“I have no idea, but I like it. It puts me in the holiday spirit.” The smile slipped from her face. “I suppose now that your work is done here you’ll have to head back to the States.”
He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you saying you’re already tired of me?”
“I could never get tired of you. I was just wishing you could stay for Christmas. After all, it’s just in two days.”
“That soon?” When she nodded, he said, “Well, if you were to twist my arm, I might consider staying. After all, my flight isn’t until the day after Christmas.”
Instead of smiling, she frowned.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “I thought you w
anted me to stay.”
“I do. That’s not it. I just realized that I don’t have anything for you—you know, Christmas presents.” Her eyes reflected her concern. “Do you think it’s too late to head into the village to shop?”
“Yes, I do. They close early in the evenings.” He could see his answer only compounded her distress. “Hey, look at me.” When she glanced at him, he said, “I don’t need any presents. I promise. I have everything I want right here.”
He drew her close and placed a quick kiss on her lips.
Serena pulled back. Her eyes opened wide and then a big grin filled her face.
“Oh, no,” he said.
“What?”
“You have a look on your face that worries me. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you say next.”
“You can stop worrying. I just got an idea for a new screenplay.”
“That’s what you were thinking about when I kissed you?”
She shrugged and looked a little sheepish. “I can’t help when inspiration strikes.”
“Uh-huh. And what is this idea?”
She shook her head. “I’m not telling you. You’ll have to wait and read it.”
“Really? That’s all I get for being your inspiration?”
“Well, maybe if you kissed me some more, you might get something you do like.”
Now she was talking his language. “How about we take this to the bedroom?”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
* * *
The next morning, Serena woke up early.
Jackson was still sound asleep, but that wasn’t surprising as he’d had a late night—a very late night. Serena smiled as she recalled the night she’d spent in his arms.
She knew their time together was quickly running out. But she was wondering about relocating to New York, once filming for her next movie wrapped up, of course. After all, she could stand to take a break from movies, and she hadn’t yet signed up for anything after this next film. If writing screenplays didn’t pan out for her, she could try Broadway. Actually, that was another item on her bucket list. Why put off until tomorrow what she could do today?
The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked it. She just wondered what Jackson would think of the idea. After all, it wasn’t like they had to move in together. She could get her own place. They could go slow and see where things were headed.
Slow? Like they’d taken things so far? It sure hadn’t been very slow, but she wouldn’t change any of the events that got them to this point—well, that wasn’t exactly true. She could have avoided the whole Shawn debacle. And she was certain that Jackson would have preferred to skip the accident. But at least he was safe and they were happy together.
She slipped out of bed and put on her fuzzy robe. She quietly padded out of the room and headed for the desk. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts of New York and ideas for her next screenplay. She wanted to get started on notes for it. She decided it was going to be a holiday rom-com.