Page 347

Nick sighed, taking the cup in hand. “You told them.”

“I did. But since they weren’t exactly shocked, I’m guessing they knew a lot before.”

“They did,” Nick muttered into his cup.

Matt nodded. “Good, I’m glad you could talk to someone about it.”

Nick watched Matt pull out plastic containers from the fridge and set them on the counter. With a grin, Matt patted his hip and walked out, and the sound of rummaging quickly followed. Nick shook his head, unable to help his smile as he stood in the kitchen, dutifully drinking his coffee.

“Oh,” came Matt’s voice. “Those devils.”

Nick raised a brow as he took another sip, waiting. He only had to wait a few seconds before hearing a soft beep. Another moment and another beep, and then came the sound of Christmas music.

Matt popped around the corner, holding up a small, colorful cylinder. “Bluetooth speaker!”

Nick laughed as Matt disappeared. Of course, his sisters had heard about Matt’s obsession with the Christmas season. And, of course, they had figured he would have Christmas music downloaded onto his phone. Nick was not in the least bit surprised to hear Jingle Bell Rock, and he was sure Matt was eagerly hopping up to start throwing decorations all over the place.

Not one to miss a good show, Nick refilled his cup with the strong brew and exited the kitchen. Stepping into the living room, he stopped at the doorway. Matt had started on the small fireplace with a sparkling garland while a small string of lights waited on the couch.

Matt glanced over his shoulder as the music played softly. He grinned, eyes sparkling with delight as he taped the garland to drape in swoops over the mantelpiece.

“They spoil you,” Nick said fondly.

“You’re worse,” Matt pointed out.

Which was true, but Nick only smiled as he watched his friend. It felt so domestic, watching Matt eagerly string up Christmas decorations as Nick watched on with a cup of coffee. It was exactly what he always loved about them, even if part ofhim wished it had started with a gentle kiss and maybe a bit of roaming hands. They had always done domestic so well, that comfortable intimacy that made the everyday things so easy to do together.

Matt grabbed the lights. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how guilty are you feeling about kissing me last night.”

And the magic was gone.

Nick grimaced. “Ten seems like a rather small number.”

Matt snorted. “I figured.”

“It wasn’t…” Nick began, looking down at his bare feet.

“Right?” Matt guessed.

“Yeah.”

“You act like you pinned me down and forced yourself on me, Nick.”

“It was only missing a few steps before practically being that.”

Matt started fixing the string of lights after evaluating their proper position. “You wouldneverdo anything to me against my will. And you would never do anything to hurt me.”

“And yet?—”

“You didn’t hurt me, Nick, or upset me. You upset yourself more than anything.”

Nick frowned. “You didn’t exactly look thrilled.”

Matt laughed merrily. “You took me off-guard. That’s not the same thing as doing something wrong.”

Nick glared at his cup of coffee. “You make it sound like what I did was okay.”

There was a pause. “Maybe it was.”