3
Jeff pulled his coat tighter around himself as he walked up the front steps of the Blake family home while balancing a fruit tray in one hand. He knocked on the door before walking inside at the shout of “Come in.”
The house was busy with all the Blakes and their significant others spread between the kitchen table and living room.
“Jeff, it’s so good to see you. Merry Christmas,” Karen, Noah’s mom, said. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“I couldn’t come empty-handed,” Jeff said. “Merry Christmas.”
“You’re such a good man,” Karen said, and Jeff blushed. “Make yourself at home.” She took the tray from him and carried it into the kitchen.
He pulled his coat off and slipped the ten-dollar bill into his pants pocket before hanging his coat up. Then he walked over to the kitchen table, where half of the Blake family was seated.
Noah and Jessa sat at one end with Megan next to them. Then Noah’s brother, Jackson, and his wife, Mia, were seated across from them. They seemed to be engaged in an intenseconversation, so Jeff only waved and smiled before sitting down in an empty seat.
“You can’t tell me cats aren’t the greatest pets in the world!” Jackson nearly shouted.
Mia set a hand on his arm. “Calm down, honey.”
Noah snorted. “I’ll take a dog any day.”
Megan covered her mouth with her hand to cover her smile. Jeff looked between the heated brothers, and he recognized the look on Noah’s face. Noah was just trying to get Jackson worked up, and it was working. Jackson could never figure that out, which was astonishing to Jeff. It always seemed so obvious to him.
“You could have a dog as a pet, but you won’t know what you’re missing out on if you don’t at least try owning a cat,” Jackson said.
“Hard pass,” Noah said.
Jackson’s face turned red, and he stood abruptly. “Excuse me.” As he walked away, he could hear Jackson mutter under his breath. “Jackass.”
Jackson disappeared down the hallway, and Mia raised her brow at Noah. “Was that necessary?”
Noah smiled as he took a sip of his drink. “I know not what you mean, Mia.”
Megan snorted, and Jeff’s eyes met hers briefly. He couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up out of him either.
Mia pushed back from the table and walked down the hallway where Jackson had disappeared. “Men.”
Once she had left, Noah laughed. “He’s too easy.”
“Do you really dislike cats?” Megan asked.
“Of course not. I think they’re adorable,” Noah said. “But for the sake of a conversation with Jackson, yes, I dislike them.”
Megan and Jessa giggled.
“Food’s up!” Miles’s voice boomed through the house. Miles, the youngest Blake brother, was the head chef at the resort restaurant. His food was always phenomenal. They set the food up buffet-style in the kitchen and everyone took turns going through the line to dish up their plates.
Megan was in front of Jeff, so it gave him a moment to study her. She wore dark blue jeans with black boots that came halfway up her calf, a fitted red shirt that showed just how fit she was, and a long black sweater pulled over it that opened in the front. Her dark brown hair was down and curled.
Jeff leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” she said, smiling up at him.
The food spread was gorgeous, and Jeff put a little of everything on his plate. With Miles cooking, nothing could go wrong. He sat beside Megan at the large farm table that could surprisingly fit everyone, and he eyed her sweater. It had pockets that should be easy for him to slip the bill into.
When Emma, Miles’s daughter, knocked her cup of sparkling cider over, it created enough of a distraction that Jeff slipped the bill into Megan’s sweater without her noticing. He patted himself on the back and resumed eating. Megan was flying out the next morning, so he didn’t expect her to find the bill prior to leaving. He almost hoped she’d text him when she found it. At least then it would open a line of communication he so desperately wanted with her.
The first time he ever saw her, she took his breath away. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But after getting to know her, he liked her a bit more each time. Plus, the way Jessa and Noah spoke about her, Jeff knew she was a great friend.
At the end of the night, Jeff lingered near Megan for as long as possible. He wasn’t ready for her to go home. It had been funchatting with her while she was there. The only reason he could walk away that night was because he knew he would see her again shortly when Noah proposed to Jessa.
