“And Uncle Q will get to meet his newest nephew,” Kenji said, a broad grin on his face. The smile ebbed as he looked at Qylar. “What’s wrong?”
“I know you want to stay here through the new year, but I think we need to return to San Francisco before they arrive.”
“Why?” Kenji asked.
“Youknowwhy,” Qylar murmured. He refused to pressure Kenji any more than he already had. If being around the children had made him question his decision, then he needed to remove that chance.
Kenji sighed. “If simply being in the presence of a child could make me question myself, I doubt my mind was all that firm in the first place.”
Qylar didn’t reply.
“The kids deserve to have their Uncle Q with them for Christmas—and you should be here with your family. I won’t take that from you.”
Qylar eyed Kenji, unsure. “We can table that discussion for now.”
Kenji scoffed. “I don’t want to leave.”
Qylar closed his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to refuse his mate—but he didn’t want to pressure Kenji into a major decision either.
“We shall see.”
“Can we go back now?” Kenji asked.
Qylar nodded. “Of course.”
“And can wefinallydecorate the tree tonight?”
“Of course,” Qylar replied. “I saved it to share with you.”
Kenji hugged him. “I thought so, and I’m glad you did.”
“Dinner first…” Qylar said. “My mate needs to eat.”
CHAPTER 21
By the time they neared Cryss and Alex’s arrival, Kenji and Qylar had settled into something of a routine. Their mornings were a quietly shared breakfast before running errands or exploring Aspen and its activities. After lunch, Kenji napped off the pregnancy fatigue while Qylar worked on adding more decorations to the house, ignoring the protests of his mate. In the evenings, they ate an early-ish dinner and spent the rest of the night watching Christmas movies and cuddling, which often led them to bed for even more vigorous cuddling that involved body parts and tentacles.
The wild, desperate need Kenji had been experienced never resurfaced. And he was glad. Not that needing his mate was a bad thing, but as worried as Qylar had gotten, he felt better that they were past it.
A couple of days before all five members of House Qlr-Kreegl arrived, Kenji cleared the breakfast dishes as Qylar washed the frying pans in the sink. Snow fell softly outside the window, adding to the few inches that had been added the day before.
“You know, I think we’re finally getting the hang of this breakfast thing. Cryss is going to be so pleased we haven’t had cereal every morning since we’ve been here,” Qylar said with a grin.
“Don’t disrespect the cereal game. I once lived a whole week eating Honey Nut Cheerios for every meal when I was strapped for extra cash and it’s all I had in the pantry.”
Qylar cringed. “I might not want to ever eat it again after that.”
“Took me a solid year before I could buy another box.”
Qylar chuckled. “Speaking of buying, we can’t keep putting off shopping for presents. We now only have a few days left.”
Kenji stiffened. Every time Qylar had suggested going shopping, he’d offered an alternative activity. He’d handed over everything in his account to Tacoma to cover the last months of rent he owed. There’d been only fumes left. There was nothing he could give Qylar but his body. While he sensed his mate would be fine with that, Qylar deserved a gift from him under the tree.
He was ashamed that anything he might buy would be pathetic compared to the gifts everyone else would share.
“I thought we might go into town today and finally buy a few Christmas presents. I need to get something for Cryss, Alex, and the kids.”
Kenji continued to clear the table. “Yeah, I guess there’s no delaying it any further.”
