Page 80 of Theirs

“I’ll get you settled in your room,” Colin says. “Then we can all hang out in the sitting room.”

“Sounds lovely, dear,” Mrs. Gatsby says, patting her son’s cheek.

“Mr. Gatsby,” Mac says. “Can I get you a bourbon?”

“Yes, please. Still have any of that Blood Oath number four?” Colin’s father asks.

“Of course, sir!” Mac says, and him using the term ‘sir’ has me smirking. Mac leans down to whisper in my ear as we walk down the hall. “You’re going to be calling me sir the second that all our guests leave.”

“Whatever you say, MacKenna,” I tease.

***

Colin’s mom wasn’t lying about gifts, one of their rolling suitcases is full of gifts wrapped in Christmas paper. I sit on one of the couches between Colin and Ben, Mr. and Mrs. Gatsby sit on the loveseat across from us, Alex and Mac have brought two kitchen chairs to sit on.

“I feel so bad,” I say softly, holding a gorgeously wrapped circular box. “I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.”

Colin wraps an arm around my shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. We paid for their cruise. I get them a vacation every year for Christmas.”

“I think he does that so he can take his annual ski trip to Colorado without feeling guilty,” his mom says, but not like she’s upset.

“Go right ahead, son,” Mr. Gatsby says, happily sipping his bourbon. “Love getting to take your mom on trips just the two of us.”

“So does that mean we’re spending Christmas in Colorado?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

“Shh,” Colin says with a wink. “It’s a surprise. Now open your first gift.”

I unwrap the gift, all eyes on me, and find that it’s a gorgeous hat box. When I lift the lilac lid, I find a large, floppy black hat in it with a... white bird on the edge. “Thank you,” I say, lifting the hat out of the box. “It’s lovely.”

“Every year we go to the Kentucky Derby,” Mrs. Gatsby says. “We figured you and Colin could come with us. I wanted to get you a hat, and Colin said you love to wear black.”

“Oh!” I say. “Yeah, I would love that!”

And I love the idea of planning for upcoming events, it makes me feel like I’m being shown a future that I get to keep my guys in. Winter trip to Colorado, Kentucky Derby, upcoming holidays.

I put the hat on, and look at Colin who is smiling at me. “Looks beautiful,” he says, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Just like you.”

Mr. Gatsby gets up, and pulls four bottles of bourbon out, and hands them to the guys. I notice they’re all different types.

“Figured since you guys are all going to be living together now, you’d want four different ones,” Mr. Gatsby says. “I picked these up straight from the distilleries.”

“While he was tasting bourbon,” Mrs. Gatsby tells me. “I was shopping in each of the cities on the bourbon trail. That’s where I found your hat, Teagan.”

“That’s awesome!” I say, noticing that the gifts they’ve given us are from their travels. “Do you guys do a lot of traveling throughout the year?”

Mrs. Gatsby nods. “Since he’s retired, we bought an RV and drive all over the states visiting all the places we wished we could have gone to while we were young and busy working. Do yourself a favor dear, travel the world while you still have your youth! Let these men spoil you.”

“We’re trying,” Colin says, softly rubbing my knee.

“Well, I guess someone’s going to have to get me a snowboard for Christmas,” I tease. “That way I can enjoy the slopes in Colorado.”

“You know how to snowboard?” Ben asks, surprise in his voice.

I nod. “Yeah, it’s been a very long time, but I loved going snowboarding when I was a teenager. Kane is more of a skier; we’d go on a big trip every winter and spend two weeks in the snow.”

“Will your brother be joining us for Thanksgiving?” Mrs. Gatsby asks.

I’m not sure how much Colin has told them about my situation; about not having a relationship with my parents, and things being unsteady with my brother.

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