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He knew many couples with age gaps wider than that, but they were mostly older. What he’d said about stages of life didn’t matter so much after a certain age. He took a sip of Cognac. At thirty-nine he was already past the age when most people were thinking about starting a family. He’d thought that he’d missed out on that but seeing Hannah with Grady and Ava was making him have second thoughts. He’d love to be a father. He sucked in a deep breath. He was getting ahead of himself. He hadn’t even taken Becca out on a single date yet. There might be nothing between them beyond that initial spark.
He shouldn’t be wondering about their compatibility for the future when he didn’t even know if their future would stretch beyond one awkward mistletoe kiss and one coffee date.
He picked up his phone with a wry smile on his face. He didn’t know much of anything yet when it came to Becca, but he did know that he couldn’t wait to hear her voice again.
She didn’t pick up immediately, and she sounded strange when she did.
“Hi.”
“Hello again. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, sorry.” She chuckled and he shifted in his seat when he stirred at the sound. It seemed her voice, especially her laugh, had a direct line into his pants. His dick hadn’t been on such high alert for years.
“It’s okay.”
It sounded like she was on the move. “At the risk of putting you off by making you think that I really am too young for you, I was sneaking back down the stairs so that I don’t wake my parents.”
Jacob closed his eyes. She was home visiting for the holidays. It was understandable, but it still felt weird to hear her say that.
“Okay. I’m good now. Are you still there?”
“I am.”
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” This felt stilted. He was starting to second-guess himself again.
She blew out a sigh. “I shouldn’t have told you that, should I?”
“It’s okay. You’re visiting with them. It’s understandable.”
“But I made myself sound like a kid.”
“A little, but let’s leave that behind.”
“Gladly. What did you and Ava get up to this evening? I bet she was thrilled to have you to herself like that. She worships her Uncle Jacob.”
He had to laugh. “I don’t know about worship. Tonight, it was more like she bossed her Uncle Jacob around – and Scooter.”
“Scooter? Oh, that’s Hannah’s puppy, right? Ava’s told me about him.”
“That’s right. Grady started a new tradition with Ava when she came to live with him. Friday nights are her night. She gets to choose what they eat and what they watch. So, tonight we had pizza and watched Frozen.” He chuckled at the memory. “She was trying to teach Scooter and me the words to all the songs. I don’t think I was the best pupil, but I tried.”
He loved the sound of her laughter. “Oh, I wish I’d been there. I’d love to see that.”
He almost said that he wished she’d been there, too, but he held back. “I’m sure you would have found it amusing. Anyway, what about you? Have you been up to anything fun since you got home?”
“Nothing much. Just hanging out with the family. I’m staying with my folks, and my brothers have been over to visit. My sister’s coming tomorrow, and she’ll stay the night. Then everyone will be here for Christmas day. What about you? What are you doing for Christmas?”
“We’re going to Hannah’s cottage in the afternoon. Hannah and Grady are having Christmas morning with Ava. Then Xander and I are going to take Christmas dinner to them, and we’ll all hang out for the afternoon.”
“Aww, that sounds lovely. I’m surprised at you, though.”
“You are? Why?”
“You, making Christmas dinner. I would have expected that you’d be going over there so that Hannah could feed you all.”
He frowned. It was a logical assumption for most people to make – people who didn’t know him or know how the Jacobs family worked. He didn’t know what she’d make of the truth, but it was better for her to hear it now – to understand what his life was like. “No. I’m not making dinner. We’re just taking it over there. The cook will do everything, we’ll just take it over to the cottage.”
