Take Me Home for Christmas

not the wig.” He drained his glass. “It’s that I haven’t gotten out of the house enough this year.”

She lowered her voice so the others couldn’t hear. “You mean it’s too long since you’ve gotten laid.”

When she said that, he could tell she’d had too much to drink. Adelaide, being pregnant, was a designated driver. So was he, since he usually didn’t drink much more than a glass of wine. That meant even those who didn’t live within walking distance had a safe way to get home. “That, too,” he admitted. “How’d you guess?”

Her expression suggested it had been all too easy. “We live in the same small town. We basically have the same problem.”

He shifted in his seat. He guessed she normally reserved that kind of remark for Cheyenne or another female member of the group because she’d never been that candid with him before. But he had no chance to comment. The doorbell rang and Callie cried, “It’s Bax!”

This was the moment they’d all been waiting for. After spending his whole life pretending to be straight, Baxter North had come out of the closet a year ago, and he’d done it by declaring his love for Noah, who wasn’t the least bit gay. That had disrupted their friendship, which had lasted since early childhood, and it had sent shock waves through the whole group—until everyone who was part of it could adjust. For a while, no one was sure Baxter would be able to come to grips with his true identity. But he seemed to be doing better since moving to San Francisco, where he’d already been working as a stockbroker for a number of years. Fortunately, he and Noah were friends again. Ted didn’t talk to Baxter as often as some of the others, like Callie, but he knew that much. Even Adelaide, whom Noah had married nine months ago, liked Bax.

Everyone liked Bax and had been looking forward to seeing him. But they hadn’t expected him to bring a friend. He hadn’t mentioned it. So when he walked in holding hands with a man who strongly resembled Noah—a man who was even dressed in biking shorts and a biking tunic with Noah’s store logo—the room fell silent.

Noah seemed determined to ease the awkwardness when he stepped forward to hug his best friend and shake hands with his doppelganger, whom Baxter introduced as Skye. “I like your shirt,” he said, grinning. “But I look better in Spandex.”

They all laughed and followed his lead.

“Nice to meet you,” Ted murmured when it was his turn to be introduced.

After that they all stood blinking at one another, trying to ignore the fact that Baxter’s boyfriend was almost a carbon copy of Noah—the man he’d loved his whole life.

Probably feeling desperate to get the party back on track, Cheyenne cleared her throat. “You two have a seat. What can I get you to drink?”

Baxter swung the hand that was clasping Skye’s as they cut through the crowd toward the living room. But then Baxter let go. “Gotcha!” he cried and announced that Skye was only a friend he’d met at work. He wasn’t even gay.

“He was nice enough to dress up like Noah and help me pull off this gag. I knew it would freak you out,” he said, laughing. “It’s uncanny how much they look alike, right?”

Callie was laughing, too. “But how’d you get one of Noah’s tunics?”

Baxter gestured as if that was the easy part. “He gave that to me ages ago.”

Once everyone realized he hadn’t fallen for a Noah stunt double, as he’d pretended, they could all enjoy the joke. The tension dissipated and everything grew comfortable again. As usual, they talked, watched a horror flick and played games.

Thanks to Skye, Eve didn’t win the costume contest. No one could outdo a Noah look-alike who resembled him more than the fraternal twin who’d died on grad night. They just wished Noah had dressed up in biking clothes, too, so they could get a picture of both of them together.

At the end of the evening, when the party was breaking up, Ted invited anyone who’d remembered to bring a swimsuit to get in his hot tub, and a handful of stragglers followed him home.

It was nearly two o’clock by the time everyone left Ted’s place. Only Eve remained, and Ted wasn’t disappointed about that. Since he got home, he’d had more to drink. And she was in a bikini.

He kept asking himself why he hadn’t noticed what a beautiful body she had until tonight....

“That was a shocker,” she said as she leaned against the back of the Jacuzzi. The water bubbled and foamed about her breasts as she finished another glass of wine.

“Skye?” He leaned over to pour her some more from the bottle sitting near his elbow.

“Yeah. I thought that was really cool of Bax—to poke fun at himself like that. To laugh and let us laugh, so we can finally feel as if he’s come to terms with his crush.”

“It’s always better to tackle that sort of thing head-on and get it out of the way. Skye made for a great icebreaker. But I bet Noah just about had a heart attack when they walked in.”

Her laugh sounded relaxed and husky as she let her head rest on the edge of the hot tub. She was drunker than he was, but he was getting there fast. “Adelaide, too. Bax came out just after she returned to town and started seeing Noah. She must’ve felt some anxiety, if only for Noah’s sake, when Baxter showed up with Skye.”

Ted took another sip of his wine. “Do you think Bax is over Noah?”

“Probably not. But he’s reconciled to the fact that he’ll never be with him in that way. And he’s willing to remain friends, which is more than most people in his situation would be capable of. It’s hard to love someone who doesn’t love you back. I hope he finds the happiness he deserves.”

“Finding that happiness would be easier if his parents would accept him for who he is,” Ted said. “But I don’t get the impression his relationship with them has improved, do you?”

“Maybe it hasn’t improved a lot, but he told me they’re starting to come around. That’s hopeful.”

They gazed up at the stars in silence. It was cold out, but the wind had died down. “Speaking of old love interests,” Eve eventually said. “Will you be okay with Sophia working here?”

He didn’t want to talk about Sophia. He understood all about unrequited love and how long it could take to get over someone. He wasn’t about to fall back into that pit now that he was free of it, but whatever had drawn him to her in the first place was still lurking beneath the surface. He’d have to fight that magnetic pull, make sure he didn’t take so much as one step in her direction. Tonight, probably due to the wine, there’d been a brief few seconds when he’d wondered what it would be like to try again with her now that Skip was gone. She obviously needed help; he could provide it. And no matter how much he tried to deny the truth, he hadn’t lost his craving for the taste and feel of her.

But he didn’t want to become her new sugar daddy. That wouldn’t make her love him any more deeply than she had before. Besides, dating Sophia would ruin his relationship with his mother, who would consider him the biggest fool on earth. And she’d be right. Because he’d have to be a fool to get involved with Sophia again.

His gaze shifted from the stars to Eve. Why couldn’t he fall for a nice girl like her? He’d known her for so long, could absolutely count on the strength of her character. Maybe he’d missed what was right in front of him. Friends could become lovers; it happened all the time. For some, finding a mate had more to do with mutual respect than physical chemistry. Maybe those were actually the best relationships.

That was what a lot of people said....

He took a deep breath as he considered her question about Sophia, and decided to keep his answer short and sweet. The less he said on that subject, the better. “It’ll be fine. Because of her situation, I don’t have any choice except to keep her on until she can come up with something else. But...I’m hoping that won’t take too long.”

“You’re over her? It doesn’t have any impact on you romantically to have her coming to your house every day?”

He could guess why she was asking. They were both wondering why they couldn’t be that special someone in each other’s lives. Eve was sweet, attractive, loyal and capable of real commitment. She wanted to get married and have a family, and so did he. They were in their mid-thirties and hadn’t met anyone. They lived in a small town, so they didn’t come into contact with many strangers.

Could they somehow transform their relationship?

Should they even try?