Must Love Dogs

By Eden Winters

Does a good deed outweigh a white lie?

With his family away this holiday season, Nathan Johnson faces his very first Christmas alone in a new city. Unexpectedly taking in the neighbor's dog leads to a series of white lies, all designed to set his sister's mind at ease. After all, Nathan really is spending the holidays with a stunning ginger named Oscar. He simply leaves out the part about Oscar being a dachshund.

Who knew Oscar would play furry little matchmaker and introduce Nathan to a gorgeous veterinarian who just might make Nathan's dreams come true?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rocky Ridge Books
• Release date: Apr 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224182466

Eden Winters

Eden Winters loves writing scorching hot erotica with no boundaries. If it's not naughty, it's not Eden. ***************************************** Eden on twitter @ edenerotic Garden of Eden Publishing

Book preview

Chapter One - December 3 and 4, Saturday and Sunday

Tinsel. Christmas trees. Sappy music. Elves. Everyfuckingwhere. If one more bit of tinsel fell from the rafters… Such was Saturday night in a Kentucky mall. In December.

A plateful of cold nachos with orange glop, which might or might not have been cheese, half occupied my time while my sister commanded the rest via cell phone. What time did you land in Dublin? I asked between bites.

Another bit of tinsel fluttered to the floor near my table.

Valerie yawned into the phone. A little after midnight.

I pulled my phone away from my ear to check the time. Six thirty-four pm, local time. Damn. I bet you’re tired.

And jet lagged, but I wanted to check in with you while Ian picks up the rental car. You’re my favorite brother, after all.

I’m your only brother, I reminded her. And you’d better be nice. There’s a good possibility you’ll be Ian’s fiancée one day. Really soon, too, though Ian made me promise not to tell his plan for proposing over the Christmas holidays. Shouldn’t you be with him? I’d helped Ian pick out a ring. Unless Val lost her senses and said no, she’d return from meeting Ian’s mother’s extended Irish family an engaged woman.

Bittersweet since Ian’s mother passed before he’d turned twelve.

I’ve found a new purpose in life, guarding the luggage, Val said through another yawn. I feel so bad leaving you for Christmas, especially since Mom and Dad are going on a cruise. Who’ll give you a hard time and help you drink Christmas cheer?

She didn’t have to remind me. Mom and Dad would soon cruise the Bahamas, sipping Mai Tais while Val traipsed the Irish countryside with Ian and his many relatives.

Nice guy, though. Although my family's plans meant I would eat frozen pizza and watch It's a Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time, I approved their choices.

Not that I’d confess.

What are you doing for the holidays? You won’t be alone, will you? Val had to ask.

Keeping the exasperation from my voice took phenomenal effort. Look, Val, focus on yourself and Ian, not me. I’m fine. Some guys from back home invited me to go skiing. Which usually involved more drinking than skiing, so a hard pass. Inebriation, good old boys, and skis never ended well.

Besides, Val would likely be a married woman soon. The traditions she’d made with her parents and brother would change.

I miss the Christmas sales, Val lamented with a bit of an exaggerated whine. This is the first year we won’t be shopping together. Besides, the whole euros versus dollars thing is complicated.

I forced a laugh. Us not shopping together might be a good thing. Remember the bottle of wine we polished off after shopping last year? Probably more than one. I winced at the memory. Those last few packages we wrapped were a mess. I thought I’d never work my fingers loose from the tape.

But we had fun. Who’ll go shopping with you now? No one can compare to your dear big sister, but there’s someone, right? She wouldn’t let the point die. Tenacious, our Val.

I held my phone aloft so she could hear the chatting, Christmas carols, and other proof I wasn’t alone. I’m at the mall now. Eating… I paused for effect before saying, Mall nachos. The bag at my feet held a pair of silver earrings for Val to replace the favorites she’d lost, a wind chime for Mom, and the extra battery for Dad’s drill he’d insisted he couldn’t live without. Hey, that’s what he’d asked for. Plus, I’d picked up a few things I needed for the house since I’d yet to find certain items, and others hadn’t survived the move—rest in peace, coffee maker.

Ah, yes, getting the total experience, huh? Only, last year, we got pizza. Val quieted, then added, Here comes Ian. I gotta go. I just wanted to touch base. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, bro! She air-kissed into the phone, then ended the call before I could reply.

Leaving me as the only person in the food court eating alone. Families, couples, groups of friends, even a group of elves with egg rolls—and me.

Oh, and let’s not forget Christmas decorations. Another flutter of tinsel came down from on high as if on cue. I scrolled through my phone and finally found an image from last Christmas of my family gathered around a familiar Christmas tree I’d helped decorate every year since age six.

We’d taken close to the same photo every year, showing the passing of time. We’d gone from four brown-haired, brown-eyed people to one with brown hair, two with brown and gray, and one with a shade Val referred to as autumn spice, acquired from her stylist.

Besides the brown hair and eyes, I’d also sported a bit of scruff—a far cry from the chubby-cheeked toddler I’d once been. No family photo this year. It also struck me as strange how, in a few short years, the family farm had gone from being home to being my parents’ house.

My heart ached. Enough dwelling on the past. A group of four teenagers standing nearby kept eyeing my table, one making a hurry up motion with his hand. Oh. Right. Time to tuck the phone away and start moving through more tinsel, glitter, and sappy music.

Even the public restroom was decorated with glittery ornaments and a life-size Santa decal on the mirror. Not creepy in the least.

I approached the mirror slowly. The image appeared to be of me sitting on Santa’s lap. Not a good look for me. I’ve never been into daddies. I’ve been a good boy this year since I haven’t had time to be anything else. My schedule allowed for nothing but work and settling into a new town where I knew about ten people, counting the mailman and guy who delivered my DoorDash orders.

Or sitting around the house being lonely.

I’d asked for video games and a hoverboard as a child. Growing up provided a new perspective on my desires. If Santa could somehow bring the now twenty-four-year-old me what I wanted most, what would I ask for? A friend? A boyfriend? Maybe something more.

I told the plastic Santa decal, What I want for Christmas this year is a man who can appreciate me for who I am. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it? And I’d also like a purpose, and not the kind guys are looking for on Grindr. Something useful I can do.

Santa made no promises; he just stayed stuck to the mirror, smiling, with me on his lap—thanks to a well-placed optical illusion.

Rebounding from my last boyfriend had been… let’s just call it an adventure. Or living like someone left the gate open, giving me free rein to explore the world of beautiful men. Moving to a new town helped me avoid knowing smirks at my favorite haunts.

All in the past. My move turned a corner for me, allowing me to become a new man ready to act like a grown-up, at least occasionally.

I sighed, finished what I came into the bathroom to do, and washed my hands. I cast one more pleading look at Santa before returning to the chaos of the mall.

I plodded past package-laden shoppers, my heart aching each time some young couple giggled by, holding hands.

My folks weren’t the only ones spending the holidays elsewhere. I’d gotten a Christmas card from my ex, Ryan, showing a Ryan who’d never smiled so big for me. Maybe because of the handsome man beside him, kissing Ryan’s cheek under mistletoe…mistletoe that hadn’t fallen and choked one of them in a freak accident.

No. I couldn’t think that way. Though his dumping me after three years hurt, given time to heal, I realized he’d done the right thing. As the Christmas card proved. He and I hadn't made an ideal couple.

Part of me tried to be happy for him, yet a spike of jealousy speared my heart, not at him being with someone else, but at me being with no one. Things were supposed to improve for both of us after the split. Wasn’t that the point? Maybe he’d at least gotten a paper cut on his tongue while licking the envelope.

Even with the best of intentions, I wasn’t immune to pettiness every now and then.

I’d spend a solitary Christmas this year in a new city I’d moved to three months ago for a fresh