Santa’s Pucking Hat Trick (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection)

28. Roman

28

ROMAN

T hanksgiving wasn’t the same when experienced through a screen. But in the case of my family—or, well, my parents and the extended network of uncles, aunts, and cousins—this distance was better. So while all of them were gathered for dinner at my shitty grandpa’s house, I was in Mistletoe, holed up in my apartment. I had Chinese takeout spread out before me, and my baby sister’s face filled up the screen on my laptop, grinning like crazy.

“Look what Mom got me for my birthday last month, Roman,” Ava said, holding up a gaming console in a bright pink color that I knew was her favorite. “Do you have one? We could play together!”

“I’ll get one,” I assured her with a smile. “Tell me about your game.”

Ava chattered happily, and I tried my best to listen as I shoveled down some fried rice, even as the knowledge that our mom, who had always been overly critical and withholding when I was little, was now showing affection to the younger kids through extravagant gifts. To be fair, she’d never really wanted me; I was a reminder of her teen pregnancy, the mistake she claimed as the biggest one of her life. But now that she had my stepdad and a brand new last name— Barclay, which was so much fancier than my bio dad’s more abrupt Jett— she was the picture of a perfect wife and mother.

At least, that was how she appeared if you looked in from the outside. My brother Max, who was still close to a decade younger than me though he was the second-oldest of our whole brood, often called me when he needed a safe place to cry about Mom’s constant rejections. Things weren’t as perfect as they appeared.

As seven-year-old Ava passed the phone to Ryder, whose ninth birthday I had to miss because of the hockey playoffs last season, I made sure to keep my charm cranked to eleven. My five younger siblings—Max, Kendra, Ryder, Ava, and baby Elena, who we called Ellie because it was easier for a toddler to say—were the only tether I really felt to the Barclay family. I’d practically raised them, since Harry—my stepdad, their bio dad—was always working and Mom, I was pretty sure, was incapable of maternal affection. These kids deserved to know their big brother loved them at least. That I was excited to see them, even over a video call, even if I’d decided against coming home for Thanksgiving this year. Last year had been such a disaster that I refused to risk repeating it.

Once Ryder had finished telling me about how evil his teacher was in school this year and how good he was getting at hockey—“Dad says I’ll be just like you some day, Roman! You’ll see!”—I was passed off to Kendra. She was the girliest and bubbliest of the whole bunch, almost fourteen and absolutely obsessed with a Korean boy band. She didn’t know yet that I got her tickets to their concert for Christmas, and it was hard not to tell her as she gushed about their newest music video. It was the least I could do after I left all of them. Hell, maybe I was just like Mom after all. Buying their affection, their forgiveness.

When our chat finished, it was finally Max’s turn, and he was holding baby Ellie too, both of them beaming at me. Ellie was getting so big, her curly dark hair falling almost to her shoulders now.

Max grinned up at the camera, his smile a little too wide, like he was trying to hide something. I could see it in his eyes—the same look he got when he was younger and had snuck an extra cookie or borrowed my skates without asking. But this was different, more nervous than mischievous.

“Ellie misses you, Roman,” he said, bouncing her a little on his lap. She giggled, her curls bouncing along with her, and my heart clenched in that familiar way it always did when I saw my siblings. Ellie was still too young to understand how much I missed her, but Max knew. They all knew.

“I miss you guys too,” I said, leaning back in my chair, trying to get comfortable as I picked up another dumpling with my chopsticks. “How’s everything been with school? You keeping up?”

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Grades are fine. Boring stuff.” He shifted a little, glancing behind him, like he was making sure no one else could hear. “But, uh, there’s something else.”

I raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-bite. “Oh? Something more exciting than algebra?”

He flushed, looking down at Ellie for a second before meeting my gaze again. “Yeah, actually.”

Now I was intrigued. “Let it out, bro.”

He leaned in closer to the camera, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ve got a girlfriend.”

I blinked in surprise, a slow grin spreading across my face. My little brother was old enough to date all of a sudden. I could have sworn he was still playing dinosaurs with his friends on the playground. “You do?”

Max nodded, his cheeks turning even redder. “Her name’s Jenna. She’s…she’s amazing, Roman. Like, really smart and funny. And pretty.” He fumbled with his words, looking away as if he couldn’t quite handle saying it all out loud.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “That’s great, dude. I’m happy for you.”

It was weird, seeing my little brother all lovestruck like that. It hit me out of nowhere—this must be how I looked when I talked about Rachel. That same goofy, smitten expression. The thought caught me off guard. When did I start feeling that way about her? About any woman?

Max looked back at the screen, his nervousness fading now that he’d gotten his secret out. “You’d like her. She’s smart, but she doesn’t, like, talk down to you or anything. And she’s into sports too, which is cool. I mean, she doesn’t watch hockey, but I think I can get her into it.”

“Sounds like a keeper,” I said with a grin. Then, on a whim, I added, “I’ve been seeing someone too.”

Max’s eyes widened in surprise. “You? Really?”

“Yeah. She’s … well, she’s smart, sarcastic.”

“Sounds like you,” Max countered. I laughed.

“Maybe. And she’s into cars, which is pretty awesome.”

Max tilted his head, a curious glint in his eyes. “Wait, cars? Like, she’s actually into them, not just pretending?”

“Yep. Knows more about engines than I do. She’s quite a woman.”

“Whoa,” Max said, his tone full of admiration. “She sounds awesome. So…you’re happy?”

The question hung in the air for a second, and I realized that, yeah, I was happy. I hadn’t really let myself think about it too much, but being with Rachel made me feel lighter and heavier at once. Full of genuine joy that I’d never let myself experience before, always keeping things so surface level. This felt deep. But it wasn’t boring, or unappealing in any of the usual ways.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I am.”

Max gave me a grin, one that looked almost relieved. “Good. You deserve it, man. Mom and Harry don’t know how lucky they are, but I’m glad someone knows that you’re great. And not just on the ice.”

His words hit harder than I expected, and I had to swallow back the sudden lump in my throat. “Thanks, Max.”

For a moment, there was just silence, the kind that wasn’t uncomfortable but more like a shared understanding. I glanced down at the empty takeout containers on my table, my mind spinning with thoughts of Rachel. Of the way her smile made my chest feel tight, or the way she’d lean in closer when she was teasing me, like it was some kind of private joke only we got.

And then it clicked. I didn’t just want to be with Rachel for now, didn’t want to leave all of this in the past the way I did with previous affairs—I wanted her for the long haul. Every part of her, body and soul. And weirdly, it didn’t freak me out. I was ready for it. Ready for her.

But it wasn’t just about me. There was Sawyer and Wes too. They were part of this, part of us. A real team, just like we were with the Santas. Maybe we could make something real out of it. Something that lasted.

“Hey, I gotta go, buddy,” I said, clearing my throat as I tried to shake off the sudden intensity of my thoughts. “But I’ll talk to you later, okay? Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for all of you.”

Max nodded, still smiling. “Yeah, same here. Love you, Rome. And tell your girlfriend hi from your favorite brother.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Will do.”

As soon as I ended the call, I sat there for a minute, staring at my phone. The realization that I wanted Rachel long term wasn’t just some passing thought—it was solid, something I couldn’t ignore anymore. I picked up my phone and opened up the group chat I had with Wes and Sawyer. I didn’t know exactly how this would play out, but I had a plan forming. And whatever happened next, I knew one thing for sure.

I was all in.