Page 53 of Hot Mess

“My family is different. I grew up very differently than how I think you did. We weren’t close, we didn’t really have or make traditions.” I took a deep breath. My Christmas memories were not something I cared to share at the moment. “Let’s not talk about my misguided youth. You have made this morning one of the best. You didn’t make coffee, did you?”

She pointed to the coffee pot across the kitchen. It was half full of the hot dark elixir I needed to function.

“You are an angel.” I kissed her before crossing the kitchen and pouring myself a cup.

“I don’t know what your plans are for the day. Isaac told me that we are having dinner with you, but… nothing else. What’s the plan?”

I leaned against the counter and looked at her. She had an apron tied over my t-shirt that looked amazing on her. Better on her the way it showed off her curves than it ever looked on me. A smudge of flour graced her cheek.

I shifted my gaze from her to the food. “I think the first thing I want to do is eat. I haven’t seen this many high-starch carbs in one place in a very long time.”

She picked up a cookie and handed it to me with a sly grin on her lips. “Oatmeal, raisins, pecans. Fiber, fruit, protein. It’s all balanced.”

It was balanced and it tasted like heaven. “What other flavors did you make? Are they all so nutritionally responsible?”

She shook her head. “Not at all.” She began pointing at the different cookies. “Chocolate chip, cowboy, snickerdoodle, and these are crispy rice treats with candy canes. I still need to make shortbread, sugar cookies, and gingerbread men.”

“Are we supposed to eat all of this, just the two of us?”

She shook her head. “No, I got tins. We will put together gift packs for Isaac, your cook, and cleaner, and any of your drivers that you use a lot. Um, the garbage guys… you know anyone who helps out around here.”

“I don’t think Isaac lets sugar pass his lips unless it's in alcohol. I give everyone bonuses.”

“And now you can give them cookies, too. Unless you really do want to eat it all. If you don’t have any plans, I’d like to make some fudge too.”

“You can make fudge?”

“Of course, silly. I can do all the standard Christmas baking. My mom raised me to be a certain kind of person. I make casseroles for babies and funerals. I can make potluck food. I cook, I clean, I sew…”

I stepped in and encircled her with my arms. “And you can decorate at the last minute. I’d love to spend the day baking with you. This sounds like fun. And hell, maybe one of all those people you mentioned will appreciate the gift.”

She rested her hands on my chest. “Really? I’m not taking you away from anything?”

“Kayla, my plans for the day, before you asked me to make fudge and cookies with you, was to sleep in. I’ve done that. Eat a boring breakfast, probably just drink a protein shake. Check my email and read over the script for the shoot that starts after the beginning of the year. I’d spend time at the gym, plus go for a run. Maybe I’d treat myself and run at the beach. I’d come home, shower. Possibly by then Carmine would be here setting up the dinner Isaac arranged in my name. I’d put on an ironic ugly Christmas sweater for fun and wait for everyone to show up. And then I’d go to bed alone.”

Kayla shrugged. “You can still do all of that if you want. But can I stay and bake? I promise to clean up before Carmine gets here. And now, you can give Carmine a tin of homemade Christmas cookies.”

“You have saved me from a boring lonely day, and I hope you will agree to stay with me again tonight.”

She blushed; it was delightful.

“I’d like that. But I need to go back to the hotel and pick up a few things. I can get out of your hair for a bit.”

“Kayla, I like you in my hair, so to speak. However, I think I’ll hit the gym when you go back to the hotel, and we can go for a walk on the beach together after?” Not that I wanted to hit the gym, but I did need an hour or two without her to make arrangements for her gift. I think I knew exactly what to get her. I wouldn’t be able to finish it today, but I could get everything started.

“I’d like that.” Her smile pulled at my heart.

She slid her hand into mine and pulled me out into the living room. “Before anyone gets here, I want you to open your present. I don’t want to forget.”

“You want me to open it now? Kayla, I… I don’t have yours yet. It hasn’t arrived. I’m hoping it will be here by dinner time.”

“That’s okay. This is little, and useful. I hope.”

She held out the larger of the two boxes. A blush lit her cheeks bright pink, and she bit her lip.

I took the box and tore the paper. I laughed as I saw the logo. A box of condoms.

“These are very useful, and I plan on using all of them soon.”

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