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“Will he get lost?” Ava asked, her eyes wide.
“Well, there’s a lot of trees and snow,” I said with mock seriousness, much to Luke’s amusement to my left. “But with his magic and my know-how, he’ll be here, no problem.”
“Hmm, okay,” Ava decided, settling back against me. “As long as he knows to bring your presents here too.”
“Oh, definitely,” I nodded firmly, although I hadn’t really thought about that. I hadn’t celebrated Christmas in so long, and simply sitting here with the fire blazing and the tree glittering in the corner, my inner child was overwhelmed.
Suddenly Ava yawned, and like a wave, Bonnie and Kane followed. After their morning activities and with the food having had time to digest, it was clear what was next.
“Nap time,” I declared.
“Nooo,” Ava whined softly, “I’m not tired.”
“Me… neither,” Kane mumbled around two large yawns. Bonnie sent me a shy glance and didn’t say a word, but her eyes didn’t leave me.
“Oh, I think we all know that’s not true,” I chuckled. Standing with Ava in my arms, I glanced over to Kane. “Come on, nap time.”
“No,” Kane grumbled.
“Remember Kane,” Theo piped up from where he was curled up with the laptop. “We agreed. I work while you nap, and we can play some video games after, right?” Theo sent Kane a look and the mention of the games spurred him into action. He leaped to his feet and darted forward to take my outstretched hand. With Ava balanced in my other arm, I was about to ask Tabitha if she could help with Bonnie when Jax climbed to his feet with her in his arms.
“Come on Bonnie, let’s go lie down.” Bonnie hid her face in Jax’s neck, and he shot me such a dazzling smile that I was instantly jerked back to being on top of him in the snow. It surely wasn’t a good idea to be alone with him, but I couldn’t say that so instead I followed him up the stairs without a word.
“I’m not tired,” Ava yawned, and I pressed a light kiss to her cheek, making her giggle.
“Trust me Ava, when you get older, you’ll miss naps,” I grinned.
“No, I won’t,” she said grumpily. “I wanna stay upforever.”
“Goodness, you’d be so tired!”
“I wanna play video games,” Kane whispered as he headed down the hall, and I gently squeezed his hand.
“You will. Soon as you wake up, I’ll make sure Dad is ready for you.”
“Thank you.” Kane glanced up at me, his tired eyes filled with warmth, and I was struck by the urge to bundle him up in my arms too. By the time we reached the kids’ room, tiredness had taken over. It didn’t take long to wiggle the children out of their jackets and shoes and into comfy clothes. By the time all three were tucked in bed and I was four pages intoJack and the Beanstalk,they were all fast asleep.
Jax pressed a warm kiss to Bonnie’s forehead and led the way out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
“Nap time here is always easier here when they’re tired,” Jax murmured, and he slowly led the way back down the hall.
“Oh, I can imagine,” I chuckled softly.
His presence next to me was like a flame, and I was a willing moth ready to get burned.
Rein it in, Summer.
“I should get changed too, actually,” I said as I turned down the hallway toward my room. Jax followed.
“Do you feel it?” he asked softly, and my steps slowed as I approached my door.
“Feel what?” I sent him a glance, and Jax’s eyes were fixed on me. If I lingered for too long, I’d be trapped in those gorgeous green eyes.
“What I’m feeling.”
“Which is?” Reaching my door, my hand lingered on the handle but something was stopping me from stepping through. I turned to face him, and while Jax kept a respectable distance, a cheeky smile rested on his lip.
“I think there’s something between us, don’t you?” He lifted one brow and my heart started to race. “I thought there was at the interview, but I wanted to remain professional. That maybe I was just overthinking things. But on the mountain, I’m pretty sure you felt it too.”
