by Avery Ford
“I’m sure you could probably figure it out,” she replied, shooting him a quick, sympathetic smile. “But what I will say is that you know I love you to the moon and back, and I’ll support whatever you decide to do.” Her smile disappeared as she fixed him with a hard look. “But do yourself a favor, okay? Spend the rest of tonight thinking long and hard about your priorities. And your life. Figure out where you’re going and what you’re doing.”
“That’s the problem,” he said. “I just don’t know. How am I supposed to know what the right decision is?”
“Blake, dear, you’ve been happier these past few days than I’ve seen you in… well, in a really long time.” She stood up from his bed and gave him another smile. “Follow your heart. You’ll know you’re making the right decision because it will feel like the right thing to do. But whatever you decide to do, do it. And be happy.”
She walked out of the room without saying anything else. Blake closed his eyes and then sputtered as Cooper licked his face.
As much as he hated to admit it—and would probably never actually say it out loud—his mom was right. He had been happier this past week than he had in all his years in California put together.
And the cause of his happiness?
Simple.
Love.
So when it was time to decide what he was going to do, that answer was just as simple.
Toby
Toby was sitting in his living room with the lights out and the curtains drawn tight even though it wasn’t even noon on Christmas Eve.
He’d hoped that if he just pretended like it was nighttime for long enough that he would eventually fall asleep. That was how he’d planned on getting through the day.
And tomorrow.
And the day after, and as many days as he needed to until he felt like himself again. His old self. The one that had been happy—well, content—with being single.
The version of himself that could go five minutes without thinking of how much he missed Blake.
But now he wasn’t sure whether that version of himself was ever coming back. That old Toby seemed to be buried under an avalanche of self-pity at the moment.
When he heard the knock on his front door, Toby knew immediately who it was. With his parents still in Florida, there was literally only one person on the planet who would show up at his door on Christmas Eve.
And of course it was the one person Toby didn’t want to see.
No.
He wanted to see Blake—more than anything, that was what he wanted. But Toby didn’t trust himself. Didn’t trust his heart.
After all the calls and texts that Toby had ignored last night, he had been a little surprised that there hadn’t been more this morning. A part of him had hoped that Blake had finally decided to move on while another part of him wanted to call Blake back and apologize for not being able to separate the fun they’d been having from the relationship that Toby knew they couldn’t have again.
Toby briefly considered ignoring Blake again, but another knock on the door made him realize that wasn’t going to be an option. And even if it was technically still an option, Toby couldn’t do that. Over the phone was one thing, but it would have been beyond rude to leave Blake standing out there in the cold while Toby was in here moping in the dark.
He slowly stood up from the couch and walked to the front door, trying to figure out what he was going to say. What could he say? He didn’t really have the words to describe how he felt, and Blake deserved more than the simple, inadequate apology that Toby could offer.
But when he opened the door, nobody was there.
Or, more accurately, no person was there.
“Cooper?” Toby looked down at the friendly puppy whose tail was wagging so wildly it was stirring the fallen leaves from the corners of Toby’s porch. “What are you doing here?”
Toby reached down to pet the dog, looking around at the same time for any sign of Blake. But there didn’t appear to be anyone else around. There weren’t even any other cars in the driveway next to Toby’s old pickup.
“Come here,” Toby said, squatting down to inspect the dog more carefully. “What is this around your neck?”
Toby had been so confused and distracted that he hadn’t even noticed the red ribbon hanging loosely around Cooper’s neck at first. He looked down further to see that the ribbon was threaded through a small, glittery Christmas card.
If this was some kind of prank, it was the most elaborate one Toby had ever seen. And one of the weirdest so far.
But there was no way Cooper had come here all on his own, right? As far as Toby knew, the puppy had been born in California and had only come to Kansas with Blake for the first time a week ago. And even if he had, by some Christmas miracle, found his way to Toby’s house on his own, that still didn’t explain the ribbon and the card.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Toby reached out to lift the ribbon off Cooper’s neck, then opened the card.
Toby,
I’ve tried calling and texting. I don’t know how to send smoke signals and I couldn’t find any carrier pigeons on such short notice, so I sent the next best thing. I only hope that you’re reading this now and that it hasn’t become a glittery snack for Cooper.
I still don’t know where we went wrong, but I do still want to make it right. Being apart last night was rough, but it was also a blessing in disguise because it gave me a chance to think. To evaluate my priorities. To figure out what really matters and what I want out of life.
You matter, Toby.
And you’re what I want.
I don’t have all the answers yet, but I know for sure that I can’t walk away from you again. It’s the biggest regret I have and I won’t make that mistake twice. I want to make this work if you’ll give me a chance.
I want to stay in Kansas—to stay with you—while we decide how we can move forward together. I know you have a life here and I want to be a part of that life in whatever way you’ll let me.
Please talk to me. Let’s figure this out.
I love you,
Blake
Toby blinked, then read those last couple of paragraphs again to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating this whole thing. It didn’t make any sense at all, but Toby couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he read those lines over and over again.
Blake wanted to be with him?
Here?
Yeah, Toby needed to talk to him now. Like, now.
“Cooper, where is Blake?” Toby asked, taking the pup’s face in his hands and kissing the end of his nose. “I’ve gotta find him.”
Toby looked at the dog and then glanced back inside. Should he bring Cooper into the house while he called Toby? Should he just grab his keys and take Cooper back to Toby’s parents’ house?
Or maybe Cooper could channel Lassie and lead Toby to Blake. That would be the easiest solution if it also didn’t happen to be the least likely to happen.
But then Blake was there, stepping from around the corner of the garage with a tentative smile on his face. “Is it safe to come out now? Did Coop do his job?”
As if answering his owner, the puppy ran over to Blake, barking and jumping around before finally sitting down at his feet.
“You’re here,” Toby said, a wide smile on his lips as he stated the obvious. “I, um… I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”
Damn.
All this time with Cooper and Toby still hadn’t figured out what he should say to Blake. And now it was too late to come up with anything good—let alone anything super sweet and amazing like Blake had written.
“You don’t need to apologize for anything, babe,” Blake said, quickly crossing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around Toby’s waist. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come to my senses sooner, but the good news is that I have come to my senses. I finally realize what I want in life, what I need.”
“You have?” Toby asked, feeling breathless and lightheaded and so happy he was for s
ure going to either pass out or throw up. “What is it?”
He was pretty sure he already knew the answer—pretty sure he’d just read it in that beautiful card—but Toby still wanted to hear the words out loud, straight from Blake’s mouth.
“You,” Blake said. “Just you. You make me happy and whatever I end up doing next, I want to do it with you, Toby. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Toby said, beaming as Blake showered his face with quick, tiny kisses. “I love you so much and I don’t know what any of this means but I want to make it work. I think we can.”
“I know we can,” Blake corrected him. “And we’ll have to figure it out, but we’ll figure it out together. That’s all I’m asking, babe. Just give me a chance to prove my love. I promise I won’t let you down this time.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” Toby said, meaning it. “We’re in this together. That’s all I want, too. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Toby couldn’t believe any of this was happening. It was all so perfect—too perfect for it to be his life. But here he was. With Blake and Cooper and even a few tiny little snowflakes that had started to fall.
Maybe Christmas miracles were really real after all.
Because the one thing that Toby had always wanted? The thing he had never expected to happen in a million years?
Yeah, it had just happened.
Blake loved him.
Blake loved him.
And no matter what happened next, they would deal with it together because Toby loved Blake, too.
Blake
“Merry Christmas, Toby,” Sharon said as she passed him a neatly wrapped gift. “We didn’t really know what to get you, so… well, you’ll see.”
“Don’t spoil it for him, Sharon,” Blake’s dad said, grinning as he nodded toward the gift in Toby’s hands. “I want to see the look on his face when he opens it.”
Blake knew Toby hadn’t been expecting anything—and that was confirmed by the deer-in-headlights look that Toby shot Blake once the present was in his hands—but he also knew that this particular gift was something just for fun, and any momentary awkwardness would hopefully soon be forgotten.
“Don’t worry, babe,” Blake whispered. “Just open it.”
“I wish I would have known…” Toby grimaced. “I would have brought gifts for everyone.”
“You already brought that lovely bottle of wine we had with Christmas dinner,” Sharon said.
“And those squeaky toys for Cooper,” Richard said with a pained expression as Cooper squeaked one of the loud toys as if on cue. “Thanks again for that…”
“And you’re here next to me,” Blake added. “Which, for the record, is exactly what I asked Santa for this year. So now it’s your turn to get something from us.” He waited and then nudged Toby with his shoulder when Toby still didn’t look terribly convinced. “Go ahead, babe. Open it.”
Toby sighed, but smiled anyway as he looked around the room. “Thank you all, seriously. You shouldn’t have gotten it, whatever it is… but I appreciate it.”
“You might want to hold off on that appreciation until you open it,” Blake said under his breath, nearly choking on his laughter when his mom shot him a dirty look. “Just saying…”
Toby’s brows furrowed, then furrowed some more once he opened the box and pulled out the ugliest sweater Blake had ever seen.
“It’s… wow,” Toby said, leaning back a little and turning the sweater around as if that was going to help at all. “Thank you. I… thank you.”
Blake burst out laughing, ignoring the look his mom shot him as she spoke up over the laughter. “You’re very welcome, dear. I thought it would be a cute, festive sort of Christmas sweater, but then… well, Blake thought you might get some use out of it, too.”
“In an ugly sweater contest,” Blake snorted, then threw an arm around Toby’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, babe. She got me one to match it…”
Toby’s face lit up. “So we’ll both have matching ugly sweaters?” His eyes went wide as he realized what he’d said. “Sorry, Mrs. Rivers. I meant… well, not ugly… just…”
“Just hush and eat some more cookies, dear,” Sharon said, tossing Toby a wink as she brought the plate of cookies over to him. “I did save the receipt if you want to take it back the next time you happen to be passing through Topeka.”
“No,” Toby shook his head. “I don’t want to take it back. I’m keeping it. And I really do appreciate it—not just the sweater.” He paused, smiling as he looked from Sharon to Richard and then to Blake. “But for everything. For inviting me over and treating me like… well, like family.”
“That’s what Christmas is about,” Blake’s dad said. “And we’re happy you decided to join us.”
“Pretty sure I’m the happiest,” Blake said, leaning in to give Toby a quick, chaste kiss. “I’m glad you’re here, babe. And there are going to be a lot more ugly sweaters in your future, because we’re going to be right here together every Christmas—and every other day—from now on.”
“That’s all I want for Christmas,” Toby grinned, then took his hand. “You, me, family, Cooper, and this ugly sweater. That’s my idea of heaven.”
“You’re in luck, then,” Blake said. “Because you’ve got all of us. Merry Christmas, babe.”
“Merry Christmas.”
And then, because they were sitting within at least five feet of some mistletoe—and that had to count, right?—Blake leaned in and kissed him again.
Toby really was everything Blake wanted.
More than he could have asked for.
Definitely more than he deserved.
Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Second Chance for Christmas. Please do leave a review on Amazon!
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