"Nate, this is one huge reason I love you." 

Okay, I wasn't really talking to Nate right now. I was talking to the coffee pot that was still about half full with fresh brewed Stewart's coffee. Whenever Nate was home on leave, he would always make coffee in the morning and leave some for me. Nate left early today to go somewhere with Ayden. Flip side of that-- I had the house to myself for a few hours. 

After the very unfortunate, albeit amazing, kiss under the mistletoe, I needed some Ayden-free space to breathe. That was one of my problems lately; my inability to breathe around him. I've never met someone like Ayden before and that was part of the attraction. The guys I used to date were usually stuffy office types: lawyers, bankers, and the occasional bartender. But not someone like Ayden.

He was strong, independent, sure of himself, and a soldier. He risked his life fighting for our country. He was also witty as hell. The few times we talked, he usually had me cracking up. Everyone who knew me knew that wasn't an easy easy to do. 

To be honest, Harper was right. I used to be more carefree and spontaneous. I used to break the rules and not care what other people thought. God, when did I become so boring? Perhaps it's when Adam cheated on me. Or it could have been when I started dating Adam. Yeah, that sounded good to me. Let's blame Adam. 

I poured some coffee in my favorite mug and sighed as the warm liquid slid down my throat. Yes, this is the one constant thing that mattered in my life right now. Stewart's coffee. Stewart was there when you needed him. He didn't cheat on you or talk back to you. Stewart knew how to satisfy. Yep. As long as I had Stewart's coffee, the world would continue to spin. 

I covered my yawn with my hand as I headed back to my room. I didn't really have any plans today; except clean up the house and try to get some more decorations down from the attic. I didn't want to do the latter, but I promised Nate when he asked. And asked...and asked again. The man was so pushy. But, a promise was a promise. I needed to wake up before I tackled the Christmas decorations and that's precisely why I reached for a towel from my closet and headed to the bathroom. 

I went to the guest bathroom in the hall that Nate used since it was a stand-up shower. Sometimes I referred it over the tub. Like today. Just depended on my mood. If I was exhausted or sulking, I went for the tub. If I wanted to get energized or was in a hurry, I preferred the stand-up shower. Simple as that. I opened the door to the bathroom and nearly dropped my coffee. Ayden was standing outside of the shower, naked and without a towel. 

For a second, all I could do was run my eyes all over his delicious body. I knew he was muscular and fit, but-- damn. He was extremely ripped and very...oh, God. "Ayden! What are you doing here? Why- wh---why- are you naked?" Why can't I stop staring? Ohmygod. Ohmygod....ohmygod. Look anywhere else, Lanie. Look up. Look down. No! Don't look down. Close your eyes. Yes! Good. 

I covered my eyes with my hand since I didn't trust myself. For God's sake, the man was sex on a stick. This was not helping my vow to devote my life to Stewart's coffee. Nope. Not at all. 

"I'm sorry, Lanie," he chuckled," I was taking a shower." 

I heard rustling and assumed he was wrapping a towel around his waist. His very lean, muscular waist that had a set of abs above it that should be illegal.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again. My tone was angry and agitated but I didn't care. I was too out of sorts to care about anything. 

"Nate got a call from Jules so he rescheduled with me. Which is what I'm doing here." He was quiet for a moment before said, "You can open your eyes. I'm covered now." 

I peeked through my fingers first, just to make sure. Yep, he put the towel around his waist. When I lowered my hand, I knew I should have left my eyes closed. Even with a towel wrapped around his waist, he still looked irresistible. Maybe I was so attracted to him because he was off limits AND I was sexually frustrated. Yes, that had to be it. 

"Lanie?" 

At the mention of my name I realized I was staring at Ayden while I was having my inner monologue. Fucking great. "Huh? Yes. I mean, no. Sorry." I frowned. "What did you ask me?" 

He laughed as he stepped closer to me. "I didn't ask you anything. I said that you might want to wait a few minutes for the hot water." 

"Oh," I said absently since all my logic vanished. "Thanks."

He had a sexy smile on his face as he started past me and grabbed my coffee out of my hand. He took a sip before handing it back. "Nice and sweet. See you later, Goddess." 

After he left and I was alone in the bathroom, I looked down at my coffee. My coffee that he drank from. "Well, I guess Stewart is a cheater after all." 

I quickly stripped out of my clothes and turned on the water to get it warmed up. I pulled the tie in my hair loose and brushed through it. Just as I stepped into the glass shower, I heard the bathroom door open. 

"Ayden!" 

I watched through the glass of the shower door while he reached inside the bathroom and grabbed something off of the sink. 

"Sorry, I forgot my phone."

I knew he could see me and I tried to cover myself as much as I could. "Well, get it and get out. No looking!" 

I heard his deep chuckle as he walked back out of the bathroom. "I think we're even now." 

After I heard the bathroom door close, I dropped my face in my hands. Will someone, anyone, restart this day for me? 

I pulled down another box from the high shelf in the attic. I've been up here for a few hours now, trying to gather all of the decorations we had. Neither Nate or myself have opened any of these boxes in five years; so there was probably a lot of stuff we needed to replace.

If that was the case, we needed to get a move on it before all of the decent stuff was gone and the stores were closed. As I continued going through the decorations, I was surprised that I started to enjoy it.

A creaking sound drew my attention and I looked over to the door to see Ayden walking in. I was able to avoid him after our little bathroom fiasco, so I was curious as to why he was here.

"Hey, Lanie. Sorry to disturb your," his eyes roamed over the many many boxes that littered the floor, "uh, hunt for decorations. Nate texted me and said he's going to be out with Jules for a while longer."

A short laugh escaped me as I climbed down the stepladder. "Yeah, that sounds about right." I groaned as I wiped my arm across my forehead. "You know, this was his idea. He should be here helping me."

"I can help you." My head snapped in his direction and he shrugged a shoulder. "I don't mind and I'm not really doing anything. Besides, a person can only watch so much trash TV."

I laughed and splayed my arms out. "Okay, then. Pick a box!"

We both sat Indian style on the floor and started filtering through some of the boxes. We were able to find a few good strands of Christmas lights, at least enough for the tree. We were going to have to get some more for the actual house.

When I mentioned that to Ayden, he frowned at me. "Did Nate say that he wanted to decorate the house?"

"Yep. Believe me, I tried to get out of it. But this year he is relentless for some reason."

Aiden pulled out some more Christmas tree decorations from the box in front of him. "Lanie?"

"Hmm?" I answered absently. I still couldn't find the star that went on the top of the tree.

"Can I ask you something? Something-- personal?"

I looked over at him and debated whether or not to say yes. "Um, I guess."

"What happened outside when we got the tree?"

I could hear the concern in his voice and it's what gave me the energy to answer him. "Did Nate ever tell you anything about our parents?"

"He only told me they passed away five years ago."

I gave him a sad smile. "Yeah. That's the usual party line." I ran my hand through my hair before I took a deep breath. "They died 5 years ago. They were driving home from a New Year's Eve party when they were hit head-on by a drunk driver."

"My God, Lanie. I'm so sorry."

I kept my eyes on the decorations in front of me. If I looked up at him and saw either pity or sympathy, I would probably start crying. There was a reason I never talked about this to anyone.

"That's why Nate and I haven't celebrated Christmas since. It was just too hard."

His voice was level and oddly soothing. "So, when we went to get the Christmas tree..."

"Some of the memories from our last Christmas snuck up on me."

And quiet for a moment. When I looked up at him, he studied my expression. I found as he suddenly got to his feet and walked over to me. He offered me his hand and said, "Come on."

I took his hand and let him help me stand up. "Where are we going?"

"We, my fair Goddess, are going to get some food. And we are going to leave this shit for Nate." He flashed me a wry grin. "Sound good?"

I felt the corners of my mouth lift and I knew my smile was just as mischievous as his. "Let's do it."