Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

Aidan finished his call with Matt, then rotated against the balcony rail, watching the happy family inside decorate the Christmas tree.

Bev and Izzy stringing twinkling multicolor lights.

Angel, exaggerated mutiny on his face, holding a box of orange and black Giants ornaments in one hand, blue and gold Warriors ones in the other.

Jamie claiming innocence, genuinely surprised—Aidan had slipped the ornaments into the order—and no one buying it.

Especially when Maryanne, Izzy's friend they'd invited over, held up a matching box of light blue and white Tar Heel baubles, an ode to Jamie's alma matter that Aidan had likewise added to the order cart.

Jamie turned, searching for him, and met his gaze through the glass door. You set me up , he mouthed around a grin.

Aidan gave him a Who, me? shrug before turning back to the water. He rested his forearms on the rail, staring out at the ocean, the setting sun a beautiful sight like the one inside but not nearly so painful.

He wasn't surprised when the balcony door slid open a few minutes later. His husband knew him better than anyone. Big warm hands spanned his lower back, then slid up and around his middle, lifting his arms off the rail so Jamie could embrace him from behind.

Aidan rested back against Jamie, giving him some of his weight, Jamie strong enough in every sense to take it. "You told me not to let you do this."

Aidan closed his eyes and angled his face, nuzzling Jamie's jaw. "Do what?"

"Push us away."

A harsh chuckle escaped his lips as Aidan let his head fall back against Jamie's shoulder.

"What?" Jamie said, squeezing his middle.

"It was you then. Don't push you away. Now it's us ." Fuck, how had so much changed in only five days? The case part Aidan could grasp, could throw himself into, but this part his mind and heart were having a hard time comprehending.

"What did Matt have to say?" Jamie asked, throwing him that rope, offering Aidan a chance to steady himself with case talk before they discussed the hard stuff.

"We're all set. Matt, Rick, and Berat are already at the arena, coordinating with security and local, and I've got our tickets in my email." Once they'd confirmed Martino's club-level seats had not been resold for the game tonight, they'd spent the day prepping tactical plans. Aidan and Jamie would be several sections over with a view, and Jamie would be tapped into the comms operation Rick would run for the rest of the tactical teams scattered about the arena and at the nearest exits. Their plan was to observe first—see if Martino met with anyone of interest—then take him discreetly into custody. The end of game crowd clearing out of the arena would be a workable opportunity, but Aidan hoped they would get the chance sooner, when less innocents were in the way.

Laughter behind them drew his gaze around Jamie's shoulder. Izzy and Maryanne were playfully refereeing a standoff between the kids, Angel after the bowl of popcorn that Bev was using to create strings for the tree.

"Good idea to invite Maryanne over," Jamie said.

"Izzy needed some company besides the kids." He righted himself in Jamie's arms, back to his front again. "And even if this is over tonight, I want to know they're safe at her party, especially if we're..." The words deserted him, caught behind a lump in his throat.

"If we're back home."

"Five days, Whiskey," he said, shaking his head, still unable to wrap his mind around the current state of things.

Jamie held him tighter and pressed his lips to his temple. "Talk to me, Irish."

The complete safety Aidan felt in his arms made the hard words—their ramifications—a little easier to say. "We have so much family already, but this feels..." He swallowed hard, forcing down that lump, then said the scary part out loud. "This feels like ours, Jamie."

"It does." Jamie's smile curved against his cheek. "You Talleys really do like to pick up strays."

He chuckled, remembering how Mel, Nic, and Cam had once called themselves that—strays. How Jamie had too. Then sobered at recalling what Marsh had said just the other day, about family falling into your lap sometimes. Except there was a critical difference in Aidan's case; the truth he couldn't assuage with Christmas trees, silly ornaments, or all the colcannon in the world.

"Can I, though," he said, voice scratchy, "if I made them that way?"

"Oh, baby."

"I know it was Tom's and Gabe's decisions," he said as he turned in Jamie's arms. "But I feel like I'm taking something that doesn't belong to me."

"One, you're not taking anything." He covered Aidan's hands where they rested on his chest, over the tattoo where they were always drawn to. "We can only give if they want to take from us. And two, you had nothing to do with Bev's situation. If not for Angel in her life, which brought you into her life, she might still be in that closet in Deidra White's house."

As if on cue, Bev's "Victory!" sounded from inside, followed by cheers and laughter, and Angel's "Cheater!"

Aidan was both flying and sinking, both joyful and wretched. "We can't take her from them, though." She needed Angel and Izzy, and Angel and Izzy needed her, and there were people in San Francisco that needed him and Jamie, and he and Jamie needed them too. And that was even assuming Bev would want to stay with them, or with Izzy, after this was all over, let alone if social services would let her.

Jamie must have recognized the mental and emotional dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. He snaked an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close again. "We'll work it out. Like we always do."

"I want this, Jamie. If they'll have us, I want them in our lives, including Bev. "

Jamie's laughter surprised him into glancing up to the baby blues that were full of the love Aidan had come to depend on. "In all the years I've known you, Aidan Talley, you always get what you want." One side of his smile hitched higher, into a smirk. "Even if at first you refuse to admit it's what you actually want."

Like Aidan had refused to admit he wanted Jamie, that he'd been falling for his new partner. "I admitted it."

"Eventually," Jamie added, before stealing his lips in a kiss that reminded Aidan of the kiss they'd shared on a balcony in Galveston. Jamie comforting him as fate had rushed up to meet Aidan when he'd least expected it.

The balcony door swooshed opened. "I need a tall person," Bev interrupted. "Either of you will do."

Aidan just laughed, his forehead falling against Jamie's shoulder.

Fate.

Right in your lap , he mentally heard Marsh remark, smirk and all.

"What about both of us?" Jamie said to Bev as he carded his fingers through Aidan's hair, centering him the way no one else could.

"That'll work too."

Righting his head, Aidan took a deep breath and clasped Jamie's hand, ready to meet fate with his partner. "What's the mission?" he asked Bev.

"Put this on the top of the tree." She handed him a tree topper that was a red, white, and blue star with the C hugging LA logo in the middle.

Aidan laughed out loud. "Where did you find this?"

"Convenience store where Ward took us to get the popcorn and string. It's the team he plays for, right? The guy whose place we're borrowing?"

"It is," Jamie said, fighting his own laughter.

"Well, he should have at least one ornament for his team on the tree." She shoved the star at Jamie. "It can keep the peace among the others."

Jamie finally lost the battle, laughing so hard he was practically wheezing.

"What?" Bev said. "I pay zero attention to sports, so help me out here."

"I don't think anyone has ever referred to that team as peacekeepers."

She threw her hands up. "I was just trying for a compromise team. We're all gonna have to get behind one if this is ever gonna work." She spun on her heel, heading back inside, leaving Aidan with one hand in Jamie's and the other holding the last symbol of his future he would've ever imagined.

"Nic will fucking kill you," Jamie snickered. "At least convince her to go with Sacto so he's got someone to watch games with."

"I'll work on it," Aidan said with a smile. Jamie started forward to follow Bev inside, but Aidan tugged him back. He waited for Jamie's gaze before asking, "Do you want this too?" He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he needed to be sure Jamie was on board with all this, because Jamie would always be his top priority too.

Jamie's answering smile was almost as beautiful as the one from their wedding day. "The only thing I've ever wanted more is you, Irish."