Chapter 27
Cole
Gavin’s eyes found mine, as a light flurry drifted softly around us in the glow of the lights. His mouth parted, his breath fogging in the cold. “What are you doing here?”
I stopped at the railing, my pulse ringing in my ears. “Isn’t this what the hero’s supposed to do in a Christmas love story? Show up at the tree and fight for the guy?”
“That’s what happens in fictional stories. Real life doesn’t usually look like this.”
“Maybe it should.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Allie a few feet back, tucked into her coat. She gave me a quick nod before turning away, leaving us to have our moment.
The rink below us was crowded, full of skaters circling under the tree. Their laughter carried over the scrape of blades on ice. Tourists lifted cameras, families bunched together for photos, the whole plaza glowing like it belonged on a postcard.
“You hurt me,” I started. “Not with the writing itself but because you kept it from me. It made me feel like I was just a story you wanted to tell, rather than someone who mattered to you.”
His lips pressed together, then parted. “I know. I should’ve told you about it. But I was so excited to be writing again that I wasn’t thinking about what it would mean for you to have your story out in the open.”
I pulled a breath in through my nose and let it go slowly.
“I know the book means everything to you, but that’s not why I’m here.
I’m here because of you. I miss you at my table, next to me at The Tap, in my bed.
The house went cold the second you left, and I keep looking at your side of the bed, hating how empty it is.
I can’t do another night without you there. ”
His lips parted again, like he didn’t trust himself to answer.
“I love you.” The words hit the air before I could second-guess them.
“I love you, and I’m done pretending I don’t.
I don’t care who sees us, I don’t care what the town says, I don’t care if people look at me differently.
None of it matters. What matters is you.
I want to wake up with you, eat dinner with you, laugh with you, decorate for every holiday with you—all of it. I want every part of a life with you.”
His shoulders dropped as the tension slipped out of him all at once.
“I love you too. I didn’t plan to. I told myself we were just messing around, but somewhere along the way, I fell for you, and I didn’t know how to tell you without scaring you off.
Maybe that’s why I was writing it. It was the only way I knew how to let it out. ”
“I was falling too, and I was too damn stubborn to admit it.”
“We both screwed it up, but I never imagined today would end like this. I didn’t think you’d show up in New York City.”
“I almost didn’t, but Ryan was right. He said he hasn’t seen me this happy in years, and he isn’t wrong. I’m happier with you around. I laugh more. I feel more. I can’t lose that.”
Gavin stared at me for a long beat, his eyes shining in the glow of the lights. Then he stepped closer and his gloved hand brushed mine at the railing. “So, what happens now?”
“Now we stop hiding.”
Snow caught on his lashes as he searched my face like he was making sure I meant what I’d said. “You’re serious?”
“As serious as I know how to be.”
His hand slid into mine, our gloved fingers locking. “Then don’t let go.”
“I’m not letting go.”
We stood like that while the skaters continued to move below us, Christmas music played from the sound system, and flashes popped as tourists took pictures.
His voice dipped low enough that only I could hear. “You really don’t care who sees?”
“No,” I answered. “Not anymore.”
He exhaled, the breath shaking out of him, then he leaned in and whispered, “Then kiss me.”
I did. Right there at the railing with the rink spread out below and the tree behind us. His hand came up to the back of my neck, while mine reached around his waist, and I held him close without caring who saw.
“Think this counts as our big romantic climax?” he asked after we broke apart.
“Maybe, but I can think of another kind of climax I’d rather give you.”
* * *
Two mornings later, the light pushed through the blinds in my bedroom. Gavin rolled to his back as he lay on his side of the bed, the blanket slipping low enough to bare his chest. His eyes were half-lidded, his hair stuck out in every direction, and his mouth tugged into a slow grin.
“Merry Christmas.”
I leaned down and kissed him slowly. “Merry Christmas.”
His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling me down until I was braced over him. The sheets bunched between us, but his hips shifted, his dick already hard against me.
He pushed my shirt up, his fingers dragging over my stomach before shoving my T-shirt higher. I pulled it off, tossed it aside, and bent to kiss his throat, his chest, his stomach. His breath hitched when I sucked lightly at his skin, and his hand clutched at my shoulder.
His boxers slid low, his cock flushed and thick. As I wrapped my hand around him and stroked, my mouth watered with want. The thought came before I had time to stop it, and I froze, staring down at him. We hadn’t bought gifts, but we didn’t need to; I had one in mind.
“I’ve never done this before.” My voice came out rough.
His eyes widened, his breath catching. “You don’t—”
“I want to.”
I shifted lower, kissed the inside of his thigh first, then hovered over him. His hand twitched against the sheet like he didn’t know whether to stop me or pull me closer. I opened my mouth and took him in slowly, the weight of him heavy on my tongue.
“Fuck.” His hips jerked, and his hand tightened in my hair.
It was clumsy at first. My jaw felt tight until I found the right angle, but the sound of him unraveling pushed me to keep going. I worked him with my mouth and tongue, one hand bracing his hip, the other wrapped around the base of his cock. He moaned, every muscle in him taut under my grip.
“Cole,” his voice cracked. “If you don’t stop, I’m gonna—”
I didn’t stop. I pulled deeper, hollowing my cheeks, swallowing him down as far as I could take him. His thighs jerked, and then he broke.
Hot cum spilled across my tongue, and I swallowed around him as his body bowed off the mattress. He groaned, his chest heaving when I finally let him slip free.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and crawled up his body while his eyes stayed wide on me.
“You just—” His voice was shaking.
I kissed him hard, swallowing his words. “Yeah. Merry Christmas.”
His breath stuttered, but his cock was still half-hard against his stomach. He groaned when my hand brushed it, already twitching back to life.
I reached for a condom in the drawer, tore the wrapper, and rolled the latex on quickly. The lube was cold on my fingers before I worked one inside him until he was rocking down against my hand. His mouth fell open when I slid a second finger deep, stretching him until he was gasping.
“Come on,” he begged, his voice wrecked.
Lining the tip of my dick with his puckered rim, I pressed in slowly, inch by inch, until I was fully buried inside him.
He wrapped his legs around my waist, and his hole clenched around me, hot and tight.
I had to grit my teeth to keep control. His back arched as I set a rhythm, every thrust pulling a rough sound out of him.
After a moment, his hand slid down, wrapping around himself and stroking fast to match me.
“Eyes on me,” I commanded as my hand tightened on his hip. His gaze snapped to mine, and the sight nearly finished me.
I drove deep a few more times before spilling into the condom with a groan I couldn’t hold back. My body sagged, and I buried my face in his neck, both of us still gasping. His chest heaved under mine, and his cock still hard between us, wet against my stomach.
I wrapped my hand around him, stroked him hard and fast until his hips bucked and he groaned his release. Spurts of cum painted his stomach as he shuddered under me, his breath tearing out in a rough gasp.
I kissed his jaw. “Best gift I ever got.”
His hand slid weakly up my arm. “Same.”
* * *
The driveway was already crowded when I pulled in at my parents’.
Lauren and Mark’s SUV sat next to my mother’s car, and Dad’s work van was off to the side—all of them dusted with snow.
Through the front window, the tree stood tall, with white lights no doubt wound evenly from bottom to top.
Mom’s trees were always elegant, with every ornament hung just right, and the star centered at the top.
I cut the engine, and for a second, I just sat there, my stomach tight. Then I reached across the console, took Gavin’s hand, and held it. “Ready?”
His fingers closed around mine. “Yes, are you?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
We got out and walked up the shoveled path together. Voices carried through the closed door, Eliza’s laugh loudest above the rest. My pulse climbed, but I didn’t let go of Gavin’s hand.
When I pushed the door open, the warmth hit fast and every head turned at once, all of them catching on our joined hands.
Mom stepped out from the kitchen, towel in hand, and crossed the room. “Cole. Merry Christmas.” She wrapped me in a quick hug before leaning back, her eyes flicking to Gavin.
Lauren stood too, coming over with flour still on her sweater. “Merry Christmas.” She hugged me next, then stepped back, her eyes shifting between us.
Mark lifted a hand from the couch. “Hey, Cole.”
Dad gave a short nod from his chair.
Their attention moved to Gavin beside me. I cleared my throat, my grip tightening on his hand. “Everyone, this is Gavin. He owns Cedar Falls Inn, and he’s my boyfriend.”
The room went quiet for half a second before Mom’s mouth lifted. “Wonderful!” She hugged Gavin like it was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s lovely to meet you, Gavin. Are you hungry? We’ve got appetizers in the kitchen.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Maddox. It smells amazing in here,” he replied.
Lauren hugged Gavin quickly before leaning back with a grin. “So you’re the reason my brother’s been walking around town smiling more. Rumors have been going around, and now I know why.”
“Guess I’ll try to keep him smiling, then.”
“Hey, now. I smile,” I argued.
Lauren raised a brow. “You smile, sure, but not like lately. It’s different, and everyone’s noticed.”
Mark stood and stuck out his hand. “Welcome, Gavin.”
Dad set his mug on the side table and shook Gavin’s hand too. “Good to have you join us.”
“Thank you. It means a lot to be here.”
Eliza twisted around on the rug, her eyes bright. “Does that mean Gavin gets presents too?”
Lauren laughed softly. “I think maybe you should go make him something with your crafts in your playroom.”
“Okay!” Eliza beamed and ran down the hall.
The knot in my chest loosened as Gavin’s thumb brushed over my knuckles.
My family didn’t look at him like he was some secret I’d been hiding, or at me like I’d just dropped the biggest bomb in the room. They looked at him the way they would anyone I brought home. And that, more than anything, was enough.
I leaned closer, my voice low for only him. “So maybe happy endings aren’t just for the stories you write?”
His smile spread, soft and certain. “No. Sometimes they’re real.”
And this one was ours.