One cold December day in London, Lisette Hamilton collided with an impossibly tall man with the bluest eyes she's ever seen. Trapped under Quinton Roxbury's manly body, Lisette falls into a strange spell . Quinton, an architect with a dream of building a settlement on the outskirts of London for the underprivileged with decent water and cleanliness, was equally stunned by the beauty beneath him. Several chance meetings become overwhelming now that it is obvious passion is burning bright. Even though both are engaged to another, nothing can damper the need for raging kisses and the draw they feel towards for one another. Both Lisette and Quinton have a feeling of rightness when together coupled with a surging passion that is all encompassing.

Lisette and her sisters are independent women who have taken over running the family bookstore, Hamilton's Book Shoppe, since their father's death. Lisette's mother urges her to marry for passion and love and to re-evaluate her upcoming nuptials to her betrothed, while scheming to push Lisette and Quinton together. While exploring Quinton's dream project, Lisette encounters a 10 year old boy, Tom, who has no one but his mother and living in poverty. As one of the first families to be privileged with Quinton's new environment this loving family draws Lisette into believing of the wonderful things that can come of the settlement. With determination to do right by the less fortunate and drawn by the passion they feel for each other,Lisette and Quinton are troubled by what the proper action is by honor and what feel feels right in their hearts. They are duty bound to their fiancees but find it trying to envision their lives married to someone else without love.

IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS is a wonderful story full of Christmas spirit and emotion with hard decisions to make between doing the "right" thing and following the heart. Quinton and Lisette are two very upstanding people with high morals that are doing everything in their power to walk away from the one that truly holds their heart. Kaitlin O'Riley definitely has a way with words to keep the story extremely interesting and yet very easy to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed the story line and all the characters. I will definitely watch for more creations by this author.