Page 7 of Christmas Replay (Majestic Falls: Christmas Spice #4)

Alissa

Sleep was elusive that night. I felt like…well, like a kid on Christmas Eve to be honest. I knew that my future was lying in bed down the hall, just feet from where I lay, and it was maddening to find myself alone after waiting for this long to see him again.

Several times, I found myself climbing out of bed and heading toward the door, but I stopped with my hand on the knob every time, returning to the soft but strangely too large mattress alone once more.

I didn’t want him to think that I was easy or something. Not that he would have. I’d been about to remind him that he’d been my first kiss when he’d silenced me with his fingers against my lips.

Blowing out a sigh as I stared out the window, I watched the sun come up over the horizon, its deep golden rays hitting the snow on the trees and making them shimmer.

Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I got up for the last time, ran through the shower in the en suite then got dressed. Opening the door to the hallway, I listened, but the house was silent. Cliff was still sleeping.

I wasn’t surprised. If he had really been working as hard as he’d said, this first day off was probably needed to rest.

I crept down the hallway into the kitchen, deciding that since I didn’t have a gift for him to open on Christmas, the least I could do was to make him breakfast.

After opening every cupboard and inspecting the stocked pantry, I pulled out what I needed and got to work. His agency had done a remarkable job, and he had everything on hand that was needed for homemade cinnamon rolls.

I made myself at home in his space and got to work. I softened butter with a trick my grandma had taught me, using warm glasses over each stick so it wouldn’t melt but would become pliable quickly.

As I thought about her, I couldn’t help smiling.

I wondered what she would think of this situation.

In high school, I used to whine that all of my friends had boyfriends and that I was going to die alone.

But she would always insist that when the right man came along, I would know, and all the waiting would be worth it.

I had a feeling she’d known what she was talking about, and Cliff was that right man.

Once the dough had proofed, I got to work, rolling and seasoning until I had brought six massive cinnamon rolls together and popped them into the preheated oven.

After setting the timer on my phone, I wandered out into the living room, turning on the lights before curling up on the sofa with a cup of coffee.

As the smell of cinnamon filled the house, I realized that I felt at home here. I really could envision Cliff and I making wonderful memories together in this place. More Christmases. Fourth of July barbecues. Birthdays and anniversaries.

We had a long way to go before we could jump into forever. But the fact that forever was there, right in front of us, was comforting.

I’d known the night I met him, when he kissed me, that it had changed my life forever. Last year, I hadn’t known how. But now…now, I knew he was my right guy.

“Good morning,” Cliff said softly.

“Hey,” I answered, turning a smile to him. “How did you sleep?”

“Great,” he admitted. “Is there coffee?”

I jumped to my feet to head toward the kitchen to get him a cup, but he stepped in my way, blocking me.

“You don’t have to get it for me,” he said, his lips quirking up into a smirk. “It’s your day off, too.”

“Force of habit,” I said with a laugh. “I serve coffee twelve hours a day. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs. You ask if there’s coffee, and I fix you coffee.” I shrugged. “Let me. I need to check on breakfast, anyway.”

“You made breakfast?” His eyes widened, then he inhaled deeply. “Oh, yeah, you did. Is that cinnamon rolls?”

“Indeed. I hope you don’t mind me taking over your kitchen.” I stepped around him to head to the coffeemaker, and he followed, rushing past me to pour himself a cup. “You’re a goof.”

“I don’t want you waiting on me,” he insisted with a shrug. “And you didn’t have to make breakfast.”

“I wanted to,” I admitted. “Fresh cinnamon rolls on Christmas is pretty much required.”

“I never knew that,” he said, smiling over the rim of his mug before taking a sip. “You’ll have to teach me the ways of Christmas, I guess. I always ate cereal, so my mom couldn’t use breakfast as an excuse to delay present opening.”

“Wow, you were a lawyer all the way back then, huh?” I grinned at him.

“Guilty.”

I shook my head then opened the oven, poking at one of the rolls. It sprang back immediately, so I pulled the tray from the rack and set it on the stove to cool.

When I turned around, Cliff was standing immediately in front of me. His arms went around my waist, and he pulled me into him, lowering his face and dropping a soft kiss onto my lips.

“Merry Christmas” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas,” I agreed.

Our mouths met again, his tongue sliding against the seam of my lips until I opened to him. My chest pressed against his, and I could feel his erection grow hard against me. I moaned into his mouth as the kiss deepened further, our hands roaming each other’s arms and backs.

I jumped at the sound of an airhorn going off, and we broke apart quickly, each of us looking around for the source of the sound.

“Oh, shit!” I said with a laugh as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I set it for the cinnamon rolls. I didn’t realize it was on that setting, though.” I exhaled sharply. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” he said with his own shaky chuckle. “I’m glad I was already awake.”

“I should make the icing.” I stepped around him, hoping I didn’t look as flushed as I felt.

My heart pounded, and I wasn’t sure if I was glad that the timer had stopped us or if I was sad for the missed opportunity of taking another step forward with Cliff.