12 Dates of Christmas (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Nick paced anxiously as he waited for Leo’s parents to arrive on Christmas Day.

Anneliese and Randal Fenner were staying at Gingerbread Cottage—the quaint little bed and breakfast on St. Nick Avenue. They’d arrived on the twenty-third and Leo had spent the day with them, showing them around town and taking them to shops and events.

Leo had come with Nick to his family’s Christmas Eve celebration yesterday at Nick’s parents’ house. They’d had an enjoyable afternoon and evening, eating dinner, opening gifts, and drinking eggnog and eating cookies by the fireplace. His parents, along with Heather and Edie and their kids, had quickly been smitten with Leo—because how could anyone not be?—and they’d all agreed Leo was perfect for him.

But today Nick would meet Leo’s family and damn was he nervous.

“Hey.” Leo wrapped his arms around Nick’s waist. “Why are you freaking out?”

Apparently, he wasn’t hiding his anxiety well.

“What if they don’t like me?”

Leo chuckled, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “Why on earth wouldn’t they?”

“I’m an old, widowed guy?”

Leo snorted. “You’re thirty-eight . You’re hardly an octogenarian. And it’s not your fault you’re widowed.”

“I know, but …”

“Hey,” Leo said, coaxing Nick to turn. “You’re a great guy and you make me happy. They’ll see that immediately.”

“You think so?” he said, suddenly doubtful.

“Even if you weren’t amazing, my parents know I had a guy scam me out of money . And that I had a date with a dude who took me out for the first time to Hooters . The bar is really fucking low, Nick.”

“Hooters?” Nick asked, blinking.

“Yeah, Hooters. I mean, the wings are decent but women in skimpy clothing is kinda lost on me, you know? And the guy knew I wasn’t bi.”

Nick grimaced. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, you really don’t have any reason to worry.”

“But I walked out on you?—”

Leo shrugged. “When I talked to them about you recently, I explained your history. They understand why you got spooked about falling in love for the first time since you lost your wife.”

Nick opened his mouth to reply, when there was a knock on the door.

“Stop worrying,” Leo said firmly. He pressed a quick, hard kiss to Nick’s mouth, then pulled back, striding over to open the front door.

Nick pasted a smile on his face and prepared himself to face an interrogation from Leo’s parents. But the moment they stepped into the house, exclaiming over the original details of the house and greeting him warmly, he realized he’d been an idiot.

These were the people who had raised Leo. They were bubbly, friendly kind Midwesterners, determined to see the best in people.

Anneliese was short, round and blonde, with curly hair and a bright smile.

“You must be Nick!” She squeezed him in a tight hug. “Thank you so much for inviting us over. Your home is lovely!”

“Oh,” he said, feeling dazed. “Thank you. I am glad you could come.”

Randal, who had Leo’s sandy brown hair and wiry build, chuckled. “It’s not often we can get away from the farm but after Leo moved here, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a vacation.”

“Glad you did,” Nick said, holding out a hand. “It’s great to meet you.”

Randal shook, pulling him into a big, back-slapping hug too. “It’s already been worth the drive,” he said beaming.

“Next year I hope you’ll both come to Wisconsin,” Annelise said. “So we can all be together. Adam and Jason send their love by the way, Leo. Your brothers are so mad they don’t get to meet your boyfriend.”

Leo smiled. “We can do a video chat later and introduce Nick to them.”

“Please come in,” Nick coaxed, the tension in his shoulders loosening at the friendly onslaught of conversation.

“Yeah, we want to give you a tour!” Leo said. “Take your boots and coat off.”

“Wait.” Randal held up a hand. “We’ve gotta get some presents out of the truck first.”

After the Fenners hauled in gifts, they stripped off their outerwear, revealing jeans and festive Christmas sweaters.

Nick hung their coats on the pegs by the door and a lump rose in his throat at the sight of the jumble of colorful jackets. For so long, it had just been him. He’d sorely missed the signs of life in this house. When he’d had a partner to share the holidays with an extended family around.

Leo excitedly chattered to his parents, showing off Nick’s house, and he thought it wouldn’t be too long before he asked Leo to move in with him. If Leo needed more time, that was okay. Nick would give him whatever he needed.

But life was short and Nick had every intention of filling his with as much joy as possible. And Leo Fenner was his joy.

“See, I knew you were worrying for no good reason,” Leo whispered, hooking his arm in Nick’s bent elbow as they directed Leo’s parents toward Nick’s home office. “They love you.”

Nick smiled. “It’s been like twenty minutes. I think it’s a little too soon for them to love me.”

“It didn’t take me long to fall for you,” Leo said cheerfully. “I was already smitten by the time I left our first meeting.”

Nick gave him a thoughtful look. “I think I was heading that direction too, even if I didn’t want to admit it.”

“So how is your matchmaking business going?” Anneliese asked as Nick pushed open the door to his office.

“Pretty well,” Nick said. “Though I did have one spectacular failure.”

“I’m not a failure,” Leo protested, pouting.

Laughing, Nick pulled him close. “No! Not you . I meant Jett.” Nick glanced at Leo’s parents. “One of my clients started dating a mutual friend of ours.”

“I helped get them together,” Leo said smugly. “Apparently Nick’s not the only matchmaker around here.”

Randal grimaced. “I think two jobs might be enough, son. You don’t need a third.”

Leo chuckled. “Coming from the guy who’s a farmer and on the school board and town council …”

He shot his dad a pointed look.

He grinned, shrugging.

“Speaking of the matchmaking, how many dates did it take for you to find love, Leo?” Anneliese asked. “I’ve always found the process fascinating.”

“Ten,” Nick replied, just as Leo said, “Twelve.”

“It was ten,” Nick protested.

“No, twelve . I had five dates with other dudes and I called you after all of them, and seven were with you.”

Nick frowned, ticking them off on his fingers. “The reindeer meet and greet and sleigh ride, the holiday arts and craft fair we went to, the boat ride to the falls, the antique shopping and hockey date, then the romantic dinner and movie by the fire. That’s five.”

“You forgot the photoshoot plus lunch at Frosty’s and the time I got ghosted by the guy with the shellfish allergy and we watched the parade together,” Leo countered, holding up two fingers.

“Those weren’t dates!” Nick protested.

“Weren’t they though?” Leo asked, giggling. “Even if we—and by we, I mostly mean you—didn’t admit it at the time, they were totally dates.”

Nick gave him a rueful smile. “You’re right.”

“Twelve dates,” Annelise said, nodding. “That sounds like the perfect amount!”

“Oh, that reminds me, Leo. I got a text from Ford saying he and Mason are together.” Nick glanced at Leo’s parents again. “My former brother-in-law just started seeing someone recently.”

“Aww. Well that’s lovely.”

“It really is.” Nick beamed. “We—we had a rough patch after Nicole died but it feels really good that we’re working on our relationship again.”

“Oh that’s wonderful.” Annelise said. “Family dynamics can be so tricky sometimes but I think it’s always good if you can mend fences whenever you’re able.”

She sobered. “By the way, I was very sorry to hear about your wife.”

“Thank you,” Nick said gravely. “It was difficult. But I am glad it didn’t keep me from falling in love again.”

Anneliese reached out and touched his arm. “We are too. Leo can’t stop talking about you. I haven’t seen him this happy in years.”

“I’m right here, Mom,” Leo said, feeling exasperated, but mostly glad that his parents could see how good Nick was for him. Not that he’d ever doubted it but … it was still nice.

She grinned. “I know you are.”

“I like your desk,” Randal said. “Did that come with the house, Nick?”

He brightened, telling them about Merry Memories and the trip he and Leo had taken recently.

“Ugh, I should have bought that desk we looked at,” Leo said with a regretful sigh. “Maybe I’ll go back and get it next week. Hopefully it’s still there.”

Nick shot him an odd look but before Leo could ask what that was about, Anneliese gasped, picking up the photo of Leo on Nick’s desk.

“Oh! Did you take this?” She looked at Nick.

He nodded. “Yes. I’m an amateur photographer and I took it at the tree lighting shortly after Leo moved to town.”

“It’s beautiful . Could we get a copy to put on our mantle?”

“Of course. I can send you an email with a bunch of photos I took of him for his matchmaking profile as well.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I’m going to need that anymore.” Leo kissed Nick’s cheek.

Nick smiled. “Well, what do you say we all go relax by the fire?”

As they left Nick’s office, Leo snagged Jelly, who had snuck in when no one was looking.

Anneliese and Randal exclaimed over how cute she was and Nick told the story about how she got her name. Leo smiled as he followed them down the hall.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Nick told Leo’s parents as he ushered them into the living room. “I’ll get the fire going.”

“And I’ll grab the hot cocoa and treats!” Leo said, setting Jelly on the couch beside his mom, who reached out to pet her.

“Thanks.” Nick shot him a smile.

This morning, they’d made up a big batch of cocoa in a slow cooker and had cookies and pastries from Ginger’s Breads, so it didn’t take Leo long to assemble a tray. But to his surprise, when he carried it into the living room, his dad and Nick were nowhere to be found.

“Where’d they go?” he asked, mystified.

“To get something from the basement,” his mom said, standing to help him set the tray on the coffee table.

“Ahh. I think that’s my gift,” Leo admitted. “Nick told me I wasn’t allowed down there. For a minute I wondered if he was a serial killer.”

She laughed. “Well, let’s hope not! For what it’s worth, he seems like a very nice man to me.”

“You don’t mind the age difference?” Leo asked quietly. He wasn’t worried, but Nick had been and he wanted to be sure.

Anneliese shook her head. “No. It’s clear he adores you. I’d feel different if you were seventeen but you’re a grown man.”

Leo made a face. “If I’d been seventeen it would be sketchy as hell.”

“Exactly. You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders though. You’ve made some very grown-up, smart decisions in the past few years and your father and I are very proud of you.”

“Aww, thanks,” Leo said, smiling as he took a seat beside his mom. “That means a lot to me.”

“Close your eyes, Leo!” Nick called out from the hall.

“What?”

His mom clapped her hand over his eyes. “They’re closed!” she replied.

Leo sputtered but he didn’t push her hand away. He’d meant it when he told Nick he liked surprises.

Someone grunted, then there was a muffled oath before Nick said, “Open them, Leo!”

His mom lifted her hand away and he blinked to see a gleaming wooden desk standing a few feet away, sporting a big red bow. He studied it for a moment before his jaw dropped. “Is that … is that the one from Merry Memories?”

Nick beamed. “It is.”

“Holy shit! It’s gorgeous.” Leo stepped around the coffee table to inspect the desk. “You did a ton of work on this.”

“I did.” Nick chuckled. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d get it done in time but I put the final coat of polyurethane finish on the other day while you were out with your parents, then added the hardware on this morning.”

“It’s stunning ,” Leo whispered, brushing his fingertips across the satiny surface. “Wow. I love it.”

He turned and threw his arms around Nick, kissing him hard. He tensed for a second before he wrapped Leo up tightly in a hug and kissed him back.

“I’m glad,” Nick said, smiling when he pulled away.

“Thank you. This was so sweet of you. How did you even get it home? And down to the basement for that matter!”

“Liam,” Nick said.

Leo looked blank. “Liam?”

“Liam Barlowe. He owns Merry Memories.”

“Oh!” Leo chuckled. “He wasn’t very friendly, was he?”

“Oh, that’s just Liam,” Nick said with a shrug. “We went to school together and he’s always been a loner. He took over the shop after his grandparents died a few years ago. I think he preferred when he only had to run their online shop. He’s not a people-person. Nice guy though. I was prepared to lug the desk down the stairs to the basement but he offered to help.”

“Aww, well that was sweet. And if I haven’t said it yet, thank you for the desk. I love it,” Leo said earnestly.

“Good. That makes me happy.” Nick squeezed his hips.

“ You make me happy,” Leo countered.

“That goes both ways.”

“They’re so sweet together,” Anneliese whispered. “Look at them, Randal. It reminds me of us when we were young.”

Leo jerked in surprise because he’d kinda forgotten his parents were there. He pulled away, his cheeks warming.

“If you need help getting the desk up to Leo’s apartment, let me know,” Randal said, clearing his throat.

Leo bit his lip, glancing over at Nick. “I thought maybe it could stay here.”

“Yeah?”

“I mean, I’m not inviting myself to move in,” he said, laughing awkwardly.

Nick smiled. “You could . Whenever you’re ready.”

“Well, let’s give it a few months,” Leo said, because he didn’t have any doubts about Nick or being with him, but it was good to figure out each other’s bad habits and stuff before they started living together. “But I could use the desk here until we make it official?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sounds good to me,” Nick said softly, his voice rough. He brushed his lips across Leo’s temple.

Leo leaned into him and let out a contented sigh, soaking in the moment.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a desk but I saw a package labeled with my name earlier and I’d like to open it,” Randal said, rubbing his hands together.

“Randy!” Anneliese thwacked his side. “Give the boys a moment.”

Leo chuckled. “No, we don’t want to let our cocoa get cold. Let’s open some Christmas gifts!”

After, as Leo watched his mother clear away the tray and his father help Nick gather up discarded wrapping paper and tissue, dragging a ribbon away from Jelly who kept batting at it, Leo let out a contented sigh.

The desk was an amazing gift, but this was the Christmas present he treasured most.