“This break will do them good. Not just them but the rest of the guys. Did you see Leo’s face light up when he saw that the mayor looked like Santa? I can’t with him. He’s too freaking adorable.” Ace pulled Colton close and kissed him. “Trust me, sweetheart. This is going to be the perfect Christmas. I know it.”

  Colton wrapped his arms around his husband and returned the kiss, letting himself get lost in Ace’s love and strength. Ace was right. Once they arrived and everyone saw the beauty of Winterhaven, they’d loosen up and get into the holiday spirit.

  Winterhaven spent months preparing for the Christmas season, knowing that hundreds of people would flock to their charming town every year to experience the perfect Christmas. The town had been featured multiple times in magazines and had thousands of glowing reviews, which was impressive, especially since the worst reviews people could come up with were things like “it was too cold” or “the snow wasn’t white enough.”

  The entire town would be painstakingly decorated, and the Ice Castle would host all of the Christmas events, from a hot chocolate contest to ornament decorating and, of course, meeting Santa and his reindeer. There was so much to look forward to. Colton couldn’t wait to go for a romantic sleigh ride with his sweetheart. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

  Maybe he’d get his perfect Christmas after all.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Right on time.

  Everyone arrived at the airport on schedule, and as Ace expected, their luggage could have easily had its own plane. He was sure Fitz had more suitcases than all the Kings combined. Speaking of Fitz….

  Ace arched an eyebrow at Jack as Fitz took his seat, or at least attempted to. “Where’s your boyfriend, Jack? Did you exchange him for a giant Pomeranian?”

  Fitz stopped struggling and narrowed his eyes at Ace. “Very funny.”

  “Fitz!” Ace put a hand to his chest and feigned a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. For a moment there, I thought Duchess had a new playmate.”

  “Babe,” Jack said gently. “Maybe take off your coat until we get there?”

  “What if I get cold? Oh, wait.” Fitz opened his designer carry-on duffle bag and pulled out a thick, fluffy blanket. “Never mind. I’m good.”

  “How…? That blanket is bigger than the bag. How did you fit it in there?” Ace stared at the duffle and then the blanket. It should not have been possible, and it looked like he had more stuff in the bag. A lot more. “Does physics not apply to you?”

  Jack snickered. “Fitz is a master packer. I can fit twice as much stuff when he packs my bags.”

  Ace marveled at how Fitz folded and stuffed the fluffy coat into the black hole that was his bag. It clearly contained some kind of vacuum because that was the only logical explanation.

  “When working in the fashion industry, I had to travel a lot, which meant hauling around my equipment and wardrobe. I became an expert.” Fitz sat, fastened his seatbelt, then snuggled up to Jack under his blanket.

  “How are you cold?” Lucky asked as he sat next to Mason in the row across from them. “We are not in the mountains yet. This is still Florida. It’s eighty degrees outside.”

  “And in here, it’s freezing,” Fitz replied. “If everyone stopped setting their air conditioners to ‘arctic,’ maybe I wouldn’t have to wear sweaters in Florida.”

  “Everyone buckled up?” Colton asked as he took his seat next to Ace. He received eleven yeses and three barks. Ace laughed. He couldn’t wait to see how the dogs handled the snow. He was certain they were going to lose their furry minds since none of them had ever experienced snow before.

  With everyone strapped in and ready to go, Larry, their flight attendant, went through all the safety procedures while the pilots prepared for takeoff. Before long, they were in the air, leaving the palm trees and humidity behind. Ace glanced out the window and sighed.

  “It seems like only yesterday I was traveling commercial with the rest of the common folk.”

  Joker snorted from his seat across from Lucky. “You’re ridiculous.” He turned his attention to Colton. “You should have seen him when we had to fly commercial down to Key West that week you were in New York. The pouting was epic, and like the man-child he is, he complained about everything the entire flight.”

  “They didn’t give us any food!”

  “We were on that plane for maybe an hour, probably less.”

  “I almost starved to death,” Ace said, hand on his stomach. He gave Colton his puppy eyes. “It was a very traumatic experience. The mean lady on the plane tried to give me crackers, Colton. Crackers. Now that I think about it, she might have just pulled a packet of saltines from her purse. Who carries saltine crackers in their purse?”

  Colton gasped dramatically. “How dare she! My poor darling. I’m so sorry you were subjected to such cruelty. Larry will bring you some Doritos.”

  Ace thrust a thumb up at Larry. “Thanks, Larry!”

  Larry smiled, amused, and removed a bag of Doritos from the snack cabinet. He promptly brought them over to Ace.

  “Seriously?” Joker shook his head at him. “You can’t go ten minutes without snacking?”

  Ace popped a Dorito into his mouth and crunched loudly. “Delicious. And no. I can’t. A body like this needs sustenance.”

  “Right. I didn’t know Doritos were part of the four major food groups.”

  Jack groaned. “Why? Why would you do that to us?”

  Ace promptly went on to explain in great detail how Doritos were, in fact, part of the four major food groups. At least some of the ingredients that made up Doritos were in their original form. The amount of research he’d resort to in order to one-up his brothers knew no bounds.

  The flight took less than four hours. Ace felt the excitement building up among Colton and the rest of the significant others, who were often lovingly referred to as the Boyfriend Collective. His brethren still seemed a little uncertain, probably because they hadn’t gotten the chance to overthink everything to death.

  On the job, they made countless split-second decisions, many concerning dangerous situations, and much like when they’d served, King often gave the orders, which they followed.

  In their personal lives? It was like herding cats. Their significant others weren’t former military. Most of the time, the Boyfriend Collective went with the flow, but Ace and his brothers valued their lives too much to give Fitz an order. He might be a cinnamon roll wrapped in cashmere, but he would cut a bitch. The guy had worked with models for a living. Ace knew firsthand how dangerous models could be. He shuddered at the memory of the beach incident. So many hangry models had latched onto him. They had very poky elbows.

  When they landed at the municipal airport, an Airbus helicopter awaited them. The transfer was seamless, with Fitz seeming to have somehow magically teleported from the plane onto the helicopter because he was in his seat before anyone else. Either that, or he’d broken the speed barrier in an attempt not to let the winter air touch him.

  Before they knew it, they’d landed on the helipad outside the log mansion Colton had rented. When the blades stopped moving and the doors opened, a black blur flashed by, and Ace laughed.

  As he’d expected, Chip was the first to lose his furry mind. He went from bouncing like a rabbit through the snow and full-on zoomies to rolling around and chomping at the falling snow. Duchess was a little more cautious, sniffing the snow before setting her dainty booted paws in it. Then, all bets were off.

  Duchess might be a pretty princess, but she was still a dog, and her first encounter with snow had her bounding all over the place at full speed. Meanwhile, Cookie alternated from rolling around in the snow to digging, flinging snow everywhere. Laz got it all on film, with their laughter providing background noise. Although the dogs had their winter boots and coats on, it was their first time in the snow and in such a cold environment, so they headed toward the house.

  Ace stood out front, gaping. “I have no words.”

  “It’s a Christmas miracle!” Joker would have managed to avoid Ace’s punch to the arm if he hadn’t been almost waist-deep in snow. Short-ass jerk.

  Shaking himself out of it, Ace kissed Colton’s cheek. “Love, this place is amazing.”

  It was like something out of a Christmas movie. To complete the image, the huge log and stone mansion stood against a starry night sky surrounded by snow-covered pine trees and the mountains off in the distance.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Colton’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Our room is the main bedroom on the top floor.” He turned to everyone else. “They’ll drop off our bags in our rooms. Every couple has been assigned a room with your names on the door plaques. But before we go inside, I thought we might pop down into town and have a quick look around.”

  Laz was already taking a million photos. “That sounds like a great idea!”

  They split into two groups, each climbing into one of the enormous seven-seater luxury SUVs parked in the driveway. King drove, with Leo sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Ace and Colton sat behind them, with Chip and Duchess on the floor in between them. Jack, Fitz, and Joker sat in the back seat. Gio and Cookie had gone in the second SUV with the others.

  As they drove, Ace looked out the window. “I know there’s supposed to be a lot of snow in the mountains, but damn.”

  Colton nodded. “It’s from the snowstorm, remember? Shut everything down for days.”

  “Fitz, what are you doing?” Joker grunted. “Other than trying to drown me in the fluff of your coat?”

  “I’m trying to get into Jack’s coat for warmth.”

  Ace laughed. “What? You have more layers than a Jawbreaker.”

  “What’s a Jawbreaker?” Leo asked.

  Joker poked Ace in the back of the head. “Ha! You’re old.”

  “We’re from the same generation.”

  “But I’m younger at heart.”

  “What’s a Jawbreaker?” Leo repeated.

  Ace did a quick search on his phone to show Leo. “It’s a huge round ball of hard candy with a million layers.”

  “A hundred,” Jack corrected. “It has a hundred layers.”

  Of course, Jack would know that. “Thanks, nerd.”

  “Why would you want to eat candy that’s so hard it can break your jaw?” Leo wrinkled his nose. “I’ll stick to my Swedish Fish.”

  “You know, they make chocolate-covered Swedish Fish,” Joker said, his grin wicked.

  Leo narrowed his eyes. “That is an offense to Swedish Fish everywhere.”

  Never mess with a man’s fish-shaped snacks.

  When they arrived in town, they parked at the end of the main street. Ace thought he’d had an idea of what they were in for, but the reality had blown that preconception out of the water with C4.

  It was like they’d been transported into one of Colton’s favorite Christmas movies. Winterhaven resembled an old European village, with pitched roofs on stone homes to cobblestone streets. The main street was lined with old-fashioned lampposts wrapped in holly, and the shop windows were decorated and lit up with twinkling lights. Along the sidewalk, decorated wood stalls looked to be set up to sell everything from Christmas sweaters to ornament painting kits.

  Jack gasped. “Holy Hallmark movies, Batman.”

  “What fresh snowy hell is this?” Joker whispered.

  Colton’s smile faded slightly, and Ace wanted to smack his friends. He needed to give them a good talking to before they stuck their boots in it any deeper.

  “Oh my Chanel, look at those sweaters!” Fitz squealed. “I need them!”

  “You’re cute.” Ace caught Gio’s eye and motioned to Colton. Gio nodded.

  “Colt, did you see the hot cocoa stall? I need some. You have to help me choose because you know I’ll never be able to. Ooh, I bet they have peppermint!”

  Colton laughed. “That sounds like a great idea.”

  Leo gasped. “That stall has a Goldfish Cracker ornament!” A puff of snowy air was all that remained where Leo had stood.

  This was perfect! “Laz, why don’t you go with Leo? King will be right there.”

  “Sure. It looks like they have a camera ornament, too.” Laz turned to Mason. “Look, Cowboy! They have a cowboy hat with mistletoe on it.”

  Mason laughed and joined Laz and Leo.

  As soon as the boyfriends were off, Ace whirled to face his brothers-in-arms. “Alright, asshats. You listen, and you listen good. Colton makes me watch all the small-town, sweeter-than-molasses Christmas movies every year. I watch them happily because my husband loves them, and I love my husband.”

  “Which has what to do with us?” Joker asked.

  “It has everything to do with you. Colton has been dreaming about having one of those TV small-town Christmases for years, so you Scrooges will embrace the holiday spirit and love every freaking minute of it, or I will make your lives a living nightmare. Do you understand me?”

  Lucky put a finger up. “But Ace—”

  “I don’t want to hear it, Eduardo. You’ll wear the ugly Christmas sweaters, decorate cookies, drink hot chocolate, make Christmas cards, enter the snowman-building contest, and be so filled with Christmas spirit that you’ll be crapping tinsel.”

  “That doesn’t sound sweeter than molasses to me,” Joker muttered.

  “Shut it. You’re going to do all the holiday things, and you’re going to do it with smiles on your faces because my husband has been there for every one of us without so much as a second thought. Colton deserves this, and guess what? So do your boyfriends for putting up with all your crap year-round.”

  “Harsh,” Jack grumbled. “I’m—”

  “A giant computer nerd who goes to comic book conventions and gets excited over the latest tech, and your sweet-as-apple-pie boyfriend loves you so much that he doesn’t just make your costumes, he goes to those conventions with you and dresses up with you and listens to you go on and on about a bunch of tech stuff he doesn’t understand. He’s the first to show up when someone needs a hug and makes soup for everyone when they get sick. Sweaters in ninety-degree heat aside, Fitz is a cinnamon roll of goodness and gossip.” Ace turned to Red.

  “Laz hasn’t just been there for you during PTSD episodes. He’s gone to therapy sessions with you to learn how to best help you when you have an episode. He’s happily documented every special event and created incredible family portraits and albums. When one of your dads fell off that ladder while putting up hurricane shutters, and you were stuck in Key West, who rushed him to the hospital and stayed with him until you got back?”

  Red smiled warmly. “Laz did.”

  “That’s right. Because he is there for you at the drop of a hat.” Ace turned to King. “You never thought you’d fall in love, much less find someone as amazing as Leo. No one makes you laugh like that adorable genius. You two understand each other in a way none of us do. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you and the only one who can get you out of your funk when you’re being a miserable bastard.” Ace narrowed his eyes at Lucky. “And cousin, that cowboy deserves a street named after him for putting up with your overdramatic ass.”

  “Excuse me? I’m overdramatic?”

  “Yeah, it runs in the family, but Mariah Carey and Beyoncé got nothing on you, and you know it. And who’s the one that pulls you out of your little meltdowns over ridiculous shit? Mason. That man loves every little thing about you.” And last but not least. Ace folded his arms over his chest as he eyed Joker.

  “Yeah, yeah. Gio is a saint, okay. I know how lucky I am to have him.”

  “Okay, good. We all on the same page here?”

  They grumbled, so Ace motioned behind them. “Look at them.” He turned, his heart filled with joy at how happy they all looked. Fitz was in cozy sweater heaven. He was chatting happily with the stall owner and had more sweaters in his arms than he could carry.

  Leo cradled the Goldfish Cracker ornament in his mittened hands like it was the most precious object in existence, while Laz took a picture of Mason posing with the cowboy hat ornament on his head. Gio had two cups of hot chocolate, one in each hand, and he took a sip from each. He was like a kid in a candy shop. Colton was handed a cup of hot chocolate with a giant gingerbread house cookie hanging off the side, and his laughter warmed Ace all over. He turned back to his friends, who all had the sappiest smiles.

  “I see we’re all on the same page. Go be fucking merry.”

  King arched an eyebrow at him but didn’t say a word. Instead, he headed off in the direction of the ornament stall. The rest followed, and Ace took a moment to appreciate Colton from afar.

  The Boyfriend Collective wasn’t perfect, but they were all good men with big hearts who loved fiercely. It wasn’t easy being in love with a former Green Beret. Joker, Jack, and the Kings had a lot of baggage from their time in the military, and some of them had received scars long before that, but it hadn’t stopped their guys from falling in love with them.

  Following his own orders, Ace headed over to Colton.

  “You have to try this,” Colton said, holding his cup. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

  Ace gave him a pointed look and snickered at the blush that crept onto his husband’s cheeks.

  “You’re terrible. Try the cocoa.”

  Ace took a sip. “Hot damn. This is incredible.” He took another sip.

  “Hey, get your own.”

  “Why? I have one right here.”

  Colton narrowed his eyes. “I will smother you in Fitz’s Pomeranian coat.”

  With a laugh, Ace handed the cup back. “Fine. I’ll get my own.” He ordered himself a triple chocolate with whipped cream and a snowflake cookie. It was the best hot cocoa he’d ever had. This was amazing. The street was filled with his family’s laughter and joy. Then it struck him.