Krista Hartley never expected the unrequited love of her life, the irresistible Derek Weston, to work as the groundskeeper at the apartment building she just moved into. They barely spoke in high school but now, three years after graduation, they tore at each other’s clothes and jumped into bed together at every opportunity. After all, how could a hot-blooded woman say no to a sexy man with an eyebrow ring, a dragon tattoo and a deadly swagger?
A Christmas miracle drew Krista back into Derek’s life. He kissed her for the first time under mistletoe, pampered her with romantic candlelight dinners and memorized every inch of her delectable body with his tongue. He refused to let his dream girl slip through his fingers again but then another woman threatened their whirlwind romance. Hurt once before, Krista broke off their relationship and then Derek made a drunken mistake that could destroy their love forever. With just days to Christmas, he vowed to win back her heart and trust, and prove his innocence once and for all
A Christmas miracle drew Krista back into Derek’s life. He kissed her for the first time under mistletoe, pampered her with romantic candlelight dinners and memorized every inch of her delectable body with his tongue. He refused to let his dream girl slip through his fingers again but then another woman threatened their whirlwind romance. Hurt once before, Krista broke off their relationship and then Derek made a drunken mistake that could destroy their love forever. With just days to Christmas, he vowed to win back her heart and trust, and prove his innocence once and for all
This is the third story in the Handmade for Christmas Series, which comprises both Jennifer Conner's Ten Minutes for Christmas and Natalie-Nicole Bates's Forget Me Not Christmas as well. With the Christmas season already knocking at our door, Amber Daulton's novella Mistletoe in the City was bound to catch my eye. And I was right, it is the perfect read to chill down some after all the turmoil during your Christmas dinner.
Krista Hartley is only 21 and already going through a tough time but she's determined to show her parents, and herself, the mettle she's made of. Although she's been dumped by her sorry excuse of a boyfriend, and literally thrown out from his house, Krista doesn't seem to be much affected by their break-up because deep down she knows that would have been the most likely outcome to their relationship and, more importantly, that she chose not to take notice of his cheating on her because he provided her a place to stay. What is really annoying her is the fact that, as a consequence, she has had to go back to her parents', and that isn't working for her. Krista is therefore all bent in finding herself a new place to stay, which brings her to the Oak Landing apartment building. Here, while on a visit to her coul-be new home, she catches a glimpse of her high school crush Derek Wilson and she's her 17-year-old, hoplessly insecure self back again: he still makes the butterflies arise in her stomach, along with some painful memories of his being totally oblivious to her feelings for him. But she's a grown-up woman now, she tells herself; she won't let her old unrequited love color her life any longer and throw her chance to be an independent woman out of the window. She knows she loves the apartment, which she comes to see as her safe harbour against all of her parents' rules, and would really like to move in there as soon as possible.
There is a little Cupid, though, who won't listen to reason and is already aiming his arrows: Eileen Weston, Derek's mum, is only too willing to let her son know about Krista as a prospective tenant and about her reaction at the realization of who he was and what he was doing there. Because Mrs. Weston knows her son has never quite got over this girl he fell for when he was 17.
Derek is not the flippant teenager he used to be. Since his father's early death, he had to grow up quickly and make some adjustements to his plans for he future There is one thing he is not going to give up on, though: Krista. He really likes her, always has since he first lay his eyes on her and didn't find the courage to reveal his true feelings for her. Five years has passed, and both Krista and Derek can truly say they are no longer the same persons they used to be. Aren't they? They will find out the hard way that there is Krista's low self-esteem and her old self-preservation reflex still to be reckon with, and Derek will have to find the right way to fight for her and speak to her heart. And he does! His regretful questioning her
“Answer me, is that the man you think I am?”
corners Old Krista for good and makes his New Krista realize she won't need to fear any kind of female rivalry because, as far as his feelings are concerned, there is no one else, there will be no one else.
I really liked Mistletoe in the City for its well developed characters and seamless plot. I loved the way Amber Daulton manages to be very detailed in her descriptions without being boring or redundant. From the very beginning, you are as much caught up in Krista and Derek's relationship as they are, and I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1pC6Tb9
Author of four novellas—Forever Winter, A Hero's Heart, Lightning over Bennett Ranch and Mistletoe in the City—she published her first book in 2012 and hopes to publish countless more in the future.
She lives in the beautiful foothills of North Carolina with her wonderful husband and their five crazy kitties. Writing takes up most of her time, aside from her day job in the retail industry. As a fan of contemporary, paranormal and historical novels alike, she can't get enough of feisty heroines and alpha heroes. Her mind is a wonderland of romance and adventure, laughter and awesome ways of kicking a guy when he's down. She probably wouldn't be too sane without her computer and notebooks. After all, what's a girl to do when there are people jabbering away in her head and it's hard to shut them up? Write! Nothing else works.
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