I’ll admit it—I can be a little nosy. When you live alone in a town as small and close-knit as Belleville, other people’s stories have a way of filling the quiet. So when I find newcomer Joe Milton in the alley behind my store, cradling a bird like it might break his heart to let go, I make it my mission to befriend the enigmatic man. Only problem? Now the whole town thinks I’ve got a thing for Joe. Me? With a crush? On a man? No. That’s… definitely not happening. Probably. Maybe. But the more I try to prove to everyone that Joe and I are just friends, the more this surly, adorable man starts feeling like the best Christmas present I never asked for.