Naughty & Nice (Merry Elf-Mas 2)

Chapter 20

Damon

E pilogue

One Year Later…

The past year had been a total whirlwind. After the new year, Angel and I had broken our lease and moved in with Rolly. It was crazy; we knew that, but we didn’t care. Rolly was our forever, and we wanted to be with him always. So we’d moved in and begun our life together.

Things at work had picked up for me and I’d been ultra busy. Who knew a mall could hold so many events? Outside of holidays, we held events for shop openings, anniversaries, and community events. It had been cuckoo for coco puffs and I’d loved every second of it.

While I’d been busy with my career, Angel and Rolly had been putting everything into the flower shop. The building had been renovated to fit Angel’s needs and Rolly had painted a small mural behind the check-out counter. That had garnered a ton of attention. So much so that Rolly was booked out with commissions through the next year.

After all the blood, sweat, and tears, Angel was finally opening his store. As I looked around at all our friends and family gathered outside for this big event, I was filled with pride. My Grumpy Cat had worked hard and the number of people here supporting him showed that.

As I mingled with the crowd, I saw all of our fellow elves had all come with their boyfriends. I guess Santa had doubled as Cupid last year to bring all these couples together. Vic caught my eye and waved. I waved back but had to keep moving. It was almost time to cut the ribbon on the door.

Molly and Polly were chasing after their girls and Flora while Jack and Holli were dealing with their new twins, Solly and Dolly. It was odd to not see Lolly in the mix, but she was in Cancun on her honeymoon. She had eloped with Jack’s best friend, Will. I was glad to see her finding some happiness after the rough summer we’d all had.

For all we had to celebrate, life wasn’t without its tragedies. In early August, Aunt Dolly had gone to join Uncle Solly. She’d passed in her sleep from a brain aneurysm. The family had been devastated to lose our matriarch.

Angel and I had rallied around Rolly as he’d grieved the loss of the woman he’d seen as his second mother. I’d never been more thankful that we’d met than I had been then. I didn’t want to imagine what would have happened to my Master if we hadn’t been there for him.

Especially when that harpy Colly had shown up at the funeral. Just thinking of how she’d shown up and made a scene made my blood boil. Acting like a filial child, all for the sake of appearances. Then demanding to see Aunt Dolly’s will. If Jack hadn’t stepped in and shut her down, then I worried Rolly would have done something criminal. Jack had sent her packing with a warning to never set foot in Frostdale again. It had been glorious.

That was all behind us now. Today, we were celebrating Angel. I reached the storefront and found my men waiting for me. Seeing them together always made my heart skip a beat, and I hoped that it always would. They were talking to Hutch, who seemed kind of on edge. I wondered what made him so twitchy.

Sneaking up behind Angel, I pounced and wrapped him in a hug from behind. He yelped, and I barely missed taking an elbow to the face. “Whoa, Grumpy Cat. It’s me.”

He turned and gave me a sour look. “You know better than to do that, you goofy mutt. I could have hurt you.”

I stroked his cheek before kissing his forehead. “Nah, you’d never do that.”

“Yeah, so I’ll see you guys in a couple of minutes.” Hutch beat a hasty retreat and joined Benny in the crowd.

I looked after him, filled with curiosity. Rolly chuckled and ruffled my hair. “You’ll find out soon enough, Pup.”

It made me happy how sometimes Rolly could read my mind. My phone went off, then a reminder it was time to start the show. I kissed each of my guys on the cheek before picking up my mini megaphone. “Attention, everyone. Can we all settle down, please?” All eyes were on me as a hush fell over the crowd. “Thank you. Welcome, everyone, to the grand opening of The Jolly Florist shop.” Applause filled the air. “I’m now going to turn things over to the owner, my beloved Angel.”

More cheers rang out as I stepped back and handed the megaphone to Angel. He was looking a little green but stepped forward, anyway. “Um, h-hi everyone. I, um, I’m not good at public speaking.” He scratched at the back of his head and shuffled from foot to foot. “I just want to thank everyone who made this possible. Thanks to Jack and his team for helping me with the space and ordering everything. That was a massive help.”

“You’re welcome.” Jack’s voice rose over the crowd and brought about peels of laughter.

“I also wanted to thank all the new friends and family I’ve met since returning to Frostdale. I never understood the phrase it takes a village until now. So thanks everyone.”

“We love you, Angel Cake.” It was still weird how Billy and Angel had become such good friends. A little honesty went a long way, it seemed.

Angel chuckled and gave him a wave. “I want to give a very special thank you to my boyfriends, Damon and Rolly.” He turned and held out his hand for the two of us to hold. “They have been my rock through this whole process, and none of this would have happened without them. I love you both so much.”

A chorus of Aws rang out and someone started up a chant of, “Kiss Them.” Angel’s ears were red as beets and not just from the cold. To put him out of his misery, I swooped in and planted one on him. Rolly came in right behind me as the crowd cheered.

While Angel was rebooting, I reached for the megaphone to declare the shop open. I was surprised at Rolly taking the speaker instead and giving me a wink. “Before we open the shop, we have a little surprise. Hutch.”

Hutch, who’d been standing at the front of the crowd next to Benny, dropped onto one knee and took Benny’s hand. “Bun, from the moment we met, you knew you were the one for me. I racked my brain trying to think of the perfect way to ask you this, but I can’t wait anymore. I want to make you mine as soon as possible.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. “Benny, will you make me the luckiest man in the world and become my husband?”

Tears were streaming down Benny’s face as he choked on his sobs. He dropped onto his knees and hugged Hutch to him. “Yes! Always! I love you so much!”

Cheers erupted as Hutch slid the ring onto Benny’s finger and they shared a deep, passionate kiss. I was cheering and clapping so hard for my friends. This must have been what Hutch had spoken to my sneaky men about. I looked at Angel with a knowing smile, and he shrugged at me. “I made him promise to get all the flowers for the wedding at my shop and maybe set up some kind of contract with his family’s tree farm. It’s just a business thing. You know, good publicity.”

My Grumpy Cat couldn’t fool me. He’d been excited to help our friend with his proposal. He acted all cranky, but I knew he was a romantic softie at heart. I pulled him into a quick kiss before turning toward the crowd. “All right, everyone. Let’s go inside and see this fancy shop.”

“What a day.” I trudged into the house and shed all my outwear. It felt so good to be home. I was going to change into my pajama pants, order some food for us, and veg out on the couch. The store opening had been a success, which I was thrilled about. It had taken a lot out of me, though.

Angel walked past me and faceplanted on the couch, still in his coat. “I’m dead.”

“You are not. Now get up and take your coat off.” Rolly had been oddly quiet on the drive home but didn’t miss a beat when it came to being our Master.

“Damon.” Angel whined and flopped around on the couch. “Undress me. I’m too tired to move.”

I snickered and headed for the steps. “You heard Master. You’d better listen before you get in trouble. Again.”

The sound of more grumbling followed me up to the bedroom. I did a quick change and ordered Chinese at the same time before heading back down to the living room.

Having done as he was told, Angel was sprawled on the couch with his head in Rolly’s lap. Rolly was staring off into space as he ran his fingers through Angel’s hair.

“I ordered food. So it should be here soon.” I lifted Angel’s feet and took a seat.

A hum of acknowledgment came from Angel as I rubbed his feet. I grew concerned when I didn’t receive a reply from Rolly. I looked over and he was still gazing off into the distance. What was he thinking so hard about? “Master?”

He gave his head a shake and turned his eyes on me. “Sorry, Pup. What did you say?”

“I said I ordered food.” I stopped what I was doing to reach over and take his hand. “Is everything okay?”

Angel had gotten interested now and sat up. “Master?”

Rolly smiled and took each of our hands. A kiss was placed on the back of Angel’s, then mine. “Sorry to make you worry, boys. I’ve just been thinking about something.”

“And what’s that?” Angel leaned in to Rolly, not giving him an inch. “We’re here for you, Rolly. Let us carry the burden, too.”

Rolly stole a kiss, and his smile widened. “Thanks, Kitten.” He sighed and shook his head. “When Hutch proposed today, it got me thinking about our future.” He locked eyes with us and there was a determined glint in their depths. “Legally, the three of us can’t be married, but I do want to hold a ceremony to show the world you’re both mine.”

“Rolly.” My heart skipped a beat. He was basically proposing to us. Holy crow, he was proposing!

“But there’s another matter we need to discuss.” His face fell and my worry from before came back full force. “If something were to happen to me, I want you to have my military benefits, but to do that, I have to be legally married to one of you.”

Oh, damn. Now I see why he was being so pensive. How could he possibly choose between us? Silence filled the room as we all let that bomb settle. I knew Rolly had to feel torn, but I had the answer. “You should marry Angel.”

“What? No. He should marry you.” Angel whirled to face me with a look that dared me to argue with him. Well, this was a fight I wasn’t letting him win.

“Think about it, Angel. We already have things in place for you to take care of me, but we didn’t do that for you. What if something happens and some dumbass calls your dad? He’d have the right to decide what happens to you.” Angel blanched, and I knew I’d won. “But if you were married to Rolly, he would have say and no one else.”

Rolly stroked his head to calm him. “I’m sure we can get Jack to help us draw up papers that give us all rights to each other.”

Angel still looked unconvinced, but after a moment, he nodded. “Okay, if you’re both sure.”

“I am one hundred percent sure. This changes nothing between us. It’s the three of us always.” I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze.

“I’m with Damon. On paper, it’s just the two of us, but in our hearts we know the truth.” He cupped our cheeks with tenderness in his eyes. “So what do you say, boys? Do you want to get married?”

“Yes!” With that, my heart was filled to bursting with joy, and I was home with the men I loved.

The End