The second Gavin closed and locked the door behind them, she was in Oliver’s arms, kissing him as if she hadn’t seen him in years.
“What’s that for?” Oliver asked as they parted.
“Who cares what it’s for?” Gavin asked. “Where’s mine?”
He tugged Erin away, stealing his own kisses.
“I missed you,” she said in between kisses. “And eggnog makes me horny.”
“Good information to have,” Oliver joked. “That’s going to become a weekly staple on our grocery list, right next to butter and milk.”
“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” she said.
Gavin nodded. “Same for me.”
Oliver shifted closer, the three of them wrapping their arms around each other. “I love you,” he murmured, kissing Gavin, then Erin again.
“Think we have time for a quickie?” Gavin asked.
Oliver laughed. Since walking away from his mother at dinner a few nights earlier, Gavin suddenly seemed like a different man, and Oliver realized he’d never understood just how much the past weighed his boyfriend down until Gavin finally shook it off, once and for all.
Gavin was happier, freer, laughing often, finding joy in the little things. Erin had noticed the same thing, remarking on it this morning after breakfast.
“I think Caitlyn would kill us if we had sex in her bathroom,” Oliver said.
Erin shrugged. “I bet she and Lucas have already christened this room. And every other one in the house. That man is determined to get his wife pregnant again.”
They heard voices down the hall, and Gavin sighed. “Okay. No quickie. But I want a reward for showing so much restraint.”
“What did you have in mind?” Oliver asked.
“Holiday role-playing when we get home tonight. I’m going to be Santa, and Erin is going to sit on my lap, whispering all the things she wants for Christmas, even though she’s been a naughty girl.”
“Sounds pretty PG,” Erin said.
“Oh, did I forget to say we’re going to be naked and I’m going to be inside you?”
“Do I get a role?” Oliver asked.
Gavin grinned. “You’re going to be my elf, feeding me your candy cane.”
“Shit.” Oliver adjusted his jeans, trying to relieve the pressure on his sudden erection. “How am I supposed to go back out there with a hard-on?”
Gavin ran his hand over the front of Oliver’s pants, applying pressure. Then he grasped Oliver’s hand and pushed it against his own erection, letting him know he wasn’t alone.
“Think anyone would miss us if we snuck out the back door right now?” Erin asked, her flushed cheeks proving she was in a similar state.
Oliver shook his head. “We only get the reward if we show restraint. Besides, I like the idea of spending the next few hours fantasizing about ways to spice up that role-play.”
“As long as my reward for restraint is restraint, I’ll be good,” Erin joked. “Merry Kinkmas to us.”
Epilogue
“There are my boys,” Mom said, inserting herself between Oliver and Gavin shortly before Christmas dinner, wrapping her arms around them. “We’re going to eat soon.” She gave them both a squeeze. “I’m so darn happy for the two of you.”
Oliver laughed, since Mom had said the same thing at least twenty times today.
“Did you tell Pop yet?” she asked.
“Not yet, but we will.” He glanced at Erin and realized they’d better do it soon, or she’d be too deep in the eggnog to remember the conversation. After the three of them snuck out of the bathroom, Layla had dragged her off to hear some crazy story Bubbles was telling about her new boyfriend that had most of his cousins in stitches.
“I suspect he won’t be surprised. I swear that man has a sixth sense when it comes to romance,” Mom said, turning to Gavin, her expression shifting to one of concern.
When they told their parents about their relationship with Erin, they’d also shared the details of their dinner with Gavin’s mom.
“You sure you’re doing okay?” she asked Gavin.
Gavin leaned down and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “I’m doing just fine…Mom.”
Mom froze, and Oliver got a sense she was trying to figure out if she’d heard Gavin correctly. Then she smiled. “Wow, I love the sound of that.”
“Sound of what?”
Oliver saw that both his dads had made their way over to them.
“Gavin just called me mom.”
Dad—Chad—laughed as he hugged Mom, who wiped away the happy tears in her eyes. “Jesus. There will be no living with her now.”
His other dad, Sean, slapped Gavin on the back. “It’s about damn time. Now where’s my new name?”
Gavin rolled his eyes. “Do we seriously have to make a big deal about this…Dad?”
“Of course we do. It’s the Collins’ way. And considering you’ve been one of us for nine years, I think it’s time you start to conform to the craziness,” Dad—Sean—joked.
Gavin gave him a salute. “So noted.”
“This looks like a fun conversation,” Pop Pop said. “Mind if I join in?”
“The boys have some news, Pop,” Mom said. She gave him and Gavin both a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to go help in the kitchen.”
She and their dads moved away, giving them privacy to talk to Pop Pop, who was still beaming over his gift from the family. He showed them both the tickets.
“You think Ireland is ready for four Collins men?” Oliver asked.
“Well, ready or not, we’re going. I can’t wait to show the boys where I grew up, my old stomping grounds.” Pop Pop shook his head as if he simply couldn’t believe it. “I never thought…well…it will be a wonderful adventure.”
Oliver looked for Erin, who was doing some sort of shimmy dance move with Colm’s wife, Kelli, even though there was no music playing.
Yep. It was already too late to include her in this.
“So. You have news?” Pop Pop asked, all ears. The old guy was a sucker for gossip.
Oliver moved closer to Gavin and wrapped his arm around his waist. “Gavin, Erin, and I are dating. We were hoping…well, we’d like to move into the apartment above the pub once it’s rebuilt. Feels like a good place to raise a family someday.”
Pop Pop’s eyes lit up, and Oliver could see the sheen of happy tears. “Well, that is good news indeed. I’ve always hoped someone would want to live in the apartment, raise their family there, like Sunday and I, but then…after the fire…”
“We’re going to rebuild it all, remember?” Gavin reassured him.
Pop Pop placed his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “I know you are, lad. And I can’t wait to see it.” Then he turned and spotted Erin across the room. She, Bubbles, and Kelli had shanghaied Riley from the kitchen, the four of them playing with the Hula-Hoop Lochlan’s adopted daughter, Chloe, had gotten for Christmas. Erin was surprisingly good.
Pop Pop chuckled. “Looks like your girl fits in with the family just fine. And I’m pleased you found yourselves an Irish lass.”