Kissing Santa, A Clover Park Novella (Clover Park, Book 4) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series)

by Kylie Gilmore

When he returned, the party was moving to the dining room for appetizers. He always did eat well when Shane was around. The food was gourmet—baked artichoke dip, Caesar salad on garlic toast, shrimp with spicy dip, sugar and cinnamon spiced nuts, fried risotto balls with toasted pistachios, cheese tarts. Shane explained what each dish was before they started to help themselves. Rachel stayed in the far corner of the room, sucking on a peppermint stick.

  After everyone settled at the table with their food, Shane joined Rachel across the room.

  “We have an announcement,” Shane said.

  “I’m pregnant!” Rachel exclaimed.

  Everyone clapped and congratulated the happy couple even though not one of them was surprised.

  “When are you due, honey?” Maggie asked.

  “August seventh,” Rachel said.

  “Liz,” Ryan prompted.

  “Now’s not a good time,” Liz said, smoothing her hair back over her ears. “Congratulations, guys, I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks,” Rachel and Shane said in unison. Shane leaned over and kissed her.

  “Liz,” Ryan said sternly.

  “No,” Liz said out of the side of her mouth. She smiled sunnily. “Everyone go back to eating.”

  No one ate. Everyone stared at Liz. She rolled her eyes and shot Ryan a dark look. He grinned.

  “Tell us,” Maggie said. “The suspense is killing me. You don’t want a death on your hands on Christmas Eve!”

  Liz shook her head. “Okay, okay! After much thought and soul searching, Ryan and I have decided to start a family.”

  Everyone clapped and congratulated the happy couple.

  “Liz,” Ryan warned. “I’m gonna say it if you won’t.”

  Her hands fluttered in the air. “Okay, fine! I’m pregnant too!”

  Maggie whooped. “Thank you, Santa!”

  Everyone laughed. Ryan wrapped an arm around Liz and kissed her cheek.

  “Wait, when are you due?” Rachel asked.

  “I planned it around the school year so I wouldn’t have to leave my class,” Liz said. She was a third grade teacher at Clover Park Elementary. “I’m due June twenty-second.”

  “Tell them what you didn’t plan, sweetheart,” Ryan said.

  “Twins!” Liz exclaimed. She shook her head. “I am in for it.”

  “Mazel tov!” Rachel exclaimed. Liz jumped up, and they hugged each other.

  Rico’s throat felt tight. He took Samantha’s hand and squeezed. Everyone was downright merry as they talked and laughed and ate, full of promise for the future. It moved Rico. He wanted that for him and Samantha too. Soon.

  After they finished eating, everyone went back to the living room, chatting and laughing. Rico pulled over a couple of chairs and sat by the glowing Christmas tree with Samantha, wanting her to himself.

  “I have to warn you,” he said. “My mother’s flying up to meet you over New Year’s.”

  Samantha smiled, and his heart squeezed. “Perfect. My mother can give her my dowry.”

  His eyes widened. “You have a dowry?”

  “Apparently.”

  “Then we should definitely marry.” And right then, right there, filled with love for her, and surrounded by the friends that he loved, Rico went down on one knee. Because when it was right, it was right. Even if they had just met weeks ago. It was destino.

  “Rico, what are you doing?” Samantha exclaimed. But then her eyes welled up, and he knew she was his.

  Conversation stopped. The only sound was the soft Christmas music and Bryce playing his drum.

  “Hush, Bryce,” Maggie said. “Here, play with this.”

  The room went quiet. All eyes were on him.

  He took her hand in his. “Samantha, I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  She jumped up. “Yes!”

  Everyone cheered. Tears stung his eyes, but they were the happy kind. He stood and kissed her smiling lips; then he wrapped her tight in his arms. This was the kind of love that lasted. This was their very own happy-ever-after. And he couldn’t have picked a better woman if he’d tried.

  Which he hadn’t. Thanks, Ma!

  ~THE END~

  Thanks for reading Kissing Santa. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did…

  Help readers find this book by writing a review. I would truly appreciate it.

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  You’ve just read book #4 in the Clover Park series. The books in the series are The Opposite of Wild (Ryan and Liz), Daisy Does It All (Trav and Daisy), Bad Taste in Men (Shane and Rachel), and Kissing Santa (Rico and Samantha). I hope you enjoy them all!

  If you’d like a sneak peek at my new Clover Park spinoff series, The Clover Park STUDS Series, please turn the page.

  Stud Unleashed: The Prequel Excerpt

  The Clover Park STUDS series, Book #1, Novella

  Author’s Note:

  The Clover Park STUDS series centers around three geeks—Barry, Dave, and Will—who unleash into studs with the love of the right woman. It’s like The Big Bang Theory, but hawt.

  Stud Unleashed: The Prequel

  Computer genius and frozen yogurt store owner, Barry Furnukle, hasn't had a girlfriend in fifteen months, two weeks, and three days. Not that he's counting. And even though his new beautiful neighbor, Amber Lewis, is way out of his league and has a beefy, tattooed boyfriend, he can't help but wish she'd notice him. After Barry sees Amber's boyfriend with another woman, he knows she deserves so much better-a guy who will treat her right. But how will he prove he's more than just the nice guy next door?

  Barry smiled and took a sip of his coffee as he sat for the first time at Amber’s kitchen table. Her cell vibrated on the counter. She jumped up to check it.

  She frowned and returned to her seat.

  “Bad news?” he asked.

  “Rick cancelled on me. He’s already tired from work and just wants to head home after. He’s a bouncer at a bar in Norhaven.”

  Bouncer, that he could believe. And also a big liar. He’d just seen him sucking face with another woman at Garner’s, which wasn’t work or in Norhaven. Jerk.

  “You and Rick been going out a while?” he asked casually.

  “Four months.” She drank her coffee, still looking upset.

  “He cancel on you a lot?”

  “I understand. It would’ve been late by the time he got here. It’s fine.”

  He should let it drop. He really didn’t want to hear more about Rick, and he didn’t want to let slip what he knew, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

  “You and Rick exclusive?” he asked. “Pretty serious?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Are you hitting on me?”

  “No, no, no.” He shook his head to emphasize it. “Absolutely not. My curiosity got the better of me. Forget I said anything.” He took a sip of coffee. “This is good.”

  She stood abruptly. Damn. He’d overstepped.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said.

  She got out two shot glasses. “You want a drink, Barry? Cuz I could sure use one.”

  “Uh, sure.”

  He watched as she slammed around in the cabinets emerging with a cocktail shaker, a couple of liqueurs, and vodka. Now this was getting interesting. She expertly mixed the drink like one who had a lot of practice.

  “Did you used to be a bartender?” he asked, impressed with her quick movements.

  She shook it all up. “Smart guy. Yeah, I bartended in college once I was legal.” She lined up two shot glasses and poured. It smelled a little like coffee. He checked the labels. Amaretto and coffee liqueur. Sounded tasty.

  She handed him a glass and held hers up. He clinked it against hers. She downed the shot, and he quickly followed suit. Yum. He shook his head. Bit of a kick there at the end.

  “What was that?” he
asked.

  “Screaming orgasm.”

  He sputtered. “Been a while since I had one of those.”

  She winked. “Been a while since I had the drink kind.”

  An image flashed through his brain of Amber in full ecstasy, screaming as she came. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He discreetly adjusted himself under the table. She poured them another shot, and they clinked glasses again.

  “Down the hatch,” he said. They drank at the same time. Warmth spread through him. He rolled his neck, feeling looser already.

  She slammed her glass down. “Why do men suck? Just be honest with me.”

  He was used to women sounding off to him, the nonthreatening friendly guy, so he put it out there, the cold, hard truth. “Because they don’t appreciate what a wonderful woman you are.”

  She blushed. “Stop. You hardly know me.” She traced the table with a fingertip. “How am I wonderful?” she asked softly.

  “Well, just look around. This place is warm and full of vibrant colors.” Like you. “That tells me you’re a passionate woman who loves life.”

  He worried for a moment that he shouldn’t have said “passionate,” even though he knew instinctively she was exactly that, but then she met his eyes and grinned. “I like you.”

  “Thank you, I like you too.” He smiled goofily, a little buzzed. “Plus you’re an artist. A very talented one at that. Not many people can do what you do. If I tried to do what you do, it would look like a chimpanzee got into the paints.”

  She smiled.

  He lifted a finger. “And you’re smart. You caught on right away to the brilliance of my birding app.”

  She laughed, and he grinned.

  “You’re kind,” he said, serious now. “Look how you welcomed in your new neighbor. Like you knew I needed a friend.”

  He really did. It wasn’t easy to move into a tight-knit small town, the outsider. Sure, people were friendly, but he didn’t hang out with anyone on a regular basis. And it had been fifteen months, three weeks, and one day since he’d had a girlfriend. He really had to stop counting. The numbers racking up were doing a number on his ego.

  She took his hand and stared into his eyes. He felt like they were connecting on a deep, deep level. It felt so good to hold hands. He could do this all night.

  “You are my friend, Barry…” She paused. “What’s your last name?”

  “Furnukle.”

  She wrinkled her cute little button nose. “Really?”

  “Why would I make that up?” One side of his mouth quirked up. “My real first name is Barrett if you like that better.”

  “Barrett,” she repeated. “Barrett Furnukle.” She made a face. “Okay if I call you Bare?”

  He flexed his fingers like claws and growled. “Like bear?”

  “Sure, okay. Bare, you are my friend. From this day forward—” she lifted her shot glass dramatically “—oh. It’s empty.” She poured them both another shot. “Raise your glass, Bare.” She waited until he did. Then she touched her glass to his. “From this day forward, you are my friend. Deal?”

  He smiled, a smile that didn’t feel altogether genuine because he already knew he wanted her as much more than a friend. Yes, she was way out of his league, but he had needs, dammit.

  “Deal,” he said.

  They drank on it. She smiled brilliantly. “I am toast. Come watch TV with me.”

  He stood, a little wobbly. Three shots was a lot for him. He usually only had a couple of beers once a week. And he’d had a beer earlier.

  She waved her hand and veered unsteadily to the side. “Ooh, wait. Let me get some cheese. I love cheese.” She grabbed a bowl of cheddar cheese cubes from the fridge and headed for the sofa. He followed.

  “You like zombies?” she asked.

  He didn’t. He liked sci-fi movies, especially old movies with laughable special effects. Zombies gave him nightmares. What was so appealing about dead people walking around with various body parts rotting off them?

  “I love zombies,” he said.

  “Great! I’ve got seasons one through three of Zombie Bonanza on DVD.” She hit play on the DVD remote.

  They ate cheese cubes and watched zombies while Barry contemplated doing one of those casual stretch-and-arm-around-her-shoulders moves. An hour later, Barry still hadn’t made a move and had more grotesque zombie images burned into his brain than he knew what to do with. Still, he wasn’t complaining because, without any prompting from him, Amber had just curled up against his side, which allowed him to easily and quite naturally slip an arm around her shoulders.

  She smiled up at him, her eyes soft. “You’re like a best girl friend,” she mumbled before conking out.

  Best girl friend? She must still be tipsy. He certainly hoped so. He was a red-blooded man with a lot to offer. Sure, he didn’t have Tattoo Guy’s machismo, but he had smarts, he had money, he had…a raging hard-on. He had needs, dammit.

  He also had moves from his mother’s romance novels he was dying to try out.

  That’s right. In his boredom kicking around her house this past year, he’d picked up a few books his mom had left lying around. No shame in that. Carnal Werewolf had been especially interesting.

  He let out a breath, enjoying the feel of her cuddled up against him. He’d figure out how to move things to the next level tomorrow.

  The Clover Park STUDS series coming February 2015!

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  The novella will be in three parts in the December, January, and February newsletters. Click here to subscribe>>http://eepurl.com/KxkOb

  Looking for more holiday stories? Check out these contemporary romance authors.

  On the 12th Date Of Christmas by Nikki Lynn Barrett

  After being mugged, Robin Sorenson is left shaken and her spirit in humanity is broken. Worse, she's not sure how to deal with the new anxieties or who to confide in, since she's always preached to pick oneself up and move on. Yeah, she's been the go to girl when anyone's had problems. Christmas is coming, and her belief in magic and miracles has faded.

  Then Jonas comes back.

  Jonas Aimes made a mistake when he walked away from Robin a year earlier. A big one. He'd loved her, always had and still does, but his desire to please his aging and strict parents took precedence. Back from the overseas internship they'd struggled to get him in, he plans on winning Robin back. What he didn't count on was discovering the shell of the vivacious woman he'd loved.

  Broken.

  Remembering her love of Christmas, Jonas pulls the holiday heartstrings. What? All is fair and love and war, right?

  Twelve days, Twelve Dates.

  Robin is speechless when Jonas not only refuses to leave her alone, but dares her to accept his cheesy holiday-themed challenge. Twelve dates to give him a chance to prove that he loves her and is never leaving her again.

  But in the season known for miracles, can Robin find the magic needed to open her heart and faith once more ... or will she forever wonder about the ghost of the Christmas past that could have been?

  Excerpt:

  The hostess walked up to the table and took their order. After she disappeared, Jonas reached for her hand again. "I'm not sure where to begin. I could apologize profusely, but would it do any good? I should never have let my family pressure me into that choice, but I can't change what I did. It took being so far away to realize just what I'd lost. You put up with a heck of a lot of immaturity from me last year and I can't imagine what you were feeling."

  "Jonas-"

  "Please, let me get this out. The experience from the internship was great, but I saw a few things that really gave me a whole new perspective. I missed you, and even though I knew I would, I missed you far more than I ever imagined." His hands covered hers, sending a chill down her back.

  "I can't just pick up where we left off and think things will be okay," she said simply, not trying to be mean, but honest. "Can't and won't
." No way could she put her heart through any more bruised and battered feelings.

  He nodded. "I get that. I'm not expecting anything. I just had to tell you how I felt. I would be an idiot to think we could pick up and that everything would be fine, because I know that would never be the case."

  She didn't expect the sincerity in his voice. He watched her with those gorgeous dark eyes that never turned away from her face. She knew he meant business.

  A smile lit up his face. "Give me twelve dates."

  Robin raised an eyebrow. "Twelve dates? What are you talking about?" Now he was just acting strange. Kind of cute, but definitely strange.

  "Twelve dates to show you just how much you mean to me. On the twelfth date, if you don't feel like we could at least try to work things out, I'll leave you alone. If I don't at least give this a shot, then I'm going to have a lot of regrets."

  "Twelve dates, huh? You seriously sound like someone from one of those cheesy films they air this time of the year." Okay, this man looked and sounded like Jonas, but his twelve dates idea made her wonder what happened to the real Jonas Aimes. Robin shifted in her seat and narrowed her eyes.

  He feigned hurt. "Cheesy? Ouch. That's a blow to the heart."

  "Twelve dates isn't a long time to decide." He was being serious about this, wasn't he? Twelve dates? How in the world did he plan to try and show her anything with only twelve dates? The idea sounded cute, charming and sweet, it really did. But how did he plan to pull it off?

  "Maybe for people who don't have our history. But we've known each other since high school. Come on, what could it hurt?"

  A lot, actually. She kept the words to herself.

  Despite it all, she couldn't hide her curiosity.

  "Of course, we can talk and spend time together outside of the twelve dates, so it's not like we're limited," Jonas continued. He circled her palm with his thumb. "Oh, and right now doesn't count as one of the dates."

  Robin laughed. Butterflies danced around in her belly. Good grief, what happened to her promise just a few hours ago? To focus on her own life and not get wrapped up in a man?

  Okay, just because I agree to this doesn't mean I'm changing my mind. They're just dates. Dates with a man I love, but they're still just dates.