Susan Mallery - It Started One Christmas

Title Page It Started One Christmas Susan Mallery www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-09599-0 IT STARTED ONE CHRISTMAS © 2018 Susan Mallery, Inc. Published in Great Britain 2018 by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental. By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, 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 publisher. ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk Version: 2020-03-02

Praise Praise for New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS ~An Amazon Best Book of the Month~ “Mallery blends the friend-and-family relationships and self-actualization focus common to women’s fiction [with the] happy ending of a contemporary romance, making this an excellent summer read for fans of both genres.” —Booklist “Mallery creates a cute and charming world in Tulpen Crossing, and her three main characters are immensely likable and sympathetic.” —Kirkus Reviews “Verdict: [a] charming tale of love unrequited (maybe), love ignited, and wild sex with naked cooking. The men here are pretty awesome, while the gals have a lot to learn about facing the truth. For romance fans and admirers of fresh women’s fiction.” —Library Journal DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE ~An Amazon Best Book of the Month~ “Susan Mallery never disappoints and with Daughters of the Bride she is at her storytelling best.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author “[Mallery] will appeal to fans of women’s fiction, especially such friendship books as Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club.” —Booklist “Heartfelt, funny, and utterly charming all the way through!” —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

“I THINK OUR lab guy just fainted,” April Herskovic murmured as she put two beakers back in the drawer.

Keira Carlesso spun around to check out the guy sitting at the desk at the front of the lab. Okay, not sitting—he was kind of slumped, but still. As she watched, he shifted to a more upright position. Thank goodness—they only had a couple more items on their list and then they were done with their makeup lab. The last thing she wanted was to fail the assignment because some lab tech passed out.

“He’s moving. Let’s get this done and then we are out of here.”

As she spoke, she realized she wasn’t being the least bit compassionate. What if the guy was really sick? What if he was all alone in the world with no one to take care of him? What if—

She groaned. No. No! She would not be distracted. It was humiliating enough that she and April had to make up the lab in the first place to get this required course out of the way, but they did and they were and it was nearly Christmas and honestly, she just wanted to get done and get home.

“Tongs, three sizes,” Keira said.

April held up three sizes of tongs.

“Triple beam balance.”

They both looked around the lab. Keira spotted it first.

“It’s right there.” She grabbed her pen and paper and raced over to write down the serial number to prove that yes, she’d seen it, touched it, cuddled it and knew what it was. On her way back, she passed by the front desk. The guy there, all pale and sweaty, moaned.

Uh-oh , she thought, returning to their station.

“Done,” she said, waving the paper. “We just need it signed off.”

April glanced doubtfully at the lab guy. “I don’t want him touching my pen. Do you have hand sanitizer?”

Keira pulled out the piña colada–scented gel she always carried because, hey, it was college and the dorms were nothing if not germ incubators. Plus, college-age guys were fairly disgusting when it came to hygiene. She shuddered. Thank goodness she’d been smart enough to request a women-only floor. She did not want to share a bathroom with a bunch of guys.

She and April put away the rest of the supplies, then walked to get their lab report signed as proof that they had completed the assignment. As it really was the very last day of makeups, there had only been a handful of students who had shown up, and the rest of them had already left. She and April were the last students standing, so to speak.

“Finished?” the guy asked, his voice low and husky. Keira noticed his white lab coat had a name badge that read Dalton.

April handed over the paper with both their names on it. He glanced at the sheet.

“You missed the first lab of the quarter?” Dalton asked. “How did you do that?”

April and Keira exchanged a look of frustration. Everyone always asked the same question. It was so embarrassing.

“We didn’t give ourselves enough time to get to the lab,” Keira said with a sigh. “And then we got lost. We were twelve minutes late, and our lab assistant had already locked the door.”

“Huygens,” Dalton said. “He’s a jerk who enjoys torturing freshmen.”

“And you don’t?” Keira asked.

“I have better things to do with my time.” He pulled a pen out of his white jacket pocket and signed their paperwork. “You are done for the quarter, ladies. At least with your science lab. Have a good holiday.”

“You, too,” April said as she headed to the door.

Keira hesitated. She couldn’t help noticing the sweat on Dalton’s forehead and the pallor to his skin. He didn’t look well.

“Are you feeling all right?” she asked.

“Not really.”

April paused, one foot in the hallway. “Keira, come on . I have a plane to catch.”

April lived in eastern Washington and was flying home for Christmas break. Keira had a very short drive to her house, and she would be taking a cab.

“You go ahead,” Keira told her. “I want to make sure Dalton gets to his place okay.” She had to do something to make up for her selfish thoughts from before.

April nodded. “Have a good break. I’ll text you.”