Page 46 of A Gift of Time
Chapter Thirteen
Christmas Eve
Waking up that morning was bittersweet. Sweet, because Caden was beside me. Bitter, because it was the final day.
At five ‘til midnight, my wish would come to a full circle… unless I could get Caden to say he loved me.
I’d like to believe it was possible. Nick had said that wishes around Christmas were the strongest because it was a magical time of year. Surely that included love, too, especially between people who were meant to be together.
Love at first sight might not be real, but perhaps time was of no consequence with the heart. Caden and I’d had two amazing weeks together, seeing each other every day—sometimes staying up into the early hours of the morning just discussing life. We talked about our pasts and dreams for the future.
In only two weeks, I was more in love with him than I’d ever been, knowing him on a whole new level.
Caden was still asleep, and I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. His warm body made it difficult getting out of bed, but I managed it. I wanted to start a pot of coffee and cook him breakfast before he woke up.
As I left the bedroom and walked into the living room, I headed for the Christmas tree to plug it in before going into the kitchen.
Caden had so many traditions, and Christmas Eve was one of his favorite days of the year. I was going to make it special. That day would be dedicated to him; doing all the things he loved. Things I had dismissed and called silly in the old life because I’d been too preoccupied with my own selfishness.
After starting the coffee, I grabbed a skillet and began cooking bacon. It sizzled as I placed it down, and when the smell wafted upward, my stomach growled.
I might not be a great cook, but I knew how to make the basics at least. Whether I burned it or not… well that was to be determined. Cutting vegetables under Caden’s supervision? I rocked. Cooking shouldn’t betoodifficult.
Let’s hope I don’t burn the apartment down.
Once the bacon was done, I put it on a plate and set aside before grabbing the carton of eggs and cracking a few open into the skillet.
Just as I switched off the stove, Caden walked out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes in a fucking adorable way and yawning.
“I smell food,” he said in a gravelly voice.
“I made you breakfast,” I said, carrying our plates to the table. “Eggs cooked over-easy, bacon, and toast.”
His eyes widened and he sat down, nodding appreciatively at his overflowing plate. “Wow. This is super sweet. Thank you.”
When his blue eyes met mine, a lump wedged in my throat. He was too beautiful. And when he smiled, my heart thumped harder in my chest.
“Oh! Coffee.” I jumped up and went over to the cabinet to grab two mugs. After filling them, I poured a little cream in each cup before adding sugar. I set his in front of him. “Here ya go. I hope you like the food.”
It looked all right, at least.
Caden grinned before biting off a piece of bacon. His moans as he chewed filled me with satisfaction—not to mention made me fucking hard—and I dug in to my food, too.
As we ate, we didn’t say much, but it wasn’t a bad thing. We enjoyed our breakfast in silence, which was how we both liked it sometimes, at least until the coffee kicked in.
Caden read on his kindle, and I scrolled through my phone. Once the food was gone, and we’d had enough coffee to allow for conversation, I looked up at him.
“Do you have anything planned for today?” I asked, setting my almost empty cup on the table. “Because I thought we could do some things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, there’s a Christmas parade at noon, so we can go to that,” I explained, seeing his eyes light up at the suggestion. “And then we can grab lunch at Hannah’s. Maybe go walking through the park after that to see the decorations. Carolers should be out this afternoon, so we can listen to them for a bit before coming home and cooking dinner.”
“You’ve really thought this out,” he said as a smile touched his lips.
“And after dinner, we can watch Christmas movies,” I added, wiggling my brows.
He chuckled. “Sounds like the perfect day.”
