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 Nine
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 company 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.