Grateful Hearts (Home for the Holidays)

Chapter Nine

The following day, Chantel groaned as her alarm buzzed earlier than usual. She’d set it with the intention of surprising Zach and his family by making breakfast for them.

Blinking her eyes open, she reached for her phone on the nightstand and hit the snooze button.

The sun wasn’t up yet, and neither was her brain. Half-asleep, she pulled herself out of bed, made her way over to her suitcase, and grabbed her toiletry bag and her clothes for the day.

She opened the bedroom door and listened. The house was quiet, making her believe that everyone was still asleep, which was perfect.

Her bare feet padded lightly against the hardwood floor as she crossed the hall, making her way to the bathroom.

She turned the knob on the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, she was smacked in the face with a wave of heat that hit her like a sauna blast.

Chantel froze as she blinked in confusion. Her sleepy brain struggled to process the steamy assault.

The sound of dripping water caught her attention. Squinting through the steam, her gaze landed on the glass shower doors.

Her breath caught as a figure moved behind the glass doors. Chantel blinked once, twice, and her brain scrambled to catch up.

There was Zach—all six feet plus of him standing in the shower, with his back turned toward her.

Her eyes darted to the middle section of the glass, which, thank goodness, was frosted, covering his important parts. The rest of the glass gave her a perfect view of his perfectly toned back and broad shoulders. His shoulders flexed as he ran a hand through his wet hair. Water trickled down the curve of his spine, drawing her attention whether she liked it or not.

Her inner voice screamed at her to look away, but her eyes refused to move.

Oh no! Abort mission, Chantel!

Just as she began convincing herself to back out of the room and pretend she didn’t see anything, Zach turned around. If she thought the view from the back was amazing, the front was breathtaking. His damp hair was tousled as water dripped down his defined chest.

They locked eyes.

“Chantel?” His startled voice snapped her out of her trance.

She squeaked. It was a sound she didn’t even know she could make. “I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know you were in here!”

Zach blinked in surprise, then he smirked. “Clearly.”

“I thought everyone was still asleep!” she blurted out. Her face was blazing red. “I came in here to get ready so I could surprise you and your family with breakfast.” She held up her clothes and toiletry bag like it was proof she wasn’t some kind of pervert. “Don’t you have a bathroom in your room,” she asked, sounding flustered.

He smirked again. He was clearly enjoying this way too much. “I do, but the shower is broken.”

“Why didn’t you lock the door?”

“Because I didn’t think anyone would barge in on me,” he teased. His voice was laced with amusement.

“Well, I thought I was the only one awake!” she shot back. She realized she was still staring at his face and trying very hard not to let her gaze drift lower. “For heaven’s sake, can you please cover yourself?” She groaned, hiding her face behind her hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

At that, Zach grinned even wider, grabbed the towel hanging nearby, and slung it low around his waist as he stepped out of the shower. He looked her up and down.

“Nice T-shirt, by the way.”

Chantel blinked, looking down at the green oversized shirt. Oh shit! Last night, when she was getting ready for bed, she debated wearing her own T-shirt since it was just her in bed. But then her eyes found Zach’s shirt still sitting on the bed where she had left it. It was too tempting.

◆◆◆

Zach couldn’t help the laugh bubbling in his chest as he looked at Chantel. Her face was beet red, her hair was slightly mussed from sleep, and she was wearing his T-shirt.

She wasn’t just embarrassed. She was flustered.

He crossed his arms, leaning casually against the counter. “You know,” he started, his voice teasing, “if you wanted to see me naked, you could’ve just asked.”

Chantel’s jaw dropped, and her face somehow turned an even deeper shade of red. “I did not—that’s not—ugh! You’re impossible!”

He chuckled, reaching for another towel to dry his hair. “And you’re cute when you’re embarrassed. And I have to say, the shirt looks better on you than me.” He was being honest. She looked damn good wearing his clothes.

Her eyes widened as she glanced down at the shirt. “I didn’t have anything else to wear!” she protested. However, he thought he saw a bit of amusement in her eyes.

He grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you off the hook for stealing my shirt—this time,” he joked as he finished drying his hair.

He noticed how she was now avoiding looking at him. Her focus was glued to the clothes she was holding in her hands.

“Chantel,” He said softly, stepping closer.

She finally glanced up, her eyes wide and with mortification. Her cheeks were still red. God, he wanted to kiss her.

He smiled and leaned down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. That would have to do. He didn’t want to scare her off.

“The bathroom is all yours. Make sure you lock the door.”

With that, he turned and strolled out of the bathroom. He could hear her mumbling something under her breath as he walked next door to his room. He chuckled to himself. Mornings with Chantel were never boring.

◆◆◆

After jumping in a quick shower and getting dressed, Chantel threw her hair up in a messy bun and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

She flipped the light switch, and the kitchen seemed to come to life as the stainless steel appliances glistened under the lights.

Christmas music was playing from the small radio that Zach’s mom had in the kitchen. She figured someone forgot to turn it off before they all went to bed last night. However, she didn’t mind. She loved listening to music while she cooked.

The first thing she needed was coffee. She walked over to the coffee station and was thrilled when she found an actual drip coffee maker. She preferred those over the new pod-type coffee systems.

It appeared that everyone was still asleep. Well, except for Zach.

Chantel felt her cheeks warm again, thinking back to the shower incident. There was something about that man who did a number on her inside. It was strange because some people would say he was arrogant. And maybe he was, but it was a fun arrogant. If that made any sense. Whatever it was, add in his good looks, especially his gray eyes and sexy smile, and she was…well, she was in trouble.

She needed to be careful. After all, this little holiday detour would be over in a few days.

She had scoped out the kitchen the night before and had pulled some of the ingredients she would need to make her famous banana pancakes. She walked to the refrigerator and grabbed the eggs, along with butter and two packs of bacon.

Getting to work, she stood at the kitchen counter, arranging the ingredients for pancakes, eggs, and bacon while humming softly to the music. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

As she whisked the pancake batter, Zach walked in, his hair still damp but neatly combed. He gave her a cheeky grin as he grabbed a mug.

“Need some help?” he asked as he walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.

Chantel raised an eyebrow at him as she cut open one of the packs of bacon. “Are you just trying to redeem yourself after traumatizing me earlier,” she teased.

“Traumatizing you?” Zach smirked, sipping his coffee as he leaned against the counter. “If anyone’s traumatized, it’s me. I mean, you are the one who walked in on me, and you stole my shirt.”

“Oh, please,” she muttered, moving to the eggs and started cracking them into a mixing bowl. “You’re impossible,” she stated, a small smile playing on her lips.

“And you’re adorable,” he countered, flashing that infuriatingly charming smile that made her want to both roll her eyes and melt into a puddle.

She shook her head, biting back a smile. “Fine. If you’re helping, cut up those bananas without eating half of them.”

“No promises,” he said, grabbing the cutting board.

They worked in companionable silence. After cutting the bananas, Zach worked on the scrambled eggs while Chantel flipped the pancakes. The kitchen soon started filling with the aroma of breakfast.

“See?” Zach teased. “Teamwork. We’d crush it on a cooking show.”

“You’d get us kicked off for cracking jokes instead of eggs,” she quipped, nudging him with her elbow.

He went back to the eggs, but she continued to eye him with his sleeves pushed up, exposing his strong forearms.

He suddenly turned his head, and their eyes locked. For a moment, the world outside the kitchen faded. His gray eyes, usually so playful, now held a heat that made her breath catch. One look into them, and she knew she was in trouble. Her pulse quickened as the space between them seemed to shrink, drawn together by an invisible pull.

Zach leaned in first, his gaze dropping to her lips. Chantel felt herself moving, her heart hammering in anticipation. Her eyes fluttered shut, and the only sound was the sizzling of food cooking.

Just as their lips were about to meet, a loud “thud” echoed from the other side of the room.

They both froze as their eyes popped open.

Thud…thud…thud. The sound continued, almost rhythm-like.

“Do you hear that?” Chantel asked.

Zach nodded as he pulled away, setting down the spatula and turning toward the direction of the sound.

Chantel quickly took over the stove and turned off the burners since everything was about done anyway.

Seconds later, it happened again.

Zach frowned. “That the hell is that?”

“It sounds like it is coming from the pantry,” Chantel told him.

Zach’s mom had a custom pantry that was a chef’s dream. It was sort of its own little room that was around the corner from the kitchen.

Zach and Chantel exchanged a glance.

“I’ll see what it is,” Zach told her.

However, Chantel didn’t want to be left out. She wanted to know what the sound was, too. She followed Zach.

As they approached the pantry door, they heard the muffled thud sound again, followed by a low moan.

Zach suddenly yanked the door open. Before Chantel could see what was behind the door, Zach’s booming laugh echoed through the entire house.

Chantel leaned around Zach’s large body to see what had him laughing so hard. Bear and Jocelyn were in the small closet-type room. Bear’s hands were tangled in Jocelyn’s hair, and Jocelyn’s leg was hitched up against a shelf that held cereal boxes.

Both of them froze like deer caught in headlights.

“Are you two seriously making out in the pantry?” Zach managed between fits of laughter.

Chantel stifled a laugh as she stood just behind Zach in the kitchen.

“We were just, uh, grabbing some flour,” Jocelyn said as she was trying to straighten out her clothes. However, her red cheeks gave away her fib.

“Flour, huh?” Zach teased, leaning against the door frame. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how you use it.”

Bear groaned, running a hand through his disheveled hair. However, he didn’t look nearly as embarrassed as he should have been.

“It’s six-thirty in the morning,” Zach said, his voice a mix of disbelief and exasperation. He crossed his arms, his eyes glinting with amusement.

Bear shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “We were being romantic.”

“Romantic?” Zach repeated, incredulous. “In a pantry?”

Chantel was biting her lip to keep from laughing, but the sight was too funny.

“Y’all are the worst,” Jocelyn muttered, but Chantel could see the smile she was trying to hide.

Just then, Ethan, Justin, Clover, and Joker all walked into the kitchen, wondering what had Zach laughing so loud so early in the morning.

Zach just pointed to the pantry where Bear and Jocelyn still stood.

Justin burst out laughing. “Were you two in the pantry—together?”

“Looks like Bear and Jocelyn discovered a new spice rack?” Ethan drawled, making everyone laugh.

Bear scowled, looking at his siblings, but it was no use as everyone was laughing.

“Well,” Bear began, holding up a finger like he was about to launch into a scientific explanation. “When you’ve got two small, curious kids who think knocking is optional, you have to get creative. This pantry is soundproof—kind of.”

Jocelyn elbowed him. “Bear!”

“What?” Bear said, throwing his hands up. “I’m just saying, sometimes a man’s gotta make use of available resources!”

Chantel couldn’t hold back anymore. A snort escaped before she dissolved into giggles, and Jocelyn shot her a look that was half mortified, half amused.

“This is all his fault,” Jocelyn muttered, glaring at Bear.

“You weren’t complaining a few minutes ago,” Bear replied, grinning at his wife.

Jocelyn’s mouth dropped open, again causing everyone to laugh.

“Okay, okay,” Zach said, holding up his hands to calm everyone down. “We get it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.” He clapped Bear on the shoulder. “But seriously, the pantry? Next time, try a normal closet or something, maybe with less food involved.”

Jocelyn groaned, covering her face with both hands as she did the walk of shame out of the pantry. “We’re never living this down.”

“Absolutely not,” Ethan joked. “I can’t wait until Mom and Dad hear about this.”

“Don’t you dare,” Bear warned, but from the mischievous smile Ethan flashed him, Chantel didn’t doubt that their parents would know what happened within the next five minutes.

Suddenly, Ethan took off running toward the stairs, and Bear ran after him, yelling at him.

Chantel wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and glanced at Zach, who looked like he was having the time of his life.

“Well,” she said, finally catching her breath, “at least breakfast won’t be boring.”

Zach grinned, leaning closer to her. “With this family? It never is.”

“What smells so good?” Clover asked.

“That would be breakfast that Chantel made for everyone,” Zach stated and winked at Chantel.

“Hey, you helped,” she said, smiling back at him.

“You made breakfast?” Clover asked, looking surprised.

“I did. I can’t thank you guys enough for welcoming me into your home. So consider this my way of thanks.”

“You didn’t have to do that. We already love having you here. But I won’t complain about breakfast. Joker and I will set the table.”

Chantel walked back over to the stove and started to dish out all the food into serving dishes.

She felt Zach’s presence behind her, and when she turned around, he smirked and leaned down just close enough to make her heart stutter.

“We’ll have to finish what almost happened later,” he murmured, referring to their almost kiss. The promise in his voice was enough to make her knees wobble.

Before she could respond, Jenelle’s voice rang out, “You were having sex in my pantry?”

Chantel shook her head and started laughing as the rest of the family walked into the kitchen.

Zach chuckled. “Poor Bear is never going to live this down,” he said, helping Chantel carry the food to the table.

As Chantel began to walk, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing back at him—and catching his eyes on her, too. He winked and gave her a lust-filled look that told her that he meant what he said about finishing what they had started.

Yep, she was in serious trouble.