Page 1 of Celebrating the Season

1

BOAZ

The scent of greasy fries and stale beer hit me as I pushed open the heavy wooden door of the Four Foxes Bar and Grille. Bit of a pretentious name for what looked like a cliché bar in some middle-of-nowhere town in rural Washington, but whatever. It was where my father and Hawk had met, hence their choice to hold their bachelor party here. The bar was closed on Mondays, making it the perfect day to hold a private bachelor party there, my father had assured me.

The bar was decked out in Christmas decorations with strings of multicolored lights adorning the walls and ceilings while a large Christmas tree stood in the corner. Red, green, and gold tinsel was everywhere, making the bar feel festive and cozy. A faint pine scent did its best to cover the smell of fried foods but couldn’t quite manage. Mariah was belting out what she wanted for Christmas, her pipes easily rising above the chatter of the patrons.

I scanned the room, my eyes drawn to the center where my dad was laughing heartily at something Hawk had said. The crinkles around his eyes had grown sharper over the years, but he was still a handsome man, objectively speaking. And Hawk was downright hot. He might become my official stepdad in a few weeks, but I wasn’t blind, okay?

Hawk wrapped his arm around my dad, and Dad leaned into his space as they shared a moment. It made my chest ache a little, seeing how happy he was. It had taken him a long time to get comfortable with who he was, and I couldn’t be happier he’d found his forever man. Hawk was a great guy, and he loved my dad, which was all that mattered.

“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!”

I turned to see Jesse, my father’s best friend, sauntering toward me with his shit-eating grin that always spelled trouble. My stomach did a little flip—half excitement, half dread.

He was hot. Really hot. He was also trouble with a capital T. I would’ve considered tapping that if my father hadn’t threatened Jesse that if he ever touched me, my father would kill him with his bare hands—though he would probably outsource the job to Hawk, who was much more likely to pull that off. I liked Jesse too much to see him harmed, so off-limits it was. Sadly. Rumors were he fucked like a horny stallion, and I could really use some of that right now, but alas.

“Jesse! Hey, man, how’s it—” He cut me off with a bear hug that knocked the wind out of me.

“Boaz, darling! Fashionably late as always.” Jesse chuckled, releasing me from his grip. “But you’re still on time for the surprise entertainment.”

“Oh god,” I groaned, running a hand through my curls. “Please tell me it’s not another one of your infamous karaoke contests. I’m still traumatized from last time.”

Jesse’s eyes glinted. “Oh no, this is way better. Let’s just say Santa might be coming to town.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Santa? Jesse, it’s a bachelor party, not some Christmas shindig. Unless Santa is gonna strip, I doubt anyone will appreciate his presence.”

Oh, a stripping Santa. How much fun would that be? It would need to be a hot Santa, of course, but he’d have lots of layers to get through until the final reveal. Maybe a fur thong?

“Nuh-uh.” Jesse waggled a finger at me, and I refocused. “No spoilers. You’ll have to wait and see.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to read his expression. Jesse’s idea of “fun” tended to be hit or miss, usually veering toward the chaotic. But damn if my curiosity wasn’t piqued.

“Fine, keep your secrets,” I huffed, a grin tugging at my lips despite myself. “But if this ends with me bailing you out of jail again, I’m telling my dad.”

Jesse laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. “Trust me, kid. This is gonna be a night you won’t forget.”

What kind of Santa could Jesse have arranged? And why did I have a feeling I would end up regretting this? “If you say so.”

I stopped by my father and Hawk to say hi.

“It’s good to see you, kid.” My father hugged me tightly, as he’d been doing a lot lately. At only forty-six, he wasn’t old enough for sentimentality, so maybe it was wedding jitters? And yes, he was only seventeen when I was born. Guess he and my mom didn’t listen to the safe sex talk as teens.

“You too, Dad. This party is popping.”

He grinned at me. “No, it’s not, but that’s fine by me. You have no idea how many of Jesse’s ideas we had to veto.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “What else did you expect when you put him in charge of organizing this?”

My father leaned in. “I didn’t. He assumed, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.”

That was my dad for ya. He was such a bleeding heart. Good thing Hawk was an honorable dude who would never take advantage of that. I patted my dad’s shoulder. “Good luck with that, Dad.”

Hawk gave me a firm hug. “Thanks for coming, Boaz. It means a lot to us.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Which was true, even if I had low expectations of the level of fun—even more now that I knew Jesse had arranged for a fucking Santa to show up.

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