“Looks like Jack has changed after all.” King turned back to Leo. “You don’t have to set him on fire with your mind.”
Leo snorted. “I would never do such a thing. I might lock him out of his computer though.”
King chuckled and greeted Mason and Lucky as they approached. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey, fellas,” Mason said. “There’s a stall over there called Jingle Paws. They got all kinds of fun stuff for the furry critters here.”
“Ooh! I bet they’ll have extra special tr—Uh, you know.” Spelling treats was out of the question because it didn’t matter how a treat was described, Chip knew. Same with bacon. Oh! He turned to Lucky. “Can you teach me that word in Spanish?”
“I can, but just so you know, he understands it in Spanish, too. That dog understands more languages than most people, especially when you’re talking about something he wants.”
“Curses. Foiled again.”
King opened his mouth, and Leo thrust a finger at him.
“It is notStar Wars.” Leo spun and marched off, ignoring his fiancé’s laughter. One of these days, he was going to tie King to the couch and make him watch every pop culture film ever made! Though he was almost certain King had watched some of them and was just messing with him. He had no proof, but one of these days, he’d find out.
The Jingle Paws stall was even more amazing than he’d imagined. The dog puns were real, and helovedit. He gasped and showed King a stuffed dog toy of a dachshund dressed like Han Solo. “Look! His shirt says ‘Han So Low.’” He grinned and waited.
And waited.
King blinked at him. “What?”
“Oh my god,Ward!”
King threw back his head and laughed.
“You’re so evil!” Leo smacked him with the dachshund, jumping when it squeaked. That only made King laugh harder, and the dogs crowded them. He promptly put it back, then glared at King over his shoulder. “Evil.”
Ignoring his handsome, pop-culture-averse fiancé, Leo turned back to the stall and picked out some treats for the dogs. He turned and laughed at the four excited wiggly butts lined up in a row in front of him, tails wagging. Leo held out his palm, and three of them sat back on their haunches and waved their front paws. With a laugh, Leo gave each of them a treat. Cocoa was still learning, so Leo told him “Down,” praising him and giving him a treat when he did.
After some more training and treats, Red and Laz picked up Duchess. A short time later, everyone else collected their fur babies, leaving King and Leo to stroll through the market square. He was about to tell King that he was ready to go back to the cabin when he spotted something amazing at one of the stalls. Spinning, he pointed behind King.
“I need you to go look at the Gnome for the Holidays stall and not turn around for approximately three minutes.”
King eyed him. “That’s a very specific length of time.”
“No peeking.” His fiancé tried to be sneaky by lifting his gaze, and Leo quickly covered King’s eyes. “No cheating by looking at what stalls are around us.”
King’s lips twitched in the corners. “Okay.” He turned, his eyes closed, and Leo held back a dreamy sigh.
“I love you, Ward.”
“I love you, too,” King replied as he headed for the Gnome for the Holidays stall.
Leo darted over to the stall where he’d spotted the perfect addition to his big surprise. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure King wasn’t looking. Not that he thought King would peek. Quickly, he made his purchase, asking the nice gentleman to wrap up the two items for him so King wouldn’t accidentally catch a glimpse. Once he had his purchase, he hurried over to King and beamed brightly.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Leo kissed King’s cheek. “You’re the best.”
King opened his mouth, and Leo narrowed his gaze. Clearing his throat, King nodded. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I know I’m awesome.”
“That’s right.” Leo wanted King to see himself the way Leo saw him; that he was an amazing man worthy of all the love. Sometimes, they both needed reminding, but they’d gotten a lot better at it over the years. Something caught Leo’s attention and he gasped. He looked up at King, eyes wide. “King, look.” He pointed to one of the gnomes. “It’s dressed like a joker.”
King stared at it, then moved his gaze to Leo. “You wouldn’t.”
“Text Ace to let him know?” Leo blinked innocently. “I would never do such a thing.”
“Yes, you would.”
