by Jaime Reese
∞ ♥ ∞
After his visit to the production plant in the morning, Vann had gotten a late start with his checklist. He stepped into the elevator and crossed off another item from the lengthy list of to-dos. He couldn’t have imagined all the details that went into play with a model launch. Thankfully, they had a staff of knowledgeable, talented people who had been itching to work with something new in the line and were happy to dive into whatever task was at hand.
He needed the names and numbers of a few of the third-party contacts Drayton preferred to use for finishing touches. Who better than Mia to give him the list.
He glanced up when the elevator dinged. He shoved the sheets of paper back into the folder and squeezed out through the doors opening to the executive floor. He greeted a few of the employees on his way over to Connor’s office to set up a quick meeting to discuss the model features. Even though Vann was going to be completely hands-off with the presentation elements of the launch for the show, Connor wanted to have a discussion with him to get a better handle on the models in order to tailor each reveal.
Vann left Connor’s office after scheduling a meeting and crossed off another item from his list. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to lessen the knotting tension. It was no wonder Sean always looked chilled out, the fucker never really did anything.
He needed a break, and what better relaxer than squeezing in a little Dray-time. He casually strolled over to Mia’s desk, hiding a smile. Maybe he could steal Drayton away for a quick lunch. They did need to eat after all. And between all the prototype prep work and Drayton’s meetings with attorneys, vendors, and distributors, they barely had time to see each other during the day.
“Hi, Mia,” he said with a big grin. “That dress is an amazing shade of blue.”
She slowly raised an eyebrow. “You can be very charming when you want something.”
He reached into his folder and withdrew a sheet with a few listed items. “I need to know who Drayton prefers to use for each of these. Especially the paint and mods.”
“That’s an easy one. He prefers Calloway’s.”
“Is that Ty Calloway’s shop?”
Mia nodded. “They handled all the modifications for the last release and the soft launches of items since then. And his partner, Cole, did all the test track runs.”
He nodded and made a quick note in his file.
“I’ll add notes to each name so you have a little background. I know how you prefer to get a handle on things before reaching out to a business contact.”
“Thanks.” He gestured toward Drayton’s door. “Is he in?”
Mia’s lips thinned. “He came in a little while ago and asked to not be disturbed.”
Something didn’t seem right in Mia’s expression. “What’s up?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I know him well enough to give him some space right now.”
And Vann knew Drayton well enough to know he always felt better after relieving whatever burden weighed on him. “I’m going to check on him. Don’t let anyone—”
“I’m not supposed to let anyone disturb him.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Are you really going to stop me?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m telling him I fought you.”
He tucked the folder under his arm and smiled. “I really do like that shade of blue. It might work well for the prototype. Can you add a photo of that dress to the file?”
“You’re weird sometimes.” Mia shooed him away with a grin.
He knocked on Drayton’s door, then decided to push it open when he didn’t get a response.
He immediately spotted Drayton standing by the window with his hands in his pockets, looking off into the distance. With his suit jacket off and his shirt sleeves rolled up, he probably looked relaxed to most people. But Vann could see the tension in his shoulders and tight jaw.
“I asked to not be disturbed,” he said in a distant tone without turning around.
“Even by me?” Vann asked.
Drayton’s shoulders sagged and he lowered his head. “Vann,” he whispered.
That tone pushed Vann forward. He pitched the folder on the table in the sitting area and was at Drayton’s side in a few quick steps.
He ran his hand down Drayton’s back. “What happened?” He stiffened when Drayton quickly turned and buried his face at the crook of his neck. Vann closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, needing to calm the jolt of freak-out that had twitched inside. Rapid movements in his proximity still made him jittery, but the need to calm the tension in Drayton’s body overpowered everything.
He eased into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Drayton’s shoulders. “What happened?”
The arms around his waist tightened. “I think I should probably go home.”
“Now you’re really worrying me.” Vann stroked his fingers over the nape of Drayton’s neck. “If you go home now, I’m going with you. I’m not leaving you like this.” He pressed a kiss to Drayton’s cheek and held him closer.
“I went to see her. I probably shouldn’t have. But she kept calling and…shit. I shouldn’t have gone,” he finished quietly.
There weren’t many people who drained Drayton and ripped through his defenses. Only one. Vann wished he had known she’d been hounding him. But she was Drayton’s mother. And he had every right to decide how he wanted to handle that relationship.
“What did she want?”
“She wanted me to help her get out of there.”
“What did you say?” Vann clenched his jaw, biting back the anger ready to spill. That she-devil had the audacity to disown Dray then demand his help? He closed his eyes and focused on the man in his arms—the one person who mattered most to him in this world. If Drayton wanted to help his mother, he’d stand by his side. If he decided to decline, then Vann would be right there to hold him together to avoid him falling apart. Drayton could put up one hell of a front for everyone else, but Vann knew he had always craved the approval of his parents and peers.
“I told her not to call me anymore.”
Vann nuzzled Drayton, hoping the closeness would soothe him.
“I hate her. I hate what she did to you…what she did to me.”
“I know.”
“Then why the fuck does this sting so much?”
“Because you care.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Drayton’s head. “Isn’t that what you told me once?”
“Don’t throw my words back at me right now.”
A small smile tugged at Vann’s lips. “They’re good words. I throw them back out at random moments to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about.”
Drayton inched back from the embrace, fighting a hint of a smile. “Stop it. I’m supposed to be upset.”
Vann reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along Drayton’s cheek. “And I hate to see you hurting, so I’m not stopping until I know you’re going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Drayton whispered. “She did this to you because of me. I don’t—”
Vann silenced him with a kiss. “Are you sorry you fell in love with me?”
“What?” Drayton said in a shocked whisper. “Never.”
“Then what the hell are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong other than fall in love with a guy she didn’t like. You didn’t put me in prison. In fact, you did everything you could to try to get me out of there. You wrote to me every week and kept me sane in there. You never gave up on me, even when everyone else did, and even after I was released, you still never gave up on clearing my name. None of this is your fault. None of it. So don’t you dare ever apologize for anything that happened.”
Vann hoped his words reached Drayton’s heart, but Dray loved deeply and felt the sting of pain sharper than people could imagine. The pain, the guilt…Vann saw it all swimming in the gut-twisting plea in those pale gray eyes.
“She said I was ruined.”
Pain sliced through Vann. He hated seein
g his strong Drayton cracking. “My father called me a stain. And stupid and a waste of air. Is he right?”
Drayton shook his head.
“They ran out of the cool parents when it was our turn in line. Shit luck I guess. But we hit the ‘awesome partner’ lottery.”
“We did.” Drayton finally smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He looked down and played with the top button of Vann’s shirt, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. “While I was there, I kept thinking about you. What it was like for you inside. What it would have been like to see you in there.” He finally glanced up, his pale gray eyes filled with a wealth of emotions.
Vann cupped Drayton’s face, drawing his focus. “I was an asshole for keeping you away.”
“Don’t…call yourself that.” He closed his eyes and swallowed heavily. “I saw what it did to her. I wouldn’t have been able to stomach seeing that much of a change in you.”
Vann reached behind Drayton’s neck and guided him to rest his head on Vann’s shoulder. He didn’t want to remember his time in prison, and he sure as shit didn’t want to remember how painful it was keeping Drayton away. “Can I do anything to make you feel better?”
“This,” Drayton said on a sigh. “Just this.”
Vann held him tighter. “Then we’ll be like this for however long you need.” He’d hold Drayton until his arms shriveled up and fell off if that helped ease Drayton’s pain.
He stroked Drayton’s back in random patterns, thankful when the tension finally eased from his shoulders. Vann pressed a kiss to Drayton’s cheek, then his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned into Drayton, knowing he’d do everything and anything in his power to let this man never question how much he was cherished and appreciated.
Vann stifled his second yawn in under five minutes. He was perpetually tired, pushing himself for weeks to meet each deadline in the demanding schedule. Everyone on the team stuck it out with him, equally pushing themselves, squeezing in as much time as they could into each day. Drayton had left the office for a late morning meeting while Vann had taken advantage of the holiday silence, stealing a few extra hours to revise details his inner-perfectionist demanded be tweaked in the plan. He loved the synergy of working with the team, but it was a little tough getting in the right headspace with the constant phone calls and interruptions to handle the day-to-day tasks.
“Do you mind if we take the surface roads instead of the highway? I’m getting a report of major slowdowns in a few spots along the way,” Jason said.
Vann glanced up at the company driver as he traded his focus between the road ahead and the rearview mirror as he drove. “Not at all. Whatever you think.”
Not having to deal with the after-Thanksgiving-sale traffic and chaos was definitely one perk of having a driver. He stretched his legs and leaned back against the headrest. He had lost track of time and assumed Drayton should be home by now. A tired smile slipped his lips. He would never have imagined he’d be a businessman or the one arriving home late after a long day of work.
He rolled his head to the side on the soft, leather cushion and stared out the window. Parking lots were full and people hurriedly walked into stores while others shoved bags full of purchases into their trunks to free up their hands for the next round of shopping. Everyone around him made wish lists or talked about getting this present or that one or which store sale offered the best deal. His team had asked him what he wanted for Christmas, but he’d shrugged off the answer each time.
He had already received two gifts to last a lifetime that he’d cherish each day: his freedom and a second chance with Drayton.
He still wasn’t sure he deserved to be at Drayton’s side, but he slowly worked toward that goal with each passing day. It included days filled with endless tasks and responsibilities at the office, but all the stress and madness of the day always faded when they lay together in bed each night. That was the fancy bow wrapped around the perfect gift. And exactly why he and Drayton had agreed the only gifts they would exchange would be time together—a full day without interruptions or shop talk but plenty of sex until they both passed out. He definitely wouldn’t object to that offer.
“It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” Drayton had told him last night before passing out on the couch in his post-orgasmic euphoria.
Vann rolled his bottom lip between his teeth, hiding a smile at the thought. Drayton was his gift. One he sure as hell enjoyed unwrapping every day.
Something caught his eye, jolting him up in his seat. “Jason, can you pull off to the side, please?”
He craned his neck to get a better view between the passing cars as Jason found a safe spot to stop. He rested his elbow on the edge of the window and tugged at his lip, staring at the tent full of Christmas trees.
Growing up, he’d never had one up at his house for the holidays. One year, he had salvaged a small tabletop plastic tree someone had discarded. Whoever it was must have thought it was trash since it would tip if it held a single decoration, but he didn’t care. That one-foot tall, uneven shrub meant something to him.
That was enough reason for his father to take the tree and burn it in the barbecue grill in the backyard, melting away the plastic and Vann’s attempt at having any sort of holiday cheer.
He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, hoping to wipe away the memory. He didn’t have family traditions or big holidays. Hell, he didn’t really have any holidays. The closest he’d ever come to anything special was with Drayton, sneaking in a little private time until Dray had his Christmas dinner with his parents or at some party at the yacht club. They had turned their tree by the lake into their own Christmas tree with a few decorations and propped a flashlight upward at the base of the trunk so it would light the branches.
He sighed, looking at the different size trees in the pop-up tent display out in the field. They could easily fit one of those large spruces in their penthouse. And he knew exactly where they could put it—in the living room, by the left wall where the lights would reflect off the window and give it some extra sparkle. Or he could take one of the small ones and set it up in the design department. The crew was creative enough to come up with their own spin on the decor.
Maybe he could start some tradition with Drayton at home? Pull him away from work long enough to do…something. They could pick out a tree and decorate it. How much time would it take to decorate a tree?
He frowned. There was no way he’d ask anything more of Drayton after everything he had already done for him. Besides, he’d lived his life thus far without any holiday traditions, so there was no need to start something now.
“We can go,” he told Jason gruffly. He straightened in the seat and looked ahead, ignoring the ache in his heart at never having been one of those hyper kids bouncing around under the tent, tugging their parents along to inspect the trees.
Vann ran his hands through his hair again. That had been one drive where the scenic route hadn’t helped his mindset. Seeing everyone right smack in the middle of the holiday frenzy was messing with his head. He tugged on his sleeves and pulled at his collar, hoping to right himself. Drayton could read him like a book, and he certainly didn’t want him to think there was anything wrong simply because the holidays always brought a wealth of less than festive memories.
The elevator dinged when it reached their floor. He exhaled the breath he had held and walked out into their penthouse, feeling a tiny bit more confident in his facade with each step.
He stopped in his trek, his lips parting in awe.
“Hey,” Drayton said, glancing over his shoulder with his jean-clad ass sticking up in the air and his head ducked under the tallest Christmas tree Vann had ever seen inside a building. He worked his way out from under the tree and brushed his hands together. “I needed to make sure it had plenty of water. It already sucked up half the base full.”
Vann stood stock-still, staring at the bare, deep green addition to their living room. “You…got a tree.”
Drayton walked ove
r to him, a shy smile coloring his expression. “I wanted to surprise you with the biggest tree I could find. I figured we could decorate it together.”
“It’s…big.”
Drayton scratched his head and his features twisted. “Uh, yeah. I had to hire a crew to bring it over here. I think I went a little overboard.”
Vann shook his head, staring at the thick, large tree set up exactly where he thought would make the perfect spot. The tree was insanely tall and the top branch extended so high it bent downward, curling into a hook when it hit the ceiling. “It’s perfect.” He looked over to Drayton, his chest heaving with each shallow breath.
“I haven’t put up a tree here, so I don’t have any decorations. We’re going to have to brave the crowds or we can order them online if you want to avoid all that. I know you still have trouble with big groups of people.”
“We can go to the stores.” Vann wanted the full-on Christmas experience. He’d definitely work through and find a way to manage the pushing and shoving of the holiday crowd if it meant he could have a Christmas tree and be able to decorate it with Drayton. Between the two of them, they could start their own Shaw traditions.
“We can do whatever you want,” Drayton said. “I picked out the tree because I wanted to surprise you but…if you don’t want a tree, we can donate it or something. Or take it to the office instead. We’re going to get this pine smell in here after a while, and I’m not sure if you like that or not, so if—”
Vann launched himself forward, wrapping his arms around Drayton’s shoulders. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to calm the fireworks of emotion bursting and flaring inside. “It’s perfect. Right where it is. And it’s the nicest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen. Ever.”
Drayton snaked his arms around Vann’s waist and pulled him into a tight embrace, pressing a kiss to Vann’s temple. “I want our first Christmas to be special,” he whispered.
Vann held him close, cupping the back of Drayton’s neck, welcoming the warmth and love that always radiated toward him when they were together. “It already is.”