Page 30 of The Grump

“There will be soon. That’s actually my specialty, so I have to make it fast,” he replied.

I was so surprised that I nearly dropped my plate. “What? You, Mr. Grinch, know how to make eggnog?”

Xander tilted closer. “What do I have to do to get you to stop calling me that?” he whispered in a low, seductive voice.

Whoa!

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin. It’s, like, a whole list.”

“Well, while you’re working on that list, why don’t you come to the kitchen and watch me make it? Maybe that’s going to change your mind about me. Unless I’m keeping you from doing a tour of the house or something.”

“I’ve already had a few of those in the past. But... I didn’t intend to linger too long tonight.”

“Trust me, my eggnog is worth the wait.”

“Hmm, I feel like you’re trying to oversell it.”

He tilted even closer. My goodness, if he kept doing so, I was going to simply jump his bones and kiss him.

My own thoughts scared me. I might be full of sass, but I was the worst when it came to making a move. I’d never had thoughts like this before, but now they were running amok.

“All the more reason to stay. Please.” His voice was teasing, but somehow his pleading seemed sincere.

“Of course. I don’t actually have anything else planned. This was the last delivery for today. I guess I can just enjoy the rest of the evening.”

“Perfect!”

I looked at my plate. “I want to take some more jambalaya before going to the kitchen. I’m afraid it might be gone otherwise.”

He winked at me. Wait, was that a butterfly in my stomach?

I dashed to the table again. More than half of the jambalaya was already gone. Clearly it was a favorite in the LeBlanc household. I smiled as I filled my plate for the second time. I felt just a little bit guilty that I wasn’t leaving much for the guests, but what the hell. This was my chance to eat it, and I wasn’t going to forsake it.

Xander was still waiting for me in the same spot when I returned. His eyes seemed a bit darker than when I left him. At first, I thought it was maybe a trick of the light, but then I realized he was looking me up and down. I was wearing a simple sweaterdress, but the man was staring at me as if I were wearing some sort of super-sexy mini. This one wasn’t even that fitted to my body.

“I actually forgot where the kitchen is.”

He snapped his gaze up, blinking slowly as if he was clearing away confusion. “I’ll show you.”

Chapter Eight

Bailey

The second I stepped into the kitchen, I smiled. Like every other room in this house, it was large, with a huge island in the middle. Then again, with two chefs in the house, this was no surprise.

“Someone already prepared everything for me,” he noted.

We went directly to the stove.

“So, your specialty, huh?” I questioned.

“I’ve been on eggnog duty ever since I was sixteen.”

“Duty?” I laughed.

“Yeah, we each contribute as much as we can to the same old traditions. I have to say, I’m the least involved of all. I usually do this for our traditional Christmas get-together, but since I’m here today, I wanted to do it.”

“I like your traditions. Putting up the star with Bella, prepping eggnog.”

---