Page 10 of A Very Grumpy New Year

“Have fun at the party! Tell them all that I said hi and Happy New Year.”

“I will,” I promise. “Talk to you soon.”

“See you.”

We hang up, and I finish putting the rest of my clothes away.

“Are you going to the party?” Huxley asks, and I smile at him over my shoulder.

“Yep. You?”

“Yeah.”

I nod, and he hovers in the open doorway.

“Are you hungry?” He asks finally, and I nod.

“I could eat. Are we cooking here tonight?”

“Yeah, unless you wanted to go out.”

“No, that’s fine.”

“Omelets?” He asks me, and I nod.

“Sounds perfect.”

We head out to the kitchen, and as we get to work on dinner, I can’t help but think back to when I first moved in with him and how I was so sure that it was going to be awkward or a mistake. That’s not the case, though. I feel so at ease around Huxley, so at home in this house. I know that it’s only been a few days, but this place already feels like home.

“What are you thinking?” He asks me, and I blink, getting back to cutting up the vegetables.

“Just thinking about dinner,” I lie. “What about you?”

I smile as I look over at him and see him smiling down at the frying pan on the stove.

“New Year’s resolutions,” he says, and I blink again.

“Really? Are you making one this year?”

“Yeah, thinking about it.”

We add the vegetables to the eggs, and Huxley gets started on our omelets while I move to make us some toast.

“What have you come up with so far?” I ask him as he flips the omelet in the pan.

“Well, I think growing the business,” he says as he plates our food.

“Sounds good. Like hiring more people?” I ask him as I set the table, and we sit down.

“We actually just hired another Marine. You might know him; he grew up here in town.”

“What’s his name?”

“Ansel James.”

“Noelle’s Ansel?” I blurt, and he frowns.

“Uh, yeah, I think that he does have a girl named Noelle. He was always talking about her on our deployments and writing to her.”

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