Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The First Noel
    The First Noel
    The First Noel
    Ebook104 pages1 hour

    The First Noel

    By Joe Cosentino

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Bobby and Paolo’s Holiday Stories: Book Three

    Each Christmas has marked a milestone in Bobby and Paolo’s love story. But will this year be their last noel?

    It’s no surprise Bobby isn’t feeling much holiday spirit—not when he suspects his husband, Paolo, might be interested in his new business associate, the incredibly handsome Noel. On top of that, Bobby’s father is hanging up his Santa suit at the department store due to health issues; and worst of all, Geoffrey’s birth mother, funded by antigay extremists, is threatening their family. She’s trying to take away Bobby and Paolo’s adopted son, but she’ll have to face their supportive friends, family, and pastor before she can tear Geoffrey from the only real home he’s ever known.

    With so many challenges in their path, the December grooms will need an extra helping of holiday magic this year. Rumor has it Santa’s on his way to spread some holiday cheer.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateDec 7, 2018
    ISBN9781640807723
    The First Noel
    Author

    Joe Cosentino

    JOE COSENTINO was voted Favorite MM Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen, the first Nicky and Noah mystery novel. He is also the author of the remaining Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan, Drama TV, Drama Oz, Drama Prince, Drama Merry, Drama Daddy, and Drama King; the Player Piano Mysteries: The Player and The Player’s Encore; the Jana Lane Mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll; the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Moving Forward, Stepping Out, New Beginnings, Happy Endings; the In My Heart Anthology: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star; the Tales from Fairyland Anthology: The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland and Holiday Tales from Fairyland; the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Anthology: A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel; and the Found At Last Anthology: Finding Giorgio and Finding Armando. His books have won numerous Book of the Month awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions. As an actor, Joe appeared in principal roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Jason Robards, and Holland Taylor. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College, Master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz, and is a happily married emeritus college theatre professor residing in New York State.

    Read more from Joe Cosentino

    Related to The First Noel

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    LGBTQIA+ Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Money Box

      Jun 10, 2022

      This is not a morality tale. It’s simply a story. It began innocently enough, over a lunch of beef pho in the Financial District, when my friend Paolo first mentioned the Money Box. Paolo was a pupa of industry then, waiting to emerge as a titan. He

      19 min read

    • Article

      Breaking POINT

      Nov 1, 2022

      Breaking POINT
      6 min read

    • Article

      Emma Lou

      Jan 4, 2022

      Emma Lou
      9 min read

    • Article

      Chuckles

      Apr 16, 2021

      Fancy yourself a joker? Email original jokes to chuckles@you.co.za or send them to Chuckles, YOU, PO Box 7167, Roggebaai 8012, and we may publish them on this page. A group of prosperous businessmen are dining at a top restaurant inside a gambling re

      4 min read

    • Article

      Class Act

      Oct 27, 2020

      Class Act
      6 min read

    • Article

      La Befana

      Dec 1, 2022

      La Befana
      3 min read

    • Article

      Lies I Tell My Father

      Feb 10, 2024

      “How’s your job at the newspaper?” my father asks me. He is sitting on a couch, a plush throw blanket spread across his legs. “The newspaper’s fine,” I lie. I lie because it is simple. I lie because it is quick. I lie because it is easier than trying

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Amateur Gran

      Jun 28, 2022

      The Amateur Gran
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Class ACT

      Dec 29, 2020

      A Class ACT
      6 min read

    • Article

      Just Passing

      Aug 17, 2020

      Zoe cracks the curtain in the bay window and watches as he bounces from one foot to another in the cold. Tap, tap, tap, he goes at the letterbox. But she shouldn’t even let him in. He’s trouble. He throws his arms out and shouts through the glass: “S

      5 min read

    • Article

      Dressing THE PART

      Oct 6, 2021

      Dressing THE PART
      6 min read

    • Article

      Celebrate With Jo

      Nov 6, 2019

      Celebrate With Jo
      14 min read

    • Article

      Class ACT

      Mar 18, 2020

      Class ACT
      6 min read

    • Article

      Heave’s Whisky

      Feb 27, 2024

      Heave’s Whisky
      7 min read

    • Article

      “I Indulged In Forgiveness”

      Oct 6, 2019

      “I Indulged In Forgiveness”
      7 min read

    • Article

      The July War

      Sep 8, 2020

      In summer, our neighborhood quiets in phases. The quieting begins in May. Schools give their older kids, the seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds, a month off to prepare for the baccalaureate exams. Following a ritual as old as our parents, the students

      21 min read

    • Article

      Counter Waves

      Oct 23, 2020

      Counter Waves
      8 min read

    • Article

      No Luck With the Duck

      Jun 1, 2021

      In my Good Old Days, the highlight of July was Sacred Heart Church’s summer festival. Many of the churches in Fremont, Ohio, would hold their festivals on a particular weekend every year. Sacred Heart’s festival was held the third weekend in July. Th

      4 min read

    • Article

      Best Footing Forward

      Dec 29, 2019

      Best Footing Forward
      2 min read

    • Article

      Happy Families

      Aug 5, 2021

      Happy Families
      7 min read

    • Article

      Christmas at DAD’S

      Nov 11, 2020

      Christmas at DAD’S
      6 min read

    • Article

      “I Indulged In Forgiveness”

      Oct 9, 2019

      “I Indulged In Forgiveness”
      7 min read

    • Article

      Chuckles

      Jan 7, 2022

      My new wife, Susan, tells me we can’t afford beer anymore and I have to quit. Then I catch her spending R750 on makeup. So I ask, “How come I have to give up stuff and not you?” She says she needs the makeup to look pretty for me. I tell her that is

      4 min read

    • Article

      Stocking Full Of Coal

      Oct 28, 2021

      Stocking Full Of Coal
      3 min read

    • Article

      Best Footing Forward

      Jan 1, 2020

      Best Footing Forward
      2 min read

    • Article

      Choosing the Flowers

      Oct 10, 2022

      Choosing the Flowers
      10 min read

    • Article

      Who’s The Daddy?

      Oct 23, 2020

      Who’s The Daddy?
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The First Noel

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The First Noel - Joe Cosentino

      Table of Contents

      Blurb

      Dedication

      Text

      More from Joe Cosentino

      About the Author

      By Joe Cosentino

      Visit Dreamspinner Press

      Copyright

      The First Noel

      By Joe Cosentino

      Bobby and Paolo’s Holiday Stories: Book Three

      Each Christmas has marked a milestone in Bobby and Paolo’s love story. But will this year be their last noel?

      It’s no surprise Bobby isn’t feeling much holiday spirit—not when he suspects his husband, Paolo, might be interested in his new business associate, the incredibly handsome Noel. On top of that, Bobby’s father is hanging up his Santa suit at the department store due to health issues; and worst of all, Geoffrey’s birth mother, funded by antigay extremists, is threatening their family. She’s trying to take away Bobby and Paolo’s adopted son, but she’ll have to face their supportive friends, family, and pastor before she can tear Geoffrey from the only real home he’s ever known.

      With so many challenges in their path, the December grooms will need an extra helping of holiday magic this year. Rumor has it Santa’s on his way to spread some holiday cheer.

      To Fred for everything over all these years, my Italian-American family, the staff at Dreamspinner Press, the readers who begged for another Bobby and Paolo novella, and to everyone seeking a happily ever after ending over the holidays.

      MOM, I’M worried about the planet we’re leaving behind for your grandchildren too. It’s horrible how our air, water, soil, and food are polluted because of lobbyists from wealthy corporations who control conservative politicians.

      You’re wrong, Bobby. The environment is polluted because nobody cleans as good as I do.

      I sighed.

      Mom said, I’m also concerned about the economy your son and nieces and nephews will inherit. It’s sluggish and getting worse because people go out to eat and travel too much. They should stay home and cook, like me.

      It’s sluggish because average people don’t get any ‘trickle-down,’ unless we pee on ourselves by accident.

      No, people who work too hard, like you, are the reason there’s a bad economy.

      Little did I know that defending clients being evicted from their apartments, losing their medical insurance, and getting fired from their jobs was destroying the country’s economy.

      Well, now you know, Bobby. That’s what mothers are for. To educate their children.

      I needed a break from Mom. Hi, I’m Bobby McGrath. Since you can’t see me, I’ll tell you I’m twenty-six, tall with frizzy red hair, green eyes, and a swimmer’s build. That is whenever I get to the gym for a swim while my husband of two years, Paolo, hits the weight room. I’m also a lawyer, specializing in civil rights cases. My husband and I live with our adopted son in the city with the greatest cheesesteak in the US. Philly is also the city with the most lactose intolerant people. That dichotomy perfectly sums up my mother’s reasoning.

      I sat on the turreted window seat overlooking the department store my father manages. Gazing out the window, I enjoyed the late-night shoppers illuminated by the candy cane–decorated street lamps. As they trudged through the snowy street, some people disappeared into Dad’s store with hopes of finding the perfect holiday gift.

      How does me working too hard hurt the economy, Mom?

      Because you’re too tired to go out and buy anything, Mom replied.

      I just bought Paolo’s Christmas gift: a gold watch with sapphire stones that match his eyes.

      And what did Paolo get you?

      Nothing… yet.

      How do you know?

      I know his hiding places. They’re all empty.

      See! That’s why the economy is in a slump.

      The marigold, violet, and burgundy flames danced in our fireplace, surrounded by the white marble mantel and gold lions on each side. I wished Paolo was next to me. Paolo’s been incredibly busy. He’s designing a new line of men’s sportswear that his boss Edgar is calling, ‘The Edgar Line.’

      Why not ‘The Paolo Line’?

      Good question.

      I have another question.

      I assumed you did. Clad in my red nightshirt, I took a sip of hot cocoa and rested against the baby-blue pillows.

      You know I adore Paolo, and I trust him implicitly.

      But?

      He’s been working every night this month.

      And?

      Don’t you think that’s strange?

      Strange how?

      Mom said, I remember you telling me Paolo’s father told Paolo’s mother he was working nights. Then he’d visit one of his girlfriends.

      Paolo is nothing like his father.

      Of course. Mom sighed. Still, Paolo’s mother looked the other way at his father’s shenanigans with other women. So many spouses do.

      I choked on my drink. Do you think Paolo is cheating on me?

      I didn’t say that, Bobby.

      Then what are you saying, Mom?

      I’m saying that some men cheat. Especially men who work at night. Like when Gavin cheated on your sister, Roseann.

      I glanced over at a silver framed picture on our antique cherry wood end table. The photo of Paolo, Geoffrey, and me was taken the day our eight-year-old foster child became our adopted son. After three years with Paolo, his olive skin, wavy chestnut hair, Roman nose, and sculpted muscles still caused my heart to skip a beat and my nightshirt to tent. The joyous look on Paolo’s handsome face whenever he is with Geoffrey and me confirmed my faith in him and in us.

      Wasn’t Paolo a playboy when you first met him in his family’s villa in Capri?

      "Where you sent me to meet my distant cousins. And you conspired with Paolo’s mother to get Paolo and me together. And then you and Dad hosted our wedding in your backyard summerhouse!"

      "And aren’t you glad I did?"

      "Yes. Because my husband is loving and loyal. Like Dad, who by the way works nights in December playing Santa Klaus."

      I don’t think Dad’s cheating on me in a Santa suit.

      "I don’t know. Some of those elves are pretty cute." I giggled.

      Where was all this wit when you were in college and law school, and I sat up nights worrying about your celibacy.

      I followed the gold swirling molding of our Victorian-era apartment. You worried about me not having dates in college?

      Of course. I didn’t want to die and leave you all alone in the world.

      Nobody is dying, Mom.

      Except your father. She sighed.

      I slid to the edge of my seat. What’s wrong with Dad?

      He has a heart condition. Did you forget?

      Of course not.

      So I told him he needs to find someone else to play Santa at the store, and come home at five o’clock. Take a hint from your mother, Bobby. Keep your man at home after dark.

      The brushed nickel doorknocker tapped lightly as our large cherry wood front door opened. Paolo’s home.

      Finally.

      Good night, Mom.

      Remember what I said!

      Paolo looked more amazing than the models of his menswear. He hung up his long black leather coat in the entryway closet and then walked toward me with his muscles bulging out of a tapered sapphire dress shirt and gray

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1