Noah and Angel were childhood sweethearts and teenage lovers. With youth comes unrealistic ideas sometimes, and also bad choices. But just about the time they reach manhood, Noah’s demons pull them apart.<br><br>Seven years later, he gets a second chance when Angel returns to town. Hoping everything can be different, Noah sets out to remind him how wonderful their past was by secretly sending him thirteen gifts commemorating their happiest times, one on each day beginning December 11.<br><br>By Christmas Eve, Noah hasn’t heard a word back, and wonders if Angel even recognized the meaning of the offerings. When Angel does get in touch, he only remembers the bad things that drove them apart. Can Noah remind him how good they had it, too?

The Presents and the Past

I was at the front door with the fancy scrolled letters in gold. Becca’s desk and at least twelve feet of carpeting was between us, that and our turbulent past. “You remember.” I smiled nervously.


“Of course, I remember.” He set the book he’d chosen down beside a fall foliage centerpiece on a shiny console table once his feet hit the floor. “It’s only been six years.”


We stood still a moment, and then he came to me. Though I’d rehearsed the moment in my head a dozen times, every bit of dialogue I’d tried to commit to memory vanished when Angel hugged me.


Chapter 5