LATER THAT NIGHT, Tate pulled the Mustang into the Madisons’ driveway and once again went over his plan in his head.

God, am I really going to try and pull this off? he thought, as the logistics of what he had in mind started to feel a little chaotic.

A wedding.

A secret wedding.

Organized in less than a week… Am I insane?

Quite possibly, but he already knew nothing was going to stop him. Not now. Because ever since he’d had the idea, Tate had been consumed by it. The only problem was he had to somehow get Cole and Rachel alone if he was going to have a hope in hell of pulling it off. Not to mention doing it all without alerting Logan. Yeah, I really am insane.

They had spent the day lazing around the house alternating between tearing up the sheets and lounging in the bath, and then, to make sure they were awake tonight, they’d taken a nap that afternoon on the couch by the tree and fireplace. All in all, it had been their best Christmas yet, and he wanted to go for the trifecta.

Best Thanksgiving. Best Christmas. And best New Year’s Eve.

Tonight, Logan had changed into jeans and a red sweater, and the contrast with his inky hair was striking. He looked extraordinarily attractive, and when Tate pulled the car to a stop, he told him so.

“You’re biased,” Logan said as he turned his head on the headrest and touched one of his curls. Tate leaned into the caress, craving it, even though it had been less than an hour since the two of them had been skin to skin. “But you won’t hear me complain. Today has been amazing.”

Tate nodded and kissed Logan’s lips lightly, and when Logan’s eyelids fluttered shut, Tate let the simplicity of the moment envelop him.

“Let’s go,” he whispered against Logan’s mouth. “We have two kiddos to spoil.”

“That we do,” Logan said, and then got out of the car.

They grabbed the gifts from the trunk, and as they made their way up the salted and shoveled path, Rachel opened the front door and Tate could hear the Christmas music waft through the lit-up entrance.

“Merry Christmas, you two,” she said as she came outside to greet them. She was wearing a black off-the-shoulder blouse tucked into a red flare skirt that had a candy cane on the corner of it to match the ones hanging from her ears, and she looked adorable.

“Merry Christmas,” Tate said as he wrapped her in a big hug, and when he let her go, she moved to Logan and then stopped.

“Wait—” she said as she looked him over, and Logan looked down at his clothes to see if anything was out of place before returning his attention back to her.

“What?”

“There’s something different about you tonight,” she said as she continued to look at him and tap a finger to her red-painted lips. “Hmm…” she said, and then made a quick grab for his left hand and tugged it up. “It’s this! Ahh, show me your ring.”

As Rachel oohed and ahhed over the band now surrounding Logan’s left ring finger, Tate scuffed his boots on the mat by the door and saw Cole walking down the hallway.

“I was with Tate when he had this engraved last week,” Rachel said as she finally let Logan’s hand go and covered her heart. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Logan looked at him, and Tate felt as though his heart might stop at the brilliant smile that lit his fiancé’s face. “Yes, it really is.”

“Is there a reason we’re all gathered on the porch where it’s freezing instead of inside by the fire?” Cole asked as he came to a stop behind his wife.

Rachel glanced over her shoulder at him and smacked Cole on the chest. “I was just admiring Logan’s Christmas present. His engagement ring,” she said.

“Fancy,” Cole said as he inspected the ring. “Have to say, I never thought I’d see the day you had a ring on your finger.”

Logan glanced at Tate, and the look in his eyes made Tate want to grab him, kiss him, and never let him go.

“I was just waiting for the right person to put one there.”

Tate winked, and Logan gave him a half-smile that just about melted him to the ground. Before he had to try and think or remember how to speak, Cole saved him.

“Apparently so. Right, if we’re all done fawning all over Logan, can we go inside now?”

Logan’s head whipped around, and as he glared his brother down, everyone laughed, but they all agreed with Cole: it was too cold out there, so they headed inside.

* * *

CHRISTMAS NIGHT AT the Madisons’ was always chaos. The kind of whirlwind chaos created by two children under the age of five, and as Thomas banged away on a bongo drum that lit up with each hit, Cole glared at Logan over his son’s head.

“You’ll pay for this,” Cole said as he lounged back in the recliner by the fire.

Lila sat on Rachel’s lap playing with her new doll, who she’d named Jenny, and Logan was beside Tate, who had an arm resting across the back of the couch.

“Maybe, one day,” Logan said. “But I thought this would help encourage his…creative side.”

“Uh huh,” Cole said, as Logan laughed.

“I also thought it was fitting payback. If I’m going to go grey for him running through my house, it only seems fair he makes you deaf by your fortieth birthday.”

Rachel laughed as she looked between the two of them. “Oh, please, there’s a thing called batteries, and they can go dead…or missing.”

Rachel had a point, but Logan had to admit he was getting a kick out of Cole’s face each time Thomas gave the colorful musical instrument a good, hard whack.

“Now that the presents are done, I need to go and finish up getting dinner ready,” Rachel said.

“Uncle Logan, wanna build a snowman?” Thomas asked, and Logan looked outside, where the snow had stopped falling for now.

“That sounds like fun. As long as your mom and dad think we have time.”

Rachel nodded as she put Lila on her feet, and she ran straight over to Tate with her doll. “Yeah, that should be fine. The lamb’s almost done and Cole’s going to help me get the sides ready. Just don’t make one as big as the house, okay?”

When she got to her feet, Logan kissed Tate on the cheek and also stood. “Okay, Thomas, you better go get your coat.”

“Woohoo!” Thomas cheered, and ran off to fetch his jacket, as Tate picked Lila up and put her on his lap.

“I think I’m going to stay in here and help you braid Jenny’s hair,” Tate said, and Lila grinned at him and nodded. Tate kissed her nose and then looked over at Logan, who was now helping Thomas into his coat. “Plus, it’s freezing out there.”

Logan pulled some gloves on. “You’re all a bunch of wimps.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Cole said. “Just don’t catch a cold, either of you. Thomas just got better, and you’re a pain in the ass when you’re sick.”

“Hilarious,” Logan said as he ushered Thomas to the door. “Let us know when dinner’s ready.”

“Will do,” Rachel called out, as Thomas took Logan’s hand and the two of them walked out the front door.

* * *

TATE FOLLOWED COLE through to the kitchen and took a seat at their breakfast island while Rachel ushered Lila into the playroom to turn on a video for her.

“What can I help you with?” Tate asked, as Cole opened the fridge and got out some milk, butter, and sour cream.

“Nothing. Rach’s got the lamb under control and I’m just going to mash the potatoes. Do you want a beer while you wait?”

“Sure,” Tate said, thinking that maybe a drink would help ease the sudden onset of nerves he was feeling. His stomach kept twisting and turning on him every time he thought about what he was going to do next.

“There you go,” Cole said as he twisted the top off the beer and slid it over the counter.

As Tate caught it, he began to pick at the label as Cole measured out what he needed for the potatoes, and when he reached for the masher, he pointed to the bottle. “Feeling a bit antsy over there or something?”

Tate looked down at the label he’d half picked off. Well, shit. “Uh…yeah,” he said, and then chuckled. “I guess you could say that.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“No,” Tate said, and then gave him a rueful smile. “Nothing like that. It’s kind of the opposite, actually.”

“Oh?” Cole said, and started to pummel the potatoes as Rachel breezed into the kitchen and kissed her husband on the cheek.

“There’s something so sexy about seeing a man doing domestic work,” she said with a wink.

Cole looked at her and smiled. “Good to know this is what excites you.”

“Lots of things excite me about you, husband. But right now, you look seriously sexy.”

Tate watched the exchange between the two of them and felt his heart warm at the familiarity, the ease, and the obvious love they had for one another.

They were a unit. The two of them and the two little rugrats they had brought into this world, and that was how they would go out—as a family. And as Tate sat there staring at the two of them, he realized he was more than ready for him and Logan to be recognized in that way.

I want it in writing, Tate thought. I want it in some musty old building somewhere years from now, where they file our names and certificates away, that Logan is mine.

Cole laughed when Rachel swatted his ass, bringing Tate back to the moment, and when she walked to the sink to wash her hands, Cole turned his attention back to him.

“Sorry,” Cole said. “You were saying something was on your mind?”

“Yeah…” Tate raised his beer to his lips and took a sip, and when Rachel came over to stop by Cole’s side, he said, “You know how Logan and I were thinking about a January wedding?”

Rachel nodded. “Yeah, end of January, right?”

“Right,” Tate said, and looked between them. “Well, I don’t want to wait until then.”

When the two of them just stared at him blankly, not quite understanding, Tate licked his bottom lip and looked over his shoulder. When he saw the coast remained clear, he turned back to the two people who had become his family and grinned. “I want to have it on New Year’s Eve, up at the cabin.”

The reaction he got then was almost comical. Rachel’s mouth fell open as though she’d been goosed, and Cole froze—his hand mid-mashing.

“What did you just say?” Rachel asked, as she slowly came around the island toward Tate.

Tate’s pulse was flying a mile a minute, and when she stopped beside him, he said, “I want to marry Logan on New Year’s Eve.”

“As in six days from now?” Rachel said.

Shit, that was cutting it close when he thought about it like that, but it wasn’t like they’d found a venue for January anyway. So he nodded. “Yes. As in six days from now.”

“Oh my God,” she said, and covered her mouth just as Cole said, “Wow…”

Tate looked over at him, and Cole chuckled. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that Logan agreed.”

Uh, yeah, about that… “He didn’t. I want to surprise him.” When Cole just blinked, Tate couldn’t stop the laugh that rumbled out of him.

“Are you serious right now?” Rachel asked, and when Tate glanced over his shoulder to the door, she squealed and whacked his arm. “Oh my God, you totally are. He has no idea, does he?”

Tate shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. We’ve talked about keeping it small, but we haven’t really nailed down any details.”

“Why the change of date?” Cole asked. “You’re not worried he’s going to change his mind, are you?”

“No. No. Nothing like that. But I want to start the New Year with him as my husband. I, uh…” Tate chewed on his lower lip as he looked at Cole, his emotions making it difficult to speak. “Your brother, he totally changed my life.” Tate thought about the man outside playing with his nephew, the man he’d spent the last four years of his life with, and wondered how it was such a short amount of time when he felt as though he’d known Logan forever.

“He walked into it and it hasn’t been the same since—it’s been better,” Tate said, remembering how miserable he’d been before his sexy lawyer had shown up. “He’s arrogant, unfiltered, and too good-looking for any one person to be…”

Cole snorted at that, and Tate grinned.

“But he’s also the kindest, most fiercely protective man I’ve ever met. He never gives up on anyone he loves, and I’m lucky enough to be one of those people.”

“You’re at the top of that list of people,” Cole said with an expression that was so serious Tate’s palms started to sweat. It was clear he was telling Tate in no uncertain terms that he better not mess this up, and Tate got it. He understood. That was what he wanted to tell Cole—to explain.

Cole wiped his hands on a dishtowel and came around behind his wife, and Tate continued.

“I know how much your brother means to you. You share a connection that’s enviable, and I know you worry about him. That you’ve looked out for him since you were boys.” Tate swallowed. “But you don’t have to worry anymore. I love him, Cole. I want to be the one who looks out for him. Who’s there to protect him when he needs it, and I want to celebrate him in front of the people who care the most about him.”

Cole slowly nodded, a smile finally tipping up one corner of his mouth. “And you want to do this next weekend?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“You’re crazy,” Cole said. “You know that, right?”

“Maybe a little,” Tate said, and then shrugged. “But he deserves this, and I want to give it to him.”

“You know,” Cole said as he eyed Tate over Rachel’s shoulder, “I had my doubts about you when we first met.”

“I know.” Tate was more than aware Cole had been skeptical of a straight man changing his stripes, so to speak.

“But I was wrong. Logan might’ve changed your life, but you gave him one that he loves living, and what more could I want for him than that?”

Tate’s hands shook as Cole stepped around Rachel and came over to him. Tate got to his feet then, and Cole shocked the hell out of him by pulling him into an embrace.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him, Tate. Truly, the best thing,” Cole said. “And I know you’ll look after him. I never had any doubt.”

Cole clapped him on the back as Tate looked down at Rachel, and her eyes glistened, everyone’s emotions right there on the surface as a moment that seemed inevitable was finally put into motion—his and Logan’s wedding.

As Tate let go of Cole, he said, “Since you already think I’m a little crazy, there’s one other thing I wanted to ask you.”

Cole gave him a curious look as he hugged Rachel into his side.

“Would you officiate the ceremony for us?”

If Tate had thought Cole looked shocked about his original announcement, this one had him looking poleaxed. His eyes became impossibly round and his mouth opened and shut, then opened and shut again. Tate couldn’t ever remember seeing Cole look so…bewildered.

“Oh, Cole,” Rachel said as she turned to look up at her husband. “What an honor.”

“I…I’m sorry, what?” Cole said. “You want me to perform the ceremony? Are you sure? I’ve never even done one of those before.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Tate said. “You can get ordained online. I looked.” Tate chuckled at Cole’s expression. His eyebrows were close to hitting his hairline. “I can’t think of anyone more perfect. You’ve been with us from the very beginning and you have one of the best marriages I’ve ever seen. Please—this would mean the world to Logan.”

“Well, how can I say no to that?” Cole said, and squeezed Rachel’s shoulder.

“I’m hoping you can’t.”

“I’d be honored. Just let me know what you need.”

“Me too,” Rachel said, her hands now over her heart as she stared at Tate. “This is going to be amazing. We’ll make it beautiful. Just you wait—Logan’s not going to know what to do with himself. But we need to stop talking now.” She fanned her eyes, trying to bank her tears. “Or I’m going to cry and Logan’s too smart not to notice.”

Tate nodded, agreeing with her. Logan was smart. It was one of the reasons Tate loved him so much. It was also going to make it extra sweet when he managed to pull this off and surprise him with a wedding he would never forget.