Page 63 of One More Yule Log
Gray blinked, his lashes suspiciously damp. “Love you, kiddo. Have fun.”
“See you in the morning!” She hung up, and he leaned back toward Gray.
“That didn’t suck, hmm?”
“Not one bit. In fact, it was seriously awesome.” Gray was all choked up.
He held his lover tight, rocking him gently. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, baby. I can’t believe how much life has changed, but it’s so amazing.”
Ben’s belly rumbled. Hard.
Gray just hooted with laughter. “And I need to feed you. How do you feel about ordering burgers and fries while we start packing some things up?”
“I think that sounds perfect, love.” It wasn’t the fancy lunch he’d had in mind, but it more than worked. “Do you have boxes?”
Gray gave him a half-shamed grin. “In the hall closet. I never recycled them from when I moved in. I also have some out in my storage area in the garage. We all have these little Rubbermaid sheds.”
“Well then. Where do we start? I’ll make our lunch order.”
“Uh. The bedroom and the kitchen. The other stuff is less personal. The bathroom I have duplicates at your place mostly.”
“Sounds good to me.” He stole another kiss because he could. “I need to get you a garage door opener so I don’t have to open it for you. I already have you a key.”
“A garage door opener.” Gray made this whooping noise. “Now I’ve arrived.”
“You can even park in there. It’s like magic.”
“Imagine! I seriously won’t miss parking in the tiny lot or on the street.” Gray hugged him close. “Okay, boxes.”
“Burgers,” he agreed.
Moving in. Wow.
* * *
Gray wasglad the day had dawned bright and cold but not snowy. The roads and driveways were clear, in fact, which made it easier to move his shit.
He was, in fact, unloading his last load from his truck, which was the bed frame and the nightstands. The dresser had come earlier in Ben’s SUV, the mirror wrapped in blankets. The rest of his kitchen stuff was in there, too, and he had to hope this worked out.
He’d donated a lot of his worn-out towels and blankets and sheets to the animal shelter, damn it.
Liv was next to him, carrying little things, helping her best. “Are you excited? Have you decided which room the bed goes in? Daddy said maybe the purple room?”
“I think the purple room would be a good fit. Do you like it?” He’d seen the way her eyes had gone wide at the sight of the bed.
“It’s fancy and pretty. I like it a lot.”
“Anything else but the one nightstand, love?” Ben asked on the way down.
“Just the box of kitchen stuff in the back seat. Liv shouldn’t mess with that; the attachments for the food processor are in there.” He grunted, hauling the headboard up to the purple room.
Six bedrooms. He lived in a house with six bedrooms. One of them was a mother-in-law’s suite, for fuck’s sake.
Even his folks had a cookie-cutter suburban three-bedroom bath and three quarter… This place had a powder room.
He guessed it was Ben that didn’t make it feel like some crazy mansion, but a home where little girls had tea parties and Santa was welcome. The tree might still be a bit bare, but the house was holiday ready, and Ben had gotten the fireplace going, promising hot chocolate as a reward.
