Must Love Mistletoe

by Christie Ridgway

  If nothing else, I can promise that lasts.

  She’d have to believe.

  Jumping to her feet, she snatched up the water bottle clipped to Angel’s bike frame. “Hey!” he protested.

  Glad to find it full, she squeezed it hard, shooting the water into Finn’s wary, then surprised, then annoyed face.

  “Hey!” he said, in the exact same tone as the little bad boy on the banana seat beside her. “What the hell?”

  Bailey laughed. Now that she was whole, she felt as if she could fly. “You looked like you were sulking again.”

  He flicked water off his face with one hand, his gaze wary. “That’s how I get when I can’t have everything I want.”

  “Oh, Finn.” Her feet took off and she did fly, like a reindeer, like an angel, like a woman who wanted to be pressed against the man she loved. “I think it’s about time you were rewarded for all your good behavior.

  “I love you,” Bailey said against his mouth. His arms held her tight. She believed in him, them, magic. How else, to paraphrase Finn, would the girl next door get the bad boy of her dreams?

  She’d been called home to save the season, but in the end, she realized, it had saved her. “Merry Christmas.”

  Author’s Note

  Coronado is a lovely place to visit any time of year. While I tried to give the flavor of the “island” in the story, with very few exceptions I made up street names and other details. (Don’t go looking for Christmas Central on Walnut Street!)

  Please visit www.christieridgway.com for more Christmas trivia, recipes, and fun. Wherever you are this season, I wish for you hope and light.

  About the Author

  CHRISTIE RIDGWAY has never lived east of the Pacific Ocean, north of San Francisco, or south of San Diego. To put it simply, she’s a California native who loves to travel but is happy to make the Golden State her home.

  She began her writing career in fifth grade when she penned a volume of love stories featuring herself and a teen idol who will probably be thrilled to remain nameless. Later, though, after marrying her college sweetheart, Christie again took up writing romances, this time with imaginary heroes and heroines.

  In a house full of males—one terrific husband, two school-age sons, a yellow dog, and tankfuls of fish, reptiles, and amphibians—Christie makes her own place (and peace) writing the kinds of stories she loves best.

  Christie enjoys hearing from readers. You may write to her at PO Box 3803, La Mesa, CA 91944, or visit her website at www.christieridgway.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Avon Romances by

  Christie Ridgway

  MUST LOVE MISTLETOE

  THE CARE AND FEEDING OF UNMARRIED MEN

  AN OFFER HE CAN’T REFUSE

  THE THRILL OF IT ALL

  DO NOT DISTURB

  THEN COMES MARRIAGE

  FIRST COMES LOVE

  THIS PERFECT KISS

  WISH YOU WERE HERE

  Coming January 2007

  NOT ANOTHER NEW YEAR’S

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  MUST LOVE MISTLETOE. Copyright © 2006 by Christie Ridgway. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2006 ISBN: 9780061834097

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