Dave Letrara is so tired of his family trying to set him up with every gay man they can find. His self-esteem just can’t take it anymore. When his best friend and cousin, Mick, presents him with a wishbone and orders him to make a wish, he can think of only one thing. Dave just wants his family to stop setting him up, to leave him alone about being single. Then, while out hiking, Dave gets trapped in a hole. To his surprise, he’s rescued by a young snow leopard shifter…who has a stunningly sexy father—Joseph Kluthner. To Dave’s surprise, Joseph declares his interest. Can Dave scrape together enough self-esteem to go after what he so desperately wants…the answer to his Christmas wish?
“What is that?”
“It’s a wishbone.”
Dave Letrara glanced from the object in his best friend’s hand to the man’s face, then back to the item in his hand. The medium tan bone had a Y-shape. He wondered where the wish part came from.
Returning his attention to Mick Rozner, Dave smirked at his cousin and childhood buddy. “Okaaaaay.” He drew the word out, shoving his hands into his pockets. “And why do you have a wishbone?”
Mick rolled his brown eyes. “To make a wish,” he replied, a clear duh in his voice. When Dave took too long to answer, he frowned at him. “You make wishes on wishbones.”
“Uh, where did you hear that?” Dave asked curiously. Seeing Mick wiggle the bone in front of him, he pulled his hands from his pockets, reached one out, and took it. Feeling the smooth, dry bone beneath his fingertips, he added, “And where did you get it?”
“I helped Mom break down the second Thanksgiving turkey,” Mick told him smugly. “So I saved it.” With a waggle of his brows, he added, “You know she always makes three so my sisters and their families have plenty of leftovers for sandwiches and stuff.”
Dave nodded as he teased, “You get some of that, too.”
“And so do you.” With a hip bump, Mick added, “But that’s not the point.” He pointed at the wishbone Dave still held. “So, we each hold one side of the Y and make a wish. Then we pull and break it. Supposedly, whoever ends up with the bigger piece, their wish will come true.”
Cocking his head, Dave arched one brow. “Really? Never heard of it.”
Mick shrugged. “It’s an old tradition.” Grinning widely, he stated, “What can it hurt? Let’s wish for something for Christmas.”
“Okay,” Dave agreed. After all, his buddy was right. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge his friend, even if Dave thought it was BS. “Sure.”
With a pleased expression on his face, Mick began reaching for one side of the bone. “Awesome. Think of your wish.”
Dave just barely resisted rolling his eyes. “Give me a sec,” he replied instead, closing his eyes and blowing out a slow breath.
What the hell do I want to wish for?
For a long moment, Dave’s mind remained blank. He couldn’t think of a damn thing. It was like when someone surprises you with the, What do you want for your birthday, or, What do you want for Christmas, question. Dave couldn’t ever think of anything then, either.
Then something popped into his head.
Opening his eyes, Dave met Mick’s gaze. “Got it.”
Mick grinned widely again and gripped the other Y top of the turkey bone’s wishbone. “Okay. On three,” he declared. “Make your wish.”
Dave nodded. As his friend counted, he thought of what he wanted.
I wish my family would stop setting me up with guys and leave me alone about being single.
Truly, the number of bad dates he’d been on over the last six months had really done a number on his self-esteem.
When Mick said three, Dave pulled. Mick obviously did the same. Dave watched as the wishbone split…right down the middle.
“Damn,” Mick whispered, his brown eyes going wide. “What the hell are the odds of that?”
As Mick spoke, he held up his piece to Dave’s, showing that they were damn near identical.
“I bet we could do that a hundred more times and that would never happen again,” Dave claimed in wonder, shaking his head. “So what does it mean?”
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