KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE is the story of Jack and Mary, the parents of all the Sullivan's who have had their stories told throughout this series. The story takes the reader back many years to the early 1970's, to when Jack and Mary first met and fell in love.

Mary Ferrer is a famous model, and has been so for the past 12 years. She is winding down her career in front of the camera, and looking for new venues where she can use her talents. While doing her last photo shoot in the cold outdoors of December in San Francisco, she catches the eye of the very good-looking and talented Jack Sullivan.

Jack is a brilliant engineer who, along with his partners, has developed a revolutionary 'pocket planner' technological device. It has been a tough sell, and the last company they took the idea to was interested, but didn't know if they thought it would sell. The company CEO gave the men 24 hours to come up with a plan to sell the device to the public.

When Jack spots Mary, not only does he see the face that could push his new product to the masses, he sees the most attractive woman he's ever seen. He approaches her with the idea to help sell the product for the three men. Mary is intrigued with the 'pocket planner', and by Jack. The attraction is mutual; but Mary has been badly burned in the past by mixing business with pleasure. It's up to Jack to convince her that he will never hurt her, and is capable of both a personal and business relationship with her.

KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE is a sweet and engaging story that stands on its own. There is no real conflict in the book; it is a pretty straightforward story about how Jack and Mary met and got their business off the ground. This is strictly a love story, and a 'how it all started' story. It is not necessary to have read all of The Sullivans series books to enjoy this one; but regular readers of the Bella Andre series will undoubtedly get more out of it, as they have heard of the love of Jack and Mary throughout the series. There is also a bittersweet aspect to the read, for reasons that are known to fans of the series. Lovely poignant read, and it was good to finally find out how the parents met and fell in love.