Let It Snow
Page 18
Marcus had to swallow a few times before he could make his voice work, and when he did speak, it cracked. “Of course.”
Frankie took a step forward. “I wanted to surprise you. I couldn’t get away sooner, but I talked to Patty, and we had this plan, and—” He cut himself off, the last of his smile dying as he paled. “Except now I’m not sure you really want to see me.”
“Oh hush. He wants to see you.” Patty appeared from the coatroom, dressed up and pretty and incredibly pleased with herself. She took Mimi’s arm and made shooing motions at Marcus. “You go on, Romeo. Say good night to your mother, because I’m taking her back to the care center.” She smiled at Mimi brightly. “We’ll go have some hot cocoa and sing Christmas carols, what do you say to that?”
Mimi waved goodbye to Marcus and Frankie, wishing them a merry Christmas. Marcus waved back as Patty pulled her into the coatroom. Then they were gone, and it was just him and Frankie, standing together awkwardly as the press of Christmas worshippers weaved around them. Frankie looked nervous, yet at the same time he had a confidence Marcus wasn’t sure had been there before.
“Would you like to go outside?” Frankie bit his bottom lip and added, “I made Patty promise I could crash at her place if you were mad, so you can say no.”
What? No. The hell Frankie was staying anywhere but with him tonight. Because he was here. He was really, actually here.
Marcus shook his head and nodded to the doors. “Outside.”
Frankie is here. The thought kept ringing inside of Marcus, louder than the church bell. He drank in the sight of the back of Frankie’s head as they made their way to the door, taking in the close cut of his hair, the bright halo of gloss on blond, just as he remembered. That red coat, the one he’d worn in the shed when he’d taken Marcus to task and they’d had their first kiss.
Frankie. It was Frankie, here, in Logan on Christmas Eve, and he would be staying with Marcus tonight.
The only thing better would be if it were forever.
It was snowing hard now, big fat flakes of white that stuck to their coats and hair, making them blink as Frankie took Marcus’s hand and led him off toward the Sunday-school doors. He stopped them under a lamppost, keeping tight hold of Marcus’s hand as he turned around and faced him, paler than ever even with his reddening nose, clearly terrified of whatever it was he was about to do. Still, Frankie pressed on, taking a deep breath and looking Marcus dead in the eye as he began.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I left without saying goodbye. I’m sorry I mailed back the phone you gave me. I’m sorry I didn’t fight for you, that I didn’t give us a chance.”
Marcus squeezed Frankie’s hand. “I wasn’t exactly making things easy.”
Frankie shook his head. “I didn’t try. I was afraid of failing, so I didn’t try, and I ran off like a rabbit, and I’m sorry.”
He picked up Marcus’s other hand and held it too. They both had bare hands, and the snow was cold as it fell upon their skin, but Marcus loved the touch, the warm feel of Frankie, and he was glad there were no gloves in the way.
Then Frankie said, “I quit my job,” and Marcus froze, unable to believe what he’d just heard.
Frankie nodded. “I did. I quit. I gave Josh and Andy January’s rent, but I’m moving out as soon as I figure out where I’m living. Which, by the way, will be up here. The Cut ’N’ Curl has an extra chair, and Patty says the owner is a bitch, but it’s a start. I have a lead on an apartment too, the one over the salon.” He took a shaky breath and pressed on. “Because it’s here in Logan, and here in Logan is where I want to be. Even if you don’t want me anymore.” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat and kept going. “If you don’t, I’m going to make you want me. I don’t care how big a growly bear you are, Marcus, I’m going to keep coming until you take me back even if only because it’s less annoying than trying to keep me away.”
Marcus wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t because his throat was too thick. He squeezed Frankie’s hands tight instead, reminding himself it was still real, that Frankie was truly here standing with him in the snow.
Frankie was here, and Frankie was going to stay.
“I love you,” Frankie said, his voice breaking again, but he was less nervous now, like he’d cracked a seal on something and a tide was coming out. “I’ve been sad and miserable and so lonely I thought I’d die, and I realized I never really liked my life in Minneapolis, that the one week I had with you was the best in my life and that I never wanted it to end.” He swallowed, his eyes damp. “Then I was mugged, and the guy had a gun, and I thought I was going to die, and the only thing I could think of was that I’d never have a chance to make it right, to come back and tell you I was sorry, to tell you that I love you and to beg for you to give us another chance.”
At I love you Marcus’s head started spinning, but he came right to attention when Frankie said the guy had a gun. “You were what?”
“Mugged.” Frankie slid a hand up Marcus’s arm, and he sort of laughed, except he didn’t smile, just kind of burbled. “I can still feel the gun sometimes, and it makes me scared, but you know, this is crazy, but I’m almost glad. He woke me up. I’m alive. I’m alive, and I know it, and now I’m here.” He touched Marcus’s cheek, his cold fingers so sweet against Marcus’s skin. “Please, please tell me that you’re glad.”
Marcus did laugh, and he gave up and let himself cry, because fuck if he could stop the tears now. “Yes, I’m glad. I’m so fucking glad I could blow up.”
“Please don’t.” Frankie brushed a kiss across Marcus’s lips, then brushed another one. “So is Patty right that I don’t need to worry about staying the night with her?”
Marcus kissed him again in answer, harder this time, his free hand traveling over Frankie’s face and neck. “You aren’t going to work in the Cut ’N’ Curl.” Marcus kissed Frankie’s hairline, shutting his eyes and drinking in the scent of his hair product. Here. Really, really here. “I bought the building I’m living in on Main Street. I have to use part of the first floor as a law office, but you can use the other side as a salon.”
Frankie lifted his head, eyes wide. “My own shop? But—Marcus, I’m a horrible business person. I’d never get a loan, and I’d need one to buy all the equipment and things I need.”
“I’m not a horrible business person, and I can get a loan.” Marcus pressed his thumb over Frankie’s lips and winked when he tried to argue. “We can fight about it later. Right now I’m getting you back to my place and getting you naked.”
Frankie grinned. “There’s another blizzard, they’re saying. We might be holed up in your apartment, all by ourselves, for days.”
“Let it snow,” Marcus declared, and tipped Frankie’s face up for another kiss.
About the Author
Heidi Cullinan has always enjoyed a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. Proud to be from the first Midwestern state with full marriage equality, Heidi is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights. She writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, playing with her cats, and watching anime, with or without her family. Find out more about Heidi at heidicullinan.com.
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OTHER BOOKS IN THE MINNESOTA CHRISTMAS SERIES
Sleigh Ride (also available in German)
Arthur wants nothing to do with romance, and he certainly doesn’t want to play Santa in his mother’s library fundraising scheme. He knows full well she really wants to hook him up with the town’s lanky, prissy librarian. It’s clear Gabriel doesn’t want him, either—as a Santa, as a boyfriend, as anyone at all. But as their arguments strike sparks, two men who insist they don’t date wind up doing an awful lot of dating. And the sleigh they’re trying not to board could jingle them all the way to happily ever after.
Winter Wonderland (also available in German)
Paul can’t find a gay man within a fifty-mile radius who wants more than casual sex. No one, that is, except too-young, too-twinky Kyle, who sends him suggestive texts and leaves X-rated snow sculptures on his front porch. Kyle’s loved Paul since forever, and this Christmas, since they’re both working on the Winter Wonderland festival, he might finally get his chance for a holiday romance. But Paul comes with baggage. When his family’s anti-LGBT crusade spills beyond managing Paul’s love life, Kyle and Paul must fight for everyone’s happily ever after, including their own.
Santa Baby
A one-night threesome becomes more when Dale Davidson joins already coupled Arthur Anderson and Gabriel Higgins, which is complicated enough in their sleepy northern Minnesota town, but when Dale’s abusive ex draws him into a dark web, the whole community must put aside their preconceptions of relationships, come together, and help bring their Santa home.
More adventures in Logan, Minnesota, coming soon
THE ROOSEVELT SERIES
Carry the Ocean (also available in French)
Shelter the Sea
Unleash the Earth (coming soon)
Shatter the Sky (coming soon)
LOVE LESSONS SERIES
Love Lessons (also available in German, French coming soon)
Frozen Heart
Fever Pitch (also available in German)
Lonely Hearts (also available in German)
Short Stay
Rebel Heart (coming soon)
THE DANCING SERIES
Dance With Me (also available in French, Italian coming soon)
Enjoy the Dance
Burn the Floor (coming soon)
THE SPECIAL DELIVERY SERIES
Special Delivery
Hooch and Cake
Double Blind
The Twelve Days of Randy
Tough Love
CLOCKWORK LOVE SERIES
Clockwork Heart
Clockwork Pirate (coming soon)
Clockwork Princess (coming soon)
TUCKER SPRINGS SERIES
Second Hand (written with Marie Sexton) (available in French)
Dirty Laundry (available in French)
(more titles in this series by other authors)
SINGLE TITLES
Antisocial
Nowhere Ranch (available in Italian)
Family Man (written with Marie Sexton)
A Private Gentleman
The Devil Will Do
Hero
Miles and the Magic Flute
NONFICTION
Your A Game: Winning Promo for Genre Fiction (written with Damon Suede)
Many titles are also available in audio and more are in production. Check the listings wherever you purchase audiobooks to see which titles are available.
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