When Victor Hill bought a house with his boyfriend, Jian Kouri it was a dream come true. But now, two years later, instead of living their happily ever after, they hardly see the other awake.<br><br>With Jian out the door before Victor gets up in the morning, and asleep on the couch nearly as soon as he walks in the door, the life Victor imagined couldn’t be further from reality. They don’t talk; they don’t touch, and Victor fears he and Jian have already drifted too far apart.<br><br>The holiday season is a time for hope, but when Victor comes home to find Jian with a plan to woo him for Christmas, is it too little, too late? The dates are great, and there are filled with Christmas fun to get Victor in the right spirit for the holiday, but are they enough for the two of them to fall in love again? Or is there just too much in their relationship that needs fixing?

24 Dates

Everyone cheered as the game began, and Victor grinned at Jian when he winked at him from out in the field. To call it a field didn’t give it justice—everyone’s feet were buried in snow


Victor grabbed the bat when it was his turn, David, a guy he’d gone to school with, threw the ball, and Victor hit it. It flew high, and he ran for all he was worth. The snow rustled around his calves, the weight almost tripping him, but he made it halfway to the third barrel before they managed to catch the ball. He threw himself into the snow, making it there before anyone from the field team did. Luisa was panting next to him. “That was much harder than I thought it would be.” She unhooked her cup from the belt loop of her jeans. “Time to drink.” Both of them poured from the blue thermos jug. Victor smelled the dark red liquid before tasting it. “Mulled wine.”


Chapter 10