Page 76 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

Tyler had too much of the mulled wine his grandmother insisted on making. He felt very merry as he munched on a chocolate chip cookie and listened to Brad boast about how he and Wally had chased away a home intruder who was part of the mafia. Tyler didn’t know if anyone actually believed him.

Cece clung to his arm, looking at her husband with adoring eyes. Tyler wondered if the way Brad wielded a baseball bat had given her some perspective. If not, that was fine too. Whatever happened, he knew his sister would be fine. They had each other at the end of the day.

Wally, as usual, trailed behind Hailey like a lost puppy, but for once, Tyler didn’t think it was vomit-inducing. Instead, he felt a swell of affection.

Hailey was an excellent woman, and Wally saw that about her. He’d do anything for her, and Tyler couldn’t ask for anything more in a brother-in-law.

Across the kids’ table, Julien gave him the warmest smile, and Tyler smiled back, not caring if his teeth were purple, which theydefinitelywere.

Jules sat between Kelsey and Owen without complaint as he made sure they ate their vegetables and reassured Kelsey for the tenth time that hisboo-boodidn’t hurt too badly.

Once they had finished their meal, Julien jerked his head to the stairs and raised his eyebrows.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Eliza, who he was pretty sure he’d be sitting next to until they were both in their forties.

She had gazed at Julien with stars in her eyes the entire meal and flushed when Tyler spoke. “Yeah, go get your mans.” She grinned.

Tyler shook his head at his cousin but followed Julien up the stairs. He looked forward to a warm kiss and maybe more if he was lucky. Even if the prospect of sex, while his literal entire family was downstairs, was a turnoff.

He closed the door to his room and watched as Julien’s shoulders relaxed a little. “You alright?” He wrapped his arms around Julien’s middle.

Julien smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I just needed a minute.” He leaned in and kissed him deeply for a brief, compelling moment. “And I got you something.”

Tyler’s eyebrows raised. “A Christmas present?”

Julien nodded and shifted away from him. He went to his suitcase and dug through some of the unfolded clothes before pulling out a small, crushed bag. “Sorry, I didn’t wrapit. It’s not much, but I saw them and thought of you.” He handed it over.

Tyler squeezed the soft bag and then opened it up. Inside was a pair of bright red socks decorated with little hot chocolate mugs and peppermints. Each one had a smiling face drawn on. Tyler was instantly charmed.

“I love them,” he said. His chest bloomed with warmth when Tyler realized the socks were from the Christmas market. Julien must have bought them before he rescued the old lady.

So, Jules hadn’t been pretending then, either.

Tyler ran his thumb over the socks. They were soft and adorable, which was exactly what he liked in socks. “I didn’t get you anything.”

Julien laughed and ran a hand through his dark curls. “Yes, you did.”

“What do you mean? The blow job this morning?” he asked with a laugh.

Julien pulled him close and kissed the top of his head. “No. I mean this—all of this. This is the first Christmas I’ve hadin years that feels like Christmas. I don’t know what will happen with Rossi, but I don’t care. For the first time I can remember, I feel like things will be alright.”

Tyler smiled. “They will. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure they’re perfect.”

“They don’t have to be perfect, Baby. I’ll settle for good, normal, fucking crazy. I’m just glad I can live on my terms now. All because of you.” Julien kissed him again.

Tyler nuzzled into the crook of Julien’s neck. The wine had made his mouth loose, but he couldn’t hold back what he wanted to say.

“I think I love you, Jules,” he admitted. The words fell so quickly from his lips that he didn’t think they were wrong. “No. Not think. I do. I love you.”

It was too soon. Technically, Julien had only been his real boyfriend for a few hours, less than a day, but he’d never felt this way about anyone. He was already thinking about which drawers in his dresser at home to empty to make space for Julien’s denim and oil-stained T-shirts.

Julien ran his knuckles along his back. He was quiet for a long time, and Tyler tried not to let himself worry the foolish declaration would scare Jules off. “I love you too, Ty,” he finally said, with no question in his tone.

Tyler’s heart swelled with joy at the words and the knowledge that he hadn’t just said something stupid and ridiculous to push Julien away.

He stood on his toes to capture Julien’s full lips in a soft kiss. Everything about him feltperfect,even though he knew they weren’t. “We should probably go back before they miss us.”

Julien sighed. “I know. It’s alright. Wally was talking about starting a card game, but I think Brad might be the type who cheats.”

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