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

Victor nodded and cut the mushroom in half and put it into his mouth. It had a creamy filling—cheese, bacon, and garlic would be his guess. “It’s lovely.” He ate the other half too.


“Is it too salty, too much garlic?”


“No, it’s perfect.” It was. He could’ve eaten ten more.


“Great!” Jian wrote something down on a sheet of paper. “Now, try this.” He held up a golden ball.


“Is it a cheese ball?” Victor’s mouth watered. He loved cheese balls. Jian made some that were all gooey on the inside but crispy on the surface.


“Yeah. I feared they wouldn’t survive being in the microwave oven.”


Victor studied it. “It’s not as crispy as you normally make them. And it—” He smelled it. “—smells wrong.” He popped it into his mouth and a tangy flavor exploded on his tongue. He spluttered. “Eww! It’s goats’ cheese.”


“Drizzled in honey.” Jian popped one in his mouth too. “Delicious.”


“Nasty! Those will not go on the menu.”


Chapter 14