Page 64 of All I Want is You this Christmas Final

“You can fix that?”

“How?”

“Stop running away from me.”

Jared cradled her cheeks between his hands. His lips covered hers and his hands slid back, his fingers tangling in her hair. She tasted like lemons and sugar and he never wanted to stop kissing her.

Suddenly she pushed away from him. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Before she could respond, she vomited all over his shoes.

Twenty

The morning light peeked through the windows and rained warmth over Anna Beth’s face, something she would have appreciated if she wasn’t sporting a nasty hangover. She groaned as she rolled over, afraid to open her eyes and putting her back to the obnoxious rays of sunshine. How did she ever think mornings were a good thing?

Anna Beth heard Christmas music playing downstairs followed by male laughter. She managed to squint one eye open and realized she was in her own bed.

So, who was the guy downstairs?

Moving at a snail's pace, Anna Beth climbed out of bed and caught a look at herself in the mirror above her dresser. Her hair stood up everywhere and eye makeup drifted across her cheeks, making her look like a sad clown. She wracked her brain, trying to remember last night's events in some semblance of sequence but things were a jumble.

Her dry mouth tasted nasty and she decided her first order of business needed to be a long appointment with her toothbrush. Ten minutes later, her head still pounded, but her eyes were clean. She dumped two Tylenol in her hand and tossed them back before dipping her head to drink from the faucet.

Finally, Anna Beth headed downstairs, wincing at her sore feet. She noticed the heels she’d worn last night kicked off by the front door as she passed. She froze at the entrance of the kitchen. Jared stood in front of her stove, shaking his hips to Run Run Rudolph. Rip sat right next to him, watching his master’s hands intently as Jared flipped a pancake on the griddle.

“Hi,” Anna Beth said loudly.

Rip took a few steps in Anna Beth’s direction, but ultimately decided the possibility of food scraps trumped his affection for her.

Jared, on the other hand, turned the music off and walked over to kiss her cheek. “Hey, A.B. You feeling better?”

“I have a splitting headache, but something tells me that’s on me and not you. Also, where is Sarah? Does she know Rip is here? And Mittens?” She glanced around the kitchen. “Rip didn’t eat her, did he?”

“No, he’s been a perfect gentleman when Mittens was brave enough to venture from hiding. Although, she does puff up and spit at him. He slipped a couple of pancakes onto an empty plate and held it out to her. “And your aunt left for the station an hour ago. She said if Rip broke anything, she’d stuff him.”

“That sounds about right.” She slid the plate onto the counter and leaned against it with one hand. Anna Beth winced at a particularly sharp pain in her temple. “I feel like a train wreck.”

“You look beautiful to me.”

“Are you buttering me up? Am I mad at you for something? Because for the life of me, I can’t remember what it might be.”

“You were pretty irritated with me last night, but we worked it out.”

“I’m not irritated with you anymore?”

“I hope not, seeing as I’m making you breakfast.”

Anna Beth wracked her brain and some hazy memories surfaced. Singing karaoke. Dancing. Following Jared out of the bar. Screaming at him.

Oh God.

“Did I really puke on your shoes?”

He grinned as he poured more batter on the griddle. “Yeah, but it’s okay. I never liked those shoes anyway.”

“I’m so sorry.”