Page 84 of Christmas Wishes

I shrugged. “I should get something since I’m staying. Don’t you think?”

“No. I don’t think. You’d sleep here every night, anyway. Why waste the money on rent?” The deep crease in his forehead eased. “Unless you want your own space. If you think it’s too fast to move in together, that’s completely understandable. I support that. But if you’re suggesting this because you think it’s what I want, you’re wrong.” Fuck, I loved how honest he was.

“I like being here with you.”

“Then stay.” He stood and walked over to me. “I was thinking we could move into the main bedroom and turn this guest room into your filming studio. Or we could convert the rental suite for that.”

Moving into Nico’s old bedroom was a huge step toward him settling into the house. I was so damn proud. “Do you want to stop doing the Airbnb thing?”

“I wasn’t sure if you would want people in the house.”

I thought about it for a moment. “I like the idea of meeting new people, and I have the time to help manage it so it’s not so much work for you. I could even create some makeup classes as experiences to post on the site to bring in some extra cash.”

He cupped my cheek. “I love how your brain works.”

I leaned into his touch and stared into his loving eyes. “We’re really doing this? Moving in together?”

“We’re already living together.”

“Come on. Trying to make a moment here!”

Riggs kissed my pouty lip.

“Keaton! Riggs! The countdown is about to begin!” Doris called from the living room.

Riggs pushed me against the bedroom wall out of sight of the doorway. “Ten.” He kissed my forehead. “Nine.” A kiss to my temple. “Eight.” My cheek. “Seven.” My nose. “Six.” My chin. “Five.” My jaw. “Four.” Beneath my ear. “Three.” A nibble on my earlobe. “Two.”

“One.” I pulled his face to mine and rang in the new year with my tongue down my beefcake’s throat.

Riggs pulled back. “Happy New Year. I love you.” He said it so earnestly—it undid me.

“I love you too. Happy New Year.” Seconds in, it was already the best year of my life.

Epilogue

KEATON

A year later

My hand shook as I turned on my ring light and prepared to go live from my home studio. I’d been teasing a major announcement for the past week but had no idea if people would actually join. It could flop. Everyone told me it wouldn’t, but some days, it was difficult to believe my success wasn’t a fluke. This announcement would put my success to the test.

God, it’d been an absolutely wild year. Once a handful of videos went viral early on, I’d gotten the launch I needed. My following had grown steadily, and many queer- and BIPOC-owned small beauty brands had reached out to partner with me. Last month, I’d been invited to have a regular column in a major queer publication thanks to meeting one of Arlo’s new friends. I’d even been a guest on a national morning talk show to discuss makeup and queerness. I was thrilled that Evie’s business had blown up too. It was incredible that she’d been able to hire staff to help run her cleaning business so she could spend more time on her cosmetics.

I checked my makeup one more time in the rhinestone mirror that stayed on my desk. It looked good. Then I glanced at my backdrop—the stack of yarn cakes and cosmetics shelves were as pristine as they’d been yesterday. Time to quit stalling. I opened my laptop and started the process of launching the live stream.

The best part of the past year was the love of my life. Riggs’s calm, steady presence had been exactly what I’d needed through the turbulence of getting my brand and business off the ground. His belief in me never stopped. He held me when missing Arlo and my family became too much, and he celebrated my wins. I was still shocked by the surprise trip to Southern California he’d taken us on last summer to celebrate my reaching one million followers. He’d said I needed some beach content, but I figured he wanted an excuse to take me to a nude beach.

I also supported him as he learned to live with his grief. I did my best to help him through the eternal struggle of attaining a work-life balance and tried to bring adventure and sparkle to his life. Of course, the two people he’d hired helped with that. We balanced each other perfectly.

That had become clear when we’d gone to Minneapolis last week to spend Christmas with my family. I’d been away from them for so long that my tolerance for all the noise and bustle had dwindled. Whenever I got overwhelmed, Riggs placed a calming hand on me. And when my family had told me they’d gone in on a Flagstaff condo together and would take turns visiting me, he’d held me while I cried. I’d snagged one hell of a good one.

He had survived a major holiday with my family, so, obviously, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Neither of us was in a hurry to get married, but that didn’t mean our commitment was any less serious.

My phone flashed with a text as I placed it in the holder next to my laptop.

Arlo: Good luck!!! It’s going to be great!

Keaton: Thanks, babe! I’m nauseous AF. Here we go!

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