Frankie's point of view:
"That's everything." I huff, chucking the last bag of wrapped presents into the packed trunk. I quickly rush to climb inside the passenger side, my body trembling with uncontrollable shivers as I shake the snow from my hair. Jason joined me, rubbing his raw hands together and blowing his warm breath over his knuckles. "Are you sure you're okay with driving?"
"Of course, just sit back and relax, okay?" He tells me, turning the heating up to full blast as he rolls down the driveway. "Pit stop at McDonalds?"
I grin. "Only if I can buy."
"Not a chance." He replies, flashing me a cheeky grin. "It's Christmas after all."
I roll my eyes, shrugging of my coat and placing it in the backseat. "I hope they all like their gifts. Flo says that Vivian hasn't stopped going on about that scooter and it's been so difficult to get it in the lime green like she wants - I can't wait to see her face."
"She'll love it." He tells me, checking his mirrors. "Flo and Paul will love theirs too, they deserve a break and, well not to blow my own trumpet, but I personally think that our hotels are simply the best ones."
"I think she will completely die when she knows she's going to England." I laughed. "She has always wanted to visit Big Ben." I let out a small sigh. "I wish I got my dad something different though."
"Like what?"
I sigh again. "His motorbike died a few weeks ago. One of the men from the club told him that the gasket had blew and it was un-fixable so he had to scrap it. Flo said that he's been so upset about it - that thing was like his baby. It helped him through a lot. I tried to get him a new one, the 2019 Harley-Davidson one but my budget just didn't stretch that far."
"Would he like another Harley?"
I hum, "I don't think he would pick anything else." Sighing again, I rest my head against the cool window. "It's fine. I'll keep saving from now until next Christmas, maybe I could even just give him half - but then I don't want him struggling to get the rest and getting himself into debt."
"Hey." He calls out, taking a small glance over as he instinctively reached out and tenders brushes my knee. "Don't stress okay, it's Christmas."
I give him a small smile, diverting my attention quickly to the snowy surroundings to hide my shy blush. The insane coy demeanour was a result from the embarrassing shower encounter only four days ago. I returned to the kitchen faster than I could blink, and he was behind me in seconds - dressed, thankfully.
We ate our dinner in silence, although I was almost certain he could hear my heartbeat from the opposite end of the twelve seated table. After arguing over the dishes, in which I won, I returned to my room faster than lightning and hid there until morning. Then, it was as if nothing had happened. He had left before I woke up leaving a note to say he had early meetings and when I entered work, he held a conversation like I didn't just see him in all his glory twelve hours before.
A vision that was now engraved in my mind.
Last night when he finished work, he walked in on me mid-wrapping. Stripping of his jacket, throwing his tie to the side and unbuttoning the collar of his shirt, he sat by my side and helped. Also admitting that he wasn't aware of the last time he bought a present.
"My parents rang this morning." He startles me. I hum, urging him to continue as his eyes strain on the icy roads ahead. A heavy snowfall last night caused us to leave earlier than we planned and even then I worried about arriving on time - I didn't want to be late on Christmas eve. "They're having a ball in Hawaii. Mom's already read those two books you gave her, she said she'll need to get a copy for herself."
"She can keep them." I quipped with a smile. "I think I've read them that many times, I was surprised there was ink left on the pages." He laughs lightly. "And your dad?"
He shrugged. "He was on a call when she rang."
My lips instinctively turned into a frown. "Does he always deal with business? Like, always? Does he not have a day off?"
"I think the last day of my dad had was the day I was born." He told me. "He retired when I was nineteen, he wanted me to take over his business but he was so strict in his ways, he ended up coming out of retirement and taking over again after three months. Leading me to start up my own business - he has a team now, but he still worked much to my mom dismay."
"She must miss him." I mutter quietly. "I couldn't imagine having someone so solely focused on work that they forget who and what's around them. I would want my husband to do his own thing, of course especially if it's their job, but I would hate for them to come home and still be in that work space. When you step through the front door of your home, all baggage and stresses of the day needs to be left on the mat - that's what my mom always told me."
He was quiet.
"But of course it's different with you and your father. You two own the most successful businesses in all of America, it's not exactly easy for you both to switch off."
He smiles slightly, the dimple in his cheek didn't appear and indicated that it was fake. But I didn't push it. We rode in silence for a while longer, the apology crawling up my chest and burning my throat - but he beats me to it.
"So, big mac or McNuggets?"
Two pit stops, a argument over driving and a quick fifteen minute nap later, I stepped into the crunchy snow of my childhood home and feel all emotions hurtling through my chest. Her chair still sat on the porch and I still expected to see our neighbours fluffy ginger cat curled at her feet after she sneakily fed the obese animal.
"Frankie!"
A step more and he would be sprinting towards me. I meet him on the overgrown path and snuggle into his warm embrace, feeling his chest relax beneath my cheek. "I missed you too, dad."
"I didn't think you would make it, kiddo! That snow got pretty chaotic last night and it's only expected to get worse in the next few days!" He tells me, taking a step back. His eyes wandering over my shoulder and he smiles, holding his hand out. "Jason, great to see you again, son."
Goosebumps erupts across my layered arms at my dad's greeting. Paul got called son soon after he and Flo started dating and when he was questioned about it, my dad's response was: "I knew he would be apart of the family one day."
Did he think Jason would be family one day?
"Frankie!" My dad calls. He and Jason already stand on the porch steps and shake their heads. "She always did have a habit of spacing out." He nudges Jason's arm. "Come on! You'll end up like Jack Frost if you stand out any longer!"
I didn't miss Jason's smirk as I hurry behind them, noting that they had already grabbed the heavy load of bags from the crammed trunk. Shivering as I get inside, I shrug my coat of and hang it on the peg beside the front door before following the loud chatter from the living room.
"Auntie Frankie!" Vivian yelps, bouncing from her dad's lap to tackle my waist. "Papa said I wasn't allowed to go out because the snow is too cold."
"Papa was right." I giggle, stroking my hand across her silky hair. "We wouldn't want you to become a snowman would we?"
"I'm not a boy!"
"Alright, snow-woman then." I laugh.
Greeting Flo and Paul, and grabbing two cups of dad's infamous hot chocolate from the kitchen, I return to look for Jason but find him missing from our living room.
"He's on a call." Flo tells me. "Sounded important."
Business? Over Christmas? He really was his father's son.
I bite back my frown, curling onto the couch beside the Christmas tree that was decorated with all our childhood decorations. Absentmindedly I twiddle with the polar bear with santa hat - the decoration I had chose the Christmas before mom had passed.
"Hey." Jason's soft and calming voice interrupted. I smile half-halfheartedly as he lowers himself to the couch beside me. "You alright?"
I nod, the overwhelming feeling of questioning him about whether he would be taking business calls the whole time we were here creeping upon me. I swallow my thoughts, handing him his hot chocolate as dad appears with board game in hand.
"Who's ready for monopoly?"
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"Goodnight." Flo whispers. "See you both in the morning."
"Goodnight guys." Paul also whispers. Vivian passed out almost a hour ago after a insane amount of candy canes and marshmallows, and had her head snuggled into the crook of her dad's neck, soft snores of exhaustion leaving her lips.
They disappear upstairs, the creak of the stairs causing Paul to curse quietly and promise he would fix them. I giggle, wiping down the counters and disposing the empty packet of marshmallows into the trash.
"Do you need help with anything?" Jason asked from his position beside the fridge. I shake my head, thanking him quietly. "Thank you - for inviting me. I'd probably be back at the office right now."
"Nobody deserves to be alone, especially at Christmas." I tell him, placing the cloth back at the edge of the sink. "Thank you for coming."
He smiles. "It's been fun. Your dad and I are two of a kind."
I hum, "The competitive kind you mean."
"What can I say, I like Monopoly." He jokes. I roll my eyes laughing. "Seriously though, thank you. I know Christmas is a family-only type of thing, but I really appreciate it. In fact, I have something for you."
"Jason-"
He disappears and returns just as quick with a small white gift bag, red tissue paper poking from the top. With a blush, he holds it to me. "Merry Christmas, Frankie."
"You said no presents."
"No," His lips turn into a cheeky smirk. "I said I didn't want a present - I didn't say anything about not getting you something. Now, can you just open it?"
Narrowing my eyes, I reach inside the crinkling paper and find the wrapped present. Tearing back the tissue paper, tears instantly swarmed my eyes and dropped from my tear ducts without warning.
The photo that Jason had saved for me after my break-in of my parents, sister and I, perfectly resorted in a beautiful silver engraved frame. Something so small and so simple, but so thoughtful and sweet.
"Thank you." I manage to whisper. "Thank you so much."
"It's not much."
"It's more than enough." I reply to him. Wiping away the fallen tears, I set the frame carefully to the side and without a moment of process, my arms fling around his neck.
Without thinking, his arms snaked around my waist and above my hips, grasping me into his tender and secure embrace and for that minute, he wasn't my boss. He was Jason.
My Jason.
I slowly pull away, the pulsing thought echoing throughout my mind. I could feel his warm breath fanning my cheek, hovering over my upper lip and tickling beneath my nose. Our proximity was that close, I could outstretch my lips and touch his.
And he was making no effort to jump back either creating a whirlwind of thoughts spin in my head.
Did he want this too?
The shadowing of his hand caught the corner of my eye before his tender fingertips cradle my jaw. His thumb grazes the soft spot beneath my ear and his eyes never moved from mine.
He wanted this.
From the hypnotising pools of dark brown glory, to the plump and luscious cushions of lips, I can't help but flicker my eyes between them. So enticing. So alluring.
"Don't mind me!" Panicked Paul's voice interrupts our bubble. "Viv's just threw up."
Mood? Over
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First off, I'm so sorry for being so late with this chapter. A lot has went on health wise in my family and I needed to get them back to health before continuing anything else, then it was Christmas and normality is only settling in again now!
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, or whatever you celebrate!
I hope to get another chapter posted asap so please leave a comment and vote xoxo