Book Title: A Gift-Wrapped Holiday
Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin
Cover Artist: LC Chase
Release Date: November 22, 2022
Genre: Contemporary M/M romance
Tropes: single dad, age gap (10 years), small town, found family
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 69 000 words / 272 pages
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
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Blurb
Mal’s first priority is giving his six-year-old son the best Christmas ever, a goal made trickier by a recent move to New England after losing his job. As a single dad, he’s not looking for romance—especially not with a blond California boy ten years his junior.
After being ridiculed at the family business, Luca sets out to prove himself by opening an eco-friendly gift-wrapping store in a small town with a hard-on for Christmas that’s about as far from LA as he can get. Out of his comfort zone in snowy Maine, love is the last thing on his mind.
But the magic of the season has other ideas. As Mal and Luca collide on wintery streets, will they let their first Christmas in Lighthouse Bay lead to happily ever after?
Content warning: stillbirth. Although it took place off-page and in the past, it is discussed on-page.
“What could possibly be so fascinating out there that’s more interesting than what’s in this bed?” came Luca’s rumbly voice from behind him.
Mal was about to turn when Luca added, “Never mind. I like this view.”
Mal flexed his ass cheeks.
Luca sniggered. “Show off.”
Leaving the curtains open, Mal stalked toward him. Luca had moved onto his back, the comforter still up to his chin against the morning chill. Mal lay down on top of him, the cover between them, and dropped another kiss to Luca’s nose. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Luca unburied one arm from underneath the cover and rubbed an eye. “What time is it?”
“Just past six thirty.”
“Ugh.”
Chuckling, Mal kissed the corner of his mouth. “What time do you go into the store?”
“I open at ten, so usually nine thirty.” Luca’s arms came around him, pulling Mal’s head to his chest. “Which gives me at least another hour of sleep time.”
Mal had been looking forward to something that was decidedly not sleep, but maybe Luca was too sore from last night’s activities. Or hell, maybe he just wasn’t a morning nookie kind of guy.
“I need to shovel the driveway,” Mal said. “Come with me.”
“What did I just say about sleeping?”
“It’ll be fun. Fresh snow is the best.”
“Snow, bad. Bed, good.”
Stomach curling with joy, Mal kissed the corner of one closed eye. “I’ll make you breakfast after.”
One eye opened. “What kind of breakfast?”
Recalling Luca’s order from their business meeting at the café, Mal said, “Chocolate chip pancakes?” and patted himself on the back when Luca’s other eye opened.
“I could have chocolate chip pancakes.”
Mal gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth. “Let’s go.”
Luca groaned as Mal rose, covering his eyes with one arm. “You’re way too excited about snow.”
“It looks like Christmas out there.”
“That’s because it is Christmas out there. It’s also probably minus a million out there, isn’t it?”
Mal checked his phone. “Twenty-eight.”
“Do you make Otis shovel with you when he’s here?”
“Yup. You can use his shovel.”
A few minutes later, Luca stared at said shovel while Mal tried not to laugh. “It barely comes up to my waist.”
Pulling the scarf over his chin to keep it warm, Mal grabbed the only adult-sized shovel he owned and headed out of the garage, fluffy flakes landing on his hat and shoulders. “We can swap if you want.”
“I’ll make do.”
Aside from the two of them, there wasn’t a single other person on the street. Not even a dog barked. It was the kind of thick silence only heard at dawn, right before the sun rose, when the streetlights still cast yellow spotlights on the ground and the snow was an untouched blanket.
Several inches had fallen overnight, enough that if Mal didn’t shovel now, there’d be twice as much, and it would take him twice as long later. His boots left footprints in the snow as he trudged to the end of the driveway and got to work.
From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Luca standing to his left, farther up the driveway. Watching.
Straightening, Mal leaned on his shovel. “You have shoveled before, right?” It had snowed several times in the last month.
“Nope. I pay one of the neighborhood kids to do it. Alexander. Fifty bucks per shovel.”
“Fifty bucks?”
“That’s not enough?”
“No, no. That’s plenty.”
“He’s great,” Luca went on. “Shows up every time it snows, even when there’s barely a light dusting on the ground.”
“So would I for fifty bucks a snowfall,” Mal muttered to himself.
“What?”
“What?”
Luca narrowed his eyes.
Mal grinned, absurdly pleased with himself, with Luca, with the entire situation, even though it was dark and cold, and they could’ve been cuddled up in bed right now if he hadn’t been absolutely certain that his future self would hate his past self for letting the snow pile up further.
Problem was, present self didn’t give a fuck about future self—or the snow. It just wanted Luca’s naked body against his again.
Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.
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