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From bestselling author L.A. Sartor
The Children's Author …
Annie Hamilton's children's series Star Light~Star Bright is a mega hit. She loves kids and wants nothing more than a family of her own, but twice burned, thrice shy. When a gorgeous man with two young boys moves next door, Annie can't help but dream her impossible dream.
And The Widower Who Moved Next Door …
Cole Evans is a brilliant scientist, but finds fatherhood a challenge. When his son develops a bond with their enchanting neighbor, the boy’s favorite author, Cole discovers just how much he's lost—and how much he needs.
Will Their Wish Come True This Christmas Night?
Can Cole overcome family meddling and alleviate Annie's fears so they can be a ready-made family?
CHAPTER TWO …
Mannheim Steamroller
played through Annie's earbuds from the MP3 player tucked into her
parka pocket. What a glorious morning. The storm had moved on, the
sky was brilliantly blue, and the sun sparkled off the pristine white
blanket that covered everything.
Three weeks before
Christmas and the snow was a foot deep. The forecasters predicted
more this week, so Annie decided it was a sign they'd have a white
Christmas. Not rational as that date was too many days away to
forecast the weather, but she didn't care. Sometimes you just had to
believe.
She stopped pushing
the snowblower for a moment, catching her breath, leaning against the
heavy machine. The weight of the snow-spewing monster on top of no
sleep last night took its toll far sooner than normal.
She'd bought the
biggest snowblower she could handle, not only because of her wide
driveway, but also, once she got going, the whole sidewalk on her
side of the street got the Annie treatment.
And it was good
exercise, especially when she knew she was going to make her favorite
coffee as a treat afterward.
Taking a deep,
frosty breath, Annie turned back to resume her task and jumped a foot
when Doctor Cole Evans stood right in front of her machine,
lips moving.
A chuckle bubbled up
and despite her best intention, laughter escaped just as she pulled
the earbuds from beneath her cap.
The furrow between
his dark brows grew deeper. Annie grasped the handles of the
snowblower tighter, fighting the urge to push him into the snow. He
needed to lighten up.
"Jeeze, scare
me to death. I'm sorry I didn't see you come up, but I was listening
to music." She held one earbud closer to his ears so he could
hear the Christmas music. If he didn't believe in Christmas, then she
was taunting him, and somehow that didn't bother her a bit. Not her
normal behavior, but the guy just seemed to push her ornery buttons.
"You don't have
to clear our walk. I was going to do it when I came out to clean off
the Pilot before I headed for the lab."
"I don't
mind—it's good exercise so I can make myself a mocha peppermint
coffee topped with whipped cream afterward. What kind of doctor are
you that you have a lab?"
"An atmospheric
physicist."
Annie's jaw dropped,
then she laughed to cover her own astonishment as well as her
embarrassment. "Not an MD, then. My mistake."
"Not in a
million years. I faint at the sight of blood and anyone will tell you
I've got no bedside manner."
"You got that
right," she murmured under her breath.
"I'm sorry,
what was that?"
"Nothing.
Really, I plow the neighbor's walks all the time and it's fun,
honest," she said, seeing his skeptical gaze. "You have
snow in Virginia, don't you?"
"Of course. The
wet slushy kind."
"So you had to
remove that, right?"
"Right."
"No different."
"Except you're
doing my sidewalk."
"I'm a simple
author who does sidewalks on the side, okay?"
He snorted and she
loved that he would do so. It was such a plebeian thing to do. Not at
all "East Coast."
"Not a simple
author. As you may have guessed, Josh loves your books. And having
you live next door may be a curse to you."
"Never. I love
kids."
"It's evident
in your writing."
Not quite believing
her ears, she stared at the man standing in front of her. "Why I
do believe that's a compliment, which, before you can retract, I'll
take," she added swiftly, seeing his mouth open, then shut.
"What are Josh
and his brother doing this afternoon? I've got a new character to
illustrate and I'd love their input."
"Mitch is
taking them Christmas tree shopping, then onto snow shoeing lessons
this afternoon."
"Oh. Well that
sounds like fun. Who is—"
Annie glanced up as
Cole's front door opened. And when did you start thinking of him
as Cole instead of Doctor Cole Evans?
The man Annie had
seen helping Cole move in stood in the doorway, zipped his parka, and
turned back in apparent surprise as Josh pushed past him.
"Annie, we're
going Christmas tree shopping. Want to come?"
Cole froze as did
the man at the door.
"Hey, Josh."
Without stopping to
think, Annie hugged the boy after he ran right up to her.
"Want to
introduce me to your brother and friend?" Annie nodded to the
man and boy who now stood next to Cole.
"Oh. That's
Uncle Mitch. And that," he said, pointing to the youngest in the
trio of males standing together, "is my brother, Peter."
Peter stood unmoving
and unsmiling until "Uncle Mitch" nudged him. Not Cole,
Annie realized, but Mitch. Curious.
Peter looked at
Mitch, then at her. "Ah, nice to meet you."
Annie smiled at
Peter and held out her hand to Mitch. "And nice to meet you both
as well. It's great Cole has a brother nearby."
"I'm Lauren's
brother."
Ah. More curious.
"My mistake." It was evident by Mitch's clipped tones he
didn't like her. He didn't know her at all, but he sure didn't like
her already. And that she wasn't invited to their outing was also
pretty darn clear.
Hi Amy, Merry Christmas from Colorado. Both in my books and in real life. Wish we had snow, but none to speak of. In fact it was 64 degrees today. Thanks for posting this. This was my first bestseller. #1 on Amazon. WOW.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
L.A.