She checked the bedside clock for the time and saw it was 7:15.Crap.She was running behind.She needed to move it if she was going to drop off her nephew at school on time.
Following the sound of voices to the kitchen, she found Oliver already dressed and eating breakfast.She almost stumbled when she heard him ask Jed, “What are you doing here so early?”
“Sadie promised me breakfast,” Jed replied.As excuses went, she thought that one wasn’t too bad.At least his brain was firing faster than her own this morning.
“Oh.”Oliver was good with that answer.He must be fully awake because he changed the subject so fast, it gave Sadie whiplash.“Guess what, Jed!”
“What, buddy?”Jed chuckled.
“We got you a Christmas present!I can’t wait for you to open it!”
Oh boy.Time to make her presence known.She hadn’t wanted Jed to know they’d gotten him a present because she didn’t want him to feel obligated to buy them one in return.
Jed was standing with his sexy butt leaning against the counter, fully dressed, a cup of coffee in one hand and his eyes locked on Oliver.God, that smile of his just about did her in.Her heart did that crazy flip thing, and she had to remind herself to rein it in.It was too soon to go there.
She padded her way over to the table, her hands settling on the back of the chair next to Oliver.Holy cow.He was already eating scrambled eggs and pancakes.She shot wide eyes toward Jed.He shrugged a shoulder and took a drink of coffee.
“Wow, buddy.You’re already up and dressed.How did that happen?”
“Jed got me up and picked out my clothes.”Oliver grinned before shoveling a syrup-covered bite of pancake into his mouth.His grin fell away as he caught sight of her stitches.
“Sadie!What happened to your head?”Oliver jumped to stand in his seat; his eyes were wide as he got a closer look at her forehead.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Jed beat her to it.“She had an accident at work and hit her head.”
Well, that wasn’t a complete lie.Itdidhappen at work, and shedidhit her head.
“Oh, Sadie.Does it hurt real bad?”His eyes squinted with concern.
“I’m okay.Just a little headache.”She ruffled his hair and smiled at him so he wouldn’t be so worried.
“Jed made breakfast.”Oliver dropped back down onto his seat, then pointed at the chair next to his.
“Oh yeah?”One side of her mouth kicked up as she turned her attention to Jed once again.
“His scrambled eggs and pancakes are almost as good as yours, Sadie.He just needs to put cheese in the eggs and chocolate chips in the pancakes.”
Jed laughed and set his mug on the counter.“You want coffee?”
“Yes, please.”She watched in amazement as he poured her a cup of coffee and added just the right amount of creamer.It was white mocha peppermint, one of her favorites for this time of year.
“Here you go.”He set it in front of her, then leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.He was grinning as he backed away, not caring that Oliver had seen him.“If you’re finished eating, Oliver, you need to go brush your teeth.”
They both watched her nephew shovel the last bite of eggs into his mouth before hurrying off to do as Jed told him.
“How are you really feeling this morning?”Jed’s voice brought her attention back to him.
“Okay.Just a headache, but it’s not bad.”
His eyes squinted as he leaned down for a better look at her stitches.“He did a good job.I doubt you’ll have much of a scar.”He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s what I thought when I looked at it this morning.How much do you think he’ll charge you for last night?”She took a drink of coffee and was pleased to see he’d gotten the amount of creamer right.
“It’s not how much he’ll charge; it’s more of what he has me do to pay him back.”He went back to leaning with his butt against the counter and picked up his coffee.
“What do you mean?”
“The last time I got him out of bed, I was injured, and he came to patch me up.As payment, he wanted me to mow his lawn.”He took a drink, watching her over the rim of his cup.
