Chapter Eleven
Grant walked down the stairs to find Sunny napping on the couch. A nap he clearly deserved, because the whole house was covered in decorations. There was barely a space that didn’t have lights or tinsel or actual, literal boughs of holly, the whole downstairs space sparkling.
Even the bannister on the stairs had tinsel wrapped around it.
Sunny started as Grant walked into the room, sitting up under the blanket he’d been curled up with. Grant tossed another piece of wood on the fire and went to sit down next to him.
“This is beautiful,” he said. “Or at least… I assume it’s beautiful. It definitely looks like something Hope would enjoy.”
“I took your glitter instructions very seriously,” Sunny said.
“That, I can see.” Grant smiled to himself. “And it’s very festive. You hungry?”
Sunny’s stomach growled before he could answer, making him blush. He cleared his throat, the tips of his ears bright red. “I can wait if you’re not.”
Grant chuckled. “Well, I’m starving. How do you like your steak?”
“As long as it’s at least slightly cooked on the inside, I don’t care.”
“So medium-rare?” Grant checked.
Sunny nodded. “Sounds good. I trust you.”
Grant stood, stretching his arms high above his head and yawning again. He felt as though he could do anything right now.
As he eased them back down, he noticed a brightly-wrapped package under the tree.
“What’s that?” he asked, frowning.
Sunny cleared his throat delicately again. “That’s, uh. That’s a Christmas present for you. From me.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Grant said, though his heart swelled at the thought.
Sunny stood beside him, stretching as well and following Grant as he headed toward the kitchen. “I know I didn’thaveto, but I wanted to. This is the most comfortable, fulfilling job I’ve ever had, and that’s because of you. This is my way of thanking you for that.”
Grant paused in the archway between the living room and the kitchen, floored by everything Sunny had just said.
Sunny feltfulfilledin this job. That was what everyone looked for, wasn’t it? To feel as though their life had purpose, even if that purpose was to run around after someone else putting out fires.
In any case, Sunny liked his job. He was happy. That probably meant he wasn’t going to leave Grant any time soon.
That made all the difference in the world. He’d been so afraid that Sunny would get sick of him, and now he was hearing that it wasn’t going to happen.
Before Grant could react, Sunny kissed him on the cheek.
He turned to look at him, blushing darkly and blinking, confused, but not mad at all.
Was Sunny coming onto him?
Did he want that?
“Mistletoe,” Sunny said, pointing above Grant’s head.
Grant looked up, curious. Above him was a little sprig of fake leaves and berries, which he assumed were meant to be mistletoe.
His stomach sank. Maybe hehadwanted Sunny to be coming onto him.
That was stupid, and it’d cause so many problems, but there was a tiny part of him that just wanted…
