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Epilogue

Bailey

B oxing Day at the beach was Bailey’s favourite family tradition. It always had been when he was a kid, and it was even better now that he was an adult.

“Daddy, watch!”

Scratch that, it was even better now that he had an insta-family of his own.

He settled back under the shade of the navy and white striped CoolCabana he’d bought after the previous year’s Boxing Day fiasco (wherein AJ had gotten terribly sunburned) and watched with an indulgent smile as the little girl did a cartwheel on the hard-packed wet sand a few meters ahead of him. After righting herself, she did a little happy dance in the whitewash lapping at her feet. The ocean itself was clear and inviting, a deep blue-green colour which relaxed Bailey even further.

Home.

“Great job, princess!” he called out, watching as she repeated the cartwheel again.

“I’m going to have to suffer through gymnastics lessons, aren’t I?” AJ sighed as he stepped under their shelter, three already melting soft serve ice-cream cones held in his hands. “She hasn’t stopped asking since that Hudson kid told her he loves it.”

“ That Hudson kid is her best friend,” Bailey laughed and accepted one of the vanilla ice creams, then whistled shrilly for Ava’s attention. She raced towards them as soon as she spied the treat. He turned back to AJ. “Besides, she’s good at it and she doesn’t want to go back to soccer training.”

Much to AJ’s horror, his daughter showed no interest in playing the sport that he and Bailey loved, though she did still enjoy watching the games, at least. Bailey thought it was hilarious. (Bailey felt vindicated when Jack and Leo, Hudson’s parents and soccer fans themselves, also thought it was ten kinds of amusing.)

“Think of it as a reward for finally ditching the pull-ups,” he added as the little girl approached, gratefully taking her treat from her dad’s hands and plopping down onto the soft, white sand beneath their shelter to eat it.

AJ cringed. “You couldn’t have sat on your towel?”

“Nuh-uh,” she answered, her face somehow already smeared with ice-cream, “my bum’s wet from the ocean.”

“Yeah, and now all the sand will stick to you.”

Ava shrugged. “It’ll wash off in the water, Daddy.”

“Fine,” AJ sighed. “Daddy Bailey’s going to go in with you, though.”

Bailey fought the urge not to snicker. Even after a year together, he hadn’t been quite able to convince his lover that the beach was the best place ever. But AJ was looking into having a pool put into the backyard, seeing as Ava really loved to swim, and Bailey saw that as a compromise.

Bailey leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Once the pool’s built, you’ll swim with us, won’t you?”

“If I have to,” was the grumpy reply, but Bailey saw right through it.

He pressed his lips to the shell of his coach’s ear and practically purred, “Wait until I introduce you to late-night swims.”

The backyard was private, shielded from view of potentially nosy neighbours by large trees and strategic fencing. Bailey couldn’t wait to take advantage of that. By the growly groan AJ let out, it seemed as though he felt the same way.

It still amazed Bailey that this was how his life had turned out. He and AJ had declared their relationship to the team and the team’s owners and, after filling out a bunch of paperwork and AJ conceding to have a secondary coach come on board, things went smoothly. Sure, there had been some raised eyebrows from the team at first, but nobody had caused a fuss.

The worry over it all being forbidden felt quite anticlimactic, though AJ still said that if it had gone to shit, he would have retired completely and lived off his savings to keep Bailey in his life.

That particular declaration had earned him a blowjob in his office, not that Bailey would ever tell a soul. They would both be fired if that kind of thing came to light.

It probably didn’t hurt them that their team had made it to number four on the ladder during their premiere season, either, proving that their relationship wasn’t having a negative impact on the team’s performance. Yes, it would have been even better to make it to the grand final, but fourth place was not a bad thing.

After six months, Bailey had officially moved in with AJ and Ava, and he’d taken the pair to Adelaide during the off-season to meet his family. Unsurprisingly, everyone adored the Brits who made him so happy. In turn, he’d been welcomed into the large, boisterous Jacobs family with equal fervour, meeting most of them via Facetime, but AJ promised a trip to the UK in the not-too-distant future so he could collect on their promised hugs in person.

“What are you thinking about?” AJ asked, wiping a smear of ice-cream from the corner of Bailey’s lip with his thumb.

Bailey loved those little gestures from the usually gruff, taciturn man. Those little signs that told him he was loved and cared for even more than the man’s sweet words could.

“I was thinking about how much I love summer and Christmas,” Bailey said, causing AJ to groan good-naturedly.

Bailey just smiled. It really had always been his favourite time of the year. Not only was it usually joyful and spent with loved ones, but he’d always been a summer child. Playing outdoors, swimming, doing sports…the sunshine warmed him in more ways than one. But now summer and Christmas had taken on a new meaning for him.

“We’ve just had Christmas, love. Give it at least a month before you start planning for next year.”

Bailey laughed and shook his head. “Nah,” he said, “I mean…I was thinking about how we got together. Christmas was a big part of that. So, y’know, this time of year is even more special to me now.”

With a slight huff, AJ shuffled closer on the towel beside him, wrapping an arm around his bare shoulders. He pressed a light kiss to Bailey’s warm, tanned skin, and replied, “I’ll tell you a secret; it’s becoming my favourite time of the year now, too.”

Bailey cocked his head. “Even the heat?”

“Even the God-awful heat,” AJ admitted.

“Well, that is a surprise.”

“I’ll have you know,” AJ smirked at him and withdrew his hand from the pocket of his board shorts, extending a small, square box out in front of them. “I’m full of surprises, pet.”

Bailey blinked at the ring box, then at his lover’s now earnest expression. He licked his lips. “Is that…are you…?”

“Marry me, Bailey. Please?”

“Yes!” he cried, twisting around and lunging, tackling AJ to the sand so he could kiss him senseless, even while the older man protested being covered in the gritty stuff he despised with a passion.

Bailey laughed as Ava, still sticky from ice-cream and wet from the surf, leapt onto their pile, completing their impromptu family celebration.

This cemented it: there was nothing better than a summertime holiday season.

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