Copyright © 2020
Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward, Samantha Young, Aurora Rose Reynolds, Lani Lynn Vale, TL Swan, Natasha Madison
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Formatting: Elaine York, Allusion Publishing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIGHTS OUT LOVE - VI KEELAND & PENELOPE WARD
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Other Books by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
About Vi Keeland
About Penelope Ward
THE FORBIDDEN CHRISTMAS GIFT - SAMANTHA YOUNG
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Black Tangled Heart Excerpt
About Samantha Young
CHRISTMAS MAGIC - AURORA ROSE REYNOLDS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Epilogue
Other Books by Aurora Rose Reynolds
About Aurora Rose Reynolds
HO HO HOLY HOTNESS - LANI LYNN VALE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue
Sneak Peek
Follow Lani Lynn Vale
ALASKAN JACK - TL SWAN
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Other Books by TL Swan
CHRISTMAS LETTER - NATAHSA MADISON
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Connect with Natasha Madison
Other Books by Natasha Madison
Lights Out Love by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
Cole is utterly annoyed by his neighbor Josie’s obnoxious Christmas display. When she blows out power on the street, he marches over and lets her know what he thinks of the mess she’s made. But when the only generator in town brings the two nemeses together…the Christmas display isn’t the only thing burning bright.
The Forbidden Christmas Gift by Samantha Young
It’s Christmas at Shaw’s Department store in Edinburgh! Reid Shaw should feel nothing but gratified by his success. But he’s not satisfied because the sexy Scot wants forbidden fruit for Christmas: Evan Munro. Reid’s Evan’s boss. He’s thirteen years older than her.
Oh … and she’s his best friend’s little sister.
Christmas Magic by Aurora Rose Reynolds
A broken down truck, twelve Christmas trees, and a little holiday magic help, Milly Hendricks and Tyler Speeds find their happily ever after.
Ho Ho Holy Hotness by Lani Lynn Vale
Ho ho holy hotness—those were the first words out of Nola’s mouth the first time she saw Soren walk up the length of her driveway. Soren the delivery guy who also happened to be an emergency room doctor, have abs of steel, and delivered a mean package. She knew he was the one from the moment that he gave her his candy cane.
Alaskan Jack by TL Swan
Holly’s, having a bad day. A missed plane, an unexpected road trip and the storm of all storms. When a mountain man comes to her rescue, taking refuge in his cabin is her only choice. Into the wild just took on a whole new meaning.
Christmas Letter by Natasha Madison
Writing my boss a Christmas letter declaring my love for him was not my finest moment.
Neither was accidentally mixing it with his files before handing it to him.
Now I have to sneak back into his office at night to get it back.
What can go wrong?
Josie
“What in the hell are you doing?”
I was bent over, wrapping lights around the base of my mailbox, and the bark of a man’s voice behind me made me jump. When I stood up, my head whacked against the mailbox above me.
“Owww.” I rubbed the top of my head and squinted at the man whose voice had startled me. My neighbor was parked in front of my house, sitting in his ridiculously large truck. “Jesus—don’t sneak up on people like that. What the hell does it look like I’m doing?”
He glanced around my lawn. “It looks like someone vomited Christmas all over the place.”
I scowled. God, this new neighbor was always so grumpy. It was too bad, because he was also pretty damn hot. He reminded me of that British actor from the Divergent movies…Theo something or other. But just because he had full lips, a chiseled jawline, and eyes the color of molten chocolate, didn’t mean I’d put up with his insulting my pride-and-joy Christmas display.
My hands settled on my hips. “I’m just getting started. It takes me a full two weeks to get everything set up.”
“You mean there’s more than all this?”
“Of course there is.”
He shook his head. “Those lights on your roof are already going to be shining in my window at night.”
I almost laughed. He was worried about the two measly strings I’d put up this afternoon? This was nothing compared to what it would look like by December 1. I was pretty sure astronauts in space enjoyed the glow of my house during the holidays.
I shrugged. “Perhaps you should get those black-out shades people who work nights and sleep days use.”
Mr. Grumpy frowned. Without a word, he nailed the gas and pulled into the driveway across from mine. I thought that was going to be the end of it, but after he got out of the car, he ambled back across the street.
“Please don’t tell me all of this attracts attention and people come by at all hours of the night to see a bunch of lights and silly figurines moving on your lawn.”
I pursed my lips. “Okay. I won’t.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You won’t what?”
“I won’t tell you that people come from all over to see my display, even though it’s the truth.”
Mr. Grumpy dragged a hand through his hair. “I bought this house because the neighborhood is quiet. Most of the homes around here are only used seasonally, and I travel most of the summer when it gets busy. I figured it would be empty in the winter.”
He wasn’t wrong. This area of the Hamptons was mostly second homes. The population in the summer grew to fifteen times what it was in the winter. Year-rounders like me weren’t the norm.
“It is quiet for most of the winter,” I said. Though I didn’t bother to add that in just a few weeks, our little block would have a constant stream of cars passing by. People came from all the surrounding towns to see my decorations. He’d have to deal. After all, the money people donated when they came by went to charity.
Mr. Grumpy’s eyes roamed my face. Apparently whatever he was looking for he didn’t find, because he frowned and stomped back to his house without another word.
Sighing, I kneeled back down to finish setting up the mailbox lights and mumbled under my breath, “So rude.”
“Rude is being inconsiderat
e of the people around you!” my neighbor yelled as he walked up his driveway.
How the hell had he heard me?
I cupped my hands around my mouth and leaned toward his house as I yelled back, “Or saying someone’s hard work looks like vomit!”
He responded with the loud slam of his front door.
What a jerk.
The following week, I went shopping with my friend Sarah for new decorations to add to my display. Sarah lived in Manhattan and mostly spent summers in the Hamptons, but all I’d had to do was mention shopping and she’d come out to visit me for the day.
Our mission complete, we’d started to unload the packed trunk of my car back home in my driveway. There had to be at least twenty bags of lights and decorations, plus the backseat had two gorgeous, six-foot-tall nutcrackers I’d snagged at an incredible pre-season sale. As I collected another handful of bags, Mr. Grumpy’s big, obnoxious truck came down the street. I hadn’t seen him since our lovely last encounter at my mailbox a few days ago. He shook his head as he rolled by and parked in his driveway.
My friend turned and caught a glimpse of the man behind the wheel. “Ooooh…” she cooed. “I forgot all about him. Hot Neighbor moved in during the spring, right? Why didn’t we see him at all over the summer?”
I shrugged. “He bought the house in April, I think. But he wasn’t around much until recently.”
Sarah looked across the street and waved. “God, he’s really gorgeous. Emily Vanderquint’s husband mentioned him at your Labor Day party. He said he’s some sort of author. Something about a summer book tour? Apparently he’s very popular—that’s probably why he wasn’t around much.”
“Yeah, well, he’s also a jerk.”
“Really?” She licked her lips. “I don’t mind jerks. The bigger the chip on the shoulder, the hotter the sex. Are you…interested in him?”
I scoffed. “Definitely not. If he doesn’t already hate me, he’s going to in six days.”
“So…you wouldn’t mind if I went over and said hello, then?”
An unexpected pang of jealousy hit me, though that was ridiculous. I shrugged and closed the trunk. “Suit yourself. Have at it.”
Sarah smiled, smoothed her hair, and gave a little tug to the hem of her sweater, which caused the V-neck to showcase more cleavage.
“Leave the big nutcrackers in the backseat,” she said. “I’m going to ask him for help lifting them out.”
“Uhhh... That’s probably not a good idea. The man loathes my Christmas display.”
But Sarah was already walking across the street. She raised a hand and called out as he walked to his front door. “Yoo-hoo! Mr. Neighbor Man!”
I rolled my eyes and headed to the garage to store the packages from my trunk. A few minutes later, Sarah came back with Mr. Grumpy in tow.
“Cole here is going to help us lift out those heavy nutcrackers.”
I smirked at him. “Cole? Is that your real name or what old Saint Nick leaves in your stocking because you’re such a scrooge?”
Mr. Grumpy tried to keep a stoic face, but I caught the little twitch at the corner of his mouth. Sarah opened the back door of my car, and he peered inside.
“Gee, a nutcracker for the woman who likes to bust my balls. How appropriate.”
“Good one.” I laughed. “Your wittiness doesn’t make up for your grumpiness, though.”
Sarah interrupted, “I, uh, actually have to run—late for an appointment. Have fun!”
She disappeared, getting into her car before I could even give her a dirty look. She’d intentionally left me alone with this curmudgeon guy.
He watched her drive away, then turned to me. “So why exactly am I contributing to this holiday vomit again?”
I tilted my head. “Because deep down you have a soul, Cole?”
“Nope, that can’t be it. I gave up my soul for Lent last year and never got it back.” He winked, flashing a mischievous smile that made me tingle a bit.
Cole the Asshole was downright hotter than hell.
“Well, I appreciate you letting me borrow your muscles in any case,” I said.
He looked around at the decorations and lights I’d put up thus far. “Seriously, why do you bother with all this? It’s a lot of work. Why not just go visit lights somewhere else?”
“If everyone thought that way, there would be nothing in life to enjoy. Sometimes you have to be the change you want to see in the world.” I tried to disregard the emotions bubbling up, because deep down, I knew that wasn’t my only motivation. “Anyway…I have my reasons.”
Cole raised a brow. “You get off on the attention?”
“If attention means making other people happy, then yes, I get off on it.” I squinted. “And by the way, given that you’ve chosen not to participate in our block’s line of lights, don’t be surprised if you see kids crying when they pass your house because it’s such a disappointment. You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb, being the only dark house.”
“There’s only five houses on our little block, and I haven’t seen a light on in two of them in weeks.”
I pointed to each home as I spoke. “The Martins’ son will be here this weekend to put up their decorations. They winter in Florida, but their son still comes and sets up a simple display that works on a timer. The Ackermans hire a company to set up theirs, and old Mrs. Becker comes out and puts up her own lights even though she’s nearly eighty. It’s for charity, and it looks nice when the whole block is lit up around my display. You’re the only scrooge.”
“I’ll live with that guilt, but thanks for the warning.” He bent to reach into my backseat. “Anyway, let me get these out for you.” I watched as my neighbor slowly and carefully lifted the first heavy soldier out of the car. “Where do you want him?”
I pointed. “On the left side of my front door, please. The other can go right across on the opposite side.” I snorted. ‘They’re going to be standing guard.”
“Awesome,” he said. He deposited the soldier and returned to the car. “And to think I just installed a home security system. Had I known these things were going to be protecting the neighborhood, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
After he placed the second soldier in its rightful spot, I said, “Well, thank you for the help.”
He rolled his eyes. “Maybe Santa Claus will be nice to me this year.”
For some reason, I felt like I should offer him something to say thanks. “Would you…like to come in for a glass of wine?” What am I doing?
He scratched his chin, looking down at his shoes. “Actually, I can’t. I have a virtual meeting for work in a few minutes.”
“Or it could be that you don’t want to fraternize with the overly jolly neighbor.” I chuckled, feeling dumb for asking him to come over. “What exactly do you hate so much about Christmas lights anyway?”
“Well, for one, it invites unnecessary attention. There’s a lot to be said for peace on the home front. I want to be able to walk around in my underwear without having to worry about someone peering in my window.”
“Christmas has to stop because you don’t want to wear pants?”
“Well, I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I moved to Santa’s Village.”
That made me crack up. “Fair enough. Anyway, thank you for the help.”
“No problem.” He nodded and headed back across the street.
I watched as he walked away, enjoying the view of his mighty fine backside, and imagined him prancing around in his underwear to the tune of “Jingle Bell Rock” coming from my front lawn.
Cole
All men manscape, right?
It was time for my once-a-month trimming. So I stripped off my clothes and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, taking some time to appreciate the results of the hard work I’d been putting in at the gym.
As I turned on the razor, I thought about my crazy neighbor Josie. I might’ve given her shit, but she was pretty damn cute. Too bad she reminded me of some
one I wanted to forget, and that made me uneasy around her.
Josie. Trimming her tree across the street, while I was over here trimming the hedges around my cock.
Laughing inwardly, I’d just started to shave the first section when everything went black. The lights in the bathroom had gone out.
“What the fuck?”
I was pretty sure I’d shaved over something I hadn’t intended to. I turned off the razor and exited the bathroom, only to find that the lights in the entire rest of the house were out, too.
I looked out the window. The other houses on the street were also dark. Then it hit me: Josie. Today was the first evening of her lights display. It had nearly blinded me on my way back from having a drink with some friends. This was the first night of her holiday shenanigans, and suddenly all the power went out? There was no way those two things had nothing to do with each other.
I couldn’t see shit, but I made my way to my closet and grabbed what felt like a pair of jeans. I huffed and pulled them on before finding a shirt to throw over my head.
I carefully ventured downstairs and grabbed a flashlight from under the kitchen sink. Then I walked across the street to Josie’s. There didn’t seem to be anyone home at the other neighbors’ houses. They now had decorations out, but I hadn’t noticed their lights on earlier tonight. Clearly Josie had blown the entire street.
She was already standing in front of her house when I got there, as if she’d been expecting me.
Her hands were on her hips. “So…your wish came true,” she said. “Now not only are my lights out, but the whole street’s gone dark. Happy?”
She’s got to be kidding. She’s putting this on me? I shook my head. “Yeah. I’m thrilled. I love writing in the dark when I’m on deadline. I especially love when my laptop isn’t charged, and I have no way of even getting to my manuscript.” I shook my head. “Is this a common occurrence when you drain the neighborhood of power?”
All I Want For Christmas Is You Page 1
