Winter Eve by Lia Davis

have thought he’d have Santa’s bowlful of jelly by now, but, no, he hadn’t gained a pound from the dozens of cookies he’d inhaled in the past month. 
    Weird.
    Justin sat in his armchair and watched the snowfall outside his window accumulating in large drifts. His phone beeped, and he looked down at the texts from each of his brothers saying they’d made it home. He must have been looking pretty bad if they had worried enough about him to venture out in the snow. 
    The holidays were coming, and he needed to get ready. Even though he didn’t enjoy Christmas as much as he had in years past, he still loved giving gifts. He knew what he wanted to get each of his family members, including Jordan; not something they’d necessarily need, but something that would spark a memory or bring a smile to their faces.
    Thinking about Jordan made him remember that, other than his brothers and her, he really was alone. Maybe he needed a girlfriend.
    Just the thought of hooking up with anyone in Holiday made him shake his head. There were only two women, other than Jordan, in town that even sparked his interest, and those two didn’t really spark it as much as make him feel as if they were family. Allison, the waitress at the town diner, was beautiful and had a great personality, but Brayden was in love with her, even if Brayden didn’t know it. And Abby was like a kid sister who, yes, may be hot, but there was no interest there.  God, he hated his small town sometimes. 
    His phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts. “Hello?”
    “Hi! Justin?” a perky, unfamiliar voice asked.
    “Uh, yeah. Who’s this?
    “Oh, I’m Rina Brewer; you’re trainer. We’re going to need to meet soon.”
    Justin blinked and looked at his phone.
    Out of Range .
    Uh, huh.
    “Who are you again? What does this concern?” 
    “Oh!” She giggled. Actually fucking giggled. But, it sounded sweet and not annoying like giggling usually did. Okay, enough of the beer for him. “It concerns Santa, of course. He needs you.”
    Justin coughed. “Funny. I don’t know you who are, but really, come up with better jokes next time. Though you do sound pretty, I’m hanging up now.”
    He pressed End as the high-pitched voice yelled at him to stop. Whatever.
    He rolled his neck and stretched. His skin felt tight, achy. Something was coming. What the hell?
    For more read Santa’s Executive , out now.
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