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“I can safely say,” I whispered, “that is the best Christmas present I’ve ever received.”
Theo hummed a laugh, nuzzling into my neck.
Chapter Ten
Theo
Today was the day. Christmas was over and it was time to tell the Talbot family that Haley and I were dating. I barely slept at all the night before, staring at the bunk above me where Chase snored away, oblivious about what was coming.
I was tempted to wake him up and tell him right now. Before sunrise. Before everyone else. It wouldn’t soften the blow but it would give him a chance to adjust before the rest of the family found out.
I groaned and rolled out of bed, tiptoeing down the hallway to Haley’s room. She’d burrowed under a pile of thick blankets until only her messy hair and her nose poked out. I slipped into bed beside her, pressed up against her back.
“Theo?” she murmured, hazy with sleep.
“Just wanted to see you,” I whispered back. “Close your eyes. No one else is awake yet.”
She mumbled incoherently and wiggled deeper into my arms, threading our fingers together. It felt better to hold her, cozy and warm, when the first blush of dawn was just beginning to color the sky with a delicate peachy pink.
“You’re worried,” Haley said after several minutes.
I squeezed her hand and kissed the back of her neck.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Sort of.” She rolled over to face me, blinking groggily. Her eye was only slightly swollen now but a vicious purple bruise still colored her skin. “Was this a bad idea? Us?”
I stared at her, baffled for a moment.
“What? No. Why would you think that?”
Haley shrugged, trailing a fingertip along my jawline, rough with stubble.
“Because you and Chase have always been really close and I don’t…I don’t want to ruin that.”
“Haley, sweetheart, we’re grown men,” I countered. ”I know we might not always act like it but we’re adults. We’ll figure out how to handle this.”
I hope, I mentally added.
An hour later, the first sounds of breakfast began to drift up from the kitchen - clattering silverware and the babble of voices and the smell of cooking food.
“I have to go,” I whispered with a quick kiss to Haley’s forehead. I dragged myself out of bed, tucking the covers tight around Haley to keep her warm. “See you at breakfast.”
“I love you.”
I lurched to a stop and glanced down at Haley. She gazed up at me, her big brown eyes soft and wide. She’d always worn her heart on her sleeve with no reservations. I couldn’t believe I was the lucky man to be on the receiving end of so much genuine adoration.
Leaning over the bed, I pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to Haley’s lips.
“Love you, too, sweetheart.”
She smiled and wiggled deeper under the blankets. Just as I slipped out of Haley’s room, Chase came stumbling down the stairs, his hair rumpled, sleep lines still etched into his face from his sheets. He frowned, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“You’re up early. Did you already check out what’s for breakfast?”
“On my way there now,” I replied, hoping my voice didn’t sound as shaky as I felt.
Chase waved me off with a yawn.
