“Okay, it’s just a little farther.” I was guiding Andrew with a hand on his lower back, walking him across the field toward where I was keeping his Christmas gift. The air was hot and sticky, which was weird for me at first considering it was the dead of winter, but it was something I quickly grew used to. It helped that Andrew and I could spend relaxing evenings floating around in our heated pool, drinking wine, laughing, splashing, and swimming laps naked, toying with each other until we would get up out of the pool dripping wet and rock hard. We’d make our way over to the cabana, which had one of the most comfortable beds in the world, and we’d make love as the sound of cicadas filled the air and the stars twinkled above us.

That was definitely something we couldn’t do back up on the Connecticut ranch.

“What is it? Should I be scared?” Andrew asked.

“Maybe,” I teased. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants I had given him that made his ass look like a full-course meal and a white T-shirt that fit him snug around his arms, which had been growing in size after a year of going to the gym together.

A lot had grown after being a year together. My love for Andrew for one thing. After a year of spending it with Andrew on my mind from the second I woke up to the moment I shut my eyes and fell asleep, it had been a year of pure fucking happiness. Nothing could bring me down, so long as Andrew was there by my side. We made the perfect pair, complementing each other in all the best ways while helping fix whatever flaws the other might need help with. Our fights could be counted with three fingers and could barely even be categorized as fights.

Obviously, the year wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. The Brooke and Arturo saga was something that felt never-ending, but at least we all had answers now. Brooke served some time behind bars and was currently in a program designed to help people with impulse control disorders. She was in Texas and hadn’t come around since last Christmas. We only got updates through Bill.

Arturo was hit harder by the judge, especially seeing as he was the one doing the actual exchange of stolen items for money. He was going to be spending a few more Christmases behind bars.

And then there was Tyler and Veronica, who had sailed right into the rocks days after the Christmas retreat was over. For months after, Veronica took her frustration out on my thriving relationship, doing whatever she could to try to get us to fail. But there was nothing she could do that would get between me and Andrew. Soon, Tyler saw the true Veronica underneath the fake mask and dumped her before she left him.

All that was a strain, but it wasn’t enough to snap our titanium-strong bond. Our relationship had grown from something that started off under a fake premise, to something that I cherished with every fiber of my being, and I made sure Andrew knew that. And not just with gifts, although I loved to spoil him—I won’t lie about that—but I also cherished him in other ways. Cooking him surprise meals, spending an hour just massaging him, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. I’d cherish his body every time we’d have sex, and I’d make sure he knew how much I loved him.

Today was Christmas, and another special one at that. Not only was I surprising Andrew with something big, but I was also doing something big this year.

Today was the grand opening for my equestrian therapy center here in Miami. We had our doors open since the morning and were letting kids and parents come in to meet the horses and therapists while being treated to great food and some fun activities.

It was an exciting and nerve-racking day, but so far, everything was going off without a hitch.

And now things were about to get even better.

“All right, open your eyes.”

I looked to Andrew so I could witness his reaction firsthand.

There, standing a few feet in front of us, was a beautiful Thoroughbred horse, her coat a dappled color, with dark gray, almost black-looking boot pattern and a lighter gray as you got closer to her back, where it was spotted white. Around her neck was a big velvet red bow, with an oversized gift tag on it, Andrew’s name scrawled in bold black letters. She was a stunning horse and connected with me the instant I laid eyes on her. Now I was watching for the same to happen with Andrew.

He looked to the horse and then to me, his brown eyes glittering, his smile growing. “Wait… what? Seriously? Deck, you didn’t… you got me a horse?”

“No, I didn’t get you anything. This was all Santa,” I said, walking over to the dappled beauty. She was looking at us with massive brown eyes, neighing as we got closer.

“Hey there, girl,” I cooed, holding a hand out. But Andrew was already patting the side of her head, putting his on hers. It was a sight to see, especially knowing how fearful he’d been of these majestic animals not that long ago.

“She’s incredible,” Andrew said, stepping back, a hand over his mouth. “I can’t believe this. Thank you, Deck!”

He came over to plant a big kiss on me. I hugged him tight. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

“Merry Christmas,” he said into my neck, his smile loud on his words.

“All right, what should we name her?” Andrew asked, turning back to his new horse.

“What’s the first thing coming to your mind?”

“Hmmm… Ah, I dunno.”

“Go, on the count of three: One, two, thre—”

“December,” Andrew said, sounding sure in his choice.

“December,” I repeated him, liking the name instantly. So much good happened to us in December, it was a fitting name for her.

“Huh, what’s that?” Andrew asked, his attention being caught by part two of my gift.

And that’s when the nerves really started to ratchet up. This was a big moment, even bigger than gifting Andrew a horse, and I really had no idea how he was going to react.

Okay, so I was legit overjoyed and slightly short-circuiting. Declan’s surprise blew me off my feet. I couldn’t believe I had a horse of my own. I also couldn’t believe how much I had come to love horses. From intense fear to near tears of happiness, it was a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree spin, and it was all thanks to Declan. He opened my eyes to something I was scared of even thinking about, and I’d grown to love it.

It was something common between me and Declan. We’d grown on each other and had helped each other grow at the same time. This past year had been a complete whirlwind of crazy in my life. From uprooting myself and moving down to Miami so I could run the new Stonewall Investigations’ branch, to helping Declan open up his equestrian therapy center, to exploring our relationship and everything that came with it. Not to forget my divorce, which thankfully had gone as smooth as possible, with a mutual agreement between me and Barry that neither of us wanted to drag anything out. It was difficult, there was no denying that, but Declan was always there when I would show the cracks. When I would open up about my fear of seeming like a failure to the world, he would remind me that if someone was out there judging a person based on a relationship they had zero insight into, then that person didn’t deserve my energy. He would remind me on a daily basis how much I meant to him, and I would do the same for him.

It wasn’t long into the relationship where I was feeling myself fall in love with Declan, but it was recently that I put the feeling into words.

“Is this…” I said, reaching out for the glinting piece of metal hanging off the bow.

I looked at the key in my hand, feeling my grin growing larger by the second. I held something in my hand that could change the entire course of my future. Right here and right now, I would have to make a major decision. Sure, our relationship was working fine the way it was, with us both living in separate spaces. Thankfully, when I’d accepted Zane’s offer to run the Miami branch of Stonewall Investigations, Declan had also found a reason to move to Florida with the opening of his equestrian therapy center, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. He had worked so hard to make it happen, and we were seeing all kinds of people coming and thanking him for opening up another avenue of healing. I had seen firsthand the therapeutic effects horses had, and I was a full believer that equine therapy helped a countless number of people.

“A key to my place,” Declan said. “I want you to move in with me.”

I looked up into Declan’s eyes, finding myself totally taken by the man standing in front of me. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“A hundred percent,” he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting into one of those smirks that got my dick twitching.

“You’ll have to deal with me twenty-four seven. No escaping.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Declan said, wrapping his big arms around me and pulling me in.

“Let’s do it,” I said, kissing his neck before moving to his lips. “I want to wake up next to you every morning, Deck. And I want to go to sleep next to you every single night. And I want to have breakfast with you, and watch TV with you, and tease you about always leaving the seat up even though I do the same thing.”

“You do, don’t you?”

“Besides the point right now,” I said, kissing my man. Behind me, December whinnied as though she was just as happy as I was in that moment.

“I love you so much, Andrew.”

I lost myself in those emerald eyes, seeing the love reflected back like a bottomless pool, endlessly there for me to dive into. “I love you, Deck. With all my heart.”

We kissed again, surrounded by a very powerful and a very real love. A love that grew from the unlikeliest of situations, our story only just beginning.