When State Trooper Travis Kinslow is injured right before Thanksgiving, the only positive is that for once he won't be working during the holidays. Since he has no family, Travis was absorbed into his best friend Joe's, and he considers them as good as his own. Everyone except Joe's brother Noah. Travis has been in love with the younger man for much of his life, but he's always kept his distance.<br><br>As an ER nurse, Noah is a caretaker by nature. When his brother's best friend is hurt, he's happy to help Travis while he heals. He's only ever allowed himself to think of Travis as the next best thing to an older brother, but by the light of the Christmas tree, Noah finally sees Travis's true feelings. And in that moment, everything changes.<br><br>When faced with opposition and a Christmas nothing like they imagined, will their hopes for the future be enough to carry them through?

His Needs

But I’d had to erect some walls around my heart. I held out a foolish hope that he’d someday see me as more, but as the years dragged on, and he resolutely dated guys who were the complete opposite of me, I’d accepted my place in his life. I was in love with him, but I had to let the possibility of him go. He was my friend, and I could pretend he was my brother, and that was it.


With the painkillers threatening to crumble my resolve, or at least my hard-won outlook, I had to do some quick talking to get my thoughts back under control. There were boundaries I had to keep intact for self-preservation. Without them, I’d be vulnerable to his rejection. I couldn’t risk that.


Still, when he walked back in the door almost twenty minutes later, carrying a box and a bag from the drugstore two blocks up, his shit-eating, proud grin was nearly enough to be my undoing.


Chapter 7