A christmas wish potters.., p.1
A Christmas Wish (Potters Creek Book 1), page 1
A Christmas Wish
Potters Creek (Book 1)
JP Sayle
Contents
A Christmas Wish
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Up and Coming New Releases
Other Books By JP Sayle
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 by JP Sayle
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Book Cover © 2019 Design by Tina Løwén
Editing by Lucas Cornelius
Proofreading by HL Day
Book Formatting
References to real people, events, organisations, locations, or establishments are only intended to give a sense of authenticity and have been used fictitiously.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark on Levi and Netflix.
Films, music, and lyrics mentions are the property of the copyright holders.
Warning
Some of the content of this book has the use of explicit language and adult situations involving two males. It is only intended for mature adults.
Created with Vellum
A Christmas Wish
Can Christmas wishes come true?
Roman Austin is shy, more than a little geeky, and thinks he’s overweight. Past experience has taught him that he’s better off with his nose buried in a book.
Until the boy who left town years ago returns.
Donavan’s return makes Roman face what he’s avoided for years, himself.
With each new revelation, can Roman see what is right in front of him?
Will past secrets and a meddling brother stop Roman from finding love with the one man he never knew wanted him?
A Christmas Wish is a standalone sweet gay romance, a small-town friendship, and a guaranteed HFN.
There is no life without love.
Treasure those close to you while you have them and you too might find your wishes coming true.
Prologue
Donavan
“Are you serious right now? Why do we need to move? You have a job here Dad.” I yelled, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to move thousands of miles away from my friends, from my life and from… Roman.
My dad strolled towards me, his face showing how sorry he was for what he was doing, but there was also an air of resignation that no matter what I said, it wasn’t going to make a difference.
“I understand this is the only home you’ve known and all your friends are here, but you can make new friends and make a new life in Hollywood. Think of all the opportunities you’ll have with me working in the movie industry. A good-looking boy like you, with your brains and talents. The sky’s the limit,” he cajoled, his face alight with excitement.
Oh, I knew he meant every word, but he was crushing any hope I had of staying and waiting for Roman to get a little older so I could ask him out. I’d realised two years earlier that I had no interest in the girls in school when I started to pay more attention to the guys on the sports field. It didn’t take too long to work out what I liked, and it wasn’t girls.
The following year had been both embarrassing and exhilarating while I'd tried to get my body to behave when I was in the vicinity of the football team. My mom cottoned on pretty quickly when she found my stash of magazines under my bed and noticed which pages were maybe a little stickier than the others.
What can I say, men in tiny shorts bending and flexing their asses in front of my face. Yeah, I liked that a lot. Now I was craving something a little different. Roman. He was a total nerd with big glasses and a little on the portly side, but there was something so alluring about him. My problem was that he didn’t know I existed. He was only fifteen and I was turning eighteen in three months, and though I got the impression he might be gay, I didn’t know if he’d be interested in me.
Oh, I wanted him to be. I’d spent hours following him around like a lost puppy, hoping to get one of his gorgeous smiles. I’m sure he probably thought I was a total creeper.
“Donavan, are you listening to me?” my father demanded rather sharply.
I realised I had missed whatever he’d been saying while my brain went to the place where Roman occupied a lot of space, not leaving much room for anything else. “Yes Dad, we’re moving regardless of what I want,” I huffed, hoping he’d only been repeating himself.
“Listen son, I get it, I do. But this will give us a better life than Potters Creek can ever give us. This job will give us financial security for the future. It will give you the choice to pick what you want to do with your life.”
The exasperation in his voice as he finished talking was enough for me to relent and nod. “I’m sorry Dad, it’s just… I have a life here and I thought my future was here.” I tugged at my hair, trying to keep from talking about Roman. We’d discussed my past boyfriends before and my dad was a trouper about it. He did his best to give me dating advice even when he was uncomfortable. I gave him ten out of ten for trying to give me sex ed on how to stay safe with a boy.
He’d spent more time looking at the carpet than at me as he'd explained about using condoms, and the use of lube. I tried not to think about what sites he’d gone to so that he could explain what I needed to know in order to be prepared for dating and sex. Good times… erm, maybe not.
As he walked past me towards the boxes he’d brought home, he gave my back a slap before pausing, his smile so like my own, it was like looking in a mirror. “It’ll work out. If you hate it you can always move back in the future. And whoever you have your eye on, maybe they’ll be ready for you then.”
The uncanny way he had of reading me, gave me pause. Had I been that obvious about my mooning over Roman? Fuck I hoped not. I didn’t need Roman to feel sorry for me. “Okay, I get it. We’re going and I can come back.” When my dad rolled his eyes at me, I laughed. “You know that’s supposed to be me doing that?”
“I learnt from the best,” he quipped back. With that, he strolled off to grab the boxes to take back to my mother, who was in the kitchen packing to avoid the confrontation between myself and Dad.
I stomped to the front door and shouted, “I’ll be back later.” Not giving my dad a chance to stop me, I was out of the door and in my truck before you could blink. My head full of what-ifs, I drove around town before I found myself on the outskirts, parked at the end of the street where Roman lived.
The Christmas decorations sat in the gardens, in varying degrees of completion brought home the fact that it was Thanksgiving the following week. My hand went to my pocket and I pulled out the gift I’d bought for Roman for Christmas to declare my feelings. It was a tiny Christmas scene with the words “A Christmas Wish” written in sparkly Christmas lights that flashed when you shook the globe. Some might say it was lame, but I’d checked out what Roman liked and it appeared he loved Christmas as much as me. His front garden was full of kitsch decorations and I knew it was silly but I felt it gave us a common ground. With that in mind, I’d bought the globe, hoping to give it to him and ask him to be my boyfriend. Now all my plans were ruined by my parents.
Tears clouded my vision as I stared at Roman’s home, hoping to catch sight of him. I was a little early today and Roman wasn’t on the porch, as was his tendency in the afternoons. He’d sit out on the porch swing with his books, even in winter. I wasn’t sure if the books were for school or for pleasure, but he always seemed to have one with him. His face would get this dreamy expression when he had his nose buried in the pages. It made me want to be the book, so I could put that expression on his face.
Groaning, I slapped at the steering wheel. “Why do we have to leave now?” I was going to be eighteen in a few months If my dad had just left things a little longer, I could have stayed. You’re assuming that Roman would be interested in you.
The voice that liked to slap at me, spoke up, and my body sagged against the seat. I kept my gaze on the house in front of me, willing Roman to appear. Two seconds later, the door opened and out he came. His hands were full of books, his baggy jeans and loose sweatshirt hiding his body like always. His hair gleamed like polished mahogany in the afternoon sun as he sat on the porch swing. Laying the books down, he pushed up his glasses that tended to slip down his nose, and I couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping. There was just something about him that tugged at my heart. I didn’t know why or how, but I knew he was it for me. I’m sure if I told my parents they would laugh and say it was hormones or some such shit. I knew differently. He was mine.
As I sat watching him, I made a vow to myself that I’d come back and one day Roman would smile at me the way he smiled at his books.
I put the truck in gear and started the engine. Roman’s head lifted from the book he held as I drove past, flashing him a big smile. His stunned expression in return gave me hope as I drove off.
I glanced at the present on the seat next to me and vowed, “I’ll be back Roman and you better be
1
Roman
I checked the window for the umpteenth time and found the street empty. The Christmas lights decorating the windows put a smile on my lips. Mrs. Crabtree had gone all out this year now that she had a grandbaby. The Christmas themed garden ornaments crowding the patch of grass in front of her home were garish and possibly the tackiest decorations I’d ever seen. But I gave her ten out of ten for trying. Not that mine were much better after I’d been talked into buying reindeers that looked more like llamas, but what did you expect from a small-town hardware store.
With a sigh, I turned around and walked back to the couch. About to sit, the sound of an engine in the street had me returning to the window. My shoulders sagged at the sight of ole man Walker from two houses down driving his Buick off towards town.
“Oh, get over yourself and stop with your pacing. You’re doin’ my head in,” came the complaint from the figure in the chair sat in front of the TV.
I swung towards my brother and sneered. “Like you’re not interested in seeing who our new neighbour is. I heard Miss. Bligh tell Mrs. Gates that it's a movie star.” I'd all but squealed in delight, my mind running away with me. But hey, a man could dream that a film star would move to our tiny town of Potters Creek.
Like that would ever happen!
I knew I was being ridiculous, but there was never anything exciting that happened in town. The population of thirteen thousand and sixty-four, oh no, make that sixty-three - poor ole Arthur, who had to have been over a hundred, had died last week - meant that everyone knew everyone, and everything. So finding out the house next door was now off the market and had been bought by someone from Hollywood, was big news.
“You know you look daft with your nose pressed against the glass,” Gabriel pointed out, his gaze not moving from the show he loved to watch in the evenings when he came home from work. He was my younger brother and although I loved him, he could be a real pain in my butt.
My folks had become parents later in life, so when they'd decided to go traveling after they’d retired, they’d left us the house. My brother was twenty-four and I was two years his senior, though sometimes I felt ancient next to him. Although it was great to have a place that we didn’t need to pay rent on, an annoying brother was still a high price to pay.
I took my face off the glass, noticing a smear of grease where my nose had been. Stomping off to the kitchen, I grabbed a cloth and the window spray. Yes, I’m a little OCD about cleaning. Okay, I take that back, I’m a lot OCD. But in my defence, I was in the house all the time and I struggled to live in the chaos and mess that my brother liked to create.
Spraying the window, I was about to wipe it off when a truck pulled up outside our house. The street was small and housed a total of ten homes, five on each side of the street. The house next door had been up for sale for forever, which is why I’d been interested to see who was moving in after all this time. Of course I was only being neighbourly.
I pressed my nose back against the wet glass as I peered out into the evening twilight watching the man getting out of the cab. I stared at the hunk as he walked around the front of the truck. He was dressed in jeans and a grey, tight-fitting long-sleeved tee. He stood about six-foot-two or three with the blackest hair I’d ever seen. I struggled to make out his eyes in the dim light, but I thought they might be brown. It was then that the man turned his gaze in my direction.
I squealed, forgetting there was an armchair behind me as I jumped back. I landed in a heap on the seat, as the cloth and bottle I'd held fell to the floor with a thud.
My brother roared with laughter. “What the heck are you doin’? You got caught snoopin,’ didn’t you?” he choked out past the laughter. His eyes danced with mirth as he got up and strolled to the window and peered out.
He whistled through his teeth. “He’s a bit of a hottie, a total bear.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you think he might be hairy? Oh, I wonder if he’s gay?”
I huffed, blowing my fringe out of my eyes as I struggled to get off the chair with as much dignity as I could muster. “Back off, I saw him first.”
Gabriel glanced at me, smirking. “What are we? Five-year-olds fighting over a new toy! If he saw you with your nose pressed against the glass, peering out like some crazed stalker, you'd stand no chance. Anyway, I’m the cute one.” He shrugged his slim shoulders and went to sit back down.
He was right. He was the cute one. With sunny-blond styled hair, pale green eyes, a pretty face, and a slim body that I could only dream about obtaining. Me, I resembled one of the farmers' cows. My hair was plain brown and my eyes were the same colour as Gabriel’s but appeared more washed-out. And as much as I tried to work out... okay, I walked to the shops to buy food and I walked back. I wasn't like Gabriel, who spent time preening and primping, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd bought any clothes. I was never going to attract a hunk like the guy outside with my body. But I could dream.
I went back to the window, groaning at the smeared mess I’d created, and the streaks the spray had left as it ran down the window. Retrieving the cloth and bottle I’d dropped, I kept my gaze from roaming to the guy shifting boxes out of the truck.
Yeah, that lasted all of three seconds. What can I say, I’m weak when it comes to gorgeous men. There wasn't that many in town and even fewer gay ones, unfortunately. Having a gay brother who was outgoing and pretty meant any chance I had with the gay population dwindled to zero. I’d realised years ago when my brother had hit puberty and came out to my parents, that any chance I’d stood, had walked right out of the door.
Don’t get me wrong, I have had a boyfriend, but I don’t talk about that for fear of recalling the utter disaster that was my dating history.
I gave a dreamy sigh when my gaze strayed to the guy’s ass as he bent to pick up something that had fallen from the back of the truck. The denim hugged his backside and showed off just how round and firm it was. My mouth dried, imagining my lips being allowed to have five minutes, alright, five seconds, with that ass.
He was bent over for so long that I wondered for a moment if he needed help finding whatever it was he’d dropped. Then he stood and flicked a glance towards the window, only this time I couldn’t move when his eyes locked with mine. There was something so compelling in his gaze, with a touch of familiarity that I couldn’t shake.
2
Donavan
My neck itched again and my spidery senses said that he was back at the window, staring. I’d purposefully dropped the piece of cardboard that had been lying uselessly on the bed of the truck. When I’d bent slowly, as if searching to pick up what I’d dropped, I’d cast a glance beneath my eyelashes at the window. And there he was: Roman.
Fuck, he was just as I remembered. For years, his face had been the one thing I recalled from Potters Creek that gave me some semblance of happiness.
I let my mind drift back to one of the strongest memories. I’d come across him one day sat outside the school gates while he was petting a dog. His whole face had been alive with pleasure as the dog had licked at his hand. It was the first time I’d seen him smile. Up until then I’d noticed him, but like most teenagers I was so wrapped up in my own life I’d paid him no mind.
After that, I’d made every effort to try and get him to smile at me like that. On the few occasions I’d managed it, he’d left me dumbstruck and acting like a complete dork under the spell he'd cast. The amount of times he’d looked at his beloved books with a dreamy expression had often left me feeling jealous. It was totally ridiculous, but what could I say, I wanted that look cast in my direction.
