Together for Christmas
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF LISA PLUMLEY
HOLIDAY AFFAIR
“Secrets and subterfuge add complexity and zing to this well-crafted, heartwarming story that features a wealth of engaging characters, including five remarkable, memorable children, and great sexual tension. A deliciously satisfying, cocoa-worthy holiday read.”
—
Library Journal
“As is the case with most of Plumley’s books,
Holiday Affair
has quirky characters that will make you smile and a fast-paced story that will make you hesitate to slip a bookmark between the pages.
Holiday Affair
is full of Christmas atmosphere and activities, which makes it a great read during the holidays.”
—Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
“Lisa Plumley’s latest holiday novel delivers. It has warm, gooey holiday moments complete with happy children, Christmas traditions such as caroling and decorating Christmas cookies and, oh yeah, hot and steamy romance. Loaded with fun pop-culture references and witty dialogue,
Holiday Affair
delivers on entertainment!”
—
The Romance Reader
(Five Hearts!)
“A delightful story with utterly charming characters. It brings to life the sounds, smells, and tastes of Christmas as it brings together more than just the two main characters for a joyous holiday season.”
—
Romantic Times Book Reviews
(4½ stars)
MY FAVORITE WITCH
“In keeping with Plumley’s tradition of lively romantic comedy (
Home for the Holidays
), her first foray into the paranormal-witch-world subgenre is quirky, sexy, creative, and hilarious.”—
Library Journal
“Humorous adventures and unexpected romance with a sprinkling of heartwarming moments will keep the reader well entertained in this delightful tale, skillfully crafted by the clever Plumley.”
—
Booklist
“Lisa Plumley delves into paranormal romance, venturing into new territory while keeping her own brand of humor and delivering a delightfully witchy tale in the process.”
—Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
“Lisa Plumley once again gifts readers with a Yuletide story sure to put you in a holiday mood. This is vintage Plumley. She’s created a cast of characters that are a bit eccentric, quirky, and likeable and spun a story that will make you smile.”
—Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
“A delightful secondary romance adds to the fun in this upbeat romp that is touching, hilarious, and lightly dusted with seasonal charm.”
—
Library Journal
LET’S MISBEHAVE
“Once again, Plumley shows her fine flair for comedy as Marisol learns that there is life beyond Rodeo Drive, and the Connelly triplets discover that they can’t scare away every nanny. Full of witty dialogue and hilarious situations, this romp with a heart is certain to please readers.”
—
Booklist
(starred review; named one of the Top Ten Romances of 2007)
“Plumley not only delivers a fun-filled premise, clever dialogue and a delightfully sexy sports-loving hero, she brings to life a memorable, hilarious and utterly unique heroine readers will adore. This is pure romantic fantasy and an absolutely entertaining novel from start to finish.”
—
Romantic Times Book Reviews
(4½ stars; Top Pick!)
“
Let’s Misbehave
is funny, romantic, heartwarming, and sexy. It’s fantastic!”
—
Joyfully Reviewed
MAD ABOUT MAX
“A cool cast of secondary characters adds much to the story as clever Plumley, who is already known for her entertaining romantic comedies, presents another winner in this humorous and engaging tale about a man who literally loses his shirt, but finds his heart.”
—
Booklist
(starred review)
“
Mad About Max
kept me laughing from beginning to end. What great characters! Very highly recommended, especially for fans of romantic comedy.”
—
Romance Junkies
JOSIE DAY IS COMING HOME
“Turning not-so-perfect, unlikely characters into romance heroes and heroines is Lisa Plumley’s forte, and she once again delivers a zany cast who will make you laugh!”
—
The State
newspaper
“In this heartwarming, often humorous story, the feisty Josie proves that you can go home again—if you’ve got the right stuff. And once again, the talented Plumley, whose books include
Perfect Switch
, proves that when it comes to writing romantic comedy, few do it better.”
—
Booklist
Books by Lisa Plumley
MAKING OVER MIKE
FALLING FOR APRIL
RECONSIDERING RILEY
PERFECT TOGETHER
PERFECT SWITCH
JOSIE DAY IS COMING HOME
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS
MAD ABOUT MAX
SANTA BABY
(anthology with Lisa Jackson,
Elaine Coffman, and Kylie Adams)
I SHAVED MY LEGS FOR THIS?!
(anthology with Theresa Alan,
Holly Chamberlin, and Marcia Evanick)
LET’S MISBEHAVE
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
MY FAVORITE WITCH
HOLIDAY AFFAIR
MELT INTO YOU
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Together for Christmas
L
ISA
P
LUMLEY
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF LISA PLUMLEY
Books by Lisa Plumley
Title Page
Dedication
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
Teaser chapter
Copyright Page
To John, Kyle, and Ian,
who make all my Christmases merry!
Chapter 1
Kismet, Michigan
T-minus 21 days until Christmas
Babysitting wasn’t usually in Casey Jackson’s repertoire.
Neither was snow.
Taken together, that made it pretty damn confounding that he was currently driving through a blizzard on his way to a babysitting job. But this babysitting job was special. It was, quite literally, a babysitting job he couldn’t refuse.
Not if he wanted to stay gainfully employed, at least.
Which he did. It was a matter of necessity. And pride.
Squinting through the windshield of his rented four-wheel-drive Subaru, trying not to become hypnotized by the flurries of snowflakes hitting the glass, Casey reminded himself he could do this. He could babysit.
And
he could drive through a snowstorm.
Hell, he could do anything! He might not typically hang out with rug rats (a very deliberate choice) or grapple with badass subzero weather conditions (or
any
weather conditions, really)—as a top troubleshooter with one of L.A.’s premier talent agencies, he had little need to do either—but he
did
get things done. He got problems sorted, difficult divas placated, and on-set imbroglios smoothed over.
Making things right was Casey’s specialty. Handling things that other people couldn’t manage was his forte. He was the man who got in, got everyone back on track, and then got out . . . leaving everyone in his wake satisfied, harmonized, and improbably happy to have been “managed” by the best in the business. It was just what he did. He didn’t know why he did it so well. He just . . . did.
Until Casey had joined his agency, his job hadn’t even existed. One crucial averted crisis later, it had. Thanks to his first major success, now his agency paid him to go wherever necessary to rehab star athletes’ dinged public images, settle down wild rockers and rappers, and mollify demanding megastars—megastars like pop sensation Heather Miller, whose over-the-top, over-budget, wildly ambitious
Live! from the Heartland
televised Christmas special had brought him to Kismet in the first place.
His agency didn’t usually pay Casey to babysit. But they
did
trust him enough to give him a very long leash. That meant that he was free to deal with crises like this one on his own terms. If Casey wanted to spend the next few weeks making like a muscle-bound, frostbitten, ridiculously overpaid man-nanny while he worked his deal-making magic with Heather Miller and her TV special, he could. So that’s what he was going to do.
Even if the thought of doing it while stuck in the tiny, touristy, northwestern Michigan burg of Kismet made him want to bolt for Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, some fifty miles distant, and forget he’d ever set foot in town.
Seriously. The place was like a freaking Christmas card come to life, Casey realized as the blizzard momentarily eased up. He ran his windshield wipers to push away the snow and then peered outside again, taking in the picturesque, snow-piled, lively small-town streets surrounding him. Old-fashioned holiday decorations were plastered over every inch of available space. Holiday music wafted from municipal speakers, penetrating his car’s windows as he waited at a stoplight. Shoppers bustled to and fro on the surrounding sidewalks, carrying overstuffed bags and smiling at one another. A few of them even smiled at
him
.
He frowned, momentarily bewildered by their neighborliness. Then he smiled back. He lifted his gloved hand in a brief wave.
The passersby waved back, then kept going. Still flummoxed, Casey watched as they made their way into a nearby sweetshop, stamping their booted feet and adjusting their woolly scarves.
L.A. was friendly enough—hell, just about everyone everywhere was friendly to Casey—but this bucolic, over-the-top holiday jollity was different. It was totally inexplicable.
Somehow, he realized, his newest assignment had taken him to
The Twilight Zone 2.0: The Hallmark Channel Edition.
Most of the year, as Casey had learned before leaving L.A., Kismet was a resort town full of lakeside B&Bs, busy bait-and-tackle shops, dusty antique stores, and run-down mom-and-pop restaurants. Thanks to in-state day-trippers and out-of-state vacationers who were willing to pay for its kitschy ambiance, the town had done all right for itself, even in a shaky economy.