Free Jane and Bingley (Countdown to Christmas Book 8) by Jenni James Page B

Lords-a-Leaping
     
     
     
    Charles showed up bright and early at eleven the next morning. Thank goodness it wasn’t any earlier. After being up so late the night before, Jane had only just woken up when he knocked on the door. She answered it with a yawn. “Hello there.”
    “Howdy!” He didn’t even hesitate, or ask, or anything. She was greeted with a friendly kiss as he brushed past, his arms loaded full of goodies. He was completely light and cheery. Jane wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d started to whistle. She followed him into the kitchen, where he dumped everything on the table.
    “What’s going to happen when we go back to normal and you stop spoiling me all the time?”
    He laughed. “Who says anything is going back to normal? I’m loving this way too much.”
    A tinge of guilt flashed through her. It really was odd to be given so much stuff. But he was happy, and a small part of her loved that doing this brought out the little boy in him. It was so fun to see him like this.
    “So, are you going to see what I brought?” He waved her over. “Come here and see.”
    Jane peeked into one bag and saw a ton of veggies and eggs. “Omelets?” she asked.
    “Or a quiche. You get to decide.”
    “Quiche? I don’t think I’ve ever had a bell pepper in a quiche before.”
    “Then you’ve never lived! A southwestern quiche is amazing. That’s it, we’re making one. Now hurry and look at the rest so I can start.”
    “So demanding.” She grinned and peeked into the second bag. Confused, she pulled out an envelope.
    “Ten lords-a-leaping!” He seemed so proud of himself.
    “But . . . ?” She opened it up and then laughed. There were two tickets to see a Utah Jazz basketball game. “Clever. There will definitely be men leaping all over the place.” He really was ingenious. “I never would have come up with this idea if I had years to think about it.”
    Charles wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Stick with me, kid, and maybe I’ll begin to rub off on you.”
    She touched her hair. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d want my head to grow as big as yours. I like my hats!”
    “Hey! Now, get out of my way. I’ve got a masterpiece to prepare.”
    “Fine. I’m going to get ready for the day. Tell me when it’s safe to come out again.”
    By the time Jane stepped out of the shower, the place smelled amazing. When she was dressed and came out of her room, the quiche was cooling on the stovetop. “It looks wonderful.” She lightly touched the top. It sprang back perfectly. “I have to say, I’m impressed. After the last time you used my kitchen, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to pull it off, but this is better than anything I’ve ever attempted before.”
    “Don’t get too excited. Wait till you try it first.”
    A few minutes later, she was exclaiming all over again. “It’s amazing! I could seriously get used to this. So, when did you learn how to cook?”
    For the next twenty minutes or so, they gabbed playfully. It was nice—cozy— good .
    As the afternoon wore on, they took their conversation into the comfortable living room. When the reality of why he had come over couldn’t be ignored anymore, Jane leaned back on her side of the couch and broke into the middle of a trivial thing they were discussing, blurting out, “So, about the last few days…”
    Charles imitated her and leaned back on his side as well. “Yes? I was hoping you’d bring it up, but I didn’t want to pry.”
    She decided to test the waters first. “Do you have any idea why I sort of flipped?”
    “No. I’m worried that it has something to do with me, but I’m not sure, so until I know, I’ve promised myself I won’t freak out.”
    Jane took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. “Well, it is about you. It’s something you did.”
    “Okay.” He shifted uneasily in his seat. “Now I’m sort of freaking. What happened? What did I do?”
    She looked down and fiddled with her