VAUGHN’S HAND SNAKED down my arm and squeezed my fingers. “Come on. You’ve still got a few presents to open.”

Walking backward, he tugged me toward the tree, and I could only shake my head.

“I don’t think you can top the Band-Aids. Might wanna stop while you’re ahead.”

“Okay, smartass. Maybe I’ll give these to my other boyfriend.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” I knelt in front of the three remaining presents and debated which to choose first. “Should I eeny, meeny, miny, moe it?”

“You should.”

“Decisions…” I ran my fingers over each meticulously wrapped present and settled on the smallest of the three, a blue and silver square that was light as a feather. Holding it up, I asked, “May I?”

“You may.”

As I removed the paper and lifted the lid of the box, Vaughn sat down on one of the pillows littering the floor, watching me expectantly. Inside the box, a white envelope lay nestled against tissue paper, and as I pulled out the contents, my eyes widened.

“Vaughn, are you kidding me?”

“Do you like it?”

“Do I like it? VIP tickets to see Candela live?” I grabbed his face and kissed him hard, and then looked back at the tickets. “I fucking love it. I can’t believe you got these.”

“I can’t either. You wouldn’t believe how many sexual favors those cost me.”

“I can believe it, actually. This is their final tour. People would kill for these.”

“They said it was final two years ago too.”

“It really is this time.” Hugging the tickets to my chest, I said, “This is amazing, thank you.”

“No, you’re amazing. You gave up the chance to see them, your favorite band, and it was that selfless act that sealed the deal for me. I knew I loved you by that point, but I didn’t realize how much until that moment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Two years ago, you had fifth-row tickets, and you didn’t think twice about giving them away when that boy in your class got his cancer diagnosis. You cared more about him getting a chance to see the band you’d bonded over than you did about your own wants. Even knowing you’d never get to see them perform live again, you didn’t hesitate. You’re the most selfless person I know, and that’s only one of the many reasons I love you. But you’re always putting others before yourself. But today? Today and tonight is all about you, Carter.”

My eyes blurred as I blinked at Vaughn, stunned by his words. It wasn’t that Vaughn didn’t tell me daily that he loved me before he left for work or kissed me when he crawled into bed. But the sheer intensity of what he’d just said made me realize he felt it too. This connection we shared. “Thank you,” I said, and leaned forward to cup his cheek and press a kiss to the corner of his lips. “I have no words.”

When a grin crept across his mouth, I pulled back. “That has to be a first for you, right?”

“Are you trying to say I’m talkative?”

“Carter, you even talk in your sleep. I don’t think you know how to be in a room that’s silent.”

I opened my mouth to refute that but thought better of it. He was right and he knew it. I looked down at the tickets again and then eyed him. “Hmm… I wonder who I should take?” When Vaughn’s jaw fell open, I tapped the tickets in my palm. “Know anyone who might be free that night?”

“I think I might.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And if you don’t ask him, he’s going to come anyway.”

I lowered my eyes down over Vaughn’s plaid pajama bottoms and then returned my attention back to his face. “Well, I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to do at a concert, Vaughn. But if you promise to behave, we might be able to take care of that after.”

Vaughn scoffed, reached for one of the two remaining gifts, and handed it to me. “As if you’d ever say no if I asked nicely.”

As I took the rectangular package from him, I shrugged. “I probably would say yes even if you didn’t ask nicely.”

Vaughn pointed to my gift. “Unwrap it before you distract yourself.”

I winked at him. “Too late.”

Vaughn reached over and tugged one end of the blue bow that was neatly tied in the center. As I continued to unwrap the present, my fingers tore into the paper and I pulled it off and threw it aside. I looked down to see a brushed silver photo frame and a photograph of my entire family at Thanksgiving, with Vaughn standing beside me a little to the left. There were at least fifteen people in that shot, and I remembered my father trying to corral us all in his backyard as he positioned the tripod. It had been a great day.

I ran my fingers over the familiar faces and then reached for Vaughn’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love this. We all look so happy. Look at Cassidy’s face,” I said, pointing to my younger sister, who had stuck her tongue out.

“I love it too. You gave them to me the first day you took me home. I’m not sure I’ve ever thanked you for that.” Vaughn brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “For so long it had just been me, ever since I lost my own parents when I was younger, and then my grandma. But you walked into my life with your big heart and”—he looked down at the photo in my lap and chuckled—“humongous family. From the minute your mom wrapped her arms around me, I felt welcomed, and every time I’m around them, I see all the reasons you became the man I fell in love with.”

I reached up to swipe at a tear that had escaped, and shook my head. “Vaughn, I…” I really had no words. What could I say to that? “Thank you” didn’t seem right or enough. I would give him the world if I could work out how. But to hear how much this meant to him from his own lips was more than I could’ve ever hoped for. Vaughn never spoke of his parents—he said it was too painful, so he kept that part locked away. But I knew it was one of the reasons he’d become an ER doctor, and I also knew those events were what had shaped him into the man he was today. The caring, kind, and compassionate man I loved.

“I know,” Vaughn said when words escaped me. “You tell me every day.” When he leaned down to pick up the last present, he placed it in my hands and kissed my temple. “Today, it’s my turn to tell you.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat when he sat back and smiled at me.

“Last one,” he said, and gestured to the square box in my hand.

“I’m not sure I can handle anything else.”

“Oh, trust me, you want this.” Vaughn rubbed his hands together like an excited kid. “Open it.”

I laughed at him, his joy contagious. “Are you sure you don’t want to open this one?”

“No way. It’s all yours.”

“Okay, if you insist.” After ripping the paper, I took the lid off and peered inside to see another set of tickets. But this time Blackbox Comedy Club was printed across the top, and under that: Hal Sparks. My mouth fell open, and when I looked over at Vaughn, he was grinning like a total loon.

“You love it, don’t you?” he said.

“Fuck yes, I do. This guy’s hilarious.” As I reached inside the box and pulled the tickets out, I made sure to read it again. “Hal Sparks. I didn’t even know he was coming here.”

“I found out a few days ago and had to grab them.”

I shook my head, slightly overwhelmed by everything in front of me, and then started to laugh. As it turned into a fit of total happiness, I snorted, and that made me laugh even harder. “This is so fantastic. But it’s all too much.”

“No,” Vaughn said, laughing as he tugged me over to him. “It’s not nearly enough. But I love the way you’re laughing right now, and the cute little way your nose is all scrunched up. That snort was pretty awesome, too.”

I punched him in the arm as I fell into him, and when he stretched out on the rug, I moved to settle between his legs. “I feel really sexy right now. Cute, adorable, snorting…wow, how can you keep your hands off me?”

Vaughn ran his palms down my back and slipped them under my shirt, where it had hiked up slightly, and whispered, “I don’t think I can…”

“No?”

“No. But you’ve always had that effect on me. Remember the first time you told me you loved me?”

I traced a finger down Vaughn’s jaw and nodded. “I do. It was a night just like this, minus all the Christmas decorations.”

“Yes, it was. You were perfect,” Vaughn said, and kissed my lips as I sighed against his and said, “So were you…”