as much as her feet. They got to the bottom of the sweeping staircase and stopped as Cole switched his cane to the other hand and grabbed for the railing.
“I really wish I could carry you up these stairs,” he confessed. “It’d be a very dashing way to round off my proposal.”
Jane smiled. “As long as I don’t have to carry you, I’m good.” She slipped an arm around his waist, relieving him of his cane. “How about we go up side by side, together?”
“Mmm.” He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “I like the sound of that.”
Yeah. So did she. Jane liked it very much indeed.
Epilogue
Several months later, Christmas morning, California
Finn, still in his pajamas, beat Jane to the door when the bell rang at precisely seven a.m. If anything, he was more excited than she was about seeing Cole this morning.
He’d been awake since five thirty, asking how much longer, Mommy every ten minutes. He was always excited, of course, to see Cole, who had an apartment only a ten-minute drive away, but this was a very special morning, after all.
“Cole!” Finn exclaimed as he pulled on the doorknob with gusto, the giant wreath decorating the front of the door swinging precariously.
“Matey.” Cole grinned at him, accepting the enthusiastic hug as Finn threw his arms around Cole’s waist.
Jane’s heart fluttered in her chest as it always did at the obvious love and affection between her two guys. They were a true mutual-admiration society, and she never tired of witnessing the way Cole was with Finn.
“Merry Christmas, Cole,” Finn said, his voice muffled by Cole’s ridiculously over-the-top Christmas sweater with a red reindeer nose at sternum height.
“Merry Christmas, Finny,” Cole said, ruffling Finn’s hair. And then he switched his attention to Jane, and his gaze went from playful and PG to something hotter and definitely not PG. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured, his mouth curving up into a slow, lazy, knowing smile.
A smile that told her he remembered their Christmas Eve session over Skype last night, which was also not PG. In fact, she was pretty sure they’d breached several telecommunication laws. What could she say? The man was good at phone sex.
And he’d been away in New York for a few days until late last night.
Jane returned that smile with a similar one of her own. “Merry Christmas,” she said, her voice a little breathy.
And then they just stared at each other for long moments because it had been a few days and she’d missed him. Having Cole so close these past months had been wonderful. He’d respected her requirement they take things slow for Finn’s sake and had let her set the boundaries and call the shots. He’d gotten his own apartment, hung out with them whenever he could, showed up when he said he would, was fine with squeezing in sexy times to her schedule and in secret, and helped out with Finn when he wasn’t away, which was usually only a few days a month. And he’d never pushed for more.
She couldn’t have asked for a better, more patient man.
Aware suddenly of the cool air coming inside despite the bright blue sky outside, she laughed and said, “Let Cole in, Finn. We’ll catch our deaths out here in this cold air.”
Okay, it wasn’t snowing, like it currently was in Credence, but it was cold for California.
“C’mon, Cole!” Finn separated himself, grabbed Cole’s hand, and tugged. “We have a present for you.”
“Hey,” Cole said, pressing his lips brief and hard and urgent against hers for the two seconds his mouth came close enough to snatch a kiss before he was whisked away.
Jane laughed as the little boy pulled the giant man with apparent effortlessness across the main living area. Luckily, Cole no longer needed a cane.
“C’mon, Mommy!”
Finn’s voice grew fainter as he disappeared into the living room, where the Christmas tree sat all bright and festive and bursting with gaily wrapped presents awaiting the arrival of Tad and his parents in a couple of hours. They were all—Cole included—sitting down to lunch together, and Jane was looking forward to it. Tad had grown a lot these past months. He’d picked up a teaching job, and he and his parents had accepted Cole as part of her and Finn’s life.
It didn’t mean everything was plain sailing all the time, but everyone was making an effort, and it was working.
Jane’s heart rate picked up a little as she followed at a more sedate pace. She was pretty damn excited,