Must Love Dogs
By Eden Winters
()
About this ebook
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?
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
Related to Must Love Dogs
Related ebooks
Death Comes Darkly Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stranded with my Best Friend for the Holidays: Stranded for the Holidays, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBroken Saint Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cowboys & Kisses: Teens of Black Falls, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grinchy Voices: Storm Voices , #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDecked with Holly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Riviera House Swap: The BRAND NEW uplifting, sun-drenched getaway romance from BESTSELLING AUTHOR Gillian Harvey for 2024 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeet Me In Central Park: A perfect, feel-good, winter romance from TOP 10 BESTSELLER Jo Bartlett Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holiday Wishes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeal Obsessed: SEAL Alliance Romance Series, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Single Girl: Brew Ha Ha, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer in a Winter Wonderland: A Rosalie Hart Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's How You Play the Game: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding Faith: The Finding Home Series, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winter's End: A Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Serendipity, Indiana Small Town Romance Bundle 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Cure for Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Feuding Duke’s & Gatlin’s: The Duke's of Haywood County: Coming Home for Christmas Series, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHandle With Care Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5High Stakes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Not Taken Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNot an Elf: Jake and Boo, #4 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Her Brother's Ex Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOh My Stars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sideshow in the Center Ring Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHome is Where the Heart Is Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Year that Almost Wasn't (Diz & Dee Mystery) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSearching for Yesterday: A Shelby Belgarden Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Very Maxie Christmas (Maxie Duncan short story): Maxie Duncan Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Open Book: A Family Memoir of Adventure, Trauma, and Resilience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Contemporary Romance For You
Ugly Love: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Icebreaker: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hopeless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wallbanger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wildfire: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Cinderella: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Point of Retreat: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slammed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful Disaster: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The True Love Experiment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Someday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spanish Love Deception: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Not: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swear on This Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruin Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Borrowed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Losing Hope: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful Bastard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Must Love Dogs
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Must Love Dogs - Eden Winters
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