“ARE YOU ALL packed?” Logan asked, as he poured a coffee and then walked over to the breakfast nook, where Tate stood rifling through an overnight bag.

A week had passed since Christmas, and Tate was getting ready to head up to the cabin. Logan had gotten a call late last night with a request on some last-minute revisions to a contract that he couldn’t say no to. So he would be joining Tate later in the day.

This was the one holiday of the year that the two of them took a full week off work to enjoy. It was hard to ask other employees to miss Thanksgiving or Christmas, but this week and bringing in the New Year? That was their time.

They headed up to New Buffalo with Cole, Rachel, and the kids for the weekend, and once they went home, Logan and Tate spent seven days of uninterrupted alone time away from the world. They unplugged their computers, they didn’t have a television, and they only kept one phone on silent to check once a day in case of emergencies.

Heaven on earth, Logan thought, and as he looked outside at the snow blanketing the ground, he knew it would be like that up there too. Quiet and peaceful. Just him, Tate, and a crackling fireplace.

“I’m all done,” Tate said as he zipped his bag shut. “I hate that you were called in last minute.”

“I know, but the revisions are needed as soon as possible, and all the information is at the office.” Logan took a sip of his coffee. “I’d rather get it out of the way now, and then I’m free for the week.”

Tate grumbled, and Logan knew he was annoyed he had to go in on a Sunday, but it was unavoidable and would only take a few hours. “I’ll be up there with you and the Madisons before you know it.”

“Okay,” Tate said. “But don’t be late, okay? I want to spend the afternoon with you.”

“I won’t be late,” Logan said, and crossed his heart. Then he walked forward until Tate’s ass bumped up against the table and he spread his legs a little so Logan could get between them.

Tate took hold of his waist and tugged Logan closer, running his hands down over his ass. “You better not be.”

“I promise.” Logan put his mug down on the table and took Tate’s mouth in a slow, deep kiss. As Tate opened to him, Logan shut his eyes, reveled in the taste of him, and thought, as he always did, that he’d never get enough of this man. Not ever.

When he finally raised his head, Tate’s lips kicked up on one side and he swatted Logan’s ass. “Okay, well, I better hit the road, and you get to the office so you can leave sometime before noon.”

Logan grabbed his mug and took a step back to let Tate pass. “Will do.”

As Tate pushed off the table, he gave Logan a final kiss and picked up his duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Logan said as Tate walked to the back door. “Drive safely, and call me when you get there.”

Tate stopped at the door and glanced over his shoulder to wink. “Yes, dear.”

“Uh huh. Just do it. See you this afternoon.”

“That you will, Mr. Mitchell. That you will,” Tate said, and then waved as he walked out the door.

* * *

“WHAT DO YOU mean he had to go into the office?” Rachel asked as Tate climbed into his car and slipped his phone into the mount.

“Exactly that. He got a call last night that something needed to be done on one of the contracts he just finished. Can you believe that? Talk about bad timing. So he’s going to head in this morning, get it fixed up, and then come up to the cabin.” Tate sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t tell him no without explaining. Plus, we can move it to this afternoon. Everything will be fine.” Or, at least, I hope it will be…

He had sent Rachel up to their place yesterday with a key, and between the Madisons, Will, and Jackie—who had generously volunteered to make last-minute flower arrangements—they’d all worked their asses off to have the place ready for the day ahead.

Somehow, and Tate still wasn’t sure how, they’d managed to pull off a minor miracle and get this all together in under a week. He’d snuck Logan’s tuxedo out to the car when Logan had been at work. He’d gotten a bag together with Logan’s passport, and some clothes, when he’d gone for his morning jog.

Basically, Tate had acted like a complete schemer for the past few days, and unbelievably, he’d managed to keep it all from Logan.

As far as his lawyer was aware, they were heading to the cabin for their usual end-of-year celebration, which would guarantee Logan would pack a bag—just not the right bag.

Not that it really matters, Tate thought. I don’t plan to let him wear much of anything anyway after the ceremony.

The ceremony…wow, that made everything feel very real.

“Tate? You there?” Rachel said into the phone.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said as he pulled out of the driveway and headed down their street. “Sorry, was just thinking about everything. Making sure I’m not forgetting anything.”

“You aren’t. I have a checklist,” she said. “Cole has the rings and the paperwork. Mason made the food and packed it all up for me to bring down, and it smells delicious. I brought the cake. Your dad drove all of the flowers here in the back of his truck and is helping us set everything up. We got this, I promise. The only things missing are the grooms.” The excitement in Rachel’s voice was contagious. “Are you nervous?”

“No,” Tate said immediately. “I’m not. I feel very calm. This all feels…I don’t know, right. Like, how it was meant to be.”

“That’s because it is,” she said, and then laughed. “And anyway, Cole’s nervous enough for the both of you.”

“Really?” Tate asked as he pulled onto the main road. “I thought we’d settled the speech issue.”

Cole had called a couple of nights ago to let Tate know he was officially ordained, and was there anything specific Tate wanted in the speech? He assured Cole they’d love whatever he had to say, but obviously he was feeling a little more pressure than Tate would’ve expected.

“Oh, you did. He just wants to make it special for the two of you. You both mean a lot to us. He wants to get it right.”

“He will,” Tate said. “I thought you were going to tell me he was nervous for my well-being. I’m still not positive Logan won’t kill me when he finds out what’s planned.”

“Are you kidding me? He is going to be hard-pressed not to trip over his own feet. Just wait until you see this place, Tate. It looks like something out of a fairytale.” When he laughed, she added, “A masculine kind of cabin-in-the-woods fairytale.”

“I don’t care that it looks like a fairytale, Rachel,” Tate said. “I told you guys I wanted romance.”

“Trust me,” Rachel said with a dreamy quality to her voice. “This is definitely romantic. Just hurry up and get here so we can show you.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Okay, but be careful,” she said. “We’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon, Rach.”

Tate ended the call and turned onto the freeway.

He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, and suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get to the cabin. This was one fairytale he would willingly partake in, as long as he got his happily ever after.

* * *

THANKFULLY, THE MORNING passed by quick enough and Logan was out the door and on the road a little before two. He hated that he’d had to send Tate up to the cabin on his own, but he’d received Tate’s text earlier at around eleven letting him know he’d arrived safely, and Logan felt better knowing he had nothing looming over him that was urgent this week and he could just enjoy his time away.

The snow was falling a little harder than it had been earlier, but that was nothing unusual for this time of the year. Logan cranked up the heater and slowly made his way through the city and then merged onto I-90. Even if he took his time, he could still make it there before four, give or take, depending on how the traffic was moving.

He turned on the stereo, and when Tate’s playlist came over the speakers, Logan felt his lips curve. Turning the volume up, he sang along and thought about the man who wasn’t in the car beside him but who was waiting for him at the other end of this trip, and he suddenly couldn’t wait to get to him.

Logan looked at his hands on the steering wheel, and the ring that was now a permanent fixture on his finger. God, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this damn happy. It didn’t seem right, not really. To feel this fulfilled, this fortunate, this…loved, but when he thought about his life, he realized how damn lucky he was. Somehow, he had ended up with a great job, a fantastic family—for the most part—and the most wonderful man he’d ever known, loving him.

He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve all of that, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. No fucking way. He was going to take his good fortune and run with it. Life was sweet right now and he planned to enjoy the—

“What the hell?”

Up ahead, through the snow, red taillights were visible as far as the eye could see, and as Logan brought the Audi to a stop behind an SUV, he frowned. He couldn’t see much of anything, just cars, trucks, and more cars. Then the faint sound of sirens could be heard and Logan turned his music down.

He sat there with nowhere to go, blocked in from the back and sides, and when he glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw red and blue lights flashing. As the sirens got louder, he could see it was three ambulances, with several police cars escorting them, up the side bank off the road to get to whatever had happened up ahead.

Shit, it was obvious someone had an accident and who knew how long that meant he was going to be stuck there? He pressed a button on the steering wheel and said, “Call Tate.”

Seconds later, the phone was answered, and the voice filling his car was a welcome distraction to what he knew was now likely going to be hours stuck on a freeway.

“Hey you,” Tate said, and Logan relaxed into his seat, unaware he’d even been tense as he’d made the call. It made sense, though, with what they’d been through back in the day that subconsciously he’d wanted to make sure Tate was okay, even though he’d gotten his text earlier.

“Hey, how are you?” Logan said.

“I’m doing fine, but if you tell me you’re almost here, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Logan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, about that—”

“Oh no. Don’t tell me you can’t get up here,” Tate said.

“No. No, it’s nothing like that. I was actually making good time, but there’s been some kind of accident ahead.”

“Are you okay?” was Tate’s immediate response, but Logan was already there, reassuring him.

“I’m fine. I can’t even see the cars involved, but I have no idea how long it’s going to take. The police and ambulances just drove by now, so I think it must’ve just happened.”

“Shit,” Tate said.

“I know.”

“Let me get Rachel to check online and see if there’s an update.”

“Okay,” Logan said, and then rested his arm along the side of the door. “I’m sure it’ll get cleared up soon and I’ll be back on my way.”

There was some shuffling through the phone and then Logan heard Rachel say, “There’s a six-car pile-up. It’s on the local news feed. Looks like it just happened, a total mess, but no fatalities. It says here it’s going to be a while before everything is cleared. A few hours at least.”

“Great,” Logan said, and looked at the time. “Well, with a bit of luck I can get there by tonight. Even if I miss dinner, at least I’ll still be there for the bonfire and countdown to midnight.”

Tate sighed. “I hope so,” he said, and Logan could tell by his tone that he was disappointed.

“I’m sorry. I know you were looking forward to this afternoon with everyone. I was too.”

“It’s not your fault,” Tate said. “Just bad luck. Hopefully it gets cleared up soon. People aren’t always the smartest in this weather.”

“That’s true,” Logan said as he looked ahead at car after car after car. He was in for a long wait. But maybe… “If you aren’t too busy, maybe you could sneak off somewhere and talk to me while I wait.”

“If I’m not too busy?” Tate chuckled. “What exactly do you think I’m doing up here?”

“Missing me terribly,” Logan said with a grin. “That’s taking up all your time, you can admit it.”

“Yeah, that’s it. I’m sitting here staring out the window while I pine for you.”

“Hey, you could at least make it sound like a possibility. I’d pine over you if you weren’t there.”

Logan could hear some movement at the other end of the phone and wondered if Tate was actually leaving the room to talk to him. The thought made him smile.

“I was just telling Rachel that tonight won’t really begin until you get here, so… I guess you could say I was pining a little.”

“See, you do miss me. That’s so sweet,” Logan said. “I remember a time where you used to tell me to go away. Imagine how miserable your life would be if I’d listened.”

Logan had meant the comment as tongue in cheek, but when Tate lowered his voice and said, “It really would be,” Logan’s heart began to thud a little harder.

“I’m so fucking glad you didn’t listen to me,” Tate said in such a way that Logan gripped the steering wheel a little harder to make sure he wasn’t about to fly away on the high that shot through him.

“So am I,” Logan said. “I never thought that being a pushy asshole would land me the guy.”

Tate laughed, and Logan imagined the way his lips would curve, and his eyes would be creased at the sides. “Apparently that’s just how I like my men.”

“Men?”

“I’m sorry,” Tate said, sounding anything but. “That’s exactly how I like my man. Who I can’t wait to see tonight.”

“Much better,” Logan said, now more antsy than ever to get where he was going. “Ugh, I hate that I’m stuck here without you. This better not take all night.”

“Logan?”

“Hmm,” Logan said as he inched the car forward.

“I love you. Now pay attention to the road and drive safely.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Good,” Tate said. “Because I don’t care what time you get here tonight, just make sure you get here.”

As they said their goodbyes and hung up, Logan knew nothing short of the ground opening up and swallowing his car whole would keep him from getting to that man tonight.