
The award-winning author who writes with "humor and heart" (Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author) invites you to visit the charming small town of Angel Falls.
Being naughty was nice, but now these friends-turned-lovers are in for an unforgettable Christmas...
Just when Kaitlyn Barnes vows to get over her longtime crush on Rafe Langdon, they share a sizzling evening that delivers an epic holiday surprise: Kaitlyn is pregnant. And if that weren't life-changing enough, everyone assumes they're engaged -- a charade they must keep alive through the holiday season. But Kaitlyn knows Rafe better than anyone, and Rafe settling down is about as likely as Santa skipping Angel Falls this year...
Rafe would rather Kaitlyn believe a lie -- that their night together was a fling -- than face his own dangerous truth: he's falling for her, hard. After a devastating loss, Rafe swore he'd never risk his heart again. Yet the longer they pretend to be engaged the more Rafe starts to want the real thing. But now he has to convince Kaitlyn he wants to be by her side -- and their baby's -- for all the Christmases to come.
Includes the bonus novel Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains!
Excerpt The Angel Falls legend says that any couple who kisses in front of the angel statue and throws money into the falls, will have true love foreverβ¦
βAll proceeds from photos this month go to the shelter party for Christmas presents for the kids,β Mary said, wielding her camera like a weapon. So how about puckering up for charity?β
βFor charity,β Rafe said. βOf course.β
βOf course,β Kaitlyn said, as Rafe slid his arm around her back. And oh, she felt his warmth, right through her coat. The dangerous warmth that she was afraid to feel.
βThis has gotten out of hand,β she whispered in Rafeβs ear. βWe really should say something.β
βYeah,β he said, staring at her lips and sounding very unconcerned. βWeβll clear everything upβ¦later.β
She didnβt protest. She was too busy staring right back at his nice full lips too. Wait. What was she doing? What were they doing, buying trees and ornaments, walking around holding hands, and now this? And was it wrong to want to keep that magic going just a little while longer?
Mary positioned them so that the statue was directly behind them. Rafe still had his arm around Kaitlyn. If only she could have a little breathing room so she could think, because everything was so muddled in her head.
Suddenly there was the sound of money hitting the ground, pinging and scattering at their feet. A quarter hit one of the iron posts on the bridge and ricocheted into the water.
βOh-oh,β Kaitlyn said. They all knew the legend: drop in some money, kiss your honey, true love forever, yada yada.
Rafe looked down, searching for the source of the change.
Kaitlyn blushed. βSome change just fell out of my coat pocket,β she said. She didnβt say both pockets had holes, because heβd have a field day with that.
βYou donβt have to kiss me,β she rushed on to say. βAfter all, that quarter plunged right into the falls, just to let you know.β She pretended to laugh, but for some reason she wasnβt finding anything funny.
βI donβt care about the folklore,β Rafe said. βBut I do care about kissing you.β He tugged her closer and, smiling, he looked around, scanning something behind her head.
βWhat are you looking at?β she asked.
βJust making sure no other Christmas trees are about to fall on us.β
She couldnβt help laughing. Rafe was soβ¦ridiculous. Funny. Unexpected. Wonderful. Yes, sometimes he was just wonderful.
βDid you say a quarter fell in?β Mary asked. βThey say you need two for the legend to count.β
Kaitlyn could feel her face turning red from embarrassment, but Rafe just chuckled. Probably because Mary always did her best to increase donations for the city treasury.
At Kaitlynβs feet, perched precariously on the edge, Kaitlyn suddenly caught the glint of another quarter winking up at her, the water under the bridge rushing and gurgling as it ran over the falls. Impulsively, she scooted her boot closer to the cement edge of the bridge and let the other quarter tip in. It was a crazy thing to do, she knew. And she must be out of her mind for doing it. She blamed her crazy behavior on all the confusion she was feeling.
βSmile now, kids!β Mary said, holding up her camera. βSay βonesie!ββ
* * *
Then suddenly Rafe was leaning in, Kaitlynβs heart skittering as it always did at his nearness. She let her gaze drift upward, thinking how tall and handsome he was, and how somehow the story heβd told about his past had changed everything between them. And despite the fact that she was pretty freaked out about it, she felt something else she hadnβt felt in a long timeβ¦a sense of wonder. Of awe. Ofβ¦happiness.
Was that what she was so afraid of?
Rafe smiled a devilish smile, curled a hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her in. His hands were cold but his lips were warm and soft, and his kiss was slow and lingering without getting indecent in front of Mary. Kaitlyn couldnβt help but close her eyes and lean into him, his hard muscle, his strength, his warmth. Her head spun, her breath becoming ragged as the kiss took away her breath and her sense.
Then Maryβs flash went off and Kaitlyn remembered she was standing on a bridge with icy mist from the falls hitting her in the face. The white twinkly lights strung through the trees surrounding the bridge blurred with the stars, and she saw her whole world spin. When Rafe pulled back, his eyes were shining with mischief, but also something else. A tenderness she only recently learned to see. A crack in the walls that surrounded his heart.
She was suddenly filled with the need to tear down those walls whichever way she could to find the man whoβd been in there all along.
βOh my goodness!β Mary exclaimed. βNo wonder you two areβ¦um, expecting. That is some positively ferocious chemistry! Lordie, pass me a fan!β
The photo was cute and, sure enough, Kaitlynβs foot was twisted just a little from nudging that final coin into the falls. But she would be the only person to ever notice such a thing.
For the first time in their relationship, she wasnβt squashing all her feelings down somewhere where she refused to feel them. She was daring to let them out. And it felt more than a little like they just might be two people falling in love.
Β
Start Reading ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU Now
 Angel Falls THEN THERE WAS YOU
#1.0
β’ June 2018
 THE WAY YOU LOVE ME
#2.0
β’ February 2019
 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
#3.0
β’ November 2019
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