Page 51 of Home For Christmas

At least Jasper didn’t have to eat his shoe.

The kids were exhausted, we were exhausted, and Cody, Shelly, and Greg’s kids and their partners were barely keeping their eyes open. Marla didn’t even give us a chance to debate sleeping arrangements. She shooed Declan, Colt, and the three of us out to the car to get the luggage while Derek and Ty worked on putting the kids to bed. “Greg! Show Cody and Shelly to the cabin. Lunch is at one back here,” she called as we left the house.

I blinked at Jasper, who lifted a shoulder. “It’s better to listen to her than argue,” he whispered.

“At least we don’t have to worry about moving beds around at our house,” I agreed. I’d been slightly worried about how much stuff his brothers had moved into their rooms already.

As we returned to the house with a load of suitcases, Marla could be heard directing Emma and Nate and their boyfriends to the guest rooms. “They’re away from the rest of the house. They should be very quiet.” So you don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing you having sex, went unsaid. Ty groaned but directed them toward the bedrooms and, once we were sure they didn’t need anything, we were ready to go home to sleep for a few hours.

Saying I do was something I’d never expected to do. First, because my ex was a world-class douchebag, and then because I’d found love with two men. We couldn’t legally marry, so the idea of a ceremony had never even crossed my mind until Greg had brought it up earlier in the year—a way to commit ourselves to one another and to celebrate our relationship as lasting. He was so sweet, and I hadn’t realized how much that meant to me until we’d sat at the jewelry store in Tennessee designing our wedding rings. Knowing that we’d all have this symbol of our love and commitment meant more than I could easily express.

Which is how I came to find myself pacing the length of the living room in my favorite pair of jeans, a white dress shirt, and a black vest, twisting Jasper’s wedding ring in my pocket. Hopefully, I wouldn’t rub the finish off it between now and three. That was only forty-five minutes, but it could have been the next century for as slow as the clock was moving.

“I finished this floor once, and if you pace the finish off it, I’m not doing it again. And you know my brother will make you do it.”

I turned to see Derek standing in the doorway of his room, wearing a pair of snug jeans and a baby blue shirt that somehow made his blue eyes even bluer. The mirth in his eyes morphed to love as he walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. “It’s been forever since our roles were reversed, but I remember feeling like that when I was getting ready to walk down the aisle.”

“You walked down the aisle with like three hundred people at your in-laws’ place. We’ve got all of twenty, and it still feels huge.”

Derek walked me over to the couch and pulled me down beside him. “You’re not nervous because people are here, you’re nervous because this is a big moment. I can tell you right now, you could walk down that aisle in nothing but a pair of rainbow briefs, and Jas and Greg will love you no less. Just like you would love them no less if they walked down in something equally ridiculous.” He bumped my shoulder and grinned wickedly. “And maybe you’re nervous about walking to the barn with a butt plug in your ass.”

I gasped but couldn’t stop the wiggle. There was a giant fucking plug in my ass, bigger than I’d normally wear, but it was my gift to all of us that night. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, unconvincing even to my own ears.

Derek laughed so hard the couch shook under us. “That’s a good one. Dude, you’re walking like you rode a horse for the first time in months, but since you were out bull riding yesterday and walked fine until you got dressed, that falls flat. Oh, and I saw your eyes twitch as you sat down. If I had to guess, I’d say you nailed your prostate.”

“Fuck you,” I retorted, though my smile eased any bite to my words.

Derek let out a snort. “I think that’s really a fuck you.”

His words sent us into a laughing fit. When he finally stopped giggling, he sobered up completely. “Seriously, I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the happiness in the world… even if it’s with my brother.” He screwed his nose up playfully. “Seriously, my big brother. Eww.”

I pushed his shoulder and watched as he fell over dramatically. “Don’t forget about Greg,” I teased. “Greg’s a big part of this equation.”

Derek righted himself and pulled me close. “Don’t sell yourself short. You three are amazing together, and I love how much Jasper lights up when he’s around you guys. Sometimes I see these glimpses of the past Jasper, the shy and quiet guy that faded into the background, but when you all show up, that guy totally disappears.” He kissed my temple. “A few years ago, you were the most closeted out guy I knew. There was this cloud that followed you around, like you were always afraid of saying or doing something wrong. I hadn’t been able to put my finger on what that was until you started dating Greg and Jasper and it was gone. Your body lights up when you’re around them. It’s the most amazing thing to watch, and I’m beyond happy you have them… even though that means you live in Oklahoma instead of Nashville.”

Had I been closeted? Well, that was an interesting way to look at it, but I probably had been in many ways. Was I happier now, comfortably living out of the closet? That was easy to answer: absolutely. “Thanks, Dare. Crazy that we’re basically family now.”

Derek shook his head. “No, we were family the first day of school when you shared your orange crayon with me. Now come on, we need to get to the barn. It’s going to take us a few extra minutes.” He giggled knowingly.

We had to bundle up in layers in order to head toward the barn that the kids, Brice, and some of the hands had painstakingly cleaned over the last few days. We’d all tried to pitch in at various points along the way and had been unceremoniously kicked out each time.

“Where’s Colt?”

“At Mom and Dad’s helping the kids get ready. So are Ty and Dec.”

“Jas!” I called up the steps. “We’re getting ready to go.” When I didn’t hear him right away, I looked over at Derek and shrugged. “I’ll go get him.”

Derek’s chuckle followed me up the steps and I was pretty sure I’d heard him teasing me about needing to find my man. “Jas? Babe? You up here?”

“Oh, sorry, I’m here.” Jasper’s voice sounded far away and distracted. I turned the corner to see him standing in front of the mirror with Greg’s wedding band in his hand, rolling it around much like I’d been doing to his earlier.

I walked over to him and wrapped myself around his back, pulling him close to me. “You okay?”

He gave the slightest nod and smiled. “I’m still struggling to believe this is real. It’s totally a pinch me moment.”

I nodded into his neck. “Yeah, I get that. I had the same conversation with Derek a few minutes ago. I’m excited, though. When we shared our first kiss at the bonfire, we didn’t even think we could be out. In one way or another, neither of us was out until a few years ago. Derek pointed out that, while I technically came out over a decade ago, I lived in the closet until we started dating. The world knew I was dating Neil, but no one saw us do more than hold hands at an awards show. He wouldn’t even kiss me when we won an award. Two years ago, you two kissed me breathless when we won the Song of The Year award. It was one of the most liberating moments of my life.”

Jasper’s smile finally reached his eyes, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. “In two years, I went from not even completely sure I was in the closet to basically telling the world that I’m with two men.”

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