Alpha Billionaire Series
Hot Mess Chapter 22

NICK

I didn't want to wake up. I was warm and comfortable. Kayla was in bed with me, and my room smelled like cinnamon and cookies. That was odd. Why did my room smell like baked goods? I moved my arm around. I was in bed alone, and the other pillow was cold. I sat up and looked around for any proof that she had been there. Her clothes were gone, but mine had been folded into a neat pile on a side chair. I sat up and pulled on my jeans before heading downstairs.

The smells of baking grew stronger. My mother hadn't been a baker, but the help would make cookies from time to time. Of course, my rooms were always on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen, so this sensation- something I had acted out in more than a few films at TV shows-was actually relatively new to me. I skipped down the stairs, eager to replace out what was going on.

I stopped halfway down. My living room was not how I had left it last night.

A Christmas elf had clearly broken into my house and been decorated. Colored lights ran over the top of the mantel, twisting in and out of thick pillar candles. The candles were red, green, and candy cane striped. Silver and gold ornaments filled random bowls. The décor wasn't over the top, but it was festive and changed the mood of my stark living room. The crowning glory was the tree.

It was tiny, a bit of a joke really. A stack of books under the boot shaped pot made it look taller than it was. It was festooned in tiny little round red balls, a red bow perched on the top, and half the lights were out.

This was thoughtful and heartfelt. What made my chest tighten with emotion were the wrapped presents under the tree. There were three of them, two for me, one for Isaac.

"Fuck," I spit out. I hadn't gotten Kayla anything. It hadn't really occurred to me that she did Christmas. Why hadn't I thought of that?

I had taken her to a party on Christmas Eve, and I hadn't thought that she was with me on Christmas, not at home, not celebrating the way she normally would have.

Well, I would have to figure something out for later. Hopefully Kayla, and I assumed it was Kayla who had done all of this. Had it been Isaac, the décor would have been elaborate and taken over the entire house. This was last minute and pulled together on a shoestring budget.

I loved it. It was perfect.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and made my way to the kitchen. I was greeted with the most beautiful sight. Kayla's round a*s was on full display in her jeans as she bent over and looked in the oven. When she stood back up, she was holding a baking sheet. There were piles of cookies in different shapes and kinds spread over every inch of counter space. A laugh stuck in my throat. I waited until the hot cookie sheet was out of her hands before saying anything. I didn't want to spoil anything and spook her into dropping her cookies. "Good morning," I said.

Her smile was the best present. I could not remember a time when anyone looked at me like that on Christmas morning.

"You're awake!" She threw her arms around me.

I pulled her in close and savored the way she smelled of cinnamon as I kissed her. Her lips were even better with a slight sugar coating.

"You have been a busy little elf," I said as she stepped out of my arms and began fussing with her cooking.

"I woke up early and couldn't sleep."

"What time do you mean when you say early?"

"My mom called me at four. I couldn't go back to sleep when I realized it was Christmas, and we didn't have cookies, or sausage balls."

"You made sausage balls? I haven't had those in forever."

She nodded. "I thought we could have what I'm used to having on Christmas morning. I didn't know what you did, or even if you did. I'm sorry if I'm foisting this on you and you don't celebrate."

She started to look down and ringing her hands together. She looked so nervous, and if there was one thing I didn't want, it was Kayla being nervous around me all the time.

I took her hands in mine. "I don't celebrate because I don't have anyone to celebrate with."

"What about your family?"

"My family is different. I grew up very differently than how I think you did. We weren't close, we didn't really have or make traditions." I took a deep breath. My Christmas memories were not something I cared to share at the moment. "Let's not talk about my misguided youth. You have made this morning one of the best. You didn't make coffee, did you?"

She pointed to the coffee pot across the kitchen. It was half full of the hot dark elixir I needed to function.

"You are an angel." I kissed her before crossing the kitchen and pouring myself a cup.

"I don't know what your plans are for the day. Isaac told me that we are having dinner with you, but... nothing else. What's the plan?"

I leaned against the counter and looked at her. She had an apron tied over my t-shirt that looked amazing on her. Better on her the way it showed off her curves than it ever looked on me. A smudge of flour graced her cheek.

I shifted my gaze from her to the food. "I think the first thing I want to do is eat. I haven't seen this many high-starch carbs in one place in a very long time."

She picked up a cookie and handed it to me with a sly grin on her lips. "Oatmeal, raisins, pecans. Fiber, fruit, protein. It's all balanced."

It was balanced and it tasted like heaven. "What other flavors did you make? Are they all so nutritionally responsible?"

She shook her head. "Not at all." She began pointing at the different cookies. "Chocolate chip, cowboy, snickerdoodle, and these are crispy rice treats with candy canes. I still need to make shortbread, sugar cookies, and gingerbread men." "Are we supposed to eat all of this, just the two of us?"

She shook her head. "No, I got tins. We will put together gift packs for Isaac, your cook, and cleaner, and any of your drivers that you use a lot. Um, the garbage guys... you know anyone who helps out around here."

"I don't think Isaac lets sugar pass his lips unless it's in alcohol. I give everyone bonuses."

"And now you can give them cookies, too. Unless you really do want to eat it all. If you don't have any plans, I'd like to make some fudge too."

"You can make fudge?"

"Of course, silly. I can do all the standard Christmas baking. My mom raised me to be a certain kind of person. I make casseroles for babies and funerals. I can make potluck food. I cook, I clean, I sew..."

I stepped in and encircled her with my arms. "And you can decorate at the last minute. I'd love to spend the day baking with you. This sounds like fun. And hell, maybe one of all those people you mentioned will appreciate the gift." She rested her hands on my chest. "Really? I'm not taking you away from anything?"

"Kayla, my plans for the day, before you asked me to make fudge and cookies with you, was to sleep in. I've done that. Eat a boring breakfast, probably just drink a protein shake. Check my email and read over the script for the shoot that starts after the beginning of the year. I'd spend time at the gym, plus go for a run. Maybe I'd treat myself and run at the beach. I'd come home, shower. Possibly by then Carmine would be here setting up the dinner Isaac arranged in my name. I'd put on an ironic ugly Christmas sweater for fun and wait for everyone to show up. And then I'd go to bed alone."

Kayla shrugged. "You can still do all of that if you want. But can I stay and bake? I promise to clean up before Carmine gets here. And now, you can give Carmine a tin of homemade Christmas cookies."

"You have saved me from a boring lonely day, and I hope you will agree to stay with me again tonight." She blushed; it was delightful.

"I'd like that. But I need to go back to the hotel and pick up a few things. I can get out of your hair for a bit."

"Kayla, I like you in my hair, so to speak. However, I think I'll hit the gym when you go back to the hotel, and we can go for a walk on the beach together after?" Not that I wanted to hit the gym, but I did need an hour or two without her to make arrangements for her gift. I think I knew exactly what to get her. I wouldn't be able to finish it today, but I could get everything started.

"I'd like that." Her smile pulled at my heart.

She slid her hand into mine and pulled me out into the living room. "Before anyone gets here, I want you to open your present. I don't want to forget."

"You want me to open it now? Kayla, I... I don't have yours yet. It hasn't arrived. I'm hoping it will be here by dinner time."

"That's okay. This is little, and useful. I hope."

She held out the larger of the two boxes. A blush lit her cheeks bright pink, and she bit her lip.

I took the box and tore the paper. I laughed as I saw the logo. A box of condoms.

"These are very useful, and I plan on using all of them soon."

She giggled. "Okay, okay, now this one." She held out the small one. It felt more like a wrapped envelope.

It was an envelope. Inside was a handwritten note. "When I get a kitchen, can I make you dinner?"

I held the note up and pointed it at her. "I'm counting on this."

I knew, without a doubt, what I was getting her for Christmas.