'Tis the Season for Romance

by Kristen Proby

  She hopped up on the counter and crooked her finger at him. “Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you helping me get my bakery up and running?”

  “Yup,” Rocket told her. “And while we both trust your contractor, I’m not one hundred percent comfortable with you being here alone with him.”

  “Rocket, he’s like sixty-five, I didn’t think he was gonna jump me while I explained what I wanted for the public space of my store.”

  “Don’t care,” Rocket said. And he didn’t. He didn’t think the man would’ve done anything to hurt Jayme, but he also wasn’t willing to take that chance. “Besides, I really just wanted to spend some time with you today. I feel as if we haven’t had much lately.”

  “I know,” Jayme said, as she pulled him toward her. She spread her legs apart and hooked her ankles together at the small of his back. “You’ve been working really hard too. Everything all right?”

  “Yeah. A few units are getting ready to deploy after the holidays and we’ve been working overtime to make sure the choppers are all in tip-top shape for them.”

  “I’m proud of you,” Jayme said, and Rocket felt his chest expand.

  He liked making her proud. It felt good. “So? Did you have something in mind when you dragged me back here?”

  She grinned. “Maybe,” she said coyly.

  Rocket loved when she got like this. He wanted her pretty much every minute of every day, but he did his best to rein in his libido so he didn’t overwhelm her. She didn’t usually make the first move when it came to sex, but when she did, their encounters were always over-the-top hot.

  “Here?” he asked, wanting to make sure she felt comfortable. They’d made love here before, but that was right after she’d bought the building and there hadn’t been anything inside other than cobwebs and a few bits of odd furniture.

  “I want to think about you every time I’m in here. When I’m icing a cake, I want to think of your hands on me. When I’m rolling out the dough for homemade bread, I want to remember the look in your eyes when you orgasmed. So yeah, Rocket. Here.”

  “Fuck, I love you,” he said reverently, then immediately grasped the hem of her blouse and drew it up and over her head.

  Jayme laughed and leaned back on her hands, thrusting her chest forward. Rocket was thrilled with how, over the months they’d been together, she’d lost a lot of her shyness around him. He adored how she looked and made sure to tell her every day.

  She unhooked her legs from around his waist and spread them as far apart as she could before she lay back on the cold marble.

  “Looks like there’s a feast laid out just for me,” Rocket quipped.

  Jayme laughed and lifted her head. “Just for you. Only you,” she told him.

  Rocket quickly unbuttoned her jeans and opened the zipper. He ripped her jeans and underwear off her legs, and her laugh turned into a moan when his hands lifted her ass and his head dropped.

  An hour and a half later, they were on the way home. Rocket couldn’t remember being this happy and sated. The ring he’d bought a couple months ago was burning a hole in his pocket, so to speak. He’d wanted to ask her to marry him a hundred times since he’d bought it, but he also wanted to make his proposal a moment she’d always remember. And he hadn’t been able to come up with anything that he thought was good enough.

  He hated that slight insecurity, but he never wanted her to feel cheated about anything to do with their relationship. He wanted to give her a story she could pass on to their kids.

  Kids. God, he wanted to see her beautiful blue eyes on a daughter of their own. Their children would hopefully inherit her smile, her nose, her complexion. He already loved them more than he could ever say, and they hadn’t even done more than talk about the fact they wanted kids…someday.

  “Rocket?” she asked.

  “Yeah, love?”

  “Thank you for believing in me.”

  “Always,” he told her fervently.

  “I know the building cost a ton, and the money it’s costing to renovate things and to make it fit my vision is over the top, but it means a lot to me that you haven’t, not once, told me I’m being ridiculous. That maybe I should be more frugal until I know if the bakery is gonna be successful.”

  Rocket reached for her hand and held it tightly. “One, if you half-assed your business, people would notice and wouldn’t take you as seriously. Two, you’re not being ridiculous at all. It’s your money, you’ve saved for a long time, and I’d be a douche if I started dictating what you can and can’t spend it on. And three, there’s no ‘if’ about it, Warm Delights is gonna be successful. Wanna know how I know?”

  “How?” she asked, tears shining in her eyes.

  “Because I’ve eaten your treats. And they’re fucking phenomenal. Anyone who orders something from your shop is immediately going to become a repeat customer. I predict within six months of opening your doors, you’re going to have every special order slot filled for months in advance. You’re going to have to hire more help, and you’ll even need to think about expanding.”

  The tears fell over her cheeks. “I don’t know about all that, but your confidence in me means the world.”

  Rocket lifted his hand and carefully wiped away a tear from her cheek. “You mean the world to me,” he said simply. “Now, quit cryin’ or you’ll give me a complex. I just made you come three times, and I came so hard I saw stars. I want to go home, get you a cup of tea, and talk about our schedule for the next few weeks. Brain and Aspen invited us to hang out with their crew and celebrate the holidays with them one weekend. Your parents have talked about coming down here to Texas to visit, and I should probably extend an invite to my folks as well. Then Winnie wants to have a party for her friends too. I’m sure you’re going to want to bake something for all of our get-togethers, so we need to figure all that out.”

  By the time he’d finished talking, Rocket saw that Jayme had pulled herself together. He loved when she got all gooey and emotional, but he hated to see her cry. He knew talking about the upcoming holiday parties would pull her out of her head, and he smiled when she nodded and immediately reached for her phone. The next few weeks were going to be hectic, but he couldn’t be happier.

  He’d always spent the holidays alone, and now with Jayme in his life, he had more social activities planned than he ever could’ve imagined. But he wouldn’t change one thing about his life. Especially if it meant not having Jayme by his side.

  Chapter 9

  Jayme was blissfully happy. Warm Delights was ready to open on January second. It was December twenty-third, and she was at Memaw’s house preparing a huge Christmas dinner. Over the last few weeks, she and Rocket had attended quite a few get-togethers. She’d baked cookies, cakes, bread, pastries, and pies. She’d even made a fruitcake at Memaw’s request.

  Her parents had flown in and spent a few days getting to know Rocket and catching up on their daughter’s life. They’d ooh and aahed over her bakery and told her how proud they were of her. Even Rocket’s mom and dad had visited. He wasn’t as close with his family, but he’d said afterward it felt good to at least try to connect with them once again.

  They’d hung out with Memaw’s neighbors when they’d had a big party, and Jayme had really enjoyed getting to know all of Aspen and Kane’s friends. The men were all buff and strong, and she appreciated seeing how loving they were with their women.

  All-in-all, it had been a great month of December, but Jayme was ready to hunker down for a few days with just Rocket. They’d been on the go so much they hadn’t had a lot of time to spend with just the two of them. After tonight’s dinner, they’d both decided they would take until the twenty-seventh to do nothing but be with each other.

  No work for either of them. No visiting Memaw (although Jayme would check on her via phone every day to make sure she was all right), and no thinking about all the work she still had to do to open Warm Delights on the second. It would be just them, enjoying each other’s c
ompany and feeling loved.

  But first, they were celebrating Christmas with Memaw.

  Rocket had been called into work for an emergency repair on one of the helicopters and he’d apologized a hundred times before Jayme had finally shooed him out of the house. “The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back,” she’d told him.

  “Thank you for understanding,” he’d said.

  “Of course. There will be times I’ll probably need to head down to the bakery on my time off because of some catastrophe. Besides, as much as you’ve learned in the kitchen, you’ll just be in my way. Go, and when you get back, there’ll be a nice Christmas dinner waiting for you.”

  “Love you,” Rocket had said as he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Love you too.”

  Now she and Memaw were happily talking about her new Jazzercise class she was taking down at the YMCA. It was for seniors, and they all sat in chairs as they be-bopped to music.

  “I think you should come with me one day,” Memaw said.

  Jayme rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so.”

  “It’ll be fun.”

  Her grandmother’s idea of fun and Jayme’s were quite different. But to get her off her back, she said, “I’ll think about it.”

  Memaw turned to her with her hands on her hips. “No, you won’t. You’re just saying that to shut me up.”

  Jayme couldn’t help but laugh. “True. Is it working?”

  “No,” Memaw griped.

  * * *

  Jayme chuckled again. “Will you please hand me the milk?”

  Memaw frowned. “Milk?”

  “Yeah, the stuff that comes from cows? I decided to double this cookie recipe because I want to make sure you have enough to tide you over until I come by again.”

  “Lord, child, how many cookies do you think I’m gonna eat?” Memaw asked.

  “I know you, Memaw,” Jayme said. “You’ll get bored, and you’ll want to feed Aspen and Kane. Then you’ll call one of your friends to meet up. You’ll hand out cookies to your mail delivery person, and anyone else you might see. I just want to make sure you’ve got enough.”

  Her grandmother laughed. “Right, okay, I see your point. But seriously, I think I’ll be okay for four days while you and Rocket are locked inside his house.”

  Jayme blushed but turned to glance at her grandmother. “Why are you trying to talk me out of doubling this batch of cookies?”

  Memaw held up the empty half-gallon container of milk. “Because we’re out of milk.”

  “Well, crap,” Jayme said in dismay. She glanced at her watch. “The convenience store down the street is still open. I’ll just run down there and grab another one.”

  “Why don’t you just go knock on Kane’s door?”

  “Because I need more than just a cup or so,” Jayme argued as she went to the sink to wash her hands. “The mashed potatoes could probably use another dash once they sit for a while, and Rocket might want a glass with his dinner. I won’t take too long.”

  “Rocket should be back soon. You could text him and ask him to pick it up on his way,” Memaw said.

  “I don’t want to bother him. It’ll just take ten minutes or so,” Jayme replied breezily. “Stir the gravy while I’m gone, and check the turkey. You shouldn’t need to take the aluminum foil off yet, but just check on it.”

  “I know how to cook, missy,” her grandmother said a little huffily. “Who do you think taught you?”

  Jayme leaned down and kissed Winnie on the cheek. “You did. And okay, I’ll be right back. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” her grandmother said as Jayme grabbed the keys to the car Memaw still had but didn’t drive much anymore.

  Ten minutes later, Jayme wished she’d taken her grandmother’s advice and had texted Rocket instead of dashing down to the store herself.

  Rocket was glad the problem at work wasn’t terribly difficult to solve. He was a little annoyed they’d bothered him at all, but he didn’t say anything to the captain who’d greeted him at the shop when he’d arrived. He was grateful to have a job he loved, even if it meant it took him away from his girlfriend more than he liked.

  He reminded himself that once Warm Delights opened, he and Jayme would have even less time to spend together, although she’d decided to close her doors at two in the afternoon every day. She’d open at five in the morning and use the late afternoons to prepare the special orders for the next day. She should be home by dinnertime most days, and at least they’d have every evening together.

  That was the plan at least, but Rocket knew as her bakery got more successful, she’d probably need to revisit her hours. But she could always hire more staff to be at the store while she headed home. He’d just have to give her a damn good reason to want to come home every afternoon instead of working late.

  Smiling as he pulled into Winnie’s driveway, he knocked on her door before heading inside. The interior of the house smelled delicious and his stomach immediately began to rumble. He still hadn’t gotten used to eating as well as he had since meeting Jayme. She might claim that baking was her forte, but she was a hell of a good cook as well.

  “Hey, Winnie,” he said as he entered the kitchen and saw Jayme’s grandmother standing by the stove.

  “Hi, Rocket. Everything go okay at work?”

  “Yup. Where’s Jayme?”

  “She decided I needed twenty-eight dozen cookies instead of just one, and we ran out of milk. So she ran down to the convenience store to buy some more.”

  “Why didn’t she text me to pick it up on my way?” Rocket asked with a frown.

  Winnie laughed. “That’s what I told her to do, but she said it would just take a few minutes.”

  “Okay. I’ll head down there to meet up with her,” Rocket said.

  “I’m sure she’ll be right back,” Winnie protested. She looked up at the clock hanging on the wall in the kitchen. “She just left a few minutes ago.”

  “If I pass her, I’ll just turn around and follow her home,” Rocket said. He didn’t know why he felt the pressing need to go to the store. He’d missed her, but he always did while he was working.

  “Be careful,” Winnie said as he headed back toward the front door.

  “I will.”

  Rocket jogged back out to his truck and headed down the street toward the small convenience store at the entrance to Winnie’s neighborhood. There were a few cars in the lot, and he saw Winnie’s old Buick.

  He climbed out and headed for the door, excited to see the look of surprise—and probably a bit of irritation—on Jayme’s face when she saw him. He knew she loved when he looked after her, but even he could admit that not waiting for her to get back from the store was going a little overboard. In his defense though, he was anxious for their four-day staycation to start. He’d been looking forward to having her all to himself for weeks and was a bit resentful of being cheated out of some of his time with her because of work.

  He was thinking about Jayme’s reaction to seeing him as he opened the door to the small convenience store, and therefore was a little slow in realizing what was going on.

  Three men, dressed all in black, turned to stare at him as he entered. One was holding a pistol on the teenager behind the counter. Another was standing near a group of customers in one of the aisles, and the third was farther back, standing near Jayme and the cold case.

  The men looked young, probably in their late teens or early twenties. They had bandanas over their faces but weren’t wearing gloves.

  “Shit!” the guy in the aisle swore.

  Rocket was moving before he consciously thought about it. He had eyes for only one person. The man with the gun standing near Jayme. The guy at the counter was closer, but he didn’t even think about trying to tackle him. He ducked behind a counter and headed for Jayme. It was stupid. He knew it was. But something in his brain had short circuited. His only thought was getting to the woman he loved.

  A gunshot rang ou
t, and screams sounded loud in the small store. There was more swearing and the sound of shelves being knocked over and items falling to the floor. But Rocket didn’t look around, he was still focused on getting to Jayme.

  He came around the back of the aisle and stared at the punk near Jayme. He’d turned toward the group of women toward the front of the store who were screaming. From what Rocket could see, the group had actually jumped one of the would-be robbers. An alarm blared through the store, obviously set off by the clerk. The third gunman yelled, “fuck this,” then took off running for the door.

  Everything in the store was in complete chaos, and the last thing Rocket wanted was the gunman nearest Jayme to start shooting his weapon to try to gain control. Just as he had the thought, the man lifted his hand, the one holding the weapon.

  Rocket’s heart nearly stopped beating in his chest when he turned toward Jayme. His hand was shaking as if he was scared to death. But before Rocket could act, a flash of light appeared from the muzzle of the pistol.

  Then Rocket was on him. They both slammed to the hard tile floor and the pistol went skittering away as the young man lost his grip. Without hesitation, Rocket punched him once. Then twice. Then a third time. The man had dared to hold a weapon toward Jayme. He’d shot at her. No one did that and got away with it. Not on his watch.

  The man beneath him fought back, but was no match for Rocket’s size, strength, and anger.

  “Rocket! Stop! He’s down.”

  The words barely registered. Rocket’s adrenaline was coursing through his veins and he couldn’t get the look of absolute fright on Jayme’s face out of his mind.

  It wasn’t until he felt a hand on the side of his face, a touch he recognized at a soul deep level, that he stopped, his fist half-cocked and ready to slam down into the asshole’s face once more.

  “Rocket, I’m okay. We’re all okay.”