Kissing Jenna (Big Sky 2)

I feel at home here, and I don’t know if I’ve ever truly felt that way anywhere before, aside from on a stage or a movie set.

It seems that Jenna is what I’ve been searching for my whole life, and now that I’ve found her, how do I keep her?

She’s breathing evenly, so I lean forward to check on her and, sure enough, she’s fallen asleep against my chest. I turn off the TV and lift her easily. She wraps her sweet arms around my neck and buries her face against my chest as I carry her around the tree house, turning off lights and making sure the door is locked before I take her to bed.

I’d planned to make love to her again tonight, but she’s exhausted, and if I’m being honest, so am I. It was a trying day.

One I’m ready to be over.

Once I tuck Jenna into bed, I make a trip to the bathroom and take a quick, hot shower to wash the rest of the day away. When I return to the bed, Jenna is curled up in the middle of it, her legs tucked up to her chest, and her sweet lips tipped up.

I wonder what she’s dreaming of?

I slip in next to her, and she immediately seeks me out, wrapping herself around me. Sleep hovers around my mind, closing in on the worries from today, and before long, I’m sleeping with her, tucked safely in the trees and snow of Cunningham Falls.

Chapter Twelve

~Jenna~

“THANKS FOR STAYING WITH US,” I say to the older Canadian couple who came down to spend the week in the Ponderosa with their family. “I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“We did,” the wife says with a wink. “And we’ll be back next year.”

“Excellent. Drive safely.”

I wave them off and walk into the unit and do a quick walk-through to make sure there’s no damage.

I wouldn’t expect a nice family to destroy anything, but I’ve learned the hard way that it can—and does—happen.

Thankfully, the tree house only requires a good scrubbing, not new drywall.

My phone rings in my pocket. “Hello?”

“Hey, famous friend,” Willa says. I can hear the smile in her voice. “You didn’t tell me that you and Christian are an item.”

“There’s a long conversation over wine needed very soon,” I reply as I lock the Ponderosa behind me and walk over to Christian’s unit. He’s skiing now but should be back any time.

“Oh, yes. And the sooner, the better,” she agrees. “I’m actually not calling to give you shit about your love life.”

“Oh, good.”

“I’m calling to remind you that we’re doing our annual girlfriend gift exchange tomorrow night.”

“I wouldn’t forget that. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year.”

“Me, too. We’ve changed the location from Hannah’s to Grace’s house.”

I frown as I pull a bottle of water from the fridge. “Any particular reason?”

“She just has more space,” she says, but I don’t think that’s the whole truth. Before I can ask any other questions, though, she says, “Alex just got home from school, so I have to jet. I’ll see you tomorrow night at Grace’s.”

And with that, she hangs up.

It doesn’t really matter to me where we have it, as long as it isn’t cancelled. We’ve done this for years, buying small gifts for each other and having a party before Christmas to exchange them and enjoy our friendships.

Plus, I love giving presents, and I can’t wait until they see what I got them this year.

“Honey, I’m home,” Christian says in his best Ricky Ricardo voice from the front door. He shuffles around for a bit, shedding his gear, and then strolls into the living room and leans over the couch to kiss me soundly. I grab onto his shoulders and pull him over onto me, making us both laugh.

But it totally works to initiate a hot make-out session.

“How are you?” he asks when he comes up for air. I didn’t see him this morning because he left for his ski session before I woke up.

“I’m good.” I brush his hair off his forehead. It’s getting longer, and I think it’s sexy when it’s all mussed up from my fingers. “How was your day?”

“Cold and snowy,” he says then pushes off me and walks to the kitchen to brew himself some coffee. “Did the guests in the Ponderosa leave this morning?”

I love that he listens. That he pays attention and takes an interest in my day.

“They did, and there’s no permanent damage.”

He cocks a brow. “Is that a surprise?”

“There were ten of them staying there if you count the kids, so I never know what I’ll walk into. One of my houses downtown was missing drywall after a bachelor party came through, so I now have a strict policy of no bachelor parties, no Super Bowl parties, stuff like that. Hell, I’m not even excited when I hear there’s going to be a baby shower in one of my units.”