Page 30 of Cooped Up for Christmas

It was a delightful evening all around.

Except for trying to sleep together in the tiny bed.

So when Mason scratched on the door in the middle of the night, I ignored him. There was no way I was sharing this bed with both of them.

* * *

I woke up alone the next morning and my heart sank. I don’t know why it sank, stupid heart. There was no reason to be sad just because he’d left. The bed had not been comfortable. I’d even thought about grabbing my pillow and going to sleep on the sofa in the living room a couple times.

I hadn’t been able to leave his warmth.

Besides, hadn’t I invited him into my bed with wide open eyes? A one-time thing. I had set the parameters for this. He had agreed.

Of course he left when he woke up. Why would he stay—?

The bathroom door opened and he came out. Our gazes caught and it was awkward again, for a second. But only a second. Because he grinned. I swear, that grin could defuse a bomb. “Morning!”

I made a face. “Aw. Are you one of those horrible morning people I’ve heard about?”

“Ah! You’ve heard about us?” He danced over.

“Rarely seen in the wild, I hear,” I murmured though his kiss. “Because we kill them.”

“Good morning,” he said again, through another kiss and a laugh.

I pulled back. “Did you just brush your teeth?”

“I did.” He showed them to me.

“Did you brush your teeth because you wanted to kiss me good morning?” I wiped my mouth because his kiss was a little too damp for my liking. “And by that, I mean, literally. Kissing me while saying Good Morning?”

He plopped onto the bed beside me. “Yes, I admit it. I totally meant to kiss you good morning. In all the ways.”

I ruffled his hair. “That’s sweet.”

He took my hand and tangled our fingers together. “I really enjoyed last night, Vic,” he said.

“Me too.”

“I don’t mind saying it. We do still have what we had, once upon a time. And it’s even better now.”

“Do you think so?”

He came in for a kiss, but we just breathed each other’s breath for a while. “I do. I—”

A panicked pounding savaged my door.

“Who is it?” I bellowed.

“Olivia. Um. I’m sorry to bother you while you’re, I mean, on your break…but we have an emergency.”

Ye. Gods.

Did it never end?

I dropped back on the pillow with a groan. “I gotta go,” I said.

“I know.”