Gaudete


Amy Rae Durreson - 2013
    Stepping back out into the bustling Christmas Market outside the cathedral brings back memories of the boy he met here every Christmas, his best friend and first crush Callum. When their paths cross again, can Jonah and Callum mend their fractured friendship and fall in love again as adults? Gaudete was previously published in 2013.

Wish List


J.J. Cassidy - 2012
    What he doesn't have is someone to share it with. Berg Pedersen is out of the Army and out of the closet, and he's traveled clear across the country to spend the holidays with a former lover - until the guy's wife answers the door. Now he's stranded on Christmas Eve with no idea what to do next.Then DJ comes home and finds Berg outside his duplex, looking lost. One look into pale blue blue eyes, and DJ is curious enough to offer the guy a warm place to wait while he calls a cab, and then, on impulse, offers to make him dinner. Berg isn't sure why the tall cop seems to be into him, but he's not going to argue. After all, it's Christmas Eve, and miracles do happen.

A Christmas Promise


K.C. Wells - 2017
    But when Micah discovers his identity, it feels like more than mere coincidence is at work here. Like modern day Good Samaritans, he and his dad offer the stranger a place to recuperate. After all, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and Greg is in no state to travel home. It’s not an entirely altruistic move: Micah wants answers, and he’s not the only one. Greg cannot believe the way things turned out. The odds of Micah being the one to find him have to be astronomical, but he accepts the kind offer. As days become weeks, Greg learns more about Micah’s family, and comes to realize that staying with them for a Wyoming Christmas might just provide him with the answers he’s been seeking. The magic of the holidays will also conjure up something neither Micah nor Greg expected…. 56,000 words. A stand alone tale for Christmas that guarantees no Bah, Humbug

When I Say When


Tia Fielding - 2012
    He doesn’t have time to date, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have needs.Instead of trying to find a date, Jordan makes an appointment with a prostitute—something he’s never done before—and his companion turns out to be his high school crush, Gabe! Panic would ruin everything, including the chance at something real that Jordan suddenly craves.

Beautiful Dreamer


Christina Lee - 2018
    Garrett’s since gone out of his way to avoid the sexy ginger, instead throwing his energy behind his dance career while supporting his mother through her cancer diagnosis. Finn Sweeney used to think of Garrett as just his kid brother’s best friend, but after an intense exchange at a high school party, things got a little…weird. Despite that, when their two families decide to get together for the holidays for the first time in years, Finn can’t say no. But he’s fully prepared for this to be awkward as hell. When Finn and Garrett lay eyes on each other for the first time in their adult lives, all bets are off. Finn is completely captivated by Garrett and getting to know the man he’s become is now his top priority. Playing catch-up with Finn makes Garrett truly see him beyond the childhood fantasy he’s held onto all these years. Finn is real and vulnerable…and hot as hell. Garrett and Finn can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, so they decide to bury the hatchet between them for the remainder of the visit. After all, it’s only a holiday fling. Until it becomes something more.

The Family We're Born With


Kaje Harper - 2013
    It was Jesse's first holiday alone, away from home. Devin didn't have much of a home to go back to. They found a way to make the season brighter, together.Four years ago, Jesse brought Devin to his parents' house and came out to them. It wasn't all roses, but his family came around, and Devin has spent each holiday with the Calhouns since then. Jesse really loves sharing Christmas with his family, and sharing his family with Devin.So he isn't prepared to hear his mom say, “I don't want Devin to come to the house for Christmas Eve this year.” Suddenly it's not smooth sailing, keeping peace with the family he was born with.

You Can't Choose Your Family


Zahra Owens - 2010
    They have a great relationship with only one minor bone of contention: while Fran is very much a member of Jay's extended family, to Fran's family, Jay is just "his business partner." It's not that Fran doesn’t want to come out to his family; it's more that they don't want to hear it.When Fran's father, an evangelical minister, dies, Fran hopes the rest of his family will be more accepting. This hope is nipped in the bud by his very conservative older brother, so Jay's mother steps in and invites Fran's mother over for Christmas... but will joining Fran’s happy-go-lucky in-laws be too much for Fran's mother, or will they help her see the truth of just how much Jay means to Fran?

Hope Is the Thing with Feathers


Brandon Witt - 2017
    In fact, if Samuel had his way, he’d tear down his neighbor’s house so his solitude could be absolute. One day Faloola, his favorite turkey, escapes, forcing Samuel to make the trek next door. When Raymond Webber—sixty-seven—answers the door as naked as the day he was born, Samuel doesn’t know whether he’s more annoyed… or attracted. The two men are opposites in every way—Samuel is serious, while Raymond believes in free love and herbal relaxation. The weeks leading up to Christmas are rocky to say the least, but some holiday spirit might help them get past their differences….

Wrapped Up in You


Ella Frank - 2018
    But with his partner, Dr. Vaughn Bennett, working crazy hours in the ER, it’s difficult to make any kind of plans. Easter was an appendectomy. Thanksgiving, a ruptured spleen. And Christmas had called Vaughn away to work for Doctors Without Borders. So when the calendar hits February 14th, Carter expects it will be just another day when he kisses his man goodbye so he can go and save the world. Little does he know that Vaughn has a huge surprise up his sleeve—one that will change their lives forever.

Pop-Ups


Clare London - 2010
    It's the perfect arrangement for two men who are attracted to each other but don't have much else in common. Then a few days before Christmas, Jack's holiday plans are thwarted, leaving him home with just his volatile PC for company while Henry—his usual tech support—is on his way to a secluded Christmas hideaway. So what’s Jack to do when, to his horror, weird pop-ups start appearing?

Quill Me Now


Jordan Castillo Price - 2019
    At least, it should. Unfortunately, Dixon Penn failed his Spellcraft initiation. Instead of working in his family’s shop, he’s stuck delivering takeout orders in his uncle’s beat-up Buick.Winning a Valentine’s Day contest at the largest greeting card company in the tri-state area would be just the thing to get his life back on track—but something at Precious Greetings just doesn’t add up. And despite numerous warnings to quit pestering them about his contest entry, he just can’t stop himself from coming back again and again.It doesn’t hurt that the head of security is such a hottie. If Dixon had any common sense, he’d be scared of the big, mysterious, tattooed Russian.To be fair, no one ever accused him of being too smart….Quill Me Now originally debuted in the Bad Valentine collection, with Love Magic by Jesi Lea Ryan, Hidden Hearts by Clare London, and Temporary Dad by Dev Bentham.

Boy Toys


A.E. Wasp - 2017
     Betrayed by first his body and then his girlfriend, Liam O’Reilly, assistant coach of the Seattle Thunder, is not having a very merry Christmas. So when a smoking hot hockey player in a Santa suit offers himself up like a present begging to be opened? Well, it’s a freaking Christmas miracle. If only the man in question wasn’t hockey’s own bad boy, Joey ‘the Looch’ Luciano, his best friend’s little brother and the same kid who used to trail behind Liam like a loud, mouthy shadow. Whatever. Wrong as it might seem, a one-time hookup with Joey is exactly what he needs to make the yuletide gay. By tomorrow, he’ll be back in Seattle, Joey will be in New York, and his troubles will be miles away. But as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, Joey weaves his way past all Liam’s defenses, and Liam starts to see the sensitive, caring man behind the cocky smirk. When the last present is opened and the Christmas lights go dark, will Joey and Liam's night together be just another Christmas memory or can the holiday magic they made survive the pressures of the real world? Boy Toys is a heart-warming Christmas story featuring the inappropriate use of a Santa suit, sibling bribery, and ninety separate instances of the f-word.

Jonty's Christmas


Barbara Elsborg - 2020
    But Jonty’s sure Devan’s parents aren’t going to think he’s good enough for their son. He probably isn’t. But he is good for Devan and the arrival of an unexpected guest gives him a chance to prove it. Jonty never backs down from a challenge. His mouth won’t let him. But his brain is telling him that if he interferes, he might wreck any hope of acceptance. On the other hand, could his reward be the best Christmas present ever? A little Christmas story that takes place before the epilogue of The Making of Jonty Bloom but can be read as a standalone.

A Little White Lie for Christmas


Ann Gallagher - 2016
    After all, his family can’t be the only one who seasons their get-togethers with fighting, judgment, and guilt. Eric—his coworker and secret crush—has tried to convince him not to go for another round of family drama this year, but to no avail. It’s Christmas. Steve can’t just not go home. But when Eric tells a little white lie, Steve’s Christmases may never be the same again. This holiday short story is 8,500 words.

The Christmas Proposition


K.A. Mitchell - 2011
    But running the family Christmas tree farm has worn down his love for the happiest season of all, and lately Mel's been wondering what if he'd said yes to a ticket out of town with millionaire Bryce Campion three years ago. Bryce isn't used to people saying no to him, and he can't forget Mel or their brief but sizzling affair. He might not have been offering forever, but Bryce can't understand a guy as sexy and smart as Mel choosing to stay rooted on the family farm over enjoying the high life with him. He's determined to make Mel see what he's missed out on the first chance he gets. 27,000 words