Page 108 of Second Time Around

Thirty

Christmas Day

Beck used his hip to push open the bedroom door. Then, carefully balancing the breakfast tray, he padded over to the bed and set it down on the nightstand. They’d stayed up late last night, celebrating Christmas Eve with Stacy, Nick, Kelsey, and Hudson, but he’d been too keyed up to sleep in. He hadn’t felt this excited about Christmas since he was a kid, and this year, he had a lot of reasons to celebrate.

While he stood there, Jenna began to rouse, sniffing the air before her eyes were fully open. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“Um-hmm.”

He watched her complete her morning wake-up routine with an amused smile. First, she stretched her arms overhead and arched her back like a cat. Then she slowly sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes before finally pronouncing herself awake.

“You made breakfast too?”

“Yep. Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

“Merry Christmas,” she replied, giving him a sleepy smile.

He handed her a plate of scrambled eggs with melted cheese and toast that was golden brown, just the way she liked it.

“You spoil me,” she said, eyeing the food and the steaming mug of coffee.

He took his own plate and mug around to the other side of the bed and joined her. “I’m the one who’s spoiled.”

“How so?”

“It’s Christmas, and yours was the first face I got to see. I’m a very lucky man.”

She beamed at him. “What made you get up so early?”

“Too excited, I guess.”

She glanced at him curiously. “Like when we were kids?”

He nodded. “I couldn’t wait to go downstairs and open presents. I was always the first one awake, and then I had to sit around and wait for my parents to get up.”

She laughed. “Sounds like Stacy. She used to come in and bounce on my bed to wake me up.”

“Maybe that’s what I should have done this morning,” he teased.

“I prefer breakfast in bed instead.”

They shared more childhood Christmas memories as they polished off the food and sipped their coffee. After they’d finished and set the empty plates aside, he said, “I have an idea.”

“Mmm… Yes.”

“You don’t even know what it is yet!”

“If it involves you and this bed, I’m all for it.”

She crawled onto his lap and straddled him. Although she’d recently brought more clothes over, she was wearing his old college T-shirt, which was threadbare in spots. She’d thrown it on after they’d made love last night, and that was all she was wearing.

He was wearing a pair of boxers with candy canes all over them and no shirt. “We have one set of pajamas between us,” he teased.

“I’d rather have nothing between us,” she said, breaking out her seductive smile.

“That sounds wonderful; however, there’s something I want us to do first.”

She scrunched up her face. “Is it better than my idea?”