Free Checking It Twice (Crashing Book 2) by Samantha Wayland

was on board with it the moment he’d
realized he’d get to spend all of Christmas morning curled up on the couch with
Alexei. This year it was even better, with Jayne up on his other side, their
shoulders bumping when they shared a joke or laughed at something the kids did.
He was touched to see that Rupert and Callum and the boys had all picked out
gifts for Jayne, and he could see she was, too.
    “You have really nice friends,” she said.
    “Not friends,” Mike explained. “Family.”
    “I hope I’m still counted among that
number.”
    Alexei leaned over Mike. “Of course you
are.”
    “Of course you are,” Rupert repeated as he
stepped over their legs en route to the coffee maker.
    He and Callum really did look as though
they’d pulled an all-nighter. Mike decided his and Alexei’s spontaneous additional
Christmas gift should be enforced naptime later. For the dads, at least, if not
the kids.
     As soon as it came time to open the “big
presents”, Mike said exactly that. Callum and Rupert looked so grateful, it was
kind of pathetic. Mike was glad he and Alexei would be here to help them get
used to having a newborn in the house. He looked at how Alexei smiled down at
Eleanor, tucked into the crook of his elbow, and hoped that someday Rupert and
Callum would be able to return the favor.
    Though, Mike thought as he shifted against
the couch cushions, still able to feel some of the effects of their night with
Erik, maybe not right away. They still had some adventures to go on first, and
were enjoying being family to these children now.
    He snapped out of his reverie when Alexei
shifted against him and stood. “Are you all ready for Mike’s and my big gift?”
he asked.
    “You mean the naps aren’t the big gift?”
Callum asked.
    “We have many big gifts for you this year,”
Alexei promised, and Mike looked at him curiously, since as far as he knew,
there was only the basketball court.
    Which, unsurprisingly, the boys were
absolutely ecstatic over as soon as they reached the first floor.
    Christian ran to the rack and grabbed a
ball, then showed Oliver how to dribble while the adults watched on, clinging
to their coffee mugs and smiling at the boys’ excited jabbering.
    “Thank you,” Callum said, throwing his arm
around Mike’s shoulders.
    “It’s meant to be for all of you, but I
know it’s really more for the boys.”
    “I’ll enjoy it, too,” Callum promised.
“When I’m not about to fall asleep on my feet.”
    “We have another gift for you and Rupert,”
Alexei said, surprising no one more than Mike. “One that I think you’ll get
more use out of.”
    Mike wondered what the heck he was talking
about.
    “We were going to build more apartments on
the third floor,” Alexei began, and Mike started to smile, immediately guessing
where his brilliant boyfriend was going. “But now I think instead, we should
put a staircase in your unit and build you and your growing family another
floor.”
    “What?” Rupert asked, clearly stunned. Mike
was a little alarmed to see tears forming in his wide eyes.
    Jesus Christ, the poor guy clearly needed
some sleep. It was a nice gift, an awesome one, even, but really.
    Alexei continued quickly. “We can move your
bedrooms downstairs and add a few more,” he said, then eyed the boys and Eleanor.
“Maybe five total? ...Or six ?” he asked when he saw how Callum smirked.
    “We can convert Christian’s room back into
an office. And what is now Eleanor’s room would be the perfect place to put the
staircase,” Mike said, throwing out ideas as quickly as they came to him. He stared
off into the middle distance, rearranging the rooms in his head. He was already
excited to get started on the project. “And you can convert the master bedroom
into a guest suite, Callum, so that your parents don’t have to navigate the
stairs or bother with the elevator when they visit.”
    Alexei grinned at Mike, and Mike smiled
helplessly back. Until, that is, Rupert