A diy christmas miracle, p.1
A DIY Christmas Miracle, page 1
A DIY Christmas Miracle
Ray Celar
Synopsis
Eli loves swoony romance novels, the cheesier the better. Since his own love life is virtually non-existent, he lives vicariously through his books, fantasizing about what it'd be like if Fate finally coupled him with the man of his dreams, Will.
Eli and Will have been acquaintances for years and so far nothing has happened that would suggest that Will is interested in him - romantically or otherwise. At this point in his currently no-burn love story, Eli is wondering if Fate even exists in order to lend him a hand. Done with waiting for a miracle that is apparently never happening, Eli decides to take hold of his own fate by writing a DIY Christmas Miracle of his own.
The plot is simple: take your Love Interest, aka the man of your dreams, add in a Road Trip by taking a drive to a lonely cabin in the mountains, sprinkle in a bit of Found Family-Vacation Hijinks, with an upcoming Christmas celebration in the cabin with your mutual friends, and mix everything with a heaping help of Forced Proximity via snowstorm.
Copyright
A DIY Christmas Miracle© 2023 by Ray Celar
Cover Design by: Joe Satoria
Editing: Jenn Reads Books
Proofreading: Alphabitz Editing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Content
Synopsis
Copyright
Content
Part 1: Eli
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Part 2: Will
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part 3: Eli
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
About the author
Also by Ray Celar:
Part 1: Eli
Prologue
Eli
And they lived happily ever after.
I closed the book and sighed. The book hadn’t said that verbatim, but it’d been heavily implied. Two people had found their happy ending, their ‘happily ever after,’ their ultimate and incredibly cheesy end, which had been garnished by a marriage proposal in the epilogue.
I hadn’t expected anything else. The protagonists were smiling on the cover, two men in love, standing arm in arm, beaming right into the camera. I’d have been incredibly disappointed… hell, I’d have been furious if they hadn’t ended up together. I wanted them to be happy. I wanted them to find the missing half of their soul, their counterpart in everything; otherwise, I’d be reading tragedies, not romance novels that had guaranteed happy endings.
I loved books with lots of drama, heartache, and so many achingly sweet moments that I was always low-key afraid I’d have to make a doctor’s appointment because all the kitsch had given me diabetes. I really did love these books; I just wished something like that would happen to me. That I’d find someone I could build a life with. Someone who completed me, who made my heart beat faster, and who made my stomach flutter like there was a swarm of butterflies living inside of it.
I got up with a sigh and walked to my bedroom — that was where I stashed my secret collection of treasures: a huge bookshelf filled with romance novels. Full of books that promised a great life for two, three, or more people — who was I to judge? They told stories of incredible coincidences and events so unlikely that only fate herself could have planned them.
What wouldn’t I give for something like that to happen to me. For someone who looked at me the way Drew had looked at Sammy in the book I’d just read.
Of course, I didn’t want it to be the exact same thing for me. God forbid! I shuddered. That’d mean I’d be falling in love with my best friend’s big brother, and that thought was weird, disgusting, and just plain wrong. After all, Jack was kind of my big brother, too. And straight. And married. And a soon-to-be-father.
Just the thought of me and Jack made me break out in hives.
I quickly placed the book I’d just finished back in the right place on the shelf — the Holiday romance section — and looked at all the books on that shelf.
I clearly didn’t just have a special fondness for romance novels, but a special fondness for Christmas romance novels. And for printed books. If I continued collecting books at this rate, I’d need a new apartment — one with the space for a small library.
Shaking my head, I looked at the spine of the last book in the row before pulling it out with a smile. It was one of my favorite Christmas romances ever.
In early October, it was still a little early for reading Christmas stories. But to me, as soon as it was cold enough outside to snuggle up in front of the fireplace with a hot chocolate in the evening, it was cold enough to read a Christmas romance. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anyone to tease me about it. I lived alone, after all.
Because I didn’t have anyone. Not my best friend’s big brother, fortunately, not my best friend, also fortunately, and not anyone else, not fortunately.
Maybe I should just get a cat or two. Actually, I’d rather have a dog, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave them alone the whole day, five days a week.
I sighed again.
Maybe instead of getting a pet because cheesy romances made me feel lonely, I should give up reading said cheesy romances for a while.
However, I immediately dismissed the idea of giving up my personal drug, even if just for a while, as I marched back into the living room, settled down on the big, comfy couch, pulled my blanket over my legs, and opened the book.
That it was my favorite book was obvious. The spine was broken in several places and the pages were tattered. The soft cover sported a couple of teardrop stains and scratches. The pages of the bottom right corner were discolored because of that one time I’d fallen asleep on the couch with a hot chocolate in one hand and the book in the other.
But it was okay; the book was still readable, and I’d certainly enjoy it at least two or three times before Christmas.
I mean, the story was simply perfect. It made me want to tear my hair out, despair, shake the protagonists, and cry, all the while melting at their cute antics.
I blindly reached for the mug of hot chocolate waiting for me on the coffee table as I got sucked into the story of how the protagonist, along with his big brother’s best friend — because there was always something about best friends and big brothers — drove to a lonely cabin in the woods to prepare for the family Christmas celebration together…
A small sigh escaped me. What wouldn’t I give to be in a situation like that? Preparing Christmas for the family — it’d just have to be Cassy and Jack’s family — with my crush in a small cabin in the woods when a snowstorm hit. We’d be alone for days. There’d be no electricity, just the fireplace to provide us with warmth, and we’d have to snuggle up together in front of it so as not to get cold. And at some point, over the course of those days, my crush would finally realize that he loved me, that we were perfect for each other. Just because fate had decided to send a snowstorm by.
Fate, pah! As if there was such a thing as fate!
You have to take fate into your own hands, my father had always said.
I paused for a moment, sipped the not-so-hot chocolate, and stared into the crackling fire in the fireplace.
Why the hell not?
If the cabin and the snowstorm couldn’t come to me… then I’d have to go find the cabin and the snowstorm myself. Easy as pie.
Phase 1: Convince your friends of your plan
Chapter 1
Eli
“You want to do what?” my best friend blurted before reaching out to press her hand against my forehead as if she were checking for a fever. The others in our circle of friends also looked at me in surprise, and perhaps a little disbelief. As if I’d grown a third arm in front of their eyes.
Juliet’s eyes wandered across the table to my beer, but I wasn’t drunk. It was my first beer, and it was still almost full. Even though I couldn’t necessarily hold my liquor well, two sips of a light beer wasn’t enough to make this about me being drunk.
“I’d like to spend this Christmas going skiing. We could rent a cabin. I’ve already looked up a couple of great cabins that’d be big enough to house all of us,” I explained, my cheeks flushed as I eyed my friends expectantly.
Ever since I’d had the great idea to follow my father’s advice and take fate into my own hands, I’d spent all my free time looking for available and affordable cabins. I’d sacrificed all my evenings — my sacred reading time — to work on this genius plan.
Admittedly, this ‘spontaneous idea’ of mine might sound strange to the others. Everyone knew that I liked the snow best when I could watch it through a window and didn’t have to come in direct contact with it. But that didn’t necessarily mean that my idea wasn’t amazi
“Why?” Cassy asked.
I shrugged, trying not to feel a pang of disappointment because she obviously wasn’t that excited about my idea. I’d expected things to go differently. I’d hoped she’d be on board straight away. Cassy was easily excitable and usually a big fan of my ideas.
“Why not? We were going to celebrate Christmas with the gang, anyway. Your parents aren’t here for the holidays, right? Didn’t they gift themselves a cruise for their sixtieth birthdays?”
“They did,” Jack confirmed, nodding. “They’re leaving the week before Christmas and will be back after New Year’s sometime, so it’s not like we’d be excluding them from anything. Actually, I don’t think there’s a reason for us not to go.”
I could barely stifle a surprised ‘there isn’t?’ I wouldn’t have thought that Jack, of all people, would be on my side. I’d already made plans on how to convince the others my idea was a good one.
“You can’t even ski!” Cassy interjected, frowning.
“Well, I can,” Marc said, smiling at me happily from across the table. “I like the idea.”
“And so do we,” Juliet and Linda added. “We were thinking of going on a trip for Christmas, but since we’d already said we’d celebrate with you, we’d tabled it for next year. So, this is kinda perfect for us.”
Cassy’s eyes got bigger and bigger as more of our friends agreed with my idea. My own eyes were probably just as big as hers. Even in my wildest dreams, I hadn’t imagined such a positive reaction right from the start. My stomach was doing somersaults from joy, and I had to stop myself from excitedly clapping my hands.
We’d go to a mountain cabin for Christmas! In December! In Canada! I didn’t need fucking fate to do me a favor. I’d taken things into my own hands, and part one of my plan was already working out a lot more smoothly than anticipated. Now I just needed a snowstorm…. But freaking hell, this was Canada. Canada! A snowstorm wasn’t a question of if but when.
“If you say so. It doesn’t make much of a difference to me where we’re celebrating Christmas,” Cassy finally conceded with a shrug as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, but she looked at me scrutinizingly. Her gaze literally bore into my eyes. She was looking right through me, right into my innermost being where my little plan was unfolding in front of her… Oh yes, she definitely knew something was up. But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she grabbed her beer and downed the rest in one big gulp. “I've never been on vacation during Christmas. So…why not? Under one condition: everyone has to go. So, what about the rest of you?”
I nervously clutched my blank beer bottle. I’d already plucked off the label–the shreds were lying on the table in front of me–a clear sign of how long it’d taken me to gather enough courage to voice my idea.
“Well,” Will spoke up, and I immediately held my breath. If he didn’t want to go, everything was for naught. After all, my whole plan revolved around him. Will McIntyre. The newest member of our clique. One evening, two and a half years ago, Jack dragged him along because Will was a new colleague who’d moved here for the job and didn’t know anyone. Ever since I’d laid eyes on him that fateful Saturday night, I was smitten. He was just so… Will.
I sucked air into my burning lungs, still waiting for Will to continue speaking.
“I can't ski, but I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery. Besides, walks in the snow can be really nice, too.”
Walks in the snow weren’t just really nice, they were romantic. And if my plan worked out the way I wanted it to, Will and I would be stuck in a blizzard for a day or two before the others got through to us, and by that time, we’d already be in love and could go for all the romantic walks in the snow together. Then we just needed a dog, and we’d be a real fami— okay, stop! That was a bit much, even for me.
“Soo… everyone’s in?” I was grinning from ear to ear, practically beaming at Will, then letting my smile wander till I’d looked at everyone. “I basically have it all planned out. We just need to agree on a cabin… and I’ve already selected a couple that might work. And let me tell you, narrowing it down was, like, so hard.” I was babbling enthusiastically while reaching for my backpack. I’d come prepared, which, in this instance, meant I’d brought my laptop with me, the information on the properties in question loaded in various tabs and had even logged into the bar’s free Wi-Fi already.
“So… I’ve already put some thought into the bedroom situation. I mean, obviously, Jack and Sophie are sharing a room, as are Juliet and Linda, and Cassy and Josh.” They were the couples in our group. “It’d be kinda cool if Marc, Will, and I each had our own room.” Lie! I’d be perfectly happy to share a room with Will — preferably even a bed. “However, I don’t have a problem sharing a room and less bedrooms means we have a bigger pool of rentals to choose from. I tried finding as many available five and six-bedroom cabins that still have availability at such short notice and are affordable.”
Which hadn’t been easy at all. But I’d been dedicated.
“I don’t mind sharing a room, either,” Will said without hesitation. His words sent a warm shiver down my spine, and it was really hard not to grin like a maniac. I’d been hoping for this exact scenario; now, I just needed Marc to…
“Well, if you two don’t mind sharing a room, you can be roommates. I’ll happily take a room for myself.” His grin was triumphant.
There! Perfect. I’d known something like this would happen because Marc absolutely despised sleeping in a room with other people unless he was sleeping with them, and Will was a pretty easy going guy.
That’s exactly why I loved him: for his gentle, uncomplicated, and courteous way; for the good-natured smile he gave Marc before he turned to me and winked.
That sexy wink instantly made my cock harden within my tight pants.
“What do you say, Eli? Do you think you can put up with me for a few nights?”
A few nights? Was he joking? I’d put up with him till the end of my li… “Of course,” I croaked, running a hand through my hair in an attempt to get a few stray strands out of my face, even though I wanted nothing more than to hide behind it. My face was burning bright and hot. I was probably blushing like crazy and couldn’t even blame it on the alcohol because I’d barely touched my beer. “As long as you don’t snore,” I added quickly, trying for a light-hearted joke while my heart was beating against my chest like crazy.
Will’s laugh made my heart soar. He was gorgeous when he laughed; it revealed the barest hint of laugh lines crinkling around his eyes, small dimples formed in his cheeks that were so cute I wanted to lick and kiss them, and his eyes… his eyes always lit up with a softness I couldn’t even begin to describe.
I’d always thought I liked tough guys with sixpacks, tattoos, menacing looks — the whole nine-yards. And then Will came along. Will, who was the opposite of a rough exterior, an English teacher who looked like one, too. By all means, I shouldn’t have looked at him twice, but… he was Will.
“If the two nightmares of all students here want to share a room so badly, we should let them. It’ll be cheaper for all of us,” Jack said with a grin and nodded in Will’s and my direction.
“You do remember you’re a teacher yourself, don’t you?” I replied, giving Jack the finger. He was practically my big brother, so I was allowed to do that. I even considered it to be my duty. Besides, it was true — he was a teacher himself. And unlike Will and Jack, who both taught high school and therefore really had students they could give nightmares to by scheduling unannounced tests, I was an elementary school teacher. I taught small kids who were still kind of cute and innocent and who, for the most part, still enjoyed going to school. I wasn’t a nightmare for students. My students loved me.
“Good idea,” Cassy immediately agreed and gave me a dirty grin since she, as my best friend, knew about my crush. “Also, that one cabin there, wait… this one. It only has five bedrooms, but it’s got a fucking hot tub! Jackpot! I want this one for sure!”
