Maisie sighed. “Why are you asking me?”
Jacob strolled into the room, also showered, dressed in jeans and a sweater, a cup in his grasp.
Maisie reached out her hands. “Gimme. If you two are going to barge into my room, I get the coffee…”
Jacob smiled, walked over to her but glanced at Natalie. “Someone still wakes up hella grouchy.”
Maisie accepted the mug and turned it to see it had a cartoonish reindeer in Christmas pajamas on it. She brought it to her lips and ignored her siblings for a couple of blissful seconds. Jacob sat in the chair, amusement in his gaze.
Lowering the mug, Maisie leaned against the headboard. “You know, when I used to come into your rooms, both of you would kick me out.”
“You were annoying,” Jacob teased.
Maisie took a long swallow of his coffee, pretending it didn’t burn, just to bug him.
Both of her siblings laughed and she reminded herself thatthiswas why she came here. Time with her family. If her thoughts vacillated between how to avoid Nick or get him alone to see if his hands were every bit as skilled as she remembered, she could keep it to herself.
“What’s the plan for the day?” Natalie asked again as Jacob took his cup back and drank down the last of the coffee.
Maisie shrugged. “How would I know?”
Jacob snort laughed. “You’ve had a list of activities for us to do since you could print more than three words.”
“Hi, Maisie,” Asher said, appearing in the doorway. “What are you guys doing?”
Maisie smirked at her brother and sister before answering him. “My brother and sister were just bugging me because that’s what brothers and sisters do.”
Natalie and Jacob both said hello to the adorable, tousle-haired cutie who wore pajamas covered in what looked like tiny Darth Vaders in Santa hats.
“My mom says Uncle Nicky was a pain in her bottom,” Asher said seriously as he came into the room.
The three adults laughed but Maisie’s was cut short when Nick filled the doorway looking way too good for her brain to process. His Guardians T-shirt—a different one from the night before—hugged his chest, emphasizing his muscular arms. One of those arms scooped up Asher.
“Your mom was the pain. Just like you, you little monkey,” Nick said, making the little boy giggle. He curled his arm, bringing his nephew closer, nuzzling him.
The cuteness combined with Nick’s sexiness was almost too much to witness. When she forced herself to look away, she caught Natalie looking at her knowingly.
“Sorry about the interruption,” Nick said, looking anywhere but directly at Maisie. He didn’t sound sorry.
“No need to apologize,” Natalie said, her tone unsettling Maisie’s stomach.
She knew that tone. Growing up, it was the tone that meant she said something to a boy Maisie liked or borrowed clothing without asking or ate the last of the peanut butter chocolate cookies. It never worked out in Maisie’s favor. Trying to kick her sister, to nudge her out of whatever she was about to do, her foot tangled in the sheets.
“We’re waiting for Maisie to tell us the plan for today. She loves to organize fun activities and has been bossing us around since she was your age, Asher.”
Maisie resisted the urge to scoot down under the covers. As if sitting there with bedhead in front of Nick wasn’t bad enough, her sister needed to make her sound like a holiday drill sergeant.
Asher, who was now perched on his uncle’s hip, nodded like heunderstood. “Mom says she’s the boss.” Then he looked at Maisie. “Can me and Uncle Nicky have plans with you? We can build a snowman.”
“Of course you can,” Jacob said happily, standing up.
“How about we let Maisie get out of bed?” Nick said gruffly, his voice deeper at the word “bed.” He backed out of the doorway, his gaze dancing over to her briefly.
She wasn’t sure if it was his gaze or the way he said her name that sent a bolt of electricity through her system. Either way, she needed to ignore it.
THANKFULLY,MAISIE WAS ABLEto rush her sister and brother out of the room claiming she needed to catch up to everyone and get dressed. She avoided Natalie’s gaze, knowing her sister was picking up on something, even if there was absolutely no way for her sister to guess. Maisie wasn’t the one-night kind of girl and even if she caved and told Natalie, her sister wouldn’t believe her. But she wasn’t telling anyone. Not Natalie. Not Lexi. Because moving forward meant not looking back. No matter how hot the past looked in a T-shirt and jeans. Or nothing at all.Natalie doesn’t know.But she suspected something. Maybe pregnancy gave her some sort of Spidey/romance senses.
When she came downstairs, the delicious smell of pancakes distracted her and almost made her drool. One piece of pizza hadn’t been enough.
