16. Kiley #2
She shakes her head. “That’s your dad’s version. My version was nothing like that.”
“What?” The knife clatters from my hands.
She walks to the doorway to make sure my father is not near to eavesdrop. Once the coast is clear, she comes back, stands next to me and lowers her voice. “I thought your dad was going to be my exciting, taboo, Irish fling, and that I would never hear from him once I came back to the States.”
My eyes widen, and I slowly smile. “You little hussy,” I joke because that is pretty naughty for my sweet, strait-laced mother. Maybe she isn’t as strait-laced as I thought she was? “So what changed for you?”
“Your father’s unwavering determination to uproot his life and move thousands of miles to be with me.
I was his, and he made sure everyone knew it.
” She gives me a knowing look. “My lust quickly turned into love, and it has only gotten stronger all these years later.” She rests her forehead against mine. “I want that kind of love for you.”
I smile, and when she moves back to her cooking station, I resume chopping the potatoes. “Not every man is like Dad, and some men are not interested in single moms.”
“You’re right that not all men are like your father. He’s a unicorn, but there are more of them out there, and I think Jax may be one.”
I groan, wishing this subject of Jax was done with. “Mom…” I warn.
She holds up her hands in defense. “All I’m saying, Kiley, is that you need to be a little more open-minded and stop complicating things.”
She resumes her cooking duties, and I stew in my thoughts.
While cooking is a nice distraction, I can’t help but wonder what the next couple of months working with Jax is going to be like.
Seeing the money he promised me in my bank account makes it very, very real.
I’m trying to wrap my head around how to handle being in his personal space when he’s not around and how awkward this situation has become with our sexual tension.
If he wasn’t going to be my boss, and he was just a regular, single dad, would I be interested in him?
A resounding “yes” filters through my brain without hesitation.
But dating as a single mom is complicated and time consuming and I still think a casual fling piques my interest more than dating does. Could I handle a casual fling with Jax?
I shake my head to clear my thoughts. It doesn’t matter; I’m off-limits to him anyway.
The next couple of hours fly by while we cook and clean as we go. Zander comes in at various times for snacks and potty breaks. Once the clock hits eleven a.m., the doorbell rings and I hear Zander’s feet pound towards the door.
“Zander O’Shea, don’t you dare open that door!
” I yell out as I race out of the kitchen and stop short to see my father opening the door.
Jax is there, carrying a huge, red satchel hanging over his right shoulder and two bouquets of flowers cradled in his left arm.
His smile lights up his face as he looks at us and says, “Merry Christmas, guys!” That smile sends a heat wave all the way down my body to my toes, and for a moment, I forget to breathe.
“Jaxy, whatcha carrying that big ol’ bag for? Come in!” My dad waves Jax in and closes the door behind him. “Let me get that from you.” My dad takes the bag, grabs Jax’s coat and places it in the corner by the coat closet.
“Hi Jax,” Zander greets while jumping up and down in excitement.
“What’s up, Zan-Man? Long time, no see.” Jax gets down on one knee, and Zander launches himself into Jax for a hug. I feel my mom slide up next to me and grab my hand. She squeezes it, while I gulp down the emotions that seeing Zander hug another man evicts in me.
“You give good hugs like your Granddad.” Jax holds him tight and then lets go of him. He gets up and walks toward us. “Ladies, these are for you.” He hands each of us a beautiful bouquet of white and red roses. “Thank you for letting me crash your Christmas, Mrs. O’Shea.”
“C’mon, Jax, you’ve known me long enough now to call me Kim.” She holds her bouquet to her nose and sniffs. “These are gorgeous. Thank you so much! I’m going to put them in some water.” She turns to me and asks, “Kiley, do you want me to take yours as well?”
“Yes, please.” I hand her my bouquet and turn back to Jax when she and my dad leave. “Thank you for the flowers. You didn’t have to do that.”
“You deserve them, and it was my pleasure.”
I blush at his compliment, and I can’t stop myself from checking him out.
He’s wearing dark jeans with an ugly Christmas sweater that has Santa Claus playing hockey and the words “Merry Puckmas” written on it.
His hair is neatly styled, and he’s wearing that damn intoxicating scent that does things to my insides.
It isn’t until I hear a throat clearing that I realize my brother has been standing a few feet away, watching us.
“What’s up, Keegan?” Jax breaks the silence and goes in for a hug. My brother mouths, “I saw you,” over Jax’s shoulders with a shit-eating grin. I glare at him, hoping he can read my mind as it’s shouting at him to keep his big, fat mouth shut.
When Keegan pulls back, he nods at Jax. “Cool sweater. Did you wear that last night to O’Riley’s party?”
“Sure did.”
“Was there a prize for best sweater or anything?” I ask because I love a good, ugly sweater party. I haven’t been to one in a long time, and the only time I get to wear one is when the third-grade team has a night out to exchange white elephant gifts, which we did last week.
“Yes, but I didn’t win. Mine is too boring and not risqué enough,” Jax laughs.
“Jax, want to come see the toys I got for Christmas?” Zander is tugging on Jax’s hand, trying to get his attention.
Jax looks at me. “Do you guys need help setting up brunch?”
I shake my head. “No, we’re almost done. I’m going to go set the food out and we should be ready after that.”
“Great, then lead the way, buddy,” Jax tells Zander, and both Keegan and he follow Zander into the living room.
I head into the kitchen and join my mom and dad. I grab the plates, silverware and napkins and put them out. We put the final touches on the food, arrange the platters for buffet style, and load the food on the warmers.
“Brunch is ready!” My mom calls out and I hear Zander running. He shows up in the kitchen, with Keegan and Jax following behind.
“Whoa, this is a lot of food!” Jax’s eyes go wide as he gazes over the setup. “This looks amazing!” His hands rub up and down his stomach, and my fingers twitch at wanting to feel those rock-hard abs.
“Welcome to a good ol’ fashion Irish Christmas Fry-Up, Jaxy!” My dad clasps his shoulder and hands him a plate. “Help yourself.”
“Ladies first,” Jax motions for my mom and I to go ahead of him.
My mom looks at me with a twinkle in her eye and grabs a plate. “What a gentleman you are, Jax, but as our guest, I insist you go first. I’ll go next so I can explain what everything is to you.”
My mom gets in line next to Jax and starts talking about each food while Jax loads his plate. I go after her and make a plate for both Zander and me while my dad and Keegan go behind us.
We gather at the dining room table, and I notice there are name-cards that weren’t there before.
I’m strategically placed across from Jax, with Zander to my right.
Keegan sits next to Zander, and my mom and dad sit at each end of the table.
I glare at my mom, knowing she’s behind this since it’s her handwriting.
Keegan picks up his name card in confusion. “Since when do we have assigned seats?”
“Since we have a guest today and don’t want him confused as to where to sit,” my mother tells him with a sweet smile on her face.
Jax looks at my mom. “You didn’t have to do anything special for me. I’m just excited to be here for the company and the delicious food.”
“We’re happy to have you.”
My dad is the last one standing, and he grabs his glass of Irish whiskey and holds it up.
“I want to just say a few words of thanks for everyone being here at the table this Christmas morning. Jax, we are honored that you joined us, and we want you to know that we’re so grateful for your friendship and generosity. You are welcome in our home any time.”
Jax nods and salutes my dad with his glass. “Thanks, Killian.”
My dad then turns to me. “To Kiley, Keegan and Zander. We’re so blessed to call you our children and grandchild. Thank you for indulging us and putting up with our yearly Christmas traditions.”
“Where else would we go for free food?” Keegan jokes, making us all chuckle.
“To my beautiful bride,” my dad looks at my mother with all the love he has for her shining from his eyes.
“Thank you for putting up with my shenanigans. The best decision of my life was following you to America.” She places her hand in his, and he brings it up to his lips for a kiss.
Seeing my parents’ love for each other always brings a tear to my eye.
I swipe at it and then look up to see Jax watching me.
“Here’s to happiness, love, prosperity and a winning season!” He salutes Jax and says “Sláinte!”
With that signifying the end of his speech, we all dig into our food.
It’s hard for me to eat with Jax sitting right across from me, our gazes constantly locking, but then I’ll glance at my brother to see him watching me like a hawk.
I decide it’s best I focus on Zander and keep my eyes down, which won’t give my brother any more ammunition.
“What’s Christmas like back home for you, Jax?” my mom politely inquires to break the silence.
He finishes chewing and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
“Kind of similar to how you guys celebrate. We all gather on Christmas Eve to make cookies for Santa.” He looks at Zander and winks, causing Zander to giggle.
“And we usually open one present, which is always cool pajamas like the ones Zander is wearing.”
I smile as Zander looks down at his pjs and back up at Jax. “You wear Spider-Man pajamas too?”