Six months after his wife leaves him, Bob Jansen finds himself spending the holidays with his parents in the town where he grew up. With him is his seven year old daughter, Jenna, who sometimes seems to be handling her mother's absence better than Bob is himself. But he's worried that, in her letter to Santa, Jenna has asked the jolly old elf for something Bob knows he can't pull off. He's afraid she wants her mother back for the holiday.<br><br>While shopping for his daughter's Christmas presents, Bob runs into Dave Knarr, an old friend. They used to be best buds in high school, before Julia, Bob's soon-to-be ex-wife, came between them. The two men catch up over drinks, and before the evening ends, Dave makes his real feelings for Bob known.<br><br>If Bob is shocked to learn Dave has always been attracted to him, he's more surprised by his own reaction. Even if he's willing to take another shot at romance, what will his daughter think of his old friend?

A Present for Daddy

Standing, Dave scoops up my clothes and tosses them onto the bed. They land near my leg and I resist the urge to kick them to the floor. I don’t want to get dressed so quickly—I’m not ready for our time together to end. Hell, my headache is just starting to recede. Surely we can get to know each other all over again?


But Dave tells me, “Come on, I’ll take you to your car. Someof us have to get to work.”


“Today?” I ask, incredulous. “It’s Christmas Eve. Who’s open today?”


Dave crosses the room and slaps my leg through the bed sheet. “The mall, remember? We close early, and we’re closed tomorrow, but that’s it. This is the busiest time of the year for us.”


Chapter 16