CHAPTERONE
“Incoming!”
Fitz yelped and jumped out of the way just as Cocoa bounded by, his human quickly following in a far less adorable manner. Everyone darted out of the way as Ace slid across the kitchen’s polished wood floor, missing Cocoa’s indoor leash by a hair.
“Someone grab him!”
Since Red had a dish of French toast casserole in his oven-mitted hands and Laz carried multiple bowls of fruits and toppings, Fitz hurried to the other side of the counter and scooped up the two-month-old sable German Shepherd puppy.
“Aw, are you giving your daddy a hard time?” Fitz asked, laughing at Cocoa’s little bark before he licked Fitz’s nose. Hearing Cocoa, Duchess—Fitz’s black standard poodle—came prancing into the kitchen and up to Fitz. She wagged her poufy tail and sniffed at Cocoa. “The baby’s okay,” Fitz promised as he petted his bestest girl.
Duchess’s momma instincts had kicked in from the moment she’d met the sweet puppy. When Cocoa was loose, she followed him around to ensure he didn’t get into mischief, which he always did. He was most certainly Ace’s dog.
The jingling bells of “All I Want for Christmas” filled the kitchen, and Fitz danced with Cocoa in his arms. Duchess barked and pranced around them, drawing Chip’s attention. He darted into the kitchen and bounced around like a giant black bunny, his impressive Belgian Malinois ears completing the look. Gio walked in, and Cookie, his Golden Retriever, joined the fun. Good thing the luxury cabin’s kitchen was huge.
“You’re like the Pied Piper of puppies,” Ace said, brushing himself off.
Fitz handed Cocoa to his daddy and turned to dance with Duchess, who jumped onto her hind legs and gave him her front paws. She bounced happily with him as he sang along, his heart filled with joy.
During Fitz’s time in the fashion industry, the holidays had been about fancy parties, drinking too much, and showing off expensive gifts. It wasn’t until he’d become part of this amazing family that he’d understood the holidays were about celebrating with the people he loved who loved him in return just as he was. People who accepted all his sashaying, hair-flipping, and lip-gloss-wearing fabulousness.
There was just one thing missing.
As if conjured by his thoughts, Jack stepped through the kitchen doorway, and Fitz’s heart did a happy dance. His boyfriend’s black hair was tousled from sleep, his jaw sporting a short beard since he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Dressed simply in black jeans and a charcoal gray Henley, he was the sexiest thing Fitz had ever seen. Speaking of eyes…Jack’s smile reached those gorgeous gray eyes, and they were filled with so much love for Fitz.
Duchess darted over to her other daddy, jumping excitedly as if she hadn’t seen Jack in years and not just this morning when they’d left Jack in bed sleeping. Jack gave Duchess lots of love and pets, and Fitz danced his way over, shimmying his shoulders and drawing that sexy, throaty laugh from him.
“Good morning, handsome.” Fitz reached for Jack, laughing when Jack took his hand and spun him. He danced with Fitz, ignoring the catcalls from his brothers. The dogs lost their furry minds, running around and barking. When the song ended, Jack dipped Fitz and kissed him. It was sweet and amazing, and Fitz would have jumped his bones if they hadn’t had an audience.
“Good morning, sweetheart. I missed waking up to you this morning.” Jack lifted Fitz back onto his feet, and Fitz slipped his arms around Jack’s waist.
“You looked so warm and cozy; I didn’t want to wake you.” He’d been very tempted to stay and snuggle, especially since Jack had gotten in late last night after a long day of trying to fix the shambled mess that was the Ice Castle’s electrics. “Hold on. I’ll make you your latte.”
“Thanks, baby.”
Fitz made Jack his latte like he did every morning. He’d gotten into the routine of making their morning coffees when Jack had moved in with him. Before they’d gotten together, Jack had touched Fitz’s toaster, and it caught fire. Fitz decided not to take any chances with his precious espresso machine.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” Red asked as he started serving up breakfast.
“Ooh!” Joker threw his arms up excitedly. “Decorating!”
Gio eyed his boyfriend suspiciously before turning to his best friend. “Colton. Why is he excited about decorating?”
Colton chuckled. “Because today is the day he gets to operate the knuckle boom.”
Well,thatsounded dirty. Fitz looked to Jack. “What’s a knuckle boom, and should we cover Cocoa’s ears?”
Jack laughed and walked over to kiss Fitz’s cheek. “It’s a boom lift. Like what they use to fix power lines.”
“Oh.” Fitz glanced at Joker, who was far too excited for his own good. “And you think letting your best friend operate said heavy machinery is a good idea?”
Joker snorted. “Better me than Ace.”
Everyone nodded and murmured their agreement.
“Thanks,” Ace grumbled, popping a blueberry in his mouth. “Assholes.” He plucked another from the bowl and handed it to Cocoa, who excitedly munched it.
Joker bounced a blueberry off Ace’s head. “Keep saying that word around him, and he’s gonna think that’s someone’s name.”
