Will a decade-old family feud and long held secrets stand in the way of love? Auden Whipple is searching for a bit of peace and quiet from his loud family when he stumbles across the neighbor, Porter Eldin. Porter is scorching hot on a freezing Christmas Day, and nothing like Auden expected. A moment shared by the creek begins a relationship that surprises them both. As the Christmases pass, Auden and Porter’s relationship deepens. But the obstacle of the unresolved conflict between the Whipples and the Eldins makes Auden worried. Worried to tell his family of his new-found love, worried that the conflict will come between them. Can two men truly in love help mend fences that have been broken for too long? Can the holiday spirit help Auden and Porter find their happily ever after?

Four Christmases

Instead, I bounce on my toes, suck my lower lip into my mouth to stop it from trembling, and blink frantically, not wanting the prickle behind my eyes develop into tears. I want to touch him and make sure he’s okay, but hover at a distance so I won’t get in the way.


Emily glances at me and immediately steps closer, wrapping her arms around me. “Breathe, Auden.”


Poe jerks and looks at me for a second, before Rob nudges Poe’s head forward. “Eyes on me, please.” Poe doesn’t move again, but he holds out his hand, and I grab it as if I was drowning in a hole in the ice and someone just threw me a lifebuoy.


Despite clinging to his hand, and Emily’s physical support, my nerves are on the outside of my body, raw and sensitive, and I just want to scream and yell until someone tells me what happened to my partner. I just want to curl up in his lap, despite being too tall for it—“Auden, your limbs stick out everywhere,” he always says when I try—and make sure he’s all right.


Chapter 21