Page 34

There are so many food and sports ornaments, and while it’d be easy to grab Joey a cannoli because they’re his favorite, I don’t want it to be “easy.”

That’s when my eyes snag on a vintage tube TV with the big backs we watched when we were kids. On the screen is an image of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Perfect. Scotty is checked off much quicker than I’d expected.

There’s a National Parks ornament that catches my eye, but I don’t want to make Scotty feel excluded because he was in LA while we went out West and never called. Instead, I see a smoker and decide it’s perfect for Joey. Once I’ve removed both ornaments, I turn to Scotty and Joey, who are each still looking.

“Got mine. I’ll go see what else is here while you two finish up.”

“Okay, almost done,” Scotty promises.

“Take your time, sweetheart. I’m in no rush.”

His cheeks pinken, and he nods. I’m not sure if it was the casual use of that nickname in public or something else entirely. It’s adorable, but it also enrages me when I really think about it because Scotty pre-Harry would’ve eaten this up. He’d probably be eagerly looking at the half-naked mermen, joking about which ones remind him of us, or suggesting we all find a store with a changing room to have some real fun in, but now, he’s blushing over a pet name. Scotty said Harry was jealous, and I can’t help but wonder just how much their relationship made Scotty feel like he needed to hide himself.

Honestly, it reminds me of how Joey felt in the beginning. When I met him outside the bar that night, he was so nervous because his family had made him believe who he is was wrong. I’ll never forgive them for it. Now, Scotty is stuck rebuilding his confidence after his ex made him feel just as bad about himself.

All I want is to wrap my arms around both of them, pull them into me, and never let go.

“Done!” Joey announces cheerfully, and I give up on my attempt to appreciate the home decor they have out since I was mostly lost in my head.

“Me too,” Scotty echoes just before grabbing a second ornament from the wall.

“I can’t wait to see what we all picked out. Who wants to go first?” I ask.

“I will.” Joey is grinning, looking all too pleased with himself. “Scotty, this one is for you.” He hands him an ornament, and Scotty bursts out laughing.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

I cock an eyebrow, and Scotty holds it up for me to see, and I laugh too. It’s a ridiculous ornament with a dog riding a rocking horse that says “baby’s first Christmas.”

“It’s your first Christmas with us,” Joey explains, smile still in place. “Patrick pointed it out, so I embraced that.”

“I’m impressed, really,” I add. Especially because that’d normally be my move, hiding something with meaning in humor, but my mind went purely sentimental this morning. Probably because I want Scotty to see how serious I am about him.

“Good. Here’s yours,” Joey says, and hands me a bear that says “free bear hugs” on it. “For my big, loving bear.”

“Excuse me, I’m a very muscular bear, if anything.” I flex so they can see my muscles bulge, but my coat is hiding everything.

“And you look very good,” Scotty assures me.

“Yep, I love those big arms around me,” my husband adds.

“I love wrapping them around you.” I turn to Scotty, who’s biting his lip. He gulps as our eyes lock, and I reach my hand out to pull his lip from his teeth. “And you. Don’t doubt that.”

He offers me a small nod and smiles.

“Do you want to go next?”

“Sure.” Scotty nods again. “Patrick, for you.”

He extends his hand, and I take the s’mores in my palm.

“It reminded me of when we used to talk about getting out of the city. You’d said you wanted to go upstate to camp. Did you ever make it?”

I smile at the memory. “A version of it. If renting a cabin upstate counts. We did make s’mores, though. That’s actually why I picked this one out for you, Joey.”

Joey takes the smoker from me and smiles. “We did talk about getting away a lot, huh?”