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Meet Me under the Mistletoe
Julianna Morris
THE PLIGHT OF A SINGLE DAD…No sooner had they settled in Washington than history repeated itself: the welcoming committee of available women. The casseroles. A widower Alex McKenzie I might be, but he was not looking for a new wife.' His four-year-old son, however, had picked a new mommy…just in time for the holidays.Next-door neighbor Shannon O'Rourke was striking, successful and single. Not once, though, had she come bearing casseroles. (Her twoalarm-fire attempt at baking Christmas cookies with his boy fquite possibly the reason.) Homemaker material or not, Shannon had resurrected Hiis withdrawn son…when even he had failed.For that, he was tempted to kiss her. I Where was mistletoe when you needed it?
“Can we get her a Christmas present?”
What did you get for a woman who must have everything?
“We’ll get a poinsettia,” Alex promised his son. Plants were usually safe, especially since it should look like a seasonal gesture.
Jeremy looked relieved, and turned his head to gaze in the direction Shannon had driven. For the first time in a year his son wasn’t clutching Mr. Tibbles to his chest; instead, he was casually swinging the stuffed animal by one arm.
Alex sighed. He had to be careful. Seeing too much of the woman next door could lead Jeremy into getting ideas about a new mommy.
Yet Alex couldn’t help thinking about Shannon. She was as different from his wife as a woman could be. He’d considered dating since Kim’s death, but none of the women he’d met were particularly interesting.
And none of them were like Shannon O’Rourke.
Dear Reader,
What is the best gift you ever received? Chances are it came from a loved one and reflects to some degree the love you share. Or maybe the gift was something like a cruise or a trip to an exotic locale that raised the hope of finding romance and lasting love. Well, it’s no different for this month’s heroes and heroines, who will all receive special gifts that extend beyond the holiday season to provide a lifetime of happiness.
Karen Rose Smith starts off this month’s offerings with Twelfth Night Proposal (#1794)—the final installment in the SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE continuity. Set during the holidays, the hero’s love enables the plain-Jane heroine to become the glowing beauty she was always meant to be. In The Dating Game (#1795) by Shirley Jump, a package delivered to the wrong address lands the heroine on a reality dating show. Julianna Morris writes a memorable romance with Meet Me under the Mistletoe (#1796), in which the heroine ends up giving a widower the son he “lost” when his mother died. Finally, in Donna Clayton’s stirring romance Bound by Honor (#1797), the heroine receives a “life present” when she saves the Native American hero’s life.
When you’re drawing up your New Year’s resolutions, be sure to put reading Silhouette Romance right at the top. After all, it’s the love these heroines discover that reminds us all of what truly matters most in life.
With all best wishes for the holidays and a happy and healthy 2006.
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Associate Senior Editor
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
Julianna Morris
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Julianna Morris
Silhouette Romance
Baby Talk #1097
Family of Three #1178
Daddy Woke Up Married #1252
Dr. Dad #1278
The Marriage Stampede #1375
* (#litres_trial_promo)Callie, Get Your Groom #1436
* (#litres_trial_promo)Hannah Gets a Husband #1448
* (#litres_trial_promo)Jodie’s Mail-Order Man #1460
Meeting Megan Again #1502
Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock #1531
Last Chance for Baby! #1565
† (#litres_trial_promo)A Date with a Billionaire #1590
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Right Twin for Him #1676
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Bachelor Boss #1703
† (#litres_trial_promo)Just Between Friends #1731
† (#litres_trial_promo)Meet Me under the Mistletoe #1796
JULIANNA MORRIS
has an offbeat sense of humor, which frequently gets her into trouble. She is often accused of being curious about everything—her interests ranging from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, walking on the beach and reading science fiction. Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes, and recently she was adopted by a feline companion named Merlin. Like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—she says he can transform the house into a disaster area in nothing flat.
Julianna happily reports meeting her Mr. Right. Together they are working on a new dream of building a shoreline home in the Great Lakes area.
Contents
Chapter One (#u11efd7a0-d2c5-5112-a7c7-e71f41f4cd1a)
Chapter Two (#u02817714-ea41-5e36-a23b-335f1d42d7a0)
Chapter Three (#ucf76b18f-aa1a-59b1-b9b9-b7d9a2b40624)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Shannon O’Rourke pulled into a spot in the post office parking lot and then grabbed her Christmas cards. Normally she would have mailed them at work, but she was reluctantly taking a few vacation days from her job as a public relations director.
In a nearby parking space she saw her new neighbor getting out of his Jeep Cherokee.
She’d only seen Alex McKenzie once, but according to the gossipy head of the condominium association, he was a thirty-four-year-old widowed college professor with a doctorate in engineering.
He was also one of the most ruggedly handsome men she’d ever seen.
“Jeremy, leave Mr. Tibbles in the Jeep for now,” he said, unfastening a small boy from a child’s booster seat.
The boy climbed down from the Jeep with his father’s help, clutching a worn stuffed rabbit to his chest. He was a miniature version of Alex McKenzie, and warmth spread through Shannon’s heart at the sight of the serious youngster, his blue eyes older and more worried than they should have been.
“It’s okay, son, Mr. Tibbles won’t mind staying behind this time,” Dr. McKenzie urged.
Jeremy shook his head, holding the rabbit tighter.
His father sighed and passed a hand over the boy’s dark brown hair. “All right. Stay here while I get the packages out of the car.”
A few moments later he maneuvered his son and a large stack of boxes toward the front door of the post office. Shannon dashed after them.
“Dr. McKenzie…let me help,” she called.
Alex turned and saw a flame-haired beauty hurrying toward him. There was something familiar about the woman, though he couldn’t place her.
“Excuse me,” he said, “do I know you?”
“I’m Shannon O’Rourke, your neighbor.”
“Oh, right.” Alex remembered the day the previous month when they’d moved into the condo from their apartment. He’d been talking to the movers when a woman had pulled into the next driveway, bundled in a heavy coat, with only her auburn hair visible. She’d waved her hand in a quick hello before rushing inside to escape the rain.
It was warmer today and she was dressed in designer jeans that showed off a pair of long legs, and a cashmere sweater that left no doubt about her slim waist and womanly curves. She exuded confidence and flashed an engaging smile.
One of the packages slipped from his grasp and Shannon caught it. “Let me have some of those,” she said, taking several without waiting for agreement. She stepped around him and looked over her shoulder. “Coming?”
One of his eyebrows shot upward. Shy and retiring obviously weren’t in the woman’s vocabulary.
Alex took Jeremy’s hand.
Everyone said the holidays were especially hard for a spouse who’s lost a partner, but the toughest part for Alex was trying to make things right for his four-year-old son. This would be the first Christmas without his wife. Kim’s death the past January had left a huge hole in their lives. No matter how good it might be, a day-care center couldn’t take the place of a mother like Kim.
The thought of his wife made Alex ache. His friends had called him the most married man they knew, even though he’d spent so much time working out of the country. But they were right. He’d recognized what he had, a sweet, gentle woman who wouldn’t tear him apart the way his parents had torn each other apart. You didn’t find that kind of love twice.
Shannon nudged the door open with her hip and waited for father and son to go ahead of her.
“That’s my job,” Alex said, “opening a door for a lady. But I suppose you’re one of those modern women who don’t believe in that sort of thing.”
Shannon opened her mouth, ready to toss out a smart remark, then hesitated. She’d always believed in being herself, and if a man didn’t like it, then too bad.
But she wasn’t sure what “being herself” was anymore.
She wanted more out of life. She wanted to be in love and married, but lately her love life was practically nonexistent. And now that four of her five brothers were happily wed, the desire to find love such as they had was even stronger. But her life seemed stuck in Neutral, while everyone else’s was Full Speed Ahead.
“I don’t mind,” she said finally. It was true. She didn’t object to men being chivalrous; she’d just learned that waiting for a guy to hold a door could get embarrassing.
“All right.” Alex rested his shoulder against the door to hold it. “I’ve got it, then. Go ahead, Miss O’Rourke.”
He was close enough for her to smell the faint scent of his aftershave, and Shannon’s knees wobbled. That wasn’t good. According to her three sisters, Kelly, Miranda and Kathleen, men with children were complicated, especially when it came to their motives toward women.
She glanced down at Jeremy’s grave face. “Go ’head,” he said, and she melted.
“Thank you,” Shannon murmured.
She glanced swiftly at Alex in her peripheral vision, then walked toward the long line of people waiting for service. Her condominium was in a small bedroom community outside of Seattle, but the post office had the usual holiday crowd. It looked as though they’d be waiting for a while, something she was foolishly happy about.
Lord, she had to be crazy.
For Pete’s sake, he’d called her Miss O’Rourke and said his job was holding the door for a lady. Alex McKenzie was obviously the same breed of old-fashioned guy as the male half of the O’Rourke family. She could spot the type a mile away, and usually ran the opposite direction. She’d dated one in college, only to get her heart broken when he’d dumped her, saying he wanted a homemaker like his mother…something she definitely wasn’t. Her only talent in the kitchen was turning perfectly good food into inedible, blackened messes.
A tug at the hem of her sweater made her look down. It was Jeremy.
“I can help,” he said, pointing at the packages she still carried.
“Oh…all right. May I hold Mr. Tibbles for you? He can sit on top of my purse while we wait.”
Jeremy regarded her for a long moment.
Mr. Tibbles was plainly a very important stuffed rabbit not to be entrusted to just anyone. Shannon crouched so she could be eye-to-eye with the boy. Something about him reminded her of how she’d felt after losing her father when she was a child herself, and her heart throbbed with the old grief.
“I promise to take very good care of him.” She smiled reassuringly.
After what seemed an eternity, Jeremy nodded and traded Mr. Tibbles for two of the packages. She settled the rabbit so its feet were anchored in her purse, and made sure it stayed in full view of its protective human. Only after the exchange had been completed did she see Alex’s stunned expression.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know how you managed that. I haven’t been able to separate him from that rabbit since his mother died,” Alex said in a low voice. “He only lets go in the bath, and that’s because he says Mr. Tibbles is afraid of the water. You must have a gift with children.”
Shannon swallowed. What she knew about children could be written on the head of a pin. “Um… I like kids,” she said tentatively.
It wasn’t a lie.
