The Geek Who Saved Christmas

Lies. Well, okay, I wouldn’t be here at a Christmas Mart with any other buddy. But if I couldn’t—wouldn’t—warm Gideon up the fun way, a beverage was no big deal.

Finally, the place opened, and I grabbed Gideon a hot chocolate from a snack stand decked out in red and white while he fetched a cart. Or rather, two carts.

“Really?” I gestured with the hot chocolate as I handed it over.

“I might see something I can’t live without.” He gave a sheepish smile.

My chest fluttered, but I ignored it, following Gideon into the maze of displays and aisles.

“Nothing with sound,” I said when he stopped by a grouping of musical lawn ornaments. “It’ll freak Jim out.”

“Gosh, Paul, I don’t know. Seems like you might have opinions after all.” He laughed merrily.

“Only about practical stuff.”

“Right. Leave the color schemes to me.” Not sounding at all put-out, he headed to a display of winter-themed sheets and bedding. “Blue snowflakes for the guest room. And for you—”

“What do you mean for me? I’m not the guest.”

“You’re about to have a king size for the first time,” he reminded me. “And these are super cheap, especially for flannel. Now, moose or snowpeople?”

He held up two packages. And damn if I didn’t picture him in that king bed. And not all spread out naked either, but in pajama pants reviewing his stack of plans. I was losing my damn mind.

“Moose,” I said before I realized they were wearing scarves and stocking caps. Whoops. Too late. I wasn’t supposed to have opinions. The moose sheets landed in the cart along with a fuzzy brown king-size blanket. For the guest room, he went for a matching snowflake comforter set. Gideon would totally be the type to envy the duos in coordinating coats and Christmas sweatshirts we kept passing.

And why I suddenly felt murderous toward some faceless dude who might be game for matching pajamas probably had to do with my blood sugar or something. I couldn’t give Gideon that, but I could at least be decent company. To that end, I laughed as two blue accent pillows hit the cart quickly, followed by ones with fake needlepoint designs for the couch.

“I’m gonna have to learn to live with pillows, aren’t I?”

“Yup,” he said smugly, heading away from the bedding aisle and toward a grouping of ornaments.

“Don’t complain when Jim shreds them,” I warned.

“Is Jim that bad?” Gideon sounded legit nervous, and I regretted the tease.

“No. Not at all. She’s remarkably laid-back.” I assured him. “Her breed is known for being really sweet. You’re afraid of big dogs?”

“Oh, it’s kind of silly.” He made a dismissive gesture, narrowly missing a stack of red globes. “My stepdad had a mean mutt. It never liked me.”

He shuddered, and I wanted a whole bunch of words with that stepfather.

“Bad owner,” I said without thinking. No bad dogs. I heard my dad’s voice, clear as day for the first time in years. I picked up a package of glass ornaments. Another long-held memory sparked, and I turned the box over in my hands.

“No kidding.” Gideon plucked the box from my hands, added it to my cart. “Both of my stepparents are pieces of work. There’s a reason I’d rather spend Christmas alone than with either of my parents and their new families.”

Alone. That word hit me square in the chest. I’d never thought of Gideon as lonely. This many years into living right next door, and I’d never realized Mr. Holiday was alone on Christmas.

Like you. Yeah, but I didn’t count. This mattered to Gideon. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Oh, I usually end up at some friend’s for dinner at some point,” he said breezily. “Don’t worry about me.”

But damn it all, I did, a heavy feeling I couldn’t shake even as he moved on to the next display.

“Where do you stand on roof decorations?” He stopped in front of a line of cutout reindeer designed to be strapped to a roof. An oversized sleigh and a jolly Santa were also available. Gideon sighed like we were admiring some French painting. “The slope of my roof is all wrong for something fun like this, but yours…”

“Is it in the budget?” I asked, testing the heft on one of the boxes.

“Really?” His whole face lit up. “Because, yes, we’re well under budget thanks to all the bargains I’ve scored.”