Romancing the Holiday Read online

  Romancing the Holiday

  By HelenKay Dimon, Christi Barth and Jaci Burton

  We wish you a merry Christmas…and a happily ever after!

  A memorable three-night stand gets rekindled in a cabin in West Virginia. An office romance is sparked by an impulsive holiday kiss. And two best friends scout locations for a marriage proposal and discover that they make a perfect match. ’Tis the season for laughter, love and a lifetime of happiness.

  Edited by Angela James, this anthology includes:

  We’ll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon

  Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth

  The Best Thing by Jaci Burton

  Stories also available for purchase separately.

  90,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I love the month of December when it comes to releases at Carina Press. This is our third year of publishing our special holiday collections, and I’m fortunate to be the one to edit the collections. It’s become our tradition to do three separate anthologies and this year we chose to do contemporary romance, science-fiction romance and erotic contemporary romance collections.

  Each of these three collections is amazing in its own right (not that I’m biased or anything), showcasing the talent of the contributing authors. In our contemporary romance collection, Romancing the Holiday, Jaci Burton wraps up her Kent Brothers trilogy with the story fans have been waiting for: it’s finally time to see Brody and Tori’s combustible attraction on page and cheer them to their happily-ever-after in The Best Thing. We’ll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon returns readers to Holloway, West Virginia, as she gives us Spence’s story. Lila is more than a match for the delicious Spence and sparks fly when they go toe-to-toe. Last, but certainly not least, is newcomer to the collection, Christi Barth, with her delightful friends-to-lovers novella Ask Her at Christmas. And if you haven’t already checked out Christi’s full-length novel, Planning for Love, now’s a great time to treat yourself to this funny, emotional, captivating book.

  Heating up the pages, and I do mean heating up, are the three novellas in Red Hot Holiday, the erotic contemporary romance collection. If you’re looking for stories that are going to make what goes on under the mistletoe even more interesting, you’ll want to read this collection. I Need You for Christmas by Leah Braemel features a strong-willed, career-driven Mountie—and the sculptor who molds her to his will in the bedroom. In Wish List by K.A. Mitchell, Jonah discovers his lover, Evan, may be the one who can deliver the BDSM wishes on Jonah’s naughty list. And Anne Calhoun brings to the collection a stunningly powerful erotic romance that’s both deeply erotic and deeply emotional, with Breath on Embers.

  A Galactic Holiday is the third of our holiday collections, showcasing three science-fiction romance novellas with incredible world building and incredible characters. In How the Glitch Saved Christmas, author Stacy Gail takes us to our future, with bod-mods, enhancements, tech, artificial intelligence…and a growing love between two rival detectives investigating the case of the...appearing gifts. Traveling off world, Anna Hackett’s Winter Fusion delivers a story that’s also of two rivals. Rival negotiators Brinn and Savan must come to an agreement on behalf of their respective planets during the cold of Yule, and amidst the danger of a force that wants to stop their negotiations. Galileo’s Holiday by Sasha Summers takes us into deep space. Riley’s tugger has just been destroyed, but will she still have reason to be thankful as her relationship with Leo gives her a future to look forward to?

  In addition to these nine incredible holiday novellas, four fantastic novels release in December, each one the first book in a new seriesfrom the respective authors. For fans of Regency romance, Wendy Soliman kicks off her Forster series with Compromising the Marquess, in which the enterprising heroine supports her family by writing for a scandal sheet, placing her on a collision course with a marquess. In her steampunk romance The League of Illusion: Legacy, Vivi Anna begins a dangerous journey for three brothers. Each will find love while two brothers battle deception, jealousy and ruthless rivals to find and rescue the third.

  Fan favorite Dana Marie Bell’s new series, The Nephilim, begins with All for You. He’s not just the guy next door, he’s the angel next door. And it’s just become his job to protect her—while trying not to fall in love, or into bed.

  And this month we’re thrilled to introduce debut author Alison Packard with her debut contemporary romance title, Love in the Afternoon. When I grabbed Alison’s book from the slush pile to put on my eReader for the weekend, I had no idea I was in for such an amazing story. Though I’m not one to watch soap operas, Alison sucked me into the world of soaps and made me fall in love with Kayla and Sean. Soap opera stars, maybe, but characters you root for, relate to and want to turn the pages faster for so you can see them fall in love, definitely. If you’re a fan of Shannon Stacey, Victoria Dahl and Jill Shalvis, be sure to give this new author a try.

  I hope you find time to pamper yourself during the crazy holiday season. And if that pampering takes the form of a great Carina Press December release, even better!

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Table of Contents

  We’ll Be Home for Christmas

  Ask Her at Christmas

  The Best Thing

  We’ll Be Home for Christmas

  By HelenKay Dimon

  No man likes having his bedroom skills described as forgettable, but that’s just what Lila Payne does when she runs into Spencer Thomas again. When she discovers that he’d lied about his name during their brief three-day romp a few months before, she’s so angry that she pretends she doesn’t remember him.

  Spence regrets his deception, but not as much as he regrets that their time together didn’t last longer. When she shows up in his town, looking to revitalize her uncle’s mountain resort, Spence is determined to help. Maybe rescuing Lila from a hopeless renovation project will get him in her good graces—and back in her bed.

  Lila has no interest in being rescued, and Spence is insulted by her stubborn rebuffs and her “faulty” memory. But when rehab work turns into an after-hours meeting, the two of them are in for a night that just might prove unforgettable…

  33,000 words

  Dedication

  To my editor, Angela James, for giving me the

  opportunity to write about a fictional town I love

  and for making every book better.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Lila Payne looked at the slip of paper in her hand then back to the building in front of her. Not so much a building as a sprawl of buildings with a Thomas Nurseries sign hanging high above the door of the main one.

  The one-story structure spread out, consisting of a closed-in area with large windows and a separate open-air section complete with outdoor heaters and an overflowing of plants and mums blooming in fall colors. Decorated Christmas trees, some more traditional with white lights and red
ornaments and others in flashy purples and blues, outlined the front and signaled the holiday closing in less than three weeks from now.

  People milled around the fountains and flower displays. Pick-up trucks backed up to open spaces in the parking lot to load cords of firewood and trees. If it were true only 941 people lived in Holloway then it seemed every last one of them had shown up at the nursery this afternoon. Most of West Virginia appeared to be there, but that didn’t take away from the homey, greeting-card feel to the place.

  She could see a three-story farmhouse on the hill a few hundred feet away with a dusting of snow across the wide expanse of a yard. Trees lined the surrounding property for what looked like acres.

  Water from the melting snow splashed across her heavy snow boots as she transferred her weight from one foot to the other. Why her uncle had sent her to a plant nursery to pick up electrical cords and the other supplies he’d said she’d need to take care of a few repairs on the campground was the question.

  He’d retired to Florida, seeking sun and a young lady to share the sunsets with, or that was what he told Lila in last week’s phone call. Of course, the young lady in question would likely be in her sixties to match his seventy-one. As her father’s brother and the last of the Payne blood alive and kicking, other than her, he was four decades older and could still out-drink her. Almost anyone could. The sniff of hard liquor made her head dance.

  She looked at the black ink of the bold script one more time and smiled. Only Uncle Ned would send a birthday card with a cryptic note that would lead her to a whole new life. And boy could she use one of those.

  The crunch of footsteps on gravel echoed behind her the second before she felt a presence by her side. She looked over, first seeing men’s work boots then moving up to a dark plaid coat bundled against his neck and the biting wind and finally to his face. Short, blondish-brown hair and the smoothest skin she’d ever seen on a guy. This one was pretty. Really pretty but young. Like, not-that-far-from-jailbait young with light green eyes and a crooked smile she’d bet tripped up more than one otherwise intelligent female.

  “May I help you with something?” The deep, rich voice had every woman within fifty feet stopping and glancing over. One lady ignored her young son’s broken jacket zipper in favor of an extra-long look.

  “Do you work here?” For all Lila knew this guy walked around the parking lot collecting ladies’ numbers for a living. Wouldn’t be that hard for him to do.

  “My name is Travis Yardley and from the look on your face I’m wondering what you thought I wanted when I asked you the question.”

  He smiled as he talked, which lessened her anxiety. Not that she feared him with a crowd of witnesses hanging around. She just felt uncomfortable in her skin, as if she were wearing an oversized I’m An Outsider sign.

  She’d spent a few summers running around the campground outside of town, but that had been years ago and miles away. She’d been a kid then, long before establishing a career and a life and losing both. Any of the tourists she’d known back then had to be long gone and she’d never really met many locals. Her uncle had been protective that way.

  Since she doubted Travis wanted to know about the uncontrollable babble running through her mind, she ignored his comment. She folded the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. “My uncle placed an order and I need to pick it up.”

  Travis held out his hand in the general direction of the main building’s open double doors with the standing Open sign in front of them. “Come this way. I’ll show you to customer service.”

  “Thanks.”

  They’d taken two steps before he fell into comfortable conversation mode. “You don’t look familiar.”

  She matched her stride to his much longer one, enjoying the easy banter that came with small-town living. She’d missed that in Philadelphia. After three years of trying to make conversation, she’d never managed more than two full sentences with the brownstone’s upstairs neighbors and had no idea what her postman’s name was.

  West Virginia offered a different kind of life. Closer to the outdoors, away from traffic and without all the baggage piled on her by a loser ex-husband. “I just moved to the area. My Uncle Ned owns the Mountain View Resort.”

  “You’re related to Ned Payne? He’s old enough to be your grandfather.”

  Travis stopped so fast that she almost raced past him. Now that would have been an interesting first impression.

  “Not quite, but close. Consider me the late-in-life niece no one was expecting.” Figuring she’d shared enough private information in the three seconds since meeting Travis, she maneuvered the conversation off her. “How do you know Ned?”

  “Mountain View sits outside the Holloway town limits but we consider it ours. Ned was a regular around here.” Travis winked at her as he stepped to the side and let her slip through the door first.

  The fragrant mix of pine and a floral sweetness hit her immediately once inside. So did the punch of humid air and welcoming warmth. Her nose stood a chance of defrosting from the icy wind in here.

  The rows of flowers and plants buzzed with a steady stream of customers. Couples clomped around in thick jackets and scarves, picking through deep red poinsettia plants while kids ran up and down shouting. A group of older women fought over a pile of wreaths on the sale table.

  It was the type of controlled chaos that appealed to her. But with each step more eyes focused on her. One little girl even smiled and waved. Lila waved back because it seemed the friendly small-town thing to do. She was new and new people clearly stood out here.

  By the time they’d reached the customer service window the collective gaze of half the room burned into her back. Either Travis was a serial killer or the people of Holloway thought she was one. “Do they always stare?”

  He looked over her head at the room behind her. “Let’s just say subtlety is not in the town’s welcome brochure.”

  “Neither is privacy.” The comment came from a man leaning against the ledge of the customer service window. “Way I figure it, if you two talk for another minute the town will be expecting an engagement announcement.”

  “What?” She was stunned more by this guy’s face than the comment. He had brown hair brushed over his eyes and that boy-you-loved-in-high-school look, all grown up and wearing a shiny wedding ring.

  “Don’t worry. I was kidding.” The guy shrugged. “Sort of.”

  Lila took a longer look. There was something else there, something familiar around the eyes and mouth. She’d never met him before but the tingle of awareness wouldn’t leave her.

  “What’s going on?” the guy asked.

  The husky voice didn’t do anything to spark a memory. “You work here, too?” she asked.

  She was starting to wonder what was in the water in this town because the male population spiked on the looks scale. And all the hotties seemed to congregate at the plant nursery, of all places. Though that did explain the impressive number of female customers of all ages hanging around for a late Friday afternoon.

  “I own the nursery.” He smiled as he spoke. “Well, part of it, anyway.”

  A memory tickled that time but she couldn’t grab it long enough to figure it out. Until she did, friendliness was the answer. Small-business owners needed to stick together. “I’m taking over Mountain View for my uncle. My name is Lila.”

  The man held out his hand. “Austin Thomas.”

  The memory blared to life and kicked her right in the stomach. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be. “What did you say?”

  “How is Ned?” The guy claiming to be Austin lowered his head until he looked at her straight on, his forehead wrinkling in concern. “Are you okay?”

  The hotel bar three months ago. Too many drinks. The crumbling of her self-control followed by days rolling around lost in an uncharacteristic sexual haze. It all happened in room five-fifteen with Austin Thomas. Not this Austin Thomas. Another Austin Thomas who claimed to be an agri-businessman and part-time b
otanist a few towns over from the hotel...could there be two guys who sort of fit that description? Or was she the biggest idiot ever born? As if she needed verification of that fact these days.

  * * *

  The pieces clicked together in her head fast and loud enough to rattle her teeth. Still, she tried to pretend the information couldn’t be true. She stared at his hand but didn’t take it. “No.”

  This Austin glanced at Travis then back to her. “Excuse me?”

  “No.” She whispered the word this time since more than one person had inched closer and the young woman behind the customer service counter had eyes the size of Frisbees.

  “Did you say no?” Austin The Second drew out the words to way more syllables than necessary as his arm dropped to his side.

  She nodded. “Right.”

  “We seem to be experiencing a communication issue.” He fiddled with his wedding band, twisting it on his finger. “I’m sure my wife would say it’s my fault, but exactly what question do you think I’m asking that’s making you keep saying ‘no’ over and over?”

  She bit her bottom lip until a shot of pain moved through her. “You’re not Austin.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “I’m not?”

  “He was this morning,” Travis said.

  Her mind rebelled. Her stomach joined it in a little tumble.

  “He can’t be.” This time she met this Austin head on, stare for stare. “You can’t be.”

  “I can check my paystub to see what name he signed.” Travis pulled his wallet out of his jeans pocket, but stopped when this alleged Austin shook his head.

  Then they stopped talking. The room stopped buzzing as if experiencing a joint inhale as it waited for the next stupid thing to come out of her mouth. Nothing came to her. Not even when Austin’s eyebrow stayed lifted in question.

  Okay, she needed to say something.

  Anything.

  She cleared her throat, hoping that would somehow kickstart her brain. “Three months ago in Berkley Springs.”