Page 23 of Love and Chaos

This was Kairo’s doing. He knew it. That sneaky man had gotten home ahead of him.

His heart sped up as the car climbed the steep driveway and made the last turn toward the house, which was also covered in warmly glowing white lights. As the car drew to a stop, Kairo stepped outside wearing the soft cream-colored cable-knit sweater he’d bought him for their first Christmas together.

The driver hadn’t even gotten the car into park when Izzie shoved open the door and launched himself out, crashing into Kairo. A knot of unshed tears blocked his throat, and he almost choked on a sob as Kairo’s powerful arms closed around him, nearly cracking his ribs.

“Two weeks is too long,” Kairo declared in a rough voice against his throat. “Never again. We are never doing that again.”

“Okay,” was all Izzie could manage as he stood there holding the man who owned his heart. Marriage? Kids? None of that mattered. Those things would take care of themselves in time. Right now, all he wanted was to hold his boyfriend.

He didn’t know how long they’d stood there like that. Not nearly long enough. But they finally broke apart when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Kairo pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth as he released him.

“You can just leave his bags there. I’ll take them in. Be careful heading home,” Kairo admonished the driver.

That’s right. They weren’t alone.

Izzie surreptitiously rubbed his eyes as he went to turn to the driver, who offered a shallow bow before heading to the car. They didn’t keep any live-in staff at this house. There were just a few people who came in twice a week to clean. Kairo preferred to do the cooking, and they usually drove themselves. Izzie had just opted to hire a driver from the airport since he knew he was going to be too tired from the flight to drive himself safely in the dark.

“When did you get back?” Izzie asked the moment they were alone.

“Yesterday,” Kairo admitted with a wide grin. He immediately batted away Izzie’s hand as he attempted to grab the handle on one of the two bags.

“But you said you were returning today.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“You succeeded,” Izzie said with a laugh as he followed Kairo into the house.

His mouth fell open as his eyes danced over the lights that hung around their home. Red ribbons were tied everywhere in the wish for health, wealth, and good luck for the holidays and coming new year. He wandered through their home, taking in all Kairo’s hard work.

“How were you able to do all of this in a day?” he inquired.

Kairo left the bags in the hallway leading to the master bedroom and joined Izzie in the grand living room. “I had help, obviously. Charlie and Will are in town, so I put them to work. I might have hired a few of the workers from the winery to help hang the lights along the driveway, since things are so quiet in the vineyard right now.”

Regardless of how beautiful and thoughtful he found Kairo’s surprise, Izzie could feel his smile sliding from his lips. This was a serious damper on his plans. Talking about their future. It would have happened so naturally and with no pressure. At least, that was how it went in his mind.

Now, he didn’t know how to bring it up with Kairo. He would need a new plan.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“What?” Izzie snapped from his wandering thoughts and forced a fresh smile on his lips. “Nothing. I…I guess I’m just tired from travel.”

Kairo reached up and pressed a finger to the spot between his brows and rubbed what Izzie was sure were wrinkles there. “Except this isn’t your tired expression. This is your worried expression. What’s on your mind? Is everything okay with work?”

Izzie grunted and nodded. “Yes, everything is fine. I shouldn’t have to return until late winter.”

“Did you hear from Athena? Is she okay?”

Izzie’s expression softened at the mention of his brilliant sister. “She’s fine. We talked for a while on my way to the airport in Athens. She says she’s going to join us here for Christmas with her new boyfriend.”

“Got it. I’ll prepare my gun collection for a good cleaning upon his arrival.”

A snort jumped from Izzie. Ridiculous but also sweet. Since they’d begun dating, Kairo had adopted a very protective, big-brother attitude toward Athena that she both loved and hated. According to her, Kairo was too critical of her boyfriends, but neither Kairo nor Izzie thought anyone was good enough for Athena.

Kairo took Izzie’s hand and pulled him to the kitchen. He sat him on one of the stools at the center island and turned to the stove. Without another word, he filled the kettle with water and placed it on a burner. He pulled down Izzie’s favorite mug—the one that had a couple of penguins on it. As the water heated, Kairo located Izzie’s favorite loose-leaf tea and prepared the diffuser with it.

“How do you always know what I need?” Izzie murmured as he watched Kairo silently work. He might adore the Christmas decoration Kairo specifically prepared for his arrival, but it was this moment right here, preparing his tea—something Kairo had done for him dozens of times in the past two years—that made him fall in love all over again with this man.

“Hot tea makes you feel safe and cozy,” Kairo replied, a gentle grin pulling up the corners of his lips. “It’s easier to get you to talk about things bothering you when you’re feeling safe and cozy.”