As Josh Tully returns home from running errands, he stumbles across a handsome man leaving his apartment complex. Distracted by the charming new stranger, Josh spills his groceries across the front stoop. As the new neighbor helps Josh pick up his belongings, a sudden surge of electricity sparks between the two young men. When Eddie returns to Josh’s apartment with a fresh gallon of milk, a chance meeting turns into mutual attraction. But a severe case of pneumonia lands Josh in the hospital and Eddie stays at his side, and their budding friendship deepens. Eddie is not the nesting type, and he does not stay in one place for long. But as days turn to weeks, something in Josh’s laid-back persona draws Eddie to the small Minnesota town of Gordonville and through the door of Josh’s heart. Will Eddie decide to stay this time ... and for how long?

A Door to the Heart

“I’ll be gone for three days,” Eddie says, glimpsing the dejected look in Josh’s stare.


Josh jams his hands into the back pockets of his khakis and stares down at Eddie’s bag. As Eddie reaches to envelop Josh in his arms, Josh jerks upright, and he feels tears prick his eyes. His hands remain planted firmly in his pockets.


“I’m sorry to impose Fletcher on you this way,” Eddie says.


Josh rummages in the muddled corridors of his brain for something to say, and after a heartbeat of silence, he spits out, “I would have done what any good friend does for someone they lo—like.” He bites the inside of his mouth and draws blood, the coppery taste making him feel sick. “I would have supported you if you had told me about your sister in the first place.”


“I didn’t know how to tell you. As you can tell, I am not good at communicating.”


“You told me about losing your parents.”


Eddie bends down and slings his carry-on over his shoulders. “I’m also not good at showing my emotions.”


Chapter 16