’t you have to work in the morning?” he asked.
“Yeah, we should probably get to bed.” Catching how my words could’ve been taken the wrong—but oh so right—way, I backtracked, “I mean, you get in my bed, and I’m taking the couch.”
“Jack, I don’t want to take your bed.” He patted the cushion and leaned back on it. “I don’t mind sleeping here.”
“Well Idomind you sleeping there,” I said, standing up. “You’re a guest in my house. Come on.” I stuck out a hand, and he reluctantly accepted before I pulled him to his feet. “My bed is fucking amazing. You’ll love it.”
Caden lightly laughed and walked with me to my room. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched me as I went through my drawers to find a pair of sleep pants.
After finding them, I went into the bathroom to change and came back out, looking at him.
“Goodnight, Cay.”
His brows drew together as he studied me. I wanted to ask what was on his mind, but I refrained from doing so. He’d tell me when he was ready.
“Goodnight, Jack.”
Leaving the room without giving him a goodnight kiss was damn hard. With the exception of that Christmas Eve night, we’d never gone to bed without at least one kiss. Going to bed angry at each other had been something we’d hardly done. Even the weeks and days leading up to Christmas Eve, we might not have been on great terms, but we’d done at least that before going to sleep.
There was even one time when I’d been in a ranting mood, complaining about everything under the sun, and Caden had closed the distance between us, grabbed my face, and crushed his lips to mine. It had been unexpected, but the precise thing I needed to jolt out of my fit.
I wanted to walk right back into that room and—
Behave, Jack.Don’t scare him off.
I plopped on the couch and put a hand behind my head as I stared at the ceiling, reminiscing about my time with him that evening. It had gone better than I’d imagined. The connection between us was undeniable.
I only hoped he felt it, too.
