His Christmas Valentine

By Jo Tannah

It's Christmas Eve, and Vince is faced with a difficult decision. He's wanted to marry his lover and partner, Iñaki, for the longest time, and yet every time he's asked, Iñaki has always said no. Can Vince set aside his personal misgivings and gift his beloved Iñaki the one thing he's been waiting to hear him play? Can playing this one song be the secret to getting his Christmas wish? Note: This work has been previously published but has been reworked, re-edited, and expanded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eXtasy Books Inc
• Release date: Dec 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781487422769

Book preview

Dedication

For lovers everywhere. May your holiday wishes come true.

Chapter One

Christmas Eve, 2018

Ten, nine, eight...

Vince Guidotti’s hands trembled. He glided his sweaty palms down the smooth material of his pants as the mental countdown went on in his head...

Seven, six...

Breathing in deeply, he then slowly let go of his breath in a soft rush of air through his lips as he counted to one.

This is it. I can do this.

By hook or by crook, he would walk out there, face the audience, the cameras, and play that damned song. Then maybe, just maybe... he would finally get the answer to the one question he’d never failed to ask every year for the past nine years.

Damn it, why does it have to involve playing that cheesy song?

His thoughts were rambling. He really needed to focus on the song choice. This was a number he’d never thought he would ever play. He had refused to play it as far back as he could remember. The particular song he was thinking about might be fitting for this purpose, but it actually had nothing to do with the special event tonight. It was not even listed on the program. Of course it wasn’t. Why would it be? It wasn’t Valentine’s Day. However, it played an important role in his future happiness. Did he really have a choice?

Yes, this particular song was an immortal standard beloved by many, but it was cheesy as hell. Give me, What A Difference A Day Makes, or even Summertime! Those are romantic. Right? He tried to convince himself that it was.

Then, memories of that night, when he had been at his lowest, misted his eyes. A night his life turned around, totally out of the blue. Almost a decade ago.

October 2009

Stepping out of the elevator, Vince glanced at the lobby clock. A sigh fed by grief burned in his throat. It was well past ten at night. Checking in that day, he had barely taken the time to leave his bag in his room or even use the bathroom. The message he’d dreaded his whole life had come within minutes of his arrival, and he’d left for the hospital without pausing, despite having been on the road and behind the wheel for eight hours straight.

As soon as he got there, he’d barely had time to look in on his uncle’s body and grieve. Some officious looking woman had led him into an office where he had to sign endless documents, place a call to his uncle’s lawyer, and finally, settle with the hospital accounting department. By the time he was done, his uncle’s body had already been released to the mortuary, where it would stay until the funeral the following week. Vince had gone back to his sterile hotel room desperately needing a drink. He left his room to see what the late-night bar downstairs might offer at that hour. It was the only way he knew to drown his sorrows.

Almost on impulse, he’d picked up his trumpet case. Inside, on the plush red velvet, nestled the precious trumpet gifted to him by his uncle when he’d turned eighteen. The recollection of a piano playing when he’d arrived earlier pulled him to the rear of the lobby. He stood there for a moment, tilting his head to the side until he finally caught the faint piano notes. It came from an annex off to the left. Vince followed the music until he saw two ornate glass doors.

The door clicked behind him as he entered the dim area. He sat on a bar stool and