Nana Malone - Never Christmas Without You - Just for the Holidays / His Holiday Gift

He changed quickly for bed, checking his clothes and tossing on some pajama bottoms. He was always too hot and liked to sleep with the window open, but he knew that Alex was almost always too cold. So the best he could compromise was to sleep with his shirt off, to at least regulate his body temperature a little bit. When she came out of the bathroom, she was humming, but stopped short when she took one look at him. “Where’s your T-shirt?”

“I get too hot, remember?”

Alex opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again. Then tried one more time, but got the same guppy routine.

“Something you want to say, Alex?” Even as the question rolled off his tongue, his dick stirred and he ground his teeth to keep from groaning. He needed to get to the bathroom quickly before she noticed what was happening south of his waistband. “I’m just going to go brush my teeth.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

As Justin locked himself in the bathroom, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. How in the world was he going to make it through the night sleeping next to her? He was terrified his own inappropriate thoughts were going to soon turn into questionable actions. And Alex was too important to him for that.

Chapter 7

Alex sank deeper into the warmth. When was the last time she’d slept like this? She was usually on the go so much that it wasn’t uncommon for her to get about five, maybe six, hours of sleep a night. Especially when she was prepping for something like a gallery opening or showing.

She nuzzled farther into the warmth then froze. One of her hands encountered something hard, hot... Oh no. Justin. Her first instinct was to jump back, pretend the breach hadn’t happened. The thing she knew her hand had encountered—abs. Rock-hard abs. And yes, she’d seen him shirtless dozens of times. Never lost its impact, though. He was beautiful. And he knew it.

Last night when they’d gone to bed, she’d picked a spot on the ceiling and focused on that, willing sleep to come. Because if she hadn’t done that, she would’ve stared.

Justin breathed deep and rolled over, slinging an arm across her waist. Oh God. Alex could smell the faint hint of his shower gel from the night before.

Okay, no more torturing herself, out of bed. She was going to be productive today. At the very least, she could hop the ferry to Los Angeles and check on the gallery opening and the delivery of her pieces. Yes, nice and focused. And so much better than ogling Justin.

She hated leaving him alone with his family, but a little space would do her some good. The last thing she wanted was for this little venture to be a stressor on their relationship.

She slid out from under his arm, and was in the bathroom in seconds. She snatched up her shower cap out of her toiletry bag and carefully tucked her straight hair underneath it. In and out of the shower in five minutes, she was dressed even faster. By the time she tiptoed out of the bedroom, Justin was still sleeping.

She skipped down the stairs, figuring she’d grab something quick in the kitchen and hit the first ferry for nine o’clock. But she skidded to a stop when she found Grandma Lucy in the kitchen puttering around.

“Good morning, do you need help getting anything? I can help you.”

Grandma Lucy turned around, put her hand on her hip, cocking it slightly. “Honey, this is my kitchen. Nothing you could help me find that I didn’t put there myself.”

“Oh, I know, ma’am, just thought I’d get something for you so you don’t exert yourself.”

The old lady grinned at her. “Ma’am? A long time since anyone called me that. Just call me Grandma Lucy.”

Alex nodded. “Okay. Can I help you get anything before I head out?”

Lucy frowned at her. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, I was going to head into LA and check on the gallery pieces. They were supposed to be delivered today, so I’d like to be there to check things out. Make sure everything’s okay.”

Grandma Lucy suddenly held on to the counter, wobbled slightly. Alex was on her in a flash, scooting a stool underneath her. “You have to sit down. I’ll get Justin. Then call your doctor.”

“Oh stop it. I don’t need a doctor. I was hoping you could help me in the kitchen this morning.”

Alex wavered. “Oh, Grandma Lucy, you should probably be warned, I ruined more of your recipes than I should confess. Even with precise directions, I managed to screw up.”

Grandma Lucy laughed. “Yes, I know, Justin does tell me all the stories about you. The time you tried to make him a stew.”

Alex flushed. “It was not my fault. I swear the oven hates me.”

“Well, we’ll just fix that today.” Her smile was filled with warmth. Alex knew in that moment, there was no way that anyone couldn’t love this woman.

Alex opened her mouth to tell her that she had to get to the city. But Grandma Lucy just clucked around the kitchen handing her things, asking her to open jars, telling her that she was going to show her how to make bread from scratch.

Alex needed to get out of there. But do you really? Cassie’s got it. And she was here for Justin. He wanted his grandmother relaxing. And until he could take care of her himself, it was Alex to the rescue. Besides, she could help out for an hour.

But as Grandma Lucy told her stories about Justin growing up and asked her questions about herself, and her childhood and what her dreams were, Alex realized that there was no way she was going to LA today. And part of her didn’t even mind.

* * *

Justin woke up alone and cold. He was never cold. But when he reached for Alex in the morning, her side of the bed was cool, like she’d been out of bed for a while. Probably running from you.

He flopped back onto the pillows and groaned. He’d expected to be up all night, staring at the wall, kind of like she’d stared at the ceiling. But the moment the light was out, and he heard her deep sigh and exhale, he did the same and was out like a light. His brain offered up glimpses of memory and snippets of bliss of soft, warm skin pressed into his side within fifteen minutes.

Just like every other time they’d crashed together, Alex was like coming home. And even though he’d slept later than he would’ve liked, he felt so refreshed and revived. Eight thirty. Wow, when was the last time he’d slept in that late? He was showered and out the door within minutes, and could hear Alex in the kitchen, laughing with Grandma Lucy. Just the sound of the two of them giggling like schoolgirls made the warmth in his chest spread out like a ball of fire, simultaneously filling him with joy and calm. Like this was the way it should be. Easy there, boy. Don’t go getting all excited. This is just pretend.

The smell of baking bread made his stomach react, and he walked into the kitchen with a smile. “I see you two are happy.”

Grandma Lucy gave him a broad grin. “That’s because your girl here is regaling me with stories of your misadventures. Did you two really meet because you and your fraternity brothers were attempting to steal a mascot?”

He darted a glance to Alex. “You told her that story?”

Alex shrugged. “You know I don’t lie well.” Her expression said it all. Don’t go there. I’m trying to talk about anything but the one thing I can’t talk about.

He cursed his luck. “Yeah, Alex busted me, but then I asked her if she wanted to help. And she helped to cart it all the way back to our fraternity house.”

“Well, the establishment in the fine-arts department was a bit snooty. They certainly needed a shake-up. Besides, I liked the idea of being stealthly and undercover.”

Justin grabbed a slice of the fresh-baked bread and slapped a big pad of butter on it. When he took a bite, he all but moaned around it. And his grandmother looked on with delight.