Blurb:
Samantha
Dixon is about to confess her most secret, romantic Christmas wish to
Santa. Heck, what’s she got to lose with her disastrous romantic
history? Like that player from her horrible blind date last week
arranged by her mother. Only guess who’s Santa?
Rico
del Toro loves women. So one bad date with the beautiful Samantha in a
string of many, ahem, successful evenings is no big deal. But when a
friendly favor playing Santa unexpectedly lands Samantha on his lap for a
romantic confessional, he’s intrigued. He’s never heard a woman open
her heart like that before.
But
if this Santa wants a second chance, he’ll have to rethink his
womanizing ways and convince her that he is the perfect package.
Excerpt:
Samantha
walked over and plopped down on Santa’s lap. She took comfort from the
fact that she couldn’t quite see Harold’s face under the hat, wig, and
huge beard. She focused on a pretty snowflake decoration across the
room. It was almost like going to confession with Father Jensen, very
private, just the two of them. The cafeteria was nearly empty now,
except for a few volunteers cleaning up. Even the elf had taken off.
“Oh,
Santa, I know it’s silly, but I always dreamed of a sweet romance like
you read about in books and see in the movies. It just doesn’t seem to
be happening for me. And believe me, I’ve tried to move things along.”
She sighed. “It just seems like everyone’s already married or gay or
divorced with a lot of baggage. I just want to meet my Prince Charming,
you know?”
At
Santa’s continued silence and good listening, Samantha confided all the
heartache she’d endured over the last two years due to her failed
romance attempts. First she told him the worst—the Tim Johnson
affair—just to get it off her chest and explain what started her on her
quest for romance. Then she moved on to the day her hair and makeup were
ruined in the August heat while she waited for a mysterious Mr. Hunk to
arrive on the scene to change her flat tire (and yes, she confessed,
she’d let the air out on purpose) and how a toothless old lady had
arrived instead to inform her she had a flat. She’d had to change the
tire herself, ruining her white skirt and new heels. She told him of the
British hottie who moved in next door to her parents’ house that looked
a little like Hugh Grant—she’d loved him in Bridget Jones’ s Diary—and
just when she was thinking they might really be moving from borrowing
sugar (she had a huge stash now) to actually hanging out, his boyfriend
showed up.
She
sighed and continued on with the advice she took from her friend to
look for someone at a wedding and how that had turned out to be a second
cousin she’d never met. “Luckily my mother told me before things moved
off the dance floor,” she whispered.
Santa
merely grunted, so she went on. “Online dating was horrible. All those
men cared about was my…well, let’s just say it wasn’t working out.” She
blew out a breath. “I have a huge hammer collection from all my trips
cruising the aisles of Home & Tool for an eligible bachelor. I could
never use them all.” She shook her head. “Besides, those guys are all
married.” She straightened, suddenly indignant. “And the worst, my
mother tried to set up an arranged marriage with this total player who
was too handsome for his own good. He was all—” she waved her hands in
the air “—look at me! Don’t you want some of this sugar? And I was all,
get away from me, you phony! Thelines that came out of this
guy’s mouth! If my mother had known what he was really like…” She
exhaled sharply. “Don’t get me started on my mother.”
Finally, she wound down.
“This
was all my niece’s idea,” she said with a rueful laugh. “Since I’m
here…my Christmas wish is to meet a handsome, smart, charming man that
will just make my head spin with the happiness of true love.” She warmed
to her topic. “Make him be someone who brings me flowers and candy just
because, writes poems for me, serenades me, and likes to hold hands
while we go shopping, ice skating, or maybe even walking along the
beach.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “I guess that’s too much for one
Christmas wish.”
Santa’s voice went low and husky. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Her
eyes flew to his, and she took a good look at the guy she’d just
spilled her guts to. He smiled, and her hand went to her throat. This
man didn’t have wrinkles, pasty white skin, and blue eyes. This wasn’t
Harold! This was someone much younger with caramel skin and brown eyes
behind those spectacles.
Santa was coming on to her!
She leaped off his lap and jabbed a finger at him. “You’re Santa. You can’t pick up women. You’re married to Mrs. Claus.”
Dear Lord, what had she just told this complete stranger? Her cheeks burned.
The Santa-Harold imposter stood and raised his palms. “I’m off duty. You want to get a cup of coffee?”
She whirled and hurried over to her niece. “Come on, Gabriella, we’re going.”
“Bye, Santa!” Gabriella called. “Merry Christmas!”
“Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas, Gabriella! I’ll make sure the elves know about your Christmas wish and yours too, Samantha!”
She
froze. Omigod. He knew her name. She’d never said her name. And that
voice. Her mind quickly put the pieces together, that beautiful caramel
skin, the brown eyes. It was her horrible blind date—Rico.
She
took Gabriella’s hand and speedwalked to the parking lot. Samantha had
never been so embarrassed in her life. She buckled her niece in,
muttering to herself about the nerve of some guys.
They drove home, and Samantha prayed she never, ever ran into that Harold imposter again.
Review by Tabitha:
This is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be my last. This book is down right hilarious and fun! Such a great sweet and light read. I love that Samantha and Rico are set up by none other than their mothers. And the journey they go on is really hilarious!! I laughed out loud so many times, my kids asked me what was wrong with me. I thought with it being short that I would feel like it lacked something, but I was wrong. The characters are very developed and I feel like the author wrote the story perfectly. I was hooked from the very first page and didn't put it down until I hit the end. This was truly a delight!! I loved this one and will most definitely be reading it again when I need a pick me up!! Great job Ms. Gilmore!! This one earns 5 AMAZEBALLS stars!!!
A copy was gifted in exchange for an honest review.
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Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you enjoyed Rico and Samantha's crazy story!
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