"A joyous romance stirs up some holiday cheer."
Reviewed by Melissa Kammer
Posted November 18, 2011
Romance Series
Krista Novak rushes home to Pennsylvania for the first time
in eight years expecting to find her mother in the
hospital, but instead she finds her laughing in the kitchen.
Fueled by outrage over her mother's deceit, Krista plans to
leave the day after Christmas, but Mother Nature has other
plans. When her flight is cancelled due to a snowstorm, she
has no choice but to spend more time in Jarrell. On the
bright side, that means she will have more time with Alex,
her old flame and her parent's neighbor. However, the
longer she stays the more she wants to remain. What will
she decide to do? Where is her life leading her? Alex Costas receives quite a holiday surprise when he walks
into his neighbor's house and spots Krista. He certainly
has not forgotten her even though she chose to end their
relationship and move to another continent. Still Alex knows
that with a little encouragement he would be open to
rekindling what they started so many years ago. However,
Alex cannot bear the thought of her leaving again, so he is
more than happy to see the snow falling. In his mind, a
cancelled flight means more time spent with Krista, and
possibly more time to work things out. Is it fair to want
her to stay? Is there some other way for them to be
together? Darlene Gardner concocts a little Christmas magic to reunite
two flames. Once again, she sweeps me into her imagination,
and makes her characters feel like my new friends. Krista
has never embraced the holiday season as fully as her
parents, nor has she realized how much she has missed by
never visiting. Alex values family above all else, and he
never realized how much he gave up when Krista left. This is
the first Christmas story of the season for me, and I
absolutely adored it. Family, friends, and love mingle for a
festive holiday treat that is sure to brighten your spirits.
THE CHRISTMAS GIFT weaves a potent spell for those longing
for a little romance to brighten the dark snowy nights
ahead.
SUMMARY
Krista Novak knows you can't go home again. Yet here she
is,
touching down in the place she left for good eight years
ago. Even though it's only for the holidays, being back
means facing Alex Costas. It also means dealing with the fallout from his decision to
stay and her decision to move her life thousands of miles
away. To make the situation more interesting, she still
wants Alex. And he wants her. How do they find common
ground? A little Christmas magic must be in the air. Because when a
snowstorm changes her travel plans, they're blessed with
the
most life-changing gift of all.
Excerpt"So while we're being outspoken and clearing the air, let's
hear why you dumped me," Krista said.Alex swung his gaze from the road to Krista, not able to
determine from her expression if she were joking. "I didn't
dump you! You moved to the Czech Republic." "Two weeks after you dropped me like a hot potato." She
gasped and pointed at the road. "Red light!" They were approaching a traffic light that was turning from
yellow to red, but Alex only had one choice because of the
SUV on his bumper. He kept his foot steady on the gas and
went through the intersection. Behind them, the SUV came to
a screeching stop. "You ran that red light!" Krista said. "It was safer than stopping." Alex counted himself lucky he
didn't hear a police siren. How could he explain missing
the red light when he'd driven this route thousands of
times? "Am I distracting you?" she asked. "Ya think?" He vowed to keep his eyes on the road, but his
mind was mired in the past. "To set the record straight, I
didn't break things off until after you accepted the job." "You had to realize I would have liked to keep seeing you
in those two weeks before I moved," Krista said. "What would have been the point?" he asked. "We were having a good time together," she said. "The good times had to end, sooner or later." "It would have been nice if it was later," she said. Were they really having this conversation? Alex didn't know
any other woman who talked so bluntly. Was that one of the
reasons he'd been attracted to her? "More time together would have changed nothing," he
said. "You still would have moved to Europe and I still
would have stayed here." "I suppose," she said, a sigh in her voice. "But it's not
like we had a commitment." The few weeks they'd known each other had been enough time
for Alex to suspect he wanted more from Krista than sex.
Her surprise announcement that she was leaving had forced
him to conclude he hadn't known her at all. "Why didn't you mention you were considering moving to
Europe?" Alex posed a question he should have asked back
then. "I wasn't," Krista said. "The job offer came from out of
the blue, and I accepted on the spot." Alex hadn't seen it coming. One day, he was dating a woman
with a semester left at a college less than three hours
away in Philadelphia. The next, she was moving across the
Atlantic Ocean. Looking back on it, Alex had envisioned the same future for
Krista that her mother had. She was a business major at the
University of Pennsylvania and her parents owned a nursery.
It seemed a given that she'd eventually join the family
business, perhaps because that was the choice Alex made. No, he hadn't known Krista well at all. "You sound like you have no regrets," he said. "Not about moving," Krista said. "But if I had it to do
over again, I'd wait a lot longer until I told you I was
taking the job." The last mile before they reached the nursery was on a
fairly steep road with a narrow shoulder. Krista didn't
sound like she was teasing but Alex couldn't risk a glance
at her to find out. "We still would have had an expiration date," he said. "Yeah," Krista said, "but think of the fun we could have
had in the meantime." Alex would rather not. "What's over is over." The paved parking lot that served both Novaks' Nursery and
the adjoining Christmas shop came into view, half filled
with cars even though it was barely past ten o'clock. Alex
switched on his turn signal and slowed down. "What if it's not over? What would you say if I
propositioned you now?" Krista asked in the same low voice
she once used when they were in bed together. Just like
that, remembered sensations assailed him. The smooth
texture of her skin. The fresh smell of her hair. The sweet
taste of her kiss. Alex focused on another memory as he pulled the truck into
the parking lot, found a space and shut off the ignition:
The disappointment that Krista was leaving when things
between them had barely begun. "You won't proposition me," he said in an equally soft
voice. "You won't be here long enough."
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