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Chapter 1
Kyle Nixon grabbed the empty bowl of chips from his coffee table and kicked his brother’s feet out of the way as he headed for the kitchen.
If he had to be single and alone this holiday season, he might as well have some fun. And since he had no interest in dating until he excised some relationship ghosts from his past, he’d take an afternoon of gaming with the guys—and harassing his older brother.
“That’s no way to treat your guests, especially when they’re the ones who provided the entertainment in the first place,” Ian groused, but his grin belied any grumpiness. Kyle knew he was just happy to have a rare afternoon for vegging out on the couch and playing the latest first-person shooter game. Ever since his daughter fell behind in her reading homework, Ian’s wife Carrie had banned video games from their farmhouse.
As a teacher, Kyle understood.
As a gamer, though, he felt his brother’s pain.
The obvious solution had been for Kyle to selflessly volunteer to house the brand new PlayStation at his own place. He was generous like that. It looked fan-fucking-tastic next to his Xbox.
A knock at the door interrupted his search through his pantry for more snacks. “Evan’s here.”
“He’ll let himself in,” Ian mumbled between shots fired.
He would. Kyle’s half-renovated schoolhouse just outside of their small lakeside town had become the de facto bachelor hang-out pad, even though Evan had just built a killer house on the bluffs overlooking his winery.
The Nixon and West brothers were now from two different worlds, but they were still the best of friends. Video games and beer had a way of bonding guys for life like that.
Before Kyle could holler that the door was open, Evan was inside, kicking the first snow of the year off his boots. “I’m moving to Hawaii.”
“You’d miss us too much,” Kyle replied mildly.
“They have people in bikinis and board shorts there, year round. You assholes don’t compete with that kind of eye candy.”
Kyle snorted. “Then go.”
Evan growled something about too much work to do and threw himself onto the couch next to Ian. Two grumpy old men. They deserved each other as best friends.
Kyle resumed his search for snacks. “I’ve got pretzels. Maybe we should order in some pizzas.”
“Already on it,” Evan said over his shoulder, his eyes not leaving the TV screen. “Ty’s in the city. He’s picking up dinner on his way here.”
Kyle grabbed his phone and shot off a quick text that they needed more beer. It was shaping up to be that kind of afternoon.
The fucking awesome kind.
If his brother and best friends weren’t there, he’d…what? Probably finish the trim along the far wall. Maybe get started on the framing off of his bedroom, which was currently just blocked off by a heavy curtain.
He liked carpentry, but it was a poor substitute for human company.
Time to start dating again. But the way things had ended with Crystal, he wanted to have his head on straight.
As long as his fingers twitched to type Laney Calhoun’s name into the search bar on his Internet browser, he wasn’t ready.
It had taken a Herculean effort not to stalk her online. He knew she was in Chicago now. A five-hour drive if traffic was kind. Just across the Canada-US border.
Laney Calhoun. Whip-smart, beautiful beyond measure. Hated his guts. Still owned a tiny bit of real estate on his heart and probably always would, because he was a fool.
He’d hurt her so badly she hadn’t come back to Wardham for longer than a weekend visit in more than a decade.
And the only time they’d seen each other recently, in a crowded room at her father’s funeral, he’d found himself at a loss for words.
He took a deep breath and shook it off. It was for the best that Crystal had left him. And it was for the best that he get over Laney and move on with his life.
He’d done it once. And now he was doing it again. He squeezed his hands on the edge of the granite countertop. He’d renovated this house up from an empty shell. Designed the kitchen himself. Installed a wood stove in the living room and hung a big screen TV, flanked on either side by bookshelves. It was warm and cozy and the best damn bachelor pad a geeky teacher could ever want.
