Monica Richardson - A Yuletide Affair

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Copyright , You will appreciate Samson from the beginning. He’s exactly what Alyson needs—someone to put her in check! He knows that she’s all bark and no bite. With his tattooed arms and unshaven face, he’s hardly her type. She likes her men a little more refined. Not to mention, he thinks he’s God’s gift to the world. She doesn’t have time for that! She’s too busy building her empire. But Samson isn’t afraid to show her his worth. If you remember Alyson from the first book in the Talbot series, you know that she’s a bit uptight. She’s the last one you’d expect to go trekking across the globe to Chicago (of all places) in the middle of winter, to get her man! But she’s proof that love is worth going to the ends of the earth for. I hope you will enjoy Samson and Alyson’s story. And also the fantastical Christmas wedding of Jackson and Jasmine as they marry at the Grove. You’ll get to see the warmth of the Talbot family again, and also become acquainted with Samson’s spirited family. I hope you continue to love the Talbots. They are everybody’s family! Visit my website at monica-richardson.com or email me at Monica@Monica-Richardson.com. Happy reading! Monica Richardson

Title Page A Yuletide Affair Monica Richardson www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author MONICA RICHARDSON currently writes adult romances set in Florida and the Caribbean. Under the name Monica McKayhan, she wrote the Indigo Summer young adult series. Indigo Summer hit the Essence and Black Issues Book Review bestseller lists, and the series also received a film option. Monica’s YA books have garnered accolades and industry recognition, including several American Library Association (ALA) placements on the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults annual lists.

Dedication For my Granny, Rosa A. Heggie (November 1927–2008) She was special in so many ways, and the strongest woman I knew. My life is rich because of her.

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Copyright To my husband, the love of my life— thank you for being my biggest encourager. And for being my real-life hero. To my family and friends—you are my support system. To my readers that give me the energy to continue to write, I’m sure you will enjoy the Talbot family and get to know them well. I hope you will enjoy Alyson’s story just as much as Jasmine’s. Thank you for your continued support. Without you, our stories are just that, stories. But through you, those stories come to life and take flight. To my family in the Bahamas—visiting with you and talking to you about my history has made the research and writing of this Talbot series a complete joy.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Copyright

Chapter 1

Alyson Talbot hadn’t planned on spending so much time in the Eleuthera Islands, Bahamas. She loved her family and her childhood home, but it was no place she had intentions of ever living again. In fact, she’d made a perfect home in Miami by purchasing a beautiful condo that overlooked the Miami River. Florida was where she needed to be—it was where she was building her clientele. After leaving a booming real estate company, she’d recently decided to branch out on her own, make a name for herself. Alyson Talbot and Associates wasn’t quite where she wanted it to be, but the business was well on its way to making a statement in the industry. Just last year, she’d earned a decent salary, one that supported her comfortable lifestyle. But she was looking for more than just comfort, and her goal was to double those earnings in the coming year. She was certainly on a good track, and well on her way to accomplishing just that. She vowed to never move back to the islands nor help to run her family’s B and B on Harbour Island.

Each of her siblings had vowed the same thing—that they would not be moving back to the Bahamas. Her oldest brother, Edward, was too busy working his political career and had ties to the mayor’s office in Florida. Her brother Nate, who lived in Atlanta, was an artist and had no desire to run a B and B. And conversation around him moving back to the islands had always been a sore spot for him. Problems with a former girlfriend had limited his visits to their childhood home. Whitney was busy teaching small children at her Dallas elementary school and had claimed that she would return long-term, but hadn’t. Their youngest brother, Denny, had already begun his tour of duty in the Bahamian military. He was the family’s rebel, had opted out of attending college. Jasmine had been the only one to sacrifice and move back to the island. She had been instrumental in the Grove’s renovation. But now that the family business was up and running, she needed help. Which was why she had turned to her older sister, Alyson. However, for Alyson, moving home was definitely not in the cards.

What was in the cards was helping to plan her sister’s elaborate Christmas wedding. Without her contribution, Jasmine’s wedding might not be as elegant as it could be. After all, she had connections, and people owed her favors. Not to mention, the Talbots weren’t just an ordinary family anymore. They were more than just a two-parent family with six adult children scattered about the world. As owners of the Grove, the newest and fastest growing beachfront property on the island, the Talbots had quickly been placed in a league of their own. She knew that when the first member of the Talbot clan got married at the Grove, it had to be an event to remember. And it was up to her to make sure that happened—thus, causing her to spend way more time on the islands than she’d ever dreamed she would.

“Turn around and let me see the back,” she told Jasmine, who modeled her seventh ivory dress.

It was a Vera Wang, and her sister looked like a model in it. She truly hoped Jasmine liked this one, because she was quickly running out of patience. She’d tentatively scheduled a meeting with an important client—a meeting that had already been postponed twice. She was committed to the wedding, but also had business in Miami.

“It’s okay, but I don’t get that warm fuzzy feeling about it. Mother said that I would know which dress was the right one. She said it would speak to me.”

“It’s a Vera Wang. What else would you like for it to say, honey?” Alyson asked. “Not only that, but our mother got married at the justice of the peace some thirty-plus years ago. What does she know about picking the perfect wedding dress?”

“That’s just rude,” said Jasmine.

“It’s the truth, Jazzy!”

“Our mother may not have had the wedding of her dreams, but she definitely married the man of her dreams.”