***

It was almost an hour later, as Grayson predicted, when the front door opened and Lachlan walked in laughing. It was such a beautiful sound that Konnor reacted with a smile before he could even think about it.

“You're just going to have to accept it, baby,” he said, turning back to beam at his husband, who followed him in the door. “There's nothing you can do.”

“About what?” Konnor asked, watching the easy-going atmosphere that surrounded them. That was what a true marriage looked like; loving each other no matter what obstacles came their way and tried to get between them.

Lachlan turned, while removing a duffel bag from his shoulder and placing it by the door, out of the way. “Monroe just left on a flight to Dublin with his boss. And very possibly his new boyfriend. Cormag here is having trouble with that concept,” he admitted, with a light chuckle that spoke of his approval.

Smiling, he eyed Cormag curiously. “Is it dating the boss that's bothering you or just Monroe dating?” he asked, understanding Lachlan's amusement. No matter what, Monroe would always be his little brother; innocent and far too young to be dating.

“Both,” Lachlan replied for him, even as he crossed to Cormag's side and hugged his arm. “But that just makes you an awesome big brother.”

Cormag grinned and wrapped his arm around Lachlan's shoulders, as though his husband could say anything in the world and all he'd do was smile and take it, because he didn't care.

Konnor felt surprisingly misty eyed about it all and had to turn away. Just as he looked back at Grayson, who was stoking the log fire because a storm was reported to come in soon, the front door opened again, stopping his impromptu need to spill the beans of their progressing relationship.

“It's bloody freezing out there!”

He turned to the door as a gush of wind blew it against the wall, diverting all attention to Darren and Giovanni, who were struggling inside with two bags.

“Need a hand?” Konnor asked, a little uncertain about heading across since he didn't really know either of them. All he knew of Giovanni came from Tam and he only knew of Darren through Lachlan and Casen. He'd never actually had personal experience with them and their first meeting felt a little more awkward than usual.

“Hey, you!” Lachlan rushed to help Darren, taking a small backpack from his shoulder while Darren set a larger luggage bag on the floor and shook his windswept hair with his hand. “The wind really picked up quickly,” he noticed, with an adorable frown.

Giovanni laughed and struggled to shut the door against the wind. Once it was closed, he sighed and sagged against it. “You're telling me. We got out of the car and it was normal. Then we got to the front steps and it was like a fucking lunatic, attacking us from all sides,” he admitted, with laughter.

Darren and Lachlan laughed with him freely, while Grayson crossed to Konnor's side and put an arm around his waist. The support was appreciated and much needed, making him turn to smile at his fiancé.

“We're glad you made it in one piece,” Grayson said, from his side.

The new arrivals turned away from Lachlan and showed more reserved smiles. Darren stepped over and held his hand out. “Sorry. We may as well do proper introductions, to get the weirdness out the way,” he insisted, waiting for one of them to take his hand. When Grayson did, his smile widened. “I'm Darren and that's Giovanni. And we're both raging lunatics in our own ways, but we hope you won't hold that against us,” he continued, with a bright, open visage that made Konnor want to smile.

“Nice to meet you.” He placed his hand into Darren's, as soon as his fiancé let go, and let go just before Lachlan burst out laughing.

“If you boys are done with the small talk,” he said, his lips twitching in a half smile as he wrapped his arms around Cormag's waist and held him tight. “I want to get my stuff sorted and have a drink. It's been a long ass week and I need to sit down and not get back up again until the apocalypse.”

Everyone laughed at that, which Konnor was sure was Lachlan's intention. Not only did it work, but he could see the weariness in his eyes. Leaving Grayson's side, he grabbed the bag his best friend had taken off Darren and headed for the hallway. “Come on. I'll show you to your rooms and we'll get you settled in,” he promised, shaking his head at them.

It was actually a relief to see Lachlan and Darren so close, and Giovanni comfortable around them. It removed some of the tension from Konnor's shoulders that said this would be a total disaster. “Did you have a long drive?” he asked, turning back to see Darren and Giovanni following them down the hallway.

“Not really. Our meeting was only an hour away, so we took our stuff with us,” Giovanni replied, sounding calm and collected, if a little tired. “Then we headed up here. The directions you sent us were great and the traffic was light,” he admitted, looking around at the rustic décor that came with the rented cabin.

Konnor nodded and opened the first door on the right. “Here you go. This is your room; for you and Darren,” he said, feeling the need to include them both, just in case anyone thought he and Grayson were prudes trying to separate the couples. Even if they were, they didn't have the time or space for that sort of bullshit.

Still, as they walked inside, he hung his head and took a deep breath. Thinking that kind of crap just reminded him of his parents, which wasn't somewhere he wanted to go.

“And this is ours?” Lachlan asked, a hand touching his arm until he looked up and found beautiful hazel eyes staring at him with compassion.

He nodded, knowing nothing else was needed.

His best friend went into his room, behind Cormag, only to turn back at the last minute. He wrapped his arms around Konnor and held him tight. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”