Fruitcake is the laughingstock of the holiday season. But is it really an aphrodisiac instead? Motorcycle mechanic Sam McGuire is surprised to find a gaily wrapped box on his doorstep with a piece of fruitcake inside. The note on the present is an invitation to a holiday party. Intrigued, Sam attends the party -- mostly to get more of the fruitcake he falls in love with -- and meets his new neighbor, Jay Merriweather. The lure of Jay’s big family and its holiday tradition of enjoying Grandma’s fruitcake hook Sam, as does the sexy man himself. But Sam can't imagine why handsome, college-educated Jay would want someone like him, who was raised in a children’s home and barely graduated high school. Can the magic of the holiday season help two men who seem so different come together like the ingredients in a well-made fruitcake?

Blame It on the Fruitcake

I felt like I was brick red, but I was happy. Goddamn was I happy.


Sure, I knew we didn’t have a prayer together, but it was Christmas. Fuck if I didn’t deserve a nice holiday season, too.


Yeah, well, since the weather was so crappy, we didn’t go out running. After cleaning up at the shop, I left my bike there and he drove us to dinner.


“So you gonna tell me why you’re not speaking to me?” he asked after we ordered.


We’d both broken open some crackers and were munching on them. I couldn’t answer because my mouth was so dry.


I lowered my eyes, picking at some dirt on one of my knuckles.


“What are we doing?” I didn’t look up at him.


He reached over and took my dirty hand in his. “Don’t know. But we’ll figure it out together. Okay?”


Chapter 9