“I’m glad you don’t. Now eat.”

Eli’s voice was commanding and Kay shoveled a mouthful of potatoes into her mouth automatically, all while her mind raced over his words.

He was glad she didn’t look like Raina? What the hell did he mean by that?

Kay looked up to see Eli still watching her. His dark, intense gaze didn’t leave hers until she swallowed and took another bite. Kay shivered when he finally turned away. On her other side, Eli’s father asked her a question about her upcoming album. She tried to focus on the conversation, but for the rest of the meal, her mind was on that one sentence.

I’m glad you don’t.

CHAPTER FOUR

KAYLEE HAD ALWAYS secretly wondered how Elliott’s mother had dealt with four children. There were days when she was completely overwhelmed taking care of Hope and she didn’t even have any other children to worry about. But as she stood back and watched Mrs. Alexander turn down the bed and set up the spare playpen she kept for her granddaughter, she suddenly understood how she’d done it.

Julia Alexander was obviously a superhero.

“Thank you so much for setting this all up. I wasn’t sure where I was going to put Hope tonight.”

Julia waved away her thanks with an amiable smile. “It’s nothing, sweetie. I always keep an extra playpen here just in case Nick forgets to bring one for Jada. It’s just a simple model. No bells and whistles, but it gets the job done.” She moved around the room, snapping her wrists briskly to open the clean sheets she carried under her arm.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” By the time Kay got the words out, Julia had already spread the clean fitted sheet on the bed and was shaking out the flat sheet.

“Wow. You’ve got everything set up and it would’ve probably taken me twice as long to get things right.”

Julia patted her on the arm. “Years of experience, dear. Now, let me know if you need anything else. Or if you need any help with the baby.” She tickled Hope under the chin and the baby let out a gurgle of delight. “I really don’t mind rocking her if she wakes up in the middle of the night.”

Kay smiled at the hopeful tone in Julia’s voice. Eli had warned her that his mom had baby fever and that she’d probably offer to help out with Hope. What he didn’t understand was that she didn’t mind at all. It had been ages since she’d slept soundly. She was more than happy to take any help she could get.

“I would love that.”

Julia’s face brightened and she squeezed Kay’s arm gently. “Excellent. Well, once she’s asleep come on out to the family room. It was an Alexander tradition when the boys were growing up to take a peek into our stockings on Christmas Eve. Since my boys are still boys”—she rolled her eyes affectionately—“they still do it to this day.”

Kay grinned at the image of Elliott as a little boy taking a peek at his Christmas gifts. “That sounds like fun. I’ll just rock Hope for a while and then I’ll be out. She usually goes to sleep pretty quickly if I sing to her.”

“Sounds good. I’ll wait a few minutes before I put the hot cocoa on.”

After Julia left, Kay bounced Hope on her hip gently, humming softly under her breath. Hope fidgeted for a while, then rested her head on Kay’s shoulder. As Kay sang the familiar words of her favorite church hymn, the baby let out a wide yawn. When Kay looked down at her, she was fast asleep.

She continued walking and singing softly until she was sure Hope wouldn’t wake up, then placed her carefully in the playpen. The plastic unicorn was already in there, so she placed it near the baby’s clenched fist and then covered her with her blankie. Kay backed out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

“Is she asleep?”

Kay jumped and then let out a breath when she noticed Eli waiting for her in the darkened hallway. “You scared me. Yes, she just nodded off. She’s had a long day.”

Eli walked closer, coming out of the shadows. “So have you.”

“Yeah, it’s not every day I crash into a ditch. Thank God for that.”

He grunted and took her arm gently. “That’s why you need to sit down.”

His words were gruff, but a small rush of pleasure made Kay shiver. Even when he seemed so remote and cold, he was still looking out for her well-being. Taking care of her.

“Your mom said something about hot cocoa?”

“There’ll be plenty of that along with cider, eggnog, espresso, cookies, cakes, brownies, you name it. In case you hadn’t figured this out yet, the Alexanders love a good party. Food is a big part of that.”

They entered the family room, and Kay took a seat on the edge of the room. Julia brought them steaming mugs of cocoa filled to the brim with fluffy marshmallows. Plates of cookies were passed around, and after trying valiantly to ignore the delicious smell, Kay gave up on having willpower and took one. Warm chocolate melted on her tongue and she finally began to relax.

It was so surreal to watch Jackson and Nick fighting over the candy dish and to have a supermodel sitting on the couch talking about an acting role she’d been offered. This time last year she’d been pregnant and terrified, wondering how in the world she was going to take care of a baby by herself. Her own mother hadn’t even been speaking to her at the time. Their dinner had been a tense, silent affair.

If things had gone to plan, this year wouldn’t have been much better. She’d be shivering in her cold, empty apartment, worried about how to keep her daughter warm. Instead, Hope was safe and happy while she was sitting next to her secret crush and drinking cocoa. They were both safely tucked away in the warm interior of the Alexanders’ living room, surrounded by happiness.