Mending Heart |18+|

Chapter 35 🔥

Santa Baby

"And I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you." – The Chaos of Stars

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"Since when do you cook?" Ethan's voice rang out behind me, causing me to jump and drop the spatula I was using to mix the eggs.

"What the fuck!" I hissed, glaring at him over my shoulder as I bent down to pick it up and place it in the sink. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me!"

"You just make it so easy babe." He shook his head laughing. Opening the fridge, he reached inside to grab the orange juice.

"You know what else I'm going to make so easy?" I turned and smiled sweetly at him, one hand on my hip and the other waving around a new spatula. "You not getting laid."

"Now, don't be like that." He pouted, stepping behind my shoulder to open the cabinet above, and reached for an empty glass. Sweetie, who had been in the kitchen with me the entire time, chose that exact moment to start barking at Ethan. Setting the carton of orange juice and his glass on the counter, Ethan knelt beside her and patted her head before opening the back door so she could go outside.

"Then stop trying to give me a heart attack." I rolled my eyes as I turned off the stove and grabbed two plates.

"I would never want to do such a thing." He feigned hurt, placing the orange juice back in the fridge.

"You have a very funny way of showing it," I grumbled, playfully rolling my eyes at him as I reached for two forks and took a seat at the kitchen island.

It was Ethan's turn to roll his eyes as he took a seat beside me, pulling one of the plates towards him. "Should I be concerned that you woke up before me and made breakfast?" He raised a playful eyebrow.

"No." I pinned him with a glare. "Sweetie woke me up at six-thirty and then I had to pee. When I tried going back to bed, I just couldn't fall asleep."

"You should have woken me up." He nodded, taking a bite of his toast.

"You don't sleep enough as it is." I scowled, stirring my coffee. He sleeps about six hours on a good night – there was no way I was going to wake him up at the crack of dawn just because I woke up.

It was pretty rare that Ethan and I didn't share a bed most nights anymore. The only time the two of us weren't together in the evenings was when he was out of town, and since he had kept his word and hasn't gone on any more business trips this year, I've been practically living at his house the past week.

"I get plenty of sleep, McKenzie." Ethan rolled his eyes and lifted his elbows on the cold granite. I scowled, but he avoided my gaze, focusing on his food instead. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

The good thing, however, was that he had finally stopped smoking so much.

How do I know?

Because he no longer reeked of cigarettes every time in leaned in to kiss me.

Don't get me wrong, we all have our ways of coping, but Ethan could do with finding one that doesn't kill thousands of people every day.

He had been working from home for the past couple of days, which wasn't unusual since the office was pretty much dead around this time of year, but it had allowed me to pick up on the fact that he usually stepped outside for a smoke once he closed his laptop for the day – rather than every other hour.