Trust Fund Baby

by Aiden Bates

  Luke laughed, the sound echoing around the kitchen loud enough to startle them both. "Oh, my God. I'd forgotten all about that," he said, propping his shoulder against the doorway. "It was something Mom made. I was about six, and they had a party— I don't remember what for. The actual name is French, something like cheese mousse and sea salt, but all I heard was mouse salad. It's just the fancy version of canned cheese and crackers ."

  Sticking a cookie into the quart of ice cream, Jay hummed happily. "Sounds delicious ."

  He wrapped an arm around Jay's waist, grabbing a spoon and stealing a bite of ice cream. "It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I think I spent an entire month refusing to eat anything else ."

  "Hey!" Jay glared, curling protectively around the ice cream. "Mine ."

  "If you eat all of that yourself, you'll regret it ."

  "You don't know that," Jay said, stuffing an extra large piece of ice cream covered cookie in his mouth .

  "I can extrapolate given the available data," he said, stealing another spoonful .

  "Don't go using your lawyer mind tricks on me. It won't work." Jay leaned his head back on Luke's shoulder, pressing a kiss to his jaw and leaving a sticky ring of crumbs. "I could, however, be convinced to share in exchange for a present ."

  Shaking his head, Luke rubbed his chin against Jay's shoulder. "Are you seriously going to spoil your Christmas? You only have two more days to wait ."

  Jay pouted. "I haven't had a Christmas present since I left the carnival. I'm allowed to get excited," he said, stuffing another cookie in his mouth .

  Nervous energy crackled in Luke's gut, his fingers smoothing Jay's shirt restlessly. Jay's hair floated around his face, clinging to his lips. The smell of his shampoo and Jay's naturally sweet smell mixed with the ice cream, and he couldn't imagine going back to an empty house. He couldn't even imagine skipping out on a lazy Saturday for anything less than a full-scale emergency at work .

  Had he and Liam really been so badly matched? He didn't for a moment think that Meredith was right about the artist using him for his money; it just wasn't who Liam was. Once they'd gotten into their rut, though, it had taken something really drastic to shake them loose .

  "I should send Liam a gift basket in Taos," he said, stealing another bite of ice cream when Jay blinked at him in surprise. "If he hadn't left me, I might not have found everything I was looking for ."

  Blushing bright red, Jay buried his face in the container of ice cream. "I don't think I can finish this," he said, chewing his most recent cookie slowly .

  "Told you so," Luke said, stealing the container and digging in. "I didn't get you a pony," he said when Jay swatted him on the hip .

  "Well, I didn't get you a puppy," Jay said, munching on the last piece of his cookie. "It was a near thing, though ."

  "I didn't get you a yacht," Luke said, making a note to have Teddy add some kind of dog area to one of the balconies when he remodeled .

  "Don't you already have one?" Jay asked .

  "No," he said, taking an aggressive bite of ice cream. He regretted it almost instantly as his teeth started to ache with the cold .

  "Yes, you do," Jay said, pointing a sticky finger at him. "Kurt was complaining about not being able to go out on it ."

  "Dad tried to give me a Carter Security model ship when they retired it last year. I refused." He set the quart down on the counter and waited for his mouth to warm up .

  "So, what? It's just sitting at the marina with no one using it?" Crossing his arms, Jay looked down his nose at Luke thoughtfully .

  "Uncle Robert and his niece Amelia use it sometimes," he said, shrugging. "Maybe Dad put it in Robert's name instead of mine. I don't really care ."

  "You're impossible." Shaking his head affectionately, Jay leaned up and rubbed his face against Luke's cheek, smearing ice cream residue across his skin and the rasp of his unshaved beard. "We should go out on this yacht when the weather is warm again ."

  "You're disgusting," he said, wiping at the sticky mess and only succeeding in spreading it to his fingers. "And I'm not accepting the yacht ."

  Jay hummed, wetting a paper towel to wipe his own face clean. "Is my Christmas present bigger than a yacht ?"

  Stealing the paper towel, Luke rubbed at his cheek. "No ."

  "I don't know about this," Jay said. "It's going to have to be a really nice present to make up for the yacht ."

  "You can buy your own yacht," he pointed out, trying to figure out how he'd ended up with ice cream in his hair .

  "Or I could just use yours. Besides, Carter Securities are the best, and even an old display model must be completely amazing. I just want to push all the buttons and pretend I'm James Bond." He paused. "There aren't actually missiles on your yacht, are there ?"

  He sighed. "No. The defense system isn't currently active, and Uncle Robert wouldn't have stocked it with torpedoes." Jay laughed, but Luke was perfectly serious. "Dad's company outfits some of the most high-end clients in the world. Missiles and torpedoes are both options if the client wants them ."

  "Jesus." Jay grabbed another cookie, his eyes wide. "That's... terrifyingly cool." He took a bite of the cookie, then seemed to realize what he was doing. "Ugh. I need to get out of the kitchen, or I'm going to eat all of these and make myself sick. And don't say 'I told you so.' It's not attractive ."

  Luke mimed locking his lips. "Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir ."

  Rolling his eyes, Jay wandered into the living room. There was a tree in the corner that had been delivered pre-decorated by the same designer that had done his condo. The stack of presents underneath was small only because they'd moved the rest of the boxes to the guest bedroom after they started blocking the kitchen door .

  "Is my present smaller than a breadbox ?"

  "I'm not playing twenty questions, sweetheart. You can wait thirty-six hours to find out." Pulling him down onto the couch, Luke nuzzled the omega's neck. He had to shift the gaudy, glittery gorilla that had taken up residence on the corner cushion out of the way just to have room to spread out. "How did your painting go today ?"

  Jay groaned, distracted just as Luke had hoped. "I love watercolors so much, but they make me want to tear my hair out. I really thought I was getting somewhere today, and then a drip! Right in the middle of the picture. I almost threw the palette. It was the perfect green !"

  "Are you going to try to do a green canvas again?" he asked, picking up the remote to see if he could find a good movie to watch. He wasn't expecting Jay to go completely still next to him. "Jay ?"

  "You... you saw that, huh?" Jay said, ducking his head. He fussed with the hem of his shirt, rubbing at a chocolate stain. "I forgot I had one at the gallery show ."

  "You have more than one of them?" Leaning forward, he couldn't see much more than the curve of Jay's cheek, very nearly the same color as his hair .

  Groaning, Jay buried his face in his hands. "This is so embarrassing. Yes, I have more than one. I lost two of them when Victor tore down my painting shed, but I've done three others since then. I only put one in the show because they look pretty similar ."

  "Why is that embarrassing? I like the green on green one. It's very soothing. I'll have to see if I can convince you to sell me the other two so I can hang them in the conference room by my office ."

  Jay squeaked, curling almost in half. "You bought the green canvas?" he asked Luke's thigh .

  "...Yes... Is that a problem?" He smoothed a hand ove
r Jay's back, frowning when he realized it was shaking. "What's wrong, sweetheart ?"

  "Nothing," Jay said faintly. "No, everything." He sat up suddenly, and Luke was startled to see tears pouring down his face as he laughed. "I can't believe you bought 'Green Eyes .'"

  "Is that what it's called? It's hanging in my office ."

  Jay grabbed his stomach, propping his forehead against Luke's shoulder and gasping. "Oh, oh, ow. That's too funny." He shook his head. "I can't even remember what name I sent it in with. I always call them 'Green Eyes' in my head." A fresh burst of laughter made it impossible for him to continue .

  Crossing his arms, Luke leaned against the arm of the couch and waited. "This must be a hell of a punchline," he muttered .

  "It's you," Jay gasped, scrubbing at his face as he flopped backward onto the cushions, almost cackling. "It was always you ."

  Luke blinked, shock raising the hairs on his arm. "You... Me... My ..."

  "Yes," Jay said, howling with laughter. "I spent ten years trying to reproduce the green of your eyes because whenever I needed to feel happy, all I could think about was you and the boathouse ."

  The tears on his cheeks didn't seem so funny now, and Luke dragged him upright into a hug. "Hey, hey. Breathe for me, baby. I've got you now ."

  "I can't believe you ended up buying that." Jay rubbed his tear-stained cheeks on Luke's shirt, hiccuping with a painful cross between a giggle and a sob .

  "It was always you," Luke whispered, pressing soothing kisses to his hair. "It just took us a little while ."

  "Too long," Jay said. "Too fucking long ."

  The tension in Luke's gut twisted into a knot, and he shot to his feet. "Wait here," he said, racing into the bedroom. Tearing the artfully arranged tissue paper off the gift bag, he dug around until he found the right box. There really wasn't any way to hide that it was a ring box, so he held it behind his back as he walked back to the living room, each step a little slower .

  "This is a terrible idea," he said as soon as he cleared the doorway, Jay staring at him in confusion. He was beautiful, even with ice cream dripped down his front and his eyes red. "I just want that on the record before I do this ."

  "Is that one of my presents?" Jay joked. "If I had known that crying worked, I'd have done it earlier ."

  Pressing one finger to Jay's lips, he tried to think of a way to explain everything that didn't sound insane. "Ten years ago, Victor threw me out because he assumed that I was trying to marry rich. He didn't recognize who I was, and that's fine by me. You know I don't need to marry rich, and now, you don't either ."

  "Luke, what are you—" Jay's mouth snapped shut with a click as Luke lowered himself to one knee .

  "I spent ten years looking for you in every artist I met. You spent ten years trying to find the perfect green. We both wasted too much time, and I really don't want to waste any more." He pulled the box from behind his back, and Jay gave a strangled squeak, fresh tears already dripping down his chin. "I'm not going to rush this, but I want both of us to know that I mean this. I meant it then, and I mean it now, and I'll mean it tomorrow. I want you to be sure of that. Hell, I want the whole world to be sure of it." He opened the box, too nervous to actually look at Jay's reaction. "Jay Collins, will you marry me ?"

  "Holy shit," Jay whispered, blinking hard as he stared at the ring. "I can't go boating with something like that on. I'll drown ."

  Helpless laughter welled up, and Luke couldn't resist the urge to sweep Jay up in his arms. "I'll buy you a life jacket," he whispered against the omega's lips. "Does that mean you'll say yes ?"

  "Of course I'll fucking say yes," Jay grumbled, digging his teeth into Luke's lower lip .

  "You turned me down last time," Luke pointed out, spinning them around in a giddy circle .

  "Shut up and put the ring on me ."

  "Sir, yes, sir," he said, making no move to do anything but kiss his fiancé, smiling the whole time .

  20

  "A w man. You couldn't have waited another week?" Kurt asked, sweeping Jay up into a bear hug. "I had money on New Year's Eve ."

  "That's what you get for betting against Teddy. You know he's practically psychic," Cody said, nudging Kurt with one massive shoulder .

  "Ignore them," Marcus said, smiling from where he was juggling a pile of gifts. "Congratulations. We're very happy for you, aren't we?" He glared at the other two, shoving a stack of boxes into Kurt's arms .

  "Right," Kurt said, grunting as more boxes were stacked on top. "Thrilled. Congrats. Many blessings on you both ."

  "Presents go in the guest room," Jay said, biting his lip to keep from laughing .

  The party wasn't scheduled to officially start for another half an hour, but people had been trickling in all morning, starting with Cody. Jay wasn't actually sure when the omega had arrived since he'd let himself in with his own key and had been halfway through peeling a bag of potatoes when Jay had stumbled into the kitchen. That had been how he'd learned that all of the brothers had keys to each other's houses and weren't afraid to use them .

  Fortunately, Teddy had arrived next. The architect made the best coffee that Jay had ever tasted, and he didn't even mind that it was decaf .

  Checking the time on his phone, Jay grabbed a sugar cookie off the plate by the door and stuffed it in his mouth. Cody gave him a concerned glance as Marcus and Kurt filtered back into the living room, but he shook his head. He'd give Luke five more minutes .

  "Knock, knock. We're here." A stately omega with silver hair stuck his head around the door and smiled. "Jay, good to see you again. Where should we put the food ?"

  "Kitchen, please, Robert," Jay said, pressing a kiss to the papery skin of his cheek. He smelled heavily of cologne, more so than the few times they'd interacted previously .

  "On it," the older man said with a salute. He took a few steps into the room, and then paused, glancing around like he'd forgotten something. "One moment." He smiled tightly at Jay and stuck his head back into the hallway. "Come on, Harry. You can't hide out here all night ."

  "I'm not hiding, I'm enjoying the view ."

  "Of the hallway. Right, that's enough of that." Striding back into the room, Robert had one arm hooked through the elbow of a tall alpha. He didn't seem to care that everyone was watching as he manhandled him across the room and into the kitchen .

  Harry Carter tried to smile charmingly, but it fell a bit flat the way he kept scanning the room. He was a handsome man, and if it hadn't been for the hefty amount of gray in his salt and pepper hair, he could have passed as Luke's older brother. Luke had his shoulders, broad but not bulky. His face was more aggressive than his son's, with a stubborn jaw and a nose that had been broken more than once. Jay wondered if that was one area Luke took after his mother, or if it was a throwback to some ancient ancestor .

  As the pair disappeared into the kitchen, Jay checked the time on his phone. It was only three minutes since the last time he'd checked, and he sighed .

  "I'll be right back," he told Cody, gesturing toward the bedrooms .

  The omega rolled his eyes. "Good luck," he said, not even glancing at Nikolai as the alpha draped himself over the back of his chair .

  "You are needing to be hired a bodyguard with ring like that," the Russian said, ignoring the elbow Cody jabbed him with as he took Jay's hand in his. "I am knowing people ."

  "He doesn't need a mafia bodyguard," Cody growled. "Do not, under any circumstances, trust any of Nikolai's recomme
ndations unless it involves bakeries or tailors ."

  "I'll keep that in mind," Jay said, slipping his hand out of Nikolai's gentle hold .

  "You are not complaining when I find you best translator in Eastern Europe, but now I am never recommending trustworthy people ?"

  "He tried to kill us and steal our stuff !"

  "Was only test to make sure you are not sleeping. He is very sorry ."

  He'd learned a long time ago that it was best not to ask, so Jay put his head down and ignored their bickering. The master bedroom looked like it had been hit by a tornado, clothes and pieces of tape-covered wrapping paper strewn all over the bed and floor. The bathroom door was open, and he could hear quiet cursing coming from inside .

  Leaning against the doorway, Jay watched Luke fumble with a pair of sapphire cufflinks. He'd changed shirts again, and his hair was back to sticking up every which way. Even as Jay watched, he ran a hand through it, then cursed and tried to make it lay flat again .

  "Vivian is running late, but she'll be here before the food is ready, and your dad just arrived," he said, stepping forward and swatting Luke's hands away from his shirt. "Robert's dragging him around on a tour. You didn't tell me you look just like him ."

  "We don't look anything alike," Luke snapped, then took a deep breath, visibly shaking off some of his tension. "My grandmother accused my mom of having an affair when I was born, I look so different from him ."

  "Maybe in the face," Jay said, sliding the cufflinks into place and straightening his collar, "but you have his build ."

  Luke grunted, stepping back to check his appearance in the mirror. "What do you think ?"

  Humming, he grinned and leaned up on his toes for a kiss. "I think I'm the luckiest guy in the world ."

  Warm lips pressed against his for a moment before Luke pulled back. "You don't think the cufflinks are too much? I wanted them to match the ring, but I'm not sure they go with this shirt." He picked at the crisp white dress shirt that was the sixth shirt that he'd tried on so far, that Jay knew about .