Page 22 of Love and Chaos

He was halfway to the kitchen when Will broke from his shock and hurried after him. “Max and Ed were my alibi.”

“Yes, I had to make sure none of this would come back on you if, by the slimmest of chances, the police actually investigated.”

“And Kairo covered your asses with the cameras and such?”

“Of course.” Charlie set his mug and plate in the sink and turned to face Will. He drew a deep breath and braced himself. He refused to regret this, because he’d done it to defend Will and the cat he adored. However, he didn’t want to hurt his love. “Are you angry?”

Will stared at him, his face stern for only a heartbeat before the cracks finally started to show. His lips twitched and his bright ocean-blue eyes twinkled. “I should be angry. You can’t do these things.” His words were harsh, but by the end, he was giggling. Will gave up the ghost, and a huge grin spread across his lips, lightening him up so that Charlie’s heart flipped. This was why he’d done it. No other reason. Everything he did was to make the love of his life happy.

After setting the tablet on the counter, he wagged a finger at Charlie, but he was still smiling as he closed the distance between them. “No more revenge for stupid things.” Will laid his hand on Charlie’s chest right over his heart and lifted on his toes to steal a sweet kiss that warmed all the dark parts of Charlie’s soul. “But I really appreciate you getting revenge for Oscar’s wounded honor.”

“While I’m sure Oscar appreciates my efforts, I did it for you. No one is allowed to hurt you. I will always get revenge on those people.”

“You’re my personal psychopath with a wet team.”

Charlie smirked. “Love makes me a little crazy.”

Will huffed and wrapped his arms around Charlie’s neck, snuggling him. “I’ll tell Oscar to behave so we don’t keep you too busy.”

Charlie looked up into the living room where the furry genius made a grab for his tail and rolled off the sofa with a soft thud. Yeah, he was sure Oscar was going to get right on that.

WHAT’S NEXT?: A KAIRO & IZZIE SHORT STORY

“What’s next?”

Izzie whispered those two words to himself while he rode in the rear of the town car as it whisked him away from the airport toward the vineyard on a mountainside in Gaoxing. He’d just spent the past two weeks dealing with business in Athens and was in Gaoxing for the holidays. At the same time, Kairo had stopped off in London for a quick visit with his mother and then was off to do a job with Charlie, Soren, and Alexei. A small, non-dangerous job, he’d promised. Izzie believed him—Kairo always stayed safe because he was always eager to return to him.

It was just…this was the longest they’d been apart in two years.

The unexpected time apart had given Izzie time to think about their relationship and what would come next for them. They were about to celebrate their third Christmas together. They’d traveled to some interesting places around the world, spent time with his sister, and started up a new winery in Gaoxing. They did all kinds of interesting things.

Yet, now he was left wondering what was supposed to be next for them? As happy as he was with Kairo, he felt as if they’d fallen into a rut of sorts. It was a wonderful rut and if his life was going to be filled with bits of work and farms and travel like this, he was content with that so long as it always included Kairo at his side.

But in all the time they’d spent together, they’d never discussed things such as marriage and children. Of course, out of their crew of friends, the only ones to get married were Westin and Prince Jin. Not that it was a surprise. The Crown Prince of Gaoxing had certain royal obligations he needed to fulfill, not to mention promises to his father.

Charlie and Will were happy to be getting married but had no plans for kids. Soren and Alexei definitely didn’t strike him as the marrying type. They were always off on one adventure or another. Max and Ed were too busy digging for artifacts and exploring the ancient world for such things.

What about Kairo?

Was he the marrying type? Did he ever think about them starting their own family and settling in to a life of doctors’ appointments, school events, and birthday parties with cake and balloons?

Izzie lifted his gaze to the window and the black world around him, broken only by the occasional streetlamp as it flashed by the speeding car. They’d left the capital behind and were racing into the countryside. A few lights dotted the hillside from the smaller homes and farms. It was a lonely stretch made to feel even lonelier without Kairo by his side.

He picked up his phone and checked to find no new texts from his boyfriend. They were both supposed to be flying to their home in Gaoxing, but some bad weather had delayed Izzie’s flight. It was likely the same bad weather had delayed Kairo’s homecoming as well. He was probably still in the air and unable to text.

A soft sigh slipped out of Izzie as he turned his phone over, plunging the rear seat into darkness. If he arrived home ahead of Kairo, maybe he could dig out some of the Christmas decorations they’d accumulated at this home.

Gaoxing didn’t celebrate Christmas as heavily as they did in the United States or Europe, considering most of the country’s citizens were Buddhist or Shinto. However, thanks to American marketing, they’d adopted several of the holiday’s traditions. They were particularly fond of fairy lights, pretty candles, red ribbons on everything, and exchanging small homemade treats. They didn’t do Christmas trees, since most homes were rather modest in size. However, many people had taken up decorating a tree outside their home.

Maybe he could locate their boxes of decorations and drag them out so that he and Kairo could spend the day decorating for Christmas tomorrow. That quality time could also lead to a discussion of what they wanted to do with their lives together. Was Kairo interested in marriage? Kids? Did he prefer they maintain the status quo?

Yes, this was the plan. An excellent plan.

Except his amazing, wonderful, thoughtful, brilliant boyfriend was one step ahead of him already.

White lights filled the trees leading up the long, winding drive to the house, making his breath catch in his throat. Thousands of warm white lights glowed and twinkled among the trees, creating a beautiful path for the car to follow, beckoning him up to their secret hideaway.

He knew for a fact that he hadn’t hired anyone to handle putting up the lights before he’s left for Europe. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that he should be planning for Christmas. At least not until he’d been in Greece for a bit. Only then had he even thought of doing a little shopping for his family and friends.