A whimper escaped his lips.
“Stop it,” Amanda hissed at him.
“He might be whispering sweet nothings into another man’s ear right this very minute and no... one... cares!” he wailed.
“If he’s sticking his dick in another man’s ass, I’ll shoot him myself,” Max growled.
“Oh.” That outburst was surprising, coming from Max. “Thank you for defending my honor,” he purred and batted his eyelashes at the man.
“It’ll be self-preservation. Because there’s no way I can listen to you whine like this the rest of our lives.”
“Teddy, you need to stop fussing.” Amanda also sounded like she was losing patience with him. “Adam is not cheating. He loves you. He’s trying to make detective, so he’s going above and beyond right now.”
“Yeah, what my smart wife said,” Max said. “Now, can we please enjoy this walk in silence?”
“Maybe we should be singing some carols while we walk to drown out the yipping coyotes,” Ron suggested from up front.
“What coyotes?” Teddy asked in a panic. “See? The coyotes could hunt Adam down and eat him like a snack. Because he is a snack. But he’s my snack.”
“Oh good lord,” Amanda muttered.
Teddy cupped a hand around the side of his mouth and yelled, “Adam! Are you out there? Are you lost? I’m here, lover! Call my name.”
“Teddy!” Adam’s sister, Jet, yelled back to him. “You’re ruining a perfectly peaceful winter walk. My brother is fine.”
“Did you hear from him?”
Jet rolled her eyes and kept walking. Well, fine, then, if she didn’t give a hoot about her brother.
Up ahead, Ron waved his arm in the air and the pack hooked a left.
“I’m not sure why we’re only walking through rows of trees. That’s all we can see. Trees, snow and looming death!”
Amanda jerked his arm as they cut through a couple rows, the snowy evergreen branches brushing against them and sending a cloud of crystals up into the cold air.
As they broke into a small clearing, Teddy stumbled to a stop. Amanda released his arm and moved out of his way so he could have a clear view of the open circle.
His heart began to drum a beat in his chest.
Little white lights, strung in the trees around the perimeter, were lit under the dusting of snow, creating a soft glow, even in the daylight.
Rainbow-colored rose petals were sprinkled on top of the snow-covered ground.
Teddy sucked in a breath of frigid late December air.
Kaleidoscope roses! He had talked about getting them for his wedding bouquet. But they were spread all over the ground instead. Who would do such a thing?
“Oh... my... God!” he squeaked and slapped a hand over his mouth as his fiancé appeared between two snow-covered evergreens. Adam looked as handsome as ever in a well-fitted dark suit with a boutonniere made of a single kaleidoscope rose and tuft of baby’s breath.
What the hell was going on?
His lover held a small bouquet of the same colorful roses in one hand.
Teddy tried to swallow, but he couldn’t. He was too choked up.
“Did I die on the walk? Is this gay heaven?” he managed to ask Amanda.
“Yes. You made it in,” she answered. She lifted her chin towards Adam. “Go claim your eternal reward.”
“Is this what I think it is?” he whispered, his voice beginning to thicken as his fiancé moved to stand under an arch made of dried woven vines and covered in twinkling white lights and evergreen boughs.
“It’s actually a sacrifice. And we volunteered you,” Amanda told him. “There’s a pentagram drawn under the snow. Max, grab him so he doesn’t escape.”
Teddy laughed through the tears that were building and shoved Amanda gently. As she took a step back to catch her balance, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, hugging her close. “You helped do this, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” she murmured. “But we all played a part.”
“Was this why he was on the phone so much?”
“Yes.”
“I never thought it would happen,” Teddy whispered.
“I know,” she whispered back.
“Adam really loves me.”
“Of course he does. We told you that. He told you that. You were the idiot who questioned it when no one else did. Now, go get your husband. He’s waiting.”
He released his bestest friend in the whole wide world and squealed, “Oh... em... gee! I’m getting hitched!”
“Not if you don’t go over there!” Amanda yelled at him, giving him a push.
Chuckles rose around the circle where everyone he loved and the most important people in his life stood. Waiting. Watching. Ready to witness Adam and him get married. To commit to each other for the rest of their lives.
To start a family of their own.
Adam was putting a ring on it.
Finally.
Best. Christmas. Ever.
He clapped quickly and skipped over to where Adam stood waiting patiently, lifting the bouquet as Teddy got closer. Teddy snatched it up and put the roses to his nose, inhaling their delicate scent.
They were perfect.
This was perfect.
Everyone in that circle loved and supported them. And it was a bit overwhelming.
A tear slid down his cheek.
“Teddy bear,” Adam murmured, using his thumb to wipe it away. “Be happy.”
“I am.”
“Are you surprised?”
“Floored. You look so handsome and I’m just in these rags. If I would’ve known, I would’ve dressed in my best.” Teddy waved a hand over his clothes.
Adam rolled his suck-you-in-and-never-let-you-go blue eyes. “You’re never in rags. And if you would’ve known, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.” Adam grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. Teddy, of course, did not resist getting up close and personal with his lover. “I love you, Teddy bear,” he whispered.
And didn’t that cause another tear to leak from his eye? “I love you, too, lover. I can’t believe you pulled this off.”
“This isn’t everything. I have more surprises.”
Teddy’s mouth gaped open. “What? More than making me your husband?”
“Yes. But they have to wait. We need to say our vows first.”
That sounded like music to Teddy’s ears. He was beginning to think this day would never come. It did. “Do you have rings?”
“Of course. I want everyone to know you’re taken.”
“I want everyone
