by Di Jones
Twenty
Andy
Andy sighed with exhaustion, feeling defeated and strung out. He’d crept out of the house early, without showering or making coffee, having stuffed his clothes into his duffle bag haphazardly. He phoned an Uber to take him to the lot in Gage Street, where his camper van had been stored for the past two years.
“Wow, this is pretty cool,” said the kid driving the Uber. “I’ve always wanted one of these. Mind if I take a look?”
“Not at all.” The camper van was Andy’s pride and joy. It had belonged to a friend, and he’d picked it up for a great price, but when he got inside it and turned on the motor, he swore softly. The battery needed charging, and why wouldn’t it after the thing had been idle for so long? In the normal course of events he’d have had time to do maintenance, but with the Elizabeth situation he hadn’t had time to do everything he needed to.
“I can give you a jump start,” the kid said, and fifteen minutes later the Uber driver left, and Andy was ready to go.
Now he needed to gas up, and drive it to the Old Sudsy Car Wash, to get it cleaned and vacuumed and finally he’d swing by the grocery store to stock up on food and water. The last stop was the sporting goods store, where he’d ordered some supplies before he arrived to make things more comfortable inside the van.
He was excited about the trip. Sure he was, he tried to tell himself, but his excitement was dulled by the loss of Elizabeth as a riding partner. They would have had fun together and who knows where things would have ended up between them. He’d never felt the joy he felt with her with anyone else before, and he was scared he’d never feel that way again. Should he swing by the house or the bookstore to say goodbye, and to give her one last chance to change her mind? After all, this was going to be quite the experience, one not to be missed. And he was still certain—despite her reservations—that she needed a change.
With the van running, he was ready to be on his way. He put the camper into reverse, backed it out of its space then drove slowly out of the lot. This should be a great moment, the beginning of his long-anticipated travels, but he couldn’t muster up an ounce of enthusiasm. This didn’t feel like an adventure, it resembled more of an escape, where he could get away and lick his wounds in the solitude of the open road where no one knew him.
One by one, he began to check off his errands. He passed by Elizabeth’s house on the way to the grocery store but he could tell she wasn’t there because the garage was open and her car was gone. It was just another normal day for her, and despite the fact Mona was back Elizabeth was probably in the bookstore. He’d swing by with coffee or her favorite hot chocolate one last time. That would be a nice way to round things off between them. At the thought of surprising her, a smile lit his face, but it was quickly replaced with a frown as he contemplated this would be the last time he’d do anything for her.
He went through his list again in his head as he made his way to the Town Square, then circled the block and stopped outside The Daily Grind.
“Two hot chocolates, please. With your special homemade chocolate marshmallows.”
The bookstore was only down the street, but when he got there, it was closed. He peered in the window…no sign of Elizabeth, or Mona. Dejected, he walked back to the van and unlocked it, carefully putting the hot chocolates into the cup holder. As he turned the key in the ignition, he took a sip of one, but the warm, delicious drink that they’d enjoyed together was cloying to his palate. Maybe nothing would ever taste the same again.
He slid the car into second gear, and indicated, before a horn blared behind him. He planted his foot on the brake, and the drink spilled into his lap, burning his skin through his jeans. He turned the vehicle off and looked down to examine the mess. “Dammit, look what you’ve done, you stupid idiot,” he said aloud.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice said, and he looked back up to see Elizabeth standing at the driver window. Before he could get out and ask what she was doing, she opened his door. “Oh Andy, thank goodness I found you!”
“You sure did. But why were you looking for me?”
She took a deep breath, and he could see the effort she was making. “I’ve changed my mind…I want to go with you. I thought about what you said. I need this adventure…and you need me.” She grinned.
“I do, do I?” He leaned closer, taking in her rose-petal scent.
“You definitely do. Who’s going to navigate while you drive?” She pursed her lips for the kiss he was dying to give her.
“So if you’ve decided you’re coming with me when do we leave?” He tapped his watch. “Because I was going right now.”
“I can pack in half an hour with your help. I don’t know how any of this is going to work—”
“Neither do I, but isn’t that half the fun?”
“What’s the other half?”
“Being together. And this.” He leaned right out, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward him. She lifted her face to meet his, and his lips brushed against hers, then when she responded he deepened the kiss. It was electric, leaving him wanting more, but for the moment just knowing that she wanted him as much as he wanted her was enough. They’d have plenty of time on their journey for sharing themselves with each other, body, mind and soul.
It was Elizabeth who pulled away first. “That kiss chased all my anxieties away.”
“I love the way you're so shallow,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her again.
This time she pulled him in deeply, her kiss telling him that there definitely were no more doubts. He felt joyful, exuberant even, and wanted nothing more than to stand in the town square, yelling to anyone who would listen that next time he came back, it would be with Elizabeth as his wife. While there was a big, wide world out there that they’d explore, he already knew that after that he needed a stable home…to raise the family that he wanted to have with her.
She pulled away again, and they stared into each other's eyes, and he could see in them the future he’d always wanted.
“Let’s go, my Christmas hero,” she said. “It’s time to get this show on the road.”
Want More from Elizabeth and Andy?
Did you enjoy this book so much you'd like to know what happens next? I wanted to know too, so I wrote a bonus epilogue, set one year later.
Click here: Send me my bonus epilogue, please!
Then turn the page for more Christmas—and other—romances.
Christmas Harmony (Home For Christmas Book 1)
Harmony Young shuffles five-year olds from room to room in the small town of Lewiston in upstate New York where she's always lived. Keeping tiny feet moving in a single line is easier than organizing the town's biggest event, the annual Christmas concert. This year Harmony is determined to avoid the concert at all costs, instead preferring to have a quiet and stress-free Christmas.
Emery Dante travels the world as a chart-topping rock star. Born and raised in Lewiston he fled to find success in Los Angeles but that celebrity hasn't brought him the happiness he yearns for. He fears he may have left his heart behind in Lewiston with his ex-girlfriend, Harmony, whose heart he broke when he left years ago.
So, when the Mayor—Harmony's father—invites Emery home for a special appearance at the Christmas concert, Harmony is pushed into taking part, and the otherwise simple production turns chaotic.
It's going to take more than Santa's elves to keep the paparazzi at bay, single women at home, and keep Harmony from giving and losing her heart to Emery Dante for a second time.
Buy Christmas Harmony on Amazon.
Christmas Kisses Down Under (Christmas Lights Book 1)
As director of International Boutique Hotel Group, Spencer's job is to acquire holdings to build his real estate empire. He's identifed his latest target: the Ocean Surf Motel in Byron Bay, Australia, which he wants to knock down and rebuild as a luxury condominium.
The owners won't sell, but that doesn't deter him—he jumps on a plane to Australia a few w
eeks before Christmas. He's just broken up with the woman he was planning to marry, and he figures that some time in the hot sun is just what he needs. He's always wanted to learn to surf and time at the beach will harden and tan his body. It'll be an added bonus if he can close the motel deal he couldn't close from London.
But the Morrison family isn't selling the Ocean Surf. Not only is Spencer thwarted by that, but he's physically frustrated over a pretty, long-haired surfing instructor named Summer. A girl with a cool demeanour, mesmerising eyes, and a body to die for. He's determined to win her over, and have a hot holiday fling with this Australian surfy chick.
Buy this Christmas romance from Amazon.
Hot Kisses in Cold Christmas (Christmas Lights Book 2)
On his way to England, Reef Morrison finds a letter with a strange address: Tamsin Willoughby, Cold Christmas. It turns out that Cold Christmas is a real place with a haunted church, and curiosity piqued, he decides to visit and deliver the letter by hand.
Tamsin is a shapely blonde school teacher who’s chillier than the weather. She’s been jilted at the altar, and the letter Reef carries stirs up her pain and makes her wary of him. He tries to convince her to trust him, because he's determined to get to know the beautiful English rose.
But what he doesn't expect is the connection Tamsin makes between her runaway fiancé and Reef. Can Reef convince her he doesn't know him, and that she should spend the holidays staying warm with him?
He thought he wanted to broaden his horizons. But now what he wants is right in front of him.
Buy this Christmas romance from Amazon.
Author’s Note and Free Book
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Thank you for reading Christmas Hero. I hope you enjoyed this Christmas romance, which I had tons of fun writing.
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The LA Lights series combines action, adventure and romance, served up with fabulous friends, hot heroes, and delightful dogs. Each LA Lights book is a no-cliffhanger standalone with its own story line. You can read the books in any order and don't need to have read the others in the series, although they are more enjoyable if you have, because the stories interconnect and the characters recur.
Get started at www.dijoneswrites.com.
Also by Di Jones
LA Lights Series
The Audition
Taking the Lead
Acting Up
Transplanting Holly Oakwood
Barking Bad
Stealing the Show
LA Lights Series Box Set Volume 1: Books 1-3
LA Lights Series Box Set Volume 2: Books 4-6
London Lights Series of Standalone Romances
Meeting Miss Mollie
Liverpool Kiss
Cast Aside in Como
London Lights Series Box Set Books 1-3
Christmas Lights Romance Series
Christmas Kisses Down Under
Hot Kisses in Cold Christmas
Christmas Lights Series Box Set Duet Books 1-2
Home For Christmas Romance Series
Christmas Harmony
Christmas Hero
Standalone Romances
Romancing the Rock Star
Hard to Love
Follow Your Heart
Short Stories
Grief is a Hungry Business: And Other Short Stories
About Me
Born in Liverpool, I started my working life as a librarian and have worked in a variety of jobs since, but none was as much fun as the one that allowed me to write and get paid for it. That was a few years ago, and each year it’s become more and more apparent to me that what I want to do is write full time, a dream that first occurred to me at seventeen.
Like my characters, I love my family and friends, beautiful shoes, anything sparkly, the “occasional” drink, parties, and a good belly laugh. I’m addicted to shopping, chocolate, bubble baths and anything else that smells nice, and the sort of TV programs you’d never publicly admit to watching. Did I mention that, like my characters, I also love dogs?
I’ve lived in England, Canada, and the United States but now call New Zealand home. I live in a lovingly renovated farmhouse overlooking Auckland’s beautiful Waitemata Harbour with my trusted Great Danes, Dolce, Gabbana, and Armani, and their two cats, Charlie and Jamie. The dogs keep me fit and exercised (or maybe run me ragged), scare the burglars away, sit loyally by my side throughout my late-night writing sessions, and hang on to my every word when I read my final drafts aloud. They truly are my biggest fans, and I theirs! The cats, on the other hand, hang out by themselves and ignore the dogs and me.
I love my life but not so much that there’s not room to live a load of other lives, through the hearts and minds of my characters, all of whom I adore, and some of whom I’m fortunate enough to call friends.
I love to hear from my readers, and your e-mails and messages motivate me to keep writing, so keep them coming! I answer every one personally. Here’s how to touch base:
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