Christmas Perfection (3 page)

“You’ve done an amazing job, Skylark. The food looks wonderful.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Sky felt a swell of pride. His mother was the one who had taught him to cook. Having her compliment his food was a great feeling.

“Have you heard from your brother?”

The question startled Sky so much he nearly got the spoon stuck inside the turkey. “Mom, you know that I haven’t heard from Falcon since he left home.”

“I just hoped, what with it being Christmas and all—”

“What? That he’d get over twenty years of anger and call? And of all people, why would he call me? He blamed me for dad leaving.”

“How can you think that? Nothing that happened with your father was your fault.”

“He didn’t believe me!” Sky snapped. He could feel twenty years worth of repressed emotions bubbling up inside of him. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with his mother before Christmas dinner.

“What?” Bliss’s voice had gone very soft. She was still putting food in serving dishes, but Sky could see that her hands were shaking.

“I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“Skylark—”

“Hey, it smells great in here,” Derek announced. He stepped into the kitchen with a big smile on his face. “What can I do to help?”

“You can help me carve the turkey while Mom takes those dishes to the table,” Sky instructed. Bliss gave him a look, but she picked up the dishes and left the kitchen. Sky slumped when strong arms wrapped around his waist.

“What was that about?”

“She asked if I’d heard from Falcon.”

“Why would your brother call now when none of you have heard from him in years?”

“Because it’s Christmas and my mother seems to think that means that family should call.” Sky smiled slightly as Derek kissed his cheek.

“That’s right, it is Christmas. It’s Christmas and our hungry, yet loving, families are in the other room waiting for us. And you agreed to marry me.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Feeling his good humor rapidly returning, Sky turned in his lover’s arms and looped his arms behind Derek’s neck. “Best decision I’ve ever made.” He smiled at him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Derek replied. He pulled him closer and Sky willingly surrendered to the embrace. He tilted his head and was rewarded with a loving kiss. When they pulled away, Derek ran a finger down his nose. “So, you said you needed help with the turkey?”

“I could use your superior carving skills.”

“Well, let me at the turkey.”

“Good, you do that, and I’ll get Kristy’s bowls ready.”

“Bowls?”

“She doesn’t like her food to touch. We found that little bowls were easier than plates.”

“I thought that she only eats food that is yellow?”

“She does, but it still can’t touch.”

“Your sister’s kids are weird.”

“Yes. My sister is raising a bunch of little freaks.” Sky flinched as he was suddenly whapped on the back of the head. “Ouch.”

“Don’t talk about my grandchildren like that. They’re little darlings.” Bliss gave him a dirty look and grabbed the other serving dishes that Sky had filled.

“Freaky little darlings,” Sky muttered. He grabbed the stack of little bowls with one hand, the food coloring with the other and started getting Kristy’s dinner ready. He had no idea how Kestrel put up with her daughter’s weird food habits. By the time he finished with the bowls, Derek had the turkey carved and a selection of white and dark meat was arranged artfully on a platter. Sky was fairly certain that his mother was responsible for the placement of the turkey.

Gathering up the remainder of the food, Sky followed Bliss and Derek into the dining room. The entire group was seated around the table. Sky had to smother a laugh. When they had first moved in, he had questioned why they needed such a large table in their dining room. He finally had his answer. The table looked perfect surrounded by family.

Sky took his place at one end of the table, while Derek sat in the other and his mother sat in the empty seat next to Candice. After a quick round of thanks, they dug into the food. Katie was thrilled with her tofurkey and her special stuffing. Kristy, who had decided that Ava was her new best friend, was chatting excitedly while studying her bowls for non-yellow touching food. Thankfully, she didn’t find any. Ava had a rather impressive portion of food on her plate. It surpassed even the amount her husband had taken.

“So, Sky, would you like to tell us about that ring I noticed on your hand?” Betty asked. Sky nearly choked on the piece of turkey in his mouth. He looked up to find the entire table, including the normally easily distracted kids, staring at him.

Sky swallowed his turkey. “I’m sorry?”

“She was asking about the ring on your finger, little brother. And I have to say, I’m kind of interested as well.” Elbows on the table, Kestrel rested her chin on her crossed hands and grinned down the table at her brother.

“Elbows off the table, Mom,” Kevin said. He had given up taunting his sister with turkey and was watching the interaction of the adults. Kestrel blushed and removed her elbows from the table.

Sky glanced at Derek. His lover gave him a slight nod. Taking a deep breath, Sky addressed the assemble guests. “Derek and I are getting married.”

There was a moment of silence before the table erupted with sound. Everyone was attempting to congratulate the happy couple at once. Amidst all the chatter, Sky glanced at his lover. When he saw the smile on Derek’s face, he knew that everything would work out fine.

In fact, everything would be wonderful.

*  *  *

Derek
pulled the last dish out of the sink and listened.

Silence. The house was silent. Their families had finally gone home.

Since Sky had cooked the meal, Derek had volunteered to clean the dishes. He had been helped briefly by Bliss and his mother, but he had left the rest of the dishes until after they left. The after dinner events had mainly consisted of repeated congratulations and several board games with the children. By the time every family member had said what they wanted about the impending marriage, Sky had been so happy he had been glowing. It was a look that Derek quite liked on the other man.

Tossing the dish cloth onto the counter, Derek left the kitchen in search of his future husband. He found him sitting on the couch in front of the lit fireplace, wrapped in a blanket and looking out the window. Following his lover’s line of sight, Derek spotted snow falling outside. He took a moment to just study his lover. Sky had turned off all of the lights, so he was illuminated by the light from the fire, the window, and the still lit Christmas tree. To Derek’s eyes, he looked like something out of a storybook.

“Hey, pretty boy.”

Sky turned to him and a smile crossed his face. “Derek. Come and join me?”

“Always.” Derek crossed the room and settled under the blanket that Sky was holding up for him. He pulled Sky into his arms and wrapped the blanket back around them. “So, how do you think Christmas went?”

“I think it was a hit. Your mother already thinks we should have it here again next year.”

“Really? When did she say that?”

“While you were trying to talk Ava out of beating your brother with her Christmas present. Although, he really deserved the beating for the remark he made about how much food she ate.”

“My brother is not a smart man.” Derek kissed his lover’s neck. “I got the smarts in the family.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I got the most amazing man in the world to agree to marry me.”

“That is a very good point.” Sky turned so his head was tucked under Derek’s chin. Derek pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his silky hair. Sky responded by kissing his throat. “This was by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

“It was a good one for me, too.”

“You know we’ve only got until
maybe
New Year’s Eve before our mothers start asking us about wedding plans.”

Derek sighed and pulled Sky closer. “I know. How long do you think they’ll wait before they start telling us that we should have kids?”

“At least until after the wedding.”

“How long do you think we can put that off?”

“Well, I was kind of thinking we’d have a spring wedding.”

“Really? And when did you decide this?”

“About two months before you asked me.”

Derek laughed. “You always manage to surprise me. What would you have done if I hadn’t asked?”

“I'd probably have just kept hoping that someday you would.”

“You wouldn’t ask me to marry you?”

“You’re the brave one in this relationship, Derek, always have been. But I would like to think that for something this important I would have found the strength.”

“You are strong,” Derek replied. His mind traveled to what Sky had told him about his father. “Sometimes your strength amazes me.”

Sky yawned and snuggled closer. “Merry Christmas, Derek.”

“Do you want to go up to bed, babe?”

“No, I just want to sit here for a while. Is that okay with you?”

“Any chance to hold you in my arms is okay with me.” Derek pressed another kiss to Sky’s hair and smiled as he felt his lover drift to sleep in his arms. Outside, the snow kept falling, covering everything in a perfect blanket of white.

Staring out the window, Derek felt contentment fill him. The man he was going to spend the rest of his life with was asleep in his arms. Life was perfect.

Got
Mistletoe Madness
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The Dreamspinner Press 2009 Advent Calendar is available at
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About the Author

Between hiding from the snow in the winter and the grass in the summer,
Bethany Brown
ends up spending a rather absurd amount of time with her trusty laptop Desmond. Yes, she has named her laptop. She’s also named her car Blue, but that’s neither here nor there. While she hopes to one day be able to support herself by writing full time, she keeps herself fed with various customer service jobs, the most recent of which is at a tuxedo rental shop. Thankfully, spending the day fitting men with tuxedos helps to fuel the writing side of her brain. Other writing help includes chocolate, ice cream, and movies with cute boys. On bad days, she can usually be found sitting on her couch with a stuffed penguin watching the Donald Strachey movies. She is thrilled to have found a home with Dreamspinner and plans to stick around until she runs out of ideas. Or the Earth’s sun implodes. Whichever comes first.

Visit her blog at http://bethanybrown.livejournal.com/.

Copyright

Christmas Perfection ©Copyright Bethany Brown, 2009

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

4760 Preston Road

Suite 244-149

Frisco, TX 75034

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Paul Richmond   http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

Cover Design by Mara McKennen

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

Released in the United States of America

December 2009