Page 40 of Holiday Wishes and Tentacle Dreams

“Don’t distract me, jerk. I know all your little games. Invite your person down. Hell, invite their whole family.”

“Doren’s family probably has its own traditions, so–”

“Doren, huh? What an unusual name!” Shit. He hadn’t meant to let that slip out. “Well, I bet Doren’s family would appreciate an incredible home-cooked meal. And no beau wants to be without their sweetie on Christmas day.”

Jake ground his teeth together. “Please stop calling Doren my ‘beau.’ It makes me feel like I’m in a Tennessee Williams play. And are you sure you want an entire group of people there? Not that I necessarily think they’ll say yes, but your house isn’t that big. What ifyourparamours want to be there? What about poor Fred?”

His grandmother scoffed, and Jake poured coffee into the biggest mug he could find. He guessed this would be a three-pot day.

“Fred has a spinster sister he’ll be spending Christmas with. Besides, he’s just a fuck-buddy.”

“Gram!” Jake spat out the mouthful of coffee he’d sipped before she delivered that bombshell.

“Hush, honey. Just ask Doren about joining us.”

“Fine, I will.” The worst part was that he couldn’t lie to her. If he neglected to ask, she’d know, and she’d call him out on it. “See you next week. I love you.”

“Love you, baby.” Gram hung up on him, and he sucked down several gulps of coffee. There wasn’t enough Java in the world to deal with his stubborn grandmother.

“Will what?” Doren’s voice behind him made his shoulders slump. Couldn’t he get just a few minutes of coffee time before having to navigate this conversation? It looked like the answer was no.

Jake turned and faced his sweet “beau,” who was clothed in a blue-and-white striped bathrobe that must have been left in thebathroom for guests. Jake hadn’t even noticed it before, but he was thankful for it now. It revealed Doren’s shapely legs in an absolutely scandalous way. Thank goodness for tall lovers and short bathrobes.

“I promised Gram that I’d invite you for Christmas dinner. And your whole family.”

Doren stared at him blankly. “I don’t…”

“It’s fine if the answer is ‘no.’” Jake pulled out another mug to make coffee for his lover. “My grandmother is pushy, but she’s not mean. She’s just interested in my life, and she’d want to make sure your family felt included, especially if they didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Doren reached out and took the mug from Jake’s hand and sipped the hot liquid, confusion camping out in his eyes.

“I’m uncertain they’d be willing. Even if I could convince them to ascend to the surface, Massachusetts is much further from their home than Linwood Falls.”

Jake reached out and wrapped his arms around Doren’s waist, kissing the alien on the cheek even as he held his mug away from them to avoid spillage. “It’s not a big deal if they don’t come.”

Doren nodded, but didn’t seem convinced. “Ever since Ren…”

Stepping back, Jake stared deep into Doren’s eyes. “Who’s Ren?”

Sinking down onto a kitchen chair, Doren tapped at the wooden tabletop. “They are my father’s sibling. They miscalculated and exposed themself to the wrong person, who contacted the human police. Ren was attacked. Shot at and injured quite severely. They haven’t returned to the surface since. They haven’t been the same.”

Pulling up another chair to sit right next to Doren, Jake kissed their neck. “I’m so sorry, baby. That’s awful. You were so brave to tell me about your species.”

“Well, if you recall, I didn’t have a choice,” Doren said, chuckling. “Bard became inebriated and blew my cover. But it would be a positive development for my parents to leave the depths. If they met the family of the man I’m falling for, that would be even better.”

An explosion of warmth spread through Jake at Doren’s words, and he immediately covered it with a joke. “Oh, really? And who’s that?”

“You, you jerk!” Doren slapped Jake’s arm gently before kissing him. The kiss was warm and sweet, a promise of many more to come.

“Do you think you’ll ask them?” Jake studied Doren’s face as he asked the question. The idea unsettled Doren. Jake could tell.

“Yes.” Doren ran their thumb over the top of Jake’s hand. “But I shall do it the day before. The more time they have to ponder the issue, the more likely it is they’ll back out.”

Jake nodded, and Doren said nothing more. Their eyes were unfocused, and Jake was sure they were perseverating on the things their family might say.

That wasn’t helpful, so Jake made fierce eye contact with Doren, speaking in a low, intense tone. “I’m falling in love with you too, by the way.”

Turning beet red, Doren’s breath hitched at Jake’s words. It was the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long, long time.