Leah
I was so glad I’d made the cookies. At first, I had thought it was a little childish, but I knew Blake loved cookies, and it didn't matter how old a boy was, milk and cookies was always a welcome treat.
I had to force myself to look away from Blake's friend. He was young, but hot damn, he was fine! He was a combination of carefree surfer with his tousled blond hair and professional athlete with his size and body build. It had been a long time since I felt that little stirring of attraction and arousal. It figures my libido would wake up when it found something I couldn't have.
The feeling of his hard body against mine had startled me. I hugged everybody. Men, women, kids, it didn't matter. Never before had I felt that little electric spark that fired me up and made me think about doing some very naughty things. His hard body combined with his masculine smell was an instant aphrodisiac.
“How's school going?” I asked both of them, trying to get my mind off sex with my stepson's friend.
My mind was buried deep in the gutter and getting further in as I watched him reach for another cookie. His baseball-style shirt was perfectly fit and revealed defined pecs and very nice biceps.
“Fine,” Blake said around a mouthful of cookie.
“Are you guys excited for the coming baseball season? Senior year!”
Chase looked at me, and my heart stopped beating for several long seconds. His eyes were a beautiful chocolate brown. He seemed to be staring straight into my soul. I couldn't look away. The man had the eyes of someone much older and wiser. He was an old soul.
“We start training as soon as break is over,” Blake commented.
“Yeah, no more milk and cookies,” Chase grinned. “We need to get our fill now before it's time to get back to the real world.”
His words stirred that little ember burning low in my belly. I wanted to gorge myself on something other than milk and cookies. I had a burning desire for him.
Stop it!
What the hell was I thinking? This man—kid—was my stepson's age. He was in college. I was a widower. I was way too old to be looking at him the way I was. Clearly, I was missing Dennis. It had been a year since he passed. I had not had sex with a man in all that time or even looked at a man in that way since I had met Dennis almost eight years ago.
Most people didn't believe Dennis and I had truly loved each other. He was twelve years older than I was, but it never felt like that. I had been twenty-four, fresh out of college and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life when I met the then thirty-six-year-old Dennis at some society function in the city. It had truly been love at first sight.
Of course, everyone assumed I was a gold digger after his money. I didn't go around flaunting it, but my parents had been quite wealthy when they died. My grandmother raised me modestly, even though I had a very healthy inheritance. It was nobody's business. I didn't even tell Dennis until we had been together for nearly six months. He and I had both been a bit secretive about our true worth. Both of us had been burned in the past by those who only wanted us for our money.
When we eloped, it had been incredibly romantic. I had never been the kind of girl who dreamed of some big fairytale wedding. Blake had been fifteen when I’d married his father seven years ago. He hadn't exactly welcomed me into his life with open arms, but we had a friendly relationship. We did hang out when he was on school breaks. I even managed to get along with his mother Janice Stroker, who was always traveling and rarely around.
I would have never guessed I would only get six years with the love of my life. Now, I was a widower in a big, empty house. We had planned to fill it with children. Our dream was to adopt as well as have a couple of our own.
It wasn't fair.
“Leah?”
I looked up to see Blake looking at me strangely. “Hmm?”
“I asked if you had a specific room you wanted Chase to use?”
“Oh, I don't care. Pick any you want. I can have the housekeeper put fresh sheets on the bed you choose,” I said, looking at him.
He smirked. “I can put my own sheets on.”
I felt my cheeks grow warm and likely turned a bright shade of red. “Of course, you can.”
I wasn't lazy, but I was certainly not up for taking care of this massive house on my own. With twelve bedrooms and fourteen bathrooms, it would probably take me a week to get done cleaning, only to have to start all over again. Of course, since I was the only person in the house, the other rooms stayed clean. The housekeeper dusted once a week in the rooms that were empty.
“Do you guys have any plans?” I asked, a little too eagerly.
Blake looked at Chase. “Sleep and do nothing.”
“Oh,” I said, my dreams of going ice skating, shopping for a tree, and every other plan evaporated.
“All right, we're going to go put our bags away. We'll see you around,” Blake said, sliding off the stool.
“Thank you for the cookies,” Chase said before turning to follow Blake out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there alone again.
“You're welcome. Let me know if you want to do anything later. I'm happy to be your chauffeur if you're tired of driving,” I said to their backs, secretly hoping they would take me up on the offer.
I plopped down on one of the stools and grabbed a cookie. I had been looking forward to hanging out with Blake for a few days before he went to his mother's. Now, it looked like he would be too busy for that since his friend was here.
This was my second Christmas without Dennis, but it didn't get any easier. He had died just before Thanksgiving last year. The private plane he had been on had crashed outside Portland. My heart had been broken, and last year, the holidays had been a blur. I didn't put up any decorations or even celebrate the holiday at all. I wanted to make this holiday special. My house was decked out with plenty of garland and lights. It helped lift my spirits and get me in the Christmas mood.
I looked around the kitchen and remembered the day Dennis and I had picked out the cabinetry. He had wanted white to make it look bigger and brighter. I wanted dark wood to make it look warmer and more inviting. I won. I loved my kitchen. In this ten-thousand-square-foot home, I spent the majority of my time in the kitchen. It was where I felt the most at home.
I rarely had guests over, which meant I hardly ever used the formal dining room, preferring to eat my meals right where I sat. I was lonely. The friends I did have tended to be superficial. My only true friend, Marissa Pierce, was very busy with her own life. I stayed busy, but I was off for the month of December. There wasn't a lot of work for a tennis instructor at the most upscale exclusive club in the city when most people were off in some sunny part of the world for Christmas break.
Blake popped his head around the corner. “Don't worry about dinner for us if you had something planned. I mean, if you had plans to go out or whatever, go ahead. I think we'll probably be hanging out here tonight. Maybe order some pizza or something.”
I rolled my eyes. “Blake, I'm sure you eat pizza several nights a week. Let me make you something. How about some fried chicken and the whole works?”
He laughed. “Well, I'm not going to stop you if you want to make it, but you don't have to.”
“I want to,” I said with a smile.
“Okay, thanks.”
“I have to run to the store. Dinner will be ready at seven.”
He nodded and walked back up the stairs to his room. “Thanks, Leah. I'll let Chase know.”
I was thrilled to have someone to cook for. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door, making a mental list of everything I would need. I couldn't wait to show off my cooking skills. I hoped Chase would be impressed. I didn't really know why, but I wanted to prove to him I was more than a spoiled, rich stepmom. I wanted him to see me as a woman.