“Hey, good morning,” Colton said, coming around the counter with a platter of pancakes in one hand. He wore a very bright and festive apron that read: SORRY,SANTA.
He curled an arm around Maisie’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple. “How you doing?”
Maisie put one arm around him to return the affectionate squeezewhile stealing a perfect pancake from the platter. “Better now.” She took a big bite, making Colton laugh.
They joined the others in the dining room and Maisie was grateful to see that the seats next to Nick were taken by his sister and Asher. Keeping her head down, she walked to a free spot next to Natalie.
“Your hair looks cute pinned back like that,” her sister said, picking up her glass of orange juice.
Cute? Gee, thanks, Nat.Nick had spent a lot of the night they were together telling her she had the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. So, had she made them a little more noticeable this morning by pinning the front of her hair back and adding some mascara? Maybe. But she hadn’t been aiming for “cute.”
Nick glanced at her, his gaze unreadable.
“It feels weird to have someone making breakfast and serving it when I’m supposed to be hosting. I almost feel bad,” Ellie said as Colton and Jacob put the pancakes in the center of the table, which also had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and bowls of fruit.
Colton leaned down and kissed the crown of Ellie’s head in such a sweet, brotherly way, Maisie wished she’d brought her camera downstairs. He grinned as he walked to his seat. “The good thing about lifelong friends is they know your weaknesses and love you anyway.”
Spying from beneath lowered lashes, Maisie watched Nick poke his sister before picking up the eggs and scooping some onto Asher’s plate. “What he’s saying is, no one wants to eat your cooking.”
Asher leaned his head on his mom’s shoulder. “I want to eat it, Mommy. I like your dino nuggets.”
Ellie closed her eyes with a laugh then grinned at her son, bopped him on the nose. “That’s my specialty.”
Something stirred in Maisie’s chest; a cross between wistfulness and craving. Since her best friend had recently fallen flat on her facein love, it’d created a strange sort of hopefulness inside of her. One she didn’t want to feel while in the same room with Nick.
Everyone dug in, chatting, laughing, talking over each other while enjoying fluffy pancakes and delicious sides. If Maisie could just smooth out the far-too-aware-of-Nick issue, she’d have a great time.
“We all know it’s coming, so Maze, why don’t you tell us some of the plans you have,” Jacob said. “Or are we waiting for Mom and Dad?”
She felt everyone looking at her but shefeltNick’s gaze the most. She set down the slice of bacon she’d picked up, wiped her hands on a napkin, and looked at Ellie without glancing at Nick.
“They’re just giving me a hard time because I like to organize activities. But, it’s your home.”
Ellie waved a hand through the air. “Please. My home is your home, especially if someone else is going to do the cooking and entertaining.”
Jacob grabbed the slice of bacon off her plate. “Since when don’t you want to be in charge of the activities?”
“I like being in charge,” Asher said, going up on his knees.
“So does Maisie,” Natalie said from across the table.
“I’ll say,” Nick muttered under his breath.
Maisie drew in a gasp but it seemed like only she had heard him. Or maybe she was the only one who read into his words. Their eyes locked again and that awareness became a simmering burn. The kind that came with memories of him pressing her up against the door the minute she’d closed it. His hands all over her, his mouth tugging at her sanity until she’d stepped back with a sultry smile and slipped off her heels, then her dress, and told him she was in charge. Because even though she’d never had a one-night stand, she’d never in her life wanted a man the way she’d wanted him. And apparently it made her brave. Until the next day, when his disappearing made her cry.
“Hello,” Nat said, nudging her with her elbow. “You’re a million miles away.”
Shaking her head, Maisie scolded herself, told herself to get it together.Take Nick out of the equation.“Fine. For today, I thought maybe we could have a games tournament.”
Jake, Colt, and Kyle groaned loudly and in unison. Nat swatted at Kyle’s arm playfully.
“Stop it. We’ve grown. We’re no longer little kids who argue over games,” Natalie said, her tone prim, covering her laughter.
She and her sister weren’t known for their sportsmanship growing up. Sibling rivalry was too mild a term to adequately describe how hard they competed against each other.
Jacob paused his fork on the way to his mouth. “Three Christmases ago, the last time we were all under one roof for the holidays, Maisie broke a lamp while we were playingPictionary.” He stared at her with a heavy dose of amusement.
“I really liked that lamp,” Kyle said.
