Page 25 of Decorated

“It’s coming along well,” Alfie said, a feeling of warmth and excitement spilling through him as he spoke. “The Hawthornes have been wonderful and accommodating. The dining hall where the party is to be held tonight looks amazing. I think the kids will love it.” He smiled at that thought.

Parker smiled as well, but there was something incisive in his eyes as he did that made Alfie feel he was on the spot.

He shared a few more details about the party arrangements and the timing of when the children who would be the recipients of the toys were set to arrive at Hawthorne House. Parker let Alfie know that a few members of the military press would be there to cover the event. Alfie was happy to know the work he had done would be shared with a wider audience.

As soon as the meeting was done, he headed back to his desk. Requisition forms and the tail end of old projects didn’t hold his interest, though. He couldn’t start anything new when he was leaving so soon, so he left the office early. He had an important errand to run and just enough time to get into London and out again.

Once the errand was done, he headed home to change for the night and then made his way over to Hawthorne House early. It felt a bit cheeky, but he packed an overnight bag as well, just in case he managed to get lucky with a certain loud, flamboyant Hawthorne who he felt more and more protective of.

He approached Hawthorne House’s front door with a bag over one shoulder and a relatively large, flat box wrapped exquisitely under his other arm. His insides bounced and twisted with each step that brought him closer to Blaine. It felt like he was bringing an offering to a temple and moving in.

He shouldn’t have been at all surprised that the drama started as soon as he set foot in the halls of Hawthorne House.

“Thank God you’re here,” Early said, stepping out of the office to greet Alfie the second he was through the door. Theywere dressed for the party, wearing a sparkly gown with a military-style jacket and high-heeled boots. “Blaine is about to lose it.”

Despite the seriousness in Early’s expression, Alfie grinned. “I’m on it,” he said, starting for the hallway that would take him to the dining hall. “Any chance you could take these up to Blaine’s flat for me?” he asked cheekily, handing his bag and the large gift box to Early.

“Absolutely,” Early said with a sly look.

As soon as the bag and box were handed off, Alfie tugged at the hem of his uniform jacket, then marched on, down the hall and into the dining hall.

He saw the problem right away. Several of the decorations that they had planned and set up over the last couple of days had either fallen down or been taken down. Blaine was rushing around in the middle of the mess, wearing a red, glittery shirt with two male cardinals in sequins on the back and tight-fitting black trousers with a sheen to them, alternately giving orders to his brother and his cousin Rebecca.

“The whole thing will have to go,” he said. “It isn’t good enough. I don’t know what I was thinking in the first place.”

“Blaine, it looks fine,” Rebecca said in exasperation. “We can just put it back up again, maybe with stronger hooks this time.”

“No, no,” Blaine said, gathering up armfuls of garlands. “It’s the wrong vibe for a children’s party. We need more color.”

“You have six rainbow-colored trees,” Baxter pointed out.

“They’re not good enough,” Blaine insisted.

He fussed and fluttered so much that he didn’t notice as Alfie walked up to him. When Alfie rested a hand on his shoulder, Blaine nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Alfie!” he shouted, spinning to stare at Alfie in terror.

“It’s fine,” Alfie seconded what Rebecca had said. “Let’s put the decorations back up.”

“They fell down,” Blaine said, fumbling the garlands he’d gathered up while trying to walk over to one of the tables. “I should have known not to put so many ribbons and baubles on them. Some of those Harrod’s baubles broke and smashed. I wasted all that money because I was trying to be more than I should be.”

Alfie saw the red flag and moved in to mitigate the damage.

“You’re a brilliant designer, Blaine,” he said, unwinding some of the garland that Blaine had wrapped around his shoulders. “You’ve got an amazing eye for beauty. Trust yourself.”

“But I don’t!” Blaine hissed, panicking. “I don’t trust anything right now. I’ve made a mess of this, I burnt someone’s house down, I drove a business into the ground, and Dave keeps trying to call and contact me!”

Alfie sucked in a breath. That was the problem, not the Christmas decorations. The mess Blaine had made of his business was catching up to him.

“Blaine,” he said, setting the garland aside and resting his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. “What happened was an?—”

“It was a disaster,” Blaine gasped, cutting him off. “And now I’m going to pay for it.”

Before Alfie could do anything to hold him still, Blaine shrugged away from him and bolted across the room. Alfie rocked forward, as if he would chase after him, but stopped himself at the last minute.

“Aren’t you going to go after him and calm him down?” Bax asked, his expression more confused than accusatory.

Alfie shook his head and turned back to the table of decorations. “Give him a minute. Blaine processes through drama. Let’s just get these decorations back up, since people will start arriving to the party in less than an hour, and then I’ll go find him.”

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