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Cam’s gaze lands on the big-screen TV, where I have a movie cued up and ready to play. Her eyes widen as she looks at the array of food and drinks I have on the coffee table. She glances back at Jackson, who gives her a knowing smile, while I wonder what could be going through their minds as they size up my humble environment.
“You’re watchingChristmas Vacation?” Cam asks.
“Yeah… it’s my favorite. I’ve watched it every Christmas Eve since I was a kid. And I always eat sugar cookies and drink peppermint hot chocolate while I watch it. It’s my own little tradition.” I shrug, thinking how silly this must seem to her.
“But, that’s what we do on Christmas Eve.” She looks adorably confused as she turns to her dad.
I glance at Jackson and see the most endearing blush coloring his cheeks. “You do?” I ask.
He rubs the back of his neck in a self-conscious gesture. “I don’t know if you remember, but the holidays are always hard for me.” I nod because, of course, I didn’t forget. “But when Cam was younger, I wanted to make Christmas special for her. So I thought back to what you always did during the holidays, and I figured if it made you happy, why not give it a shot? I guess it all just kind of stuck, and now we do it every year. But we’ve added more snacks to the mix.”
“And matching pajamas too,” his daughter adds, pointing to her outfit. Jackson’s blush deepens, and I laugh. “You should do it with us this year!” Cam exclaims with the kind of happy energy that only little kids possess.
It’s tempting, but I bite my lip and shake my head. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”
“Can we talk privately for a moment?” Jackson asks me.
“Sure.” I’m pretty eager to find out what he came to tell me. So I turn on the movie for Cam, who sits down and grabs a cookie. “Come on. We can talk in here.” I lead him into my bedroom.
As soon as he enters my private space, I regret it. Seeing him standing next to my fluffy bed makes a warm desire pool in my belly. I take a deep breath and tell myself to focus.
“Why are you here?” I ask again, my voice sounding wary even to my own ears.
“I need you to know that you’ve got things all wrong. I wasn’t with anyone else when we were together. I swear.” My eyebrows rise in disbelief. “Cam is my niece,” he clarifies before I can point out the obvious. “I mean, I don’t think of her that way because she’s been my daughter for so long. But biologically, she’s my niece. My sister’s kid.”
I recall what Cam told me about her mom, that she left the girl with Jackson when she was born. I assumed that meant she dumped him. But if her mom was his sister…
All the pieces start to fall into place as I reexamine the past and how things went down between us ten years ago. Of course, I feel a little foolish for jumping to conclusions, but honestly, what did he expect?
“So, you’re raising your sister’s child? She left Cam with you when she was a baby?” I ask for clarity. There’s no need for either of us to make any more assumptions here. We’ve already wasted enough time.
Jackson nods. “Justine was always a bit of a wild child, and it only worsened after our parents died. I was still in the military and wasn’t around much, so I felt guilty that I wasn’t there for her when she needed me.
“When she got pregnant and told me she had no intentions of keeping the baby, I gave up everything and came home. She’dalready talked to an adoption agency, but I couldn’t stand the thought of Cam being raised by someone else. She’s family, so I was issued an honorable discharge and promised Justine I’d help raise my niece. I thought my sister was on board, but after Cam was born, she still wasn’t interested in being a mom. Justine took off, and I haven’t heard from her since. So I adopted Cam and I’m raising her myself.”
“I’m so sorry, Jackson.”
“I’m not. Justine and I were never really close. She’s the type who doesn’t follow the rules and lives her life fulfilling no one’s expectations but her own. I guess there’s nothing wrong with that, but we’re different people. Besides, I got Cam out of it.”
“And this happened before we got together?”
“About a year before we met. Listen, I don’t want to be a dick, but you’re crazy if you think I could have been with anyone else. I wanted you so fucking bad back then. I still do.” His gaze is intense, and I want to look away, but I couldn’t if I tried. “It’s always bothered me that things didn’t work out. It’s just… I was a new dad with a new job. It was damn near impossible to balance everything. I wanted to spend every fucking minute I could with you, but it just didn’t work out that way. Doesn’t mean I didn’t want you like my next fucking breath because I did.”
Wow.He’s being so open and honest with me that I feel my heart skip a beat. “I think I understand. I know I didn’t make it any easier for us with the hours I kept. I was so focused on trying to prove my worth and work my way up in the industry.”
I’d always blamed myself for what went wrong between us, but now I see that there wasn’t any fault to be had on either side. We just each had different priorities back then. Sometimes attraction—or even a powerful connection—isn’t enough to make a relationship work. Life gets in the way.
Jackson steps towards me and lifts my chin with his index finger. “How about we stop focusing on the past and think about the present?”
“And the future?” I ask hopefully. Now that I know he didn’t betray my trust all those years ago, everything is different. I’ve always wanted to be with him, and finally I can. I refuse to waste another second being without him.
That’sifhe wants to be with me.
“I’m saying that seeing you again has made me remember everything I felt for you back then. I’ve been thinking about my career path a little, and I don’t think I need to work as hard as I once did. I’ve already proved myself, and perhaps now is a good time to make a change. And maybe try… dating?”
“Oh, did you plan to get on some of those apps?” I blink at him with faux innocence.
Jackson narrows his eyes at me before lifting his hand to cup my cheek. I lean into his touch as tingles erupt across my skin. His gaze burns into mine, and a shiver runs down my spine.
