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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CAMERON

Cameron put the last tray of his pumpkin shaped sugar cookies in the oven and set the timer.

“Ry?”

He heard the little giggle before Rylan walked in with little Emma on his hip. He moved toward Cameron and gave him a kiss, drawing another laugh from the seven-month-old.

Tickling Emma with his free hand, Rylan spoke. “You like that? Uncle Ry kissed Uncle Cameron?”

Knowing she was reacting to Rylan’s tone of voice rather than the question, Cameron still chuckled when a loud peal of laughter echoed through the kitchen. He leaned down and kissed little Emma on her cheek and she rewarded him with a tiny pat on his own.

Declan had brought his girlfriend, now wife, the year before to the barbecue to meet both of their friends and family. Tim, Eric, and Aaron had seen Declan before, when they thought Declan stood by and let his best friend insult Rylan, so they were a little wary of Rylan inviting him. But Issa broke the ice and hugged Declan and then Anna, welcoming them both to the fray. His parents came, and with all of them including Steffie and Suzy, they became one big happy family.

Rylan and Declan had grown closer after that day, getting to know each other and revealing the tough times they had with their dad. By the time Emma was born, Rylan was the proudest uncle, showering the little girl with whatever she wanted. They both offered to babysit over the Halloween weekend and sent Declan and Anna to a bed-and-breakfast in Vail, a present for their anniversary weekend.

And Rylan had gone crazy, creating several costumes for Emma to try on, taking pictures of the beautiful baby in every one, before she’d chosen the pink princess dress. She had fussed when Rylan had tried to take it off her, but he succeeded, only after she’d gone to bed the night before.

To celebrate Halloween, the trio, Suzy, Issa, Steffie, and his parents were all coming over and they would, as a group, go trick or treating with Emma. His parents also loved to spoil Emma, who had taken in Declan, Anna, and Emma as their own.

Cameron had made popcorn balls decorated in orange and black, but the night before the trio had eaten most of them and he had to remake them earlier that morning.

Not that he was complaining.

They had all graduated and with their degrees in hand, the trio decided to stay in Fort Collins. Tim worked with special needs children throughout Northern Colorado, traveling from school to school. Aaron worked with his dad as a mechanic in the garage his father owned for the past fifteen years, and Eric was the assistant football coach for the Colorado State Rams and was thinking about getting his MA in Education.

That morning, Cameron had started on the cookies. Using a pumpkin, ghost, bat, and other Halloween cookie cutter shapes, and he had decorated them with different frosting colors. Halloween was one of Rylan’s favorite holidays and with Emma staying with them; he wanted everything to be special.

They knew any candy Emma would get tonight would go to the trio, but they looked forward to seeing the decorations and the costumes throughout their neighborhood.

“Hey, Ry?”

Cameron had been thinking about the next step in their lives and hoped Rylan was ready for it.

“Yeah, love?”

“What do you think about… adopting one of our own?”

Rylan’s head jerked up and stared at Cameron. His mouth opened wide as his beautiful gray eyes filled with tears.

Unable to decipher Rylan’s thoughts, Cameron rambled, “I think it’s the perfect time. Your fall and winter collection was a gigantic success for Ruby and her company, you are less stressed than ever before, and since I freelance when I feel like it, we would have plenty of time to spend with a child of our own. And other than the charity fashion show, which was a more successful this year than the one before, we have plenty of time to spend with a child before we plan next year’s event. And you have already started the spring collection, which isn’t due for another three months. What do you think?”

Before Rylan could speak, the horde burst through the front door and filled the kitchen. He heard the boys raid the refrigerator and watched as Issa and Suzy squeezed Rylan standing on either side of him. Steffie patted Rylan on the shoulder before she snagged a plain cookie off the tray. Still, he couldn’t move his eyes away from Rylan’s, waiting for his reaction.

The room quieted as they sensed something was off.

“What’s going on with you two?” Issa asked.

Emma, who recognized Issa’s voice, squirmed in Ry’s arms and reached for Issa. Plucking her out of his arms, she held Emma close and pressed a kiss to the baby’s cheek.

“I asked Rylan if he wanted to start the adoption process and have a baby of our own?”

“Oh,” was the collective comment before they all scattered, looking for food.

Rylan wiped a tear from his cheek. “Yes, I want to have a baby with you.”

Cameron caught Rylan as he jumped into his arms. Their lips met and his tongue swooped in, needing to taste his husband, and soon they became lost in each other.