by Sue Brown
“Oh, baby,” Marv yelled. “Take me—!”
Noel hurriedly shut the door.
He stayed in the room and watched a movie on his tablet until Charlie called everyone for pre-dinner drinks. Angel didn’t return. The movie, one of Noel’s favorites, didn’t hold his attention. He paused it every time he heard a footstep outside the door, and several times he stood up, determined to go and find him, but then he stopped. Angel needed the time alone. The sound of Charlie’s call was a relief—anything to break up his miserable thoughts. He slipped his feet into his Converses and headed out of his room.
The main room was empty, and Noel heard voices and footsteps in the wise guys’ room as he passed. At least now the moans of pleasure had finished, but the low rumble of laughter didn’t make him feel any better.
“Oh good, you’re here.”
Noel turned to see Charlie beaming at him and Don behind Charlie, his hand on his shoulder. “Hey.” He managed to paste on a smile.
Charlie furrowed his brow. “Where’s Angel?”
“I don’t know,” Noel confessed.
“I thought you went out for a walk together.”
“Angel wanted time to himself,” Noel said.
Charlie’s frown deepened. “But you went out together.”
“I know.” Noel shoved his hands in his pockets.
“But—” Charlie stopped when Don squeezed his shoulder.
“Maybe Noel doesn’t want to talk about it,” Don rumbled, to Noel’s relief.
Charlie looked deeply unhappy, but he nodded. “Perhaps he’ll come back before dinner. Do you want a drink, Noel?”
Noel accepted a gin and tonic and retreated to sit beside the fire. The wise guys came in, talking loudly about a business deal they were trying to push through. Under any other circumstance, Noel would have found it irritating, but the noise distracted him from his miserable thoughts. He smiled at Marv, who waved the gin bottle at him.
“Want a top up?” Marv asked.
Noel looked into his glass. Why the hell not? He was on his own, and it was Christmas. He slung back the last of the gin and held out his glass. “Thanks.”
Marv’s gin and tonics were much stronger than Charlie’s, and Noel’s head was fuzzy by the end of the glass, but as he’d just spent the time listening to the three of them bicker, it didn’t seem to matter so much. In fact, a fuzzy head helped.
Goldie sat down next to Noel. “Where’s Angel?”
“I don’t know.” Noel seemed to have spent a lot of time answering that question this afternoon.
Frankie narrowed his eyes, and Noel braced himself for whatever he was going to say. “Have you two had an argument?”
“Not exactly.”
“But you’re not talking?”
Goldie nudged Frankie in the ribs. “It’s none of our business.”
“I like young Angel,” Frankie said with a glower at Noel.
“Whatever’s going on between them is their business. I’m sure Angel will come back for dinner.”
He winked at Noel, who nodded and smiled. Inside he felt like crying.
Charlie appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, wearing a Santa hat and an elf sweater. “Take your seats, folks. Dinner is served.”
At that moment, Angel walked in the front door.
“Just in time,” Charlie said.
“I’m sorry,” Angel said quietly. Noel watched him out of the corner of his eye. He looked cold and miserable, almost shrunken in the ski jacket and boots. He took them off quickly and slipped into the vacant seat next to Noel at the table, but Angel refused to catch Noel’s gaze.
Noel looked up to see Goldie scowling at him, and he scowled right back. He didn’t need judgment being passed by any of the wise guys.
Don brought out the turkey and cornbread stuffing on a huge platter, followed by Charlie with a ham that was almost as large, and a prime rib. There was enough meat to feed five chalets, not just one. Huge bowls of creamy mashed potatoes followed, with green-bean casserole, fresh-baked rolls, Brussels sprouts and carrots, cranberry sauce, and sweet-potato casserole. Noel’s mouth watered, and he swore he heard a moan from Angel. He grinned at him, and to his relief, Angel gave a small smile in return.
Don manned the carving knife and soon the food was on the plates, but Charlie coughed just as they were about to eat.
“I just want to give thanks to whoever’s listening for the safe arrival of Maria and Joe’s baby this morning. I called the hospital, and mom and baby are doing just fine.” He raised his glass of soda. “It’s a true Christmas miracle, so to Maria and Joe and the baby.”
“Maria, Joe, and the baby,” Noel echoed along with the others.
Just the thought of what could have gone wrong made Noel break out in a cold sweat. The fact that it was the sweetest birth ever on Christmas Day made it that much more special.
They dove into the food, and for a few minutes, talking became irrelevant. Noel hoped Maria and Joe were having a good Christmas dinner in the hospital. Charlie must have read his thoughts, because out of nowhere, he said, “Don took dinner down to the new parents.”
“You’re wasted here,” Marv said, and the wise guys nodded. “You ought to have a restaurant.”
Charlie shrugged. “This is the best job in the world. Why would I want the stress that goes with running my own restaurant?” He leaned against Don, who gently knocked his shoulder. Their tender smiles at each other were another knife in Noel’s gut.
To his surprise he felt Angel’s thigh press against him. It was fleeting and gone in an instant, but he took comfort from it. Maybe he hadn’t been able to hide his feelings as well as he thought he had. Even though Angel was upset with Noel, he sought to comfort him. Noel squeezed Angel’s thigh and carried on eating.
There was pumpkin pie and apple pie and warm chocolate brownies that melted in Noel’s mouth. He was a heartbeat away from yelling “Mine!” as people came near the dish. He and Frankie had a standoff over the last brownie until Charlie assured them there were more in the kitchen. Noel huffed and let Frankie take it. He caught Angel’s amused expression.
“It’s homemade, you see,” he tried to explain.
“I understand,” Angel said solemnly.
Noel had the distinct feeling Angel was laughing at him, but he could take that rather than the hurt, pinched look of earlier.
Then it was post-dinner cocktails. It turned out Marv was a bartender in his college days and could make just about any cocktail in existence.
“He spends hours reading cocktail recipes,” Frankie confided when Marv insisted he make the drinks.
Noel wasn’t sure what Marv put in his bright red drink, but it tasted like alcoholic heaven. He needed it when Angel sat next to him on the sofa, but as far away from him as he could. Angel retreated into a small ball of misery, not talking to anyone beyond one-word answers.
Marv waved his arms in the air and insisted they play a game of charades. Noel did his best to join in and tried to channel his aunties, but as soon as it was polite, he beat a hasty retreat to his room. He couldn’t sit with Angel next to him, knowing everyone was glowering at him and expecting him to take Angel into his arms. They all wanted their Hallmark love story. None of them seemed to appreciate that, back home, Noel had been in a relationship and he hadn’t processed its abrupt end. He wasn’t free to love Angel until he’d decided not to fight for his relationship with Adam. Noel had always thought of himself as loyal to one man only. He wouldn’t cheat on Adam until he’d made a decision. It didn’t matter that Adam ended their relationship. Noel had to catch up.
Back in his bedroom, he hunted for the leather box containing Adam’s ring and found it pushed far back in the top drawer of the dresser. He frowned, sure he hadn’t put it there, but he flipped open the lid and stared at it. He’d spent a long time choosing the right ring for Adam, finally settling on a platinum band set with diamonds—one for each year of their relationship. Adam would have loved it… if h
e’d seen it.
“You broke my heart,” he said to the ring.
Noel plucked it out of the box and slipped it into his pocket. He had some hard thinking to do before he talked to Angel. So he changed into a thicker argyle sweater, hat, and scarf, and then he opened the veranda door and shivered as the cold night air took his breath away.
Chapter 16—Day 6
Christmas Day evening
THE EVENING was everything Noel had expected for his stay at the chalet—the large full moon reflecting off the cold, crisp snow and the darkness of the trees, the snow-capped mountains standing silent guard in the distance. It was stunning, and Noel barely saw it. He stood in the hush of the night on the wraparound veranda, stared out at the snow-clad mountains, and twisted the platinum ring in his fingers.
He felt as though he’d traveled a lifetime in a few days, and now he was exhausted and confused, not sure which path to take. He’d been so convinced he was going to spend the rest of his life with Adam. If anyone had told him before the ride to the airport that he would end up falling for another man by the end of the visit, he would have laughed at them and then suggested they see their physician for a check-up.
Adam.
Angel.
The choice ought to be so easy. Angel was wonderful, but surely it was a rebound relationship. Adam had broken his heart, and Angel had been there to pick up the pieces in a wonderful vacation romance.
“But Angel makes you happy,” Noel whispered into the silence. He smiled as he thought about Angel by his side.
A muffled burst of laughter from the other side of the chalet made him realize he was missing the last evening with the other guests, but he couldn’t sit there and laugh and joke, knowing he’d hurt Angel’s feelings. The look on Angel’s face when Noel hadn’t answered him…. Noel swallowed. He’d hurt Angel, and it was up to him to rectify it, but he didn’t want to make a mistake, for both their sakes.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Angel said.
Noel turned to find Angel in the doorway, still wearing his Christmas sweater, although Rudolph’s nose looked a little droopy. “I needed to think,” he said.
Angel nodded. “I’ll leave you alone.”
Angel turned as though he was going to walk away, but before Noel thought about it, he said, “Please stay.”
Angel turned back, but he chewed on his bottom lip. “Are you sure?”
Noel snorted and said, “I’m not sure of anything now, but I know I want you to be here.”
Two quick steps and Angel joined him at the rail. “You can talk to me, you know.”
Considering what his thoughts were about, Noel wanted to laugh, but instead he held out his hand and Angel entwined their fingers.
“Your hands are cold,” Angel scolded. “I can go get gloves.”
“We can warm each other,” Noel said, looking down at their joined hands.
It occurred to Noel that, in the four years they’d been together, Adam would never have thought about getting Noel a pair of gloves. He had never much cared about Noel’s welfare. Noel had to acknowledge that he’d probably been as selfish, and that grieved him.
They leaned together in silence for a long time until Angel sighed. “What were you thinking about?”
Noel bit his lip and then he held out the ring.
Angel’s face tightened. “I’m sorry. I should have left you alone.”
He tried to pull away, but Noel held on to him.
“I’m done thinking,” Noel admitted. Then he gave a wry laugh. “My brain is tired.”
“You’ve been under a lot of pressure,” Angel said gently.
Noel shook his head. “I’ve been very happy. Maybe the happiest I’ve been in four years.”
“You could go back and fight for Adam.”
Noel clutched the ring in his palm. “I could.”
“I don’t want to make life difficult for you, Noel. You’re too important to me.” Angel’s words were barely a whisper. “You have to fight for what you want.”
Noel looked down at him and noticed Angel’s eyelashes glistening, although no tears spilled onto his cheeks. He wiped Angel’s eyes with his thumb. “Yes, I do.”
He looked out at the moonlit landscape as a shooting star suddenly lit up the night sky. It was an omen if there ever was one.
“Yes, I do,” he said more firmly, his decision finally made.
Noel threw the ring as far as he could across the snow, not caring where it landed. It vanished into the powder.
“What are you doing?” Angel squeaked.
“Fighting for what I want.”
Noel took Angel’s hands, and Angel stared up at him, his eyes wide. “I can’t promise forever, Angel, but I’d really like to see you once we get home. I want more than a week.”
He couldn’t promise forever… yet. But when he’d unraveled his life from his ex, maybe he could.
It seemed to be enough, because Angel’s smile was transcendent. “I want more than a week too.”
He gathered Angel into his arms. If another shooting star blessed their union, he was too busy kissing him under the starlight to care.
Angel’s throaty moan was more than Noel could take, and he pushed Angel into the railing, needing to touch him, feel him, push his arousal against him. Angel seemed to be just as wild as he reached into Noel’s hair and pulled him down for a deep, wet kiss. Their hands roamed all over each other and Noel groaned, frustrated by the thick knit of their sweaters.
“You know you boys could get a lot more friendly if you went inside.”
Noel raised his head to see Don, his arm around Charlie, both of them wearing matching sweaters and identical smirks.
“Uh… yeah.” But he didn’t make a move or let go of Angel.
Don’s smirk grew wider, and he looked down at Charlie. “I think they might find it a little difficult to walk at the moment.”
“I think you might be right,” Charlie’s solemn tone was wrecked by his grin.
“Payback,” Don suggested.
“I think so,” Charlie agreed.
“We might need to give them a little time.”
They backed away and left Noel and Angel together.
Noel groaned and rested his forehead on Angel’s. “Did we just get caught making out?”
“Uh-huh.” Angel just sounded amused.
“Glad you find it funny,” Noel groused.
Angel cupped his cheek. “They were right,” he suggested. “We could retire to our bedroom and get naked.”
“They said friendly.”
“They meant naked.” Angel took Noel’s hand and led him into the bedroom.
Noel shut the door to the veranda and his old dreams. He smiled at Angel. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
Angel looked down at Rudolph. “You really hate this sweater, don’t you?”
“If I answer that, will I be in trouble?”
“Nonna expects me to wear it.”
Noel tugged Angel into his arms. “Then you can wear it every Christmas, Angel. I don’t want to upset your nonna. But now—” He let his voice drop an octave. “I’d really like to see you naked.”
Angel held up his arms, and Noel slid the hated sweater over his head and threw it to one side of the room. Noel didn’t comment on the fact that it landed half in the trash can. He wasn’t that mean. Instead he focused on assisting Angel in removing his jeans. He was more of a hindrance than a help, and Angel pushed his hands aside so he could pull down the zipper and push them down his thighs, along with the pale blue cotton briefs underneath. They landed somewhere near the sweater.
The breath caught in Noel’s throat as his gaze roamed over Angel. He was stunning, all lean muscle, with the faintest dusting of body hair. Angel stood as Noel studied him, and a rosy blush spread from his chest and up his throat, stark on his fair skin. His arousal was also obvious, reaching out to meet Noel as he wrapped a hand around it.
Angel gasped but managed to say, “Ti
me to get your clothes off, big boy.”
Noel raised an eyebrow. “Big boy?”
He accompanied it with a thumb-swipe over the head of Angel’s cock, and judging by the way Angel’s thighs wobbled, maybe that was a little unfair. Angel did that cute growl and thrust his hands under Noel’s argyle sweater. His hands were icy, and Noel yelped. Angel smirked in response.
“That’s mean,” Noel grumbled. But Angel’s hands were warming up as they roamed his skin, so the statement didn’t have much heat.
He pulled his sweater up and struggled momentarily to get it over his head. Angel chuckled as he assisted him. Then Angel licked trails to his nipple and Noel’s whole focus was on the hot, wet, kisses Angel delivered.
He managed a “Gah” and closed his eyes as Angel licked his nipple. Adam hadn’t been much of a nipple man, but Noel loved having them played with. Noel pushed Adam from his mind. He was with Angel, and he was sure Angel was going to spend the rest of his life driving Adam from his mind. Noel was fully on board with that idea. From the way Angel’s cock was leaking over Noel’s hand, he was in agreement.
Angel licked and Noel tugged, and they rocked together in the middle of the room until Angel raised his head, his lips glistening. “This is good, but I want more.”
Noel nodded and let go of Angel’s dick, loving the whimper that Angel couldn’t hold back. He stripped off his own jeans and kicked them away.
Angel stared at him. “You were going commando?”
“Yeah.” Noel shrugged. “I don’t wear briefs if I don’t have to.”
“That’s so hot,” Angel said huskily. “I wish I’d known sooner.”
Noel wrapped his arm around Angel’s neck and tugged him closer. “Kiss me again.”
In seconds, Angel’s arms were wrapped around his neck and Angel’s tongue was down his throat. Noel managed one startled thought—that sweet gentle Angel turned out to be a tiger when it came to sex—and then his brain switched off-line because his body was demanding full access. He ran his hands down Angel’s back and cupped his ass.