A classic heartwarming tale for the holidays from New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery
The cheer in Foolâs Gold, California, is bringing out the humbug in dancer Evie Stryker. An injury has forced her to return home to her estranged family. So she wonât add to the awkward scenario by falling for the charms of her brotherâs best friend, no matter how tempting he is. When sheâs recruited to stage the winter festival, she vows to do as promised, then move on, anywhere but here.
Jaded lawyer Dante Jefferson is getting used to the town he now calls home, but the pounding of little dancersâ feet above his office is more than he can take. When he confronts their gorgeous teacher, heâs unprepared for their searing attraction. Evie is his best friendâs sisterâoff-limits unless heâs willing to risk his heart. Dante has always believed that love is dangerous, but that was before he had to reckon with the magic of a certain small town, where miracles do seem to happenâ¦.
Praise for New York Times bestselling author
âThis sweet Christmas treat is a pleasant introduction to Malleryâs popular series.â
âPublishers Weekly on A Foolâs Gold Christmas
âMallery does her usual excellent job of giving readers a funny, warm-hearted story that is edged with cutting emotion!â
âRT Book Reviews on All Summer Long
âThe wildly popular and prolific Mallery can always be counted on to tell an engaging story of modern romance.â
âBooklist on Summer Nights
âMallery infuses her story with eccentricity, gentle humor, and smalltown shenanigans, and readers...will enjoy the connection between Heidi and Rafe.â
âPublishers Weekly on Summer Days
âRomance novels donât get much better than Malleryâs expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.â
âBooklist
âSusan Mallery is one of my favorites.â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
Dear Reader,
âTis the season in Foolâs Gold, a time of sparkly lights, warm holiday greetings and, of course, romance. Although reading may seem like a solitary activity, we romance readers are as much a community as the small town of Foolâs Gold. Our first reaction when reading a great love story is to tell a friend about it. We want to share that happy feeling.
Iâve been blessed with the most enthusiastic readers a writer could ever hope for. Last year, I invited my fans to try out for the Foolâs Gold Varsity Cheerleading Squad, to earn prizes simply for telling people about Foolâs Gold and the books they love. The women selected for the team took my breath away. They drove to their local bookstores with Foolâs Gold car magnets, wearing Foolâs Gold T-shirts, hats and pins, and handed out bookmarks, placed the books in readersâ hands and said, âYou will love this!â Yes, they won lots of prizes along the wayâincluding the dedication in this bookâbut I could never thank them enough for their generosity.
This book is for those of you who love romance, love to read and then tell your friends about the latest, greatest book you just finished. It is also for my wonderful cheerleaders.
If being a Foolâs Gold Varsity Cheerleader sounds like fun to you, be sure to join the Members Only area at www.susanmallery.com so I can email you the next time we hold cheerleader tryouts.
In the meantime, from my heart to yours, Merry Christmas! May all your dreams come true.
Susan
To the 2011 Head Cheerleader, Char, who has such an amazing heart that she wanted to share this dedication with the entire Foolâs Gold Varsity Cheerleading squad in the spirit of Christmas. This one is for you.
ONE
THE SOUND OF eight tiny reindeer had nothing on a half-dozen eight-year-olds clog dancing, Dante Jefferson thought as he held the phone more closely to his ear.
âYouâll have to repeat that,â he yelled in to the receiver. âIâm having trouble hearing you.â
The steady thudding above his head paused briefly, then started up again.
âWhatâs going on there?â Franklin asked, his voice barely audible over the banging that nearly kept time with the damned piano music. âConstruction?â
âI wish,â Dante muttered. âLook, Iâll call you back in a couple of hours.â The stupid dance class would be over by then. At least he hoped so.
âSure. Iâll be here.â Franklin hung up.
Dante glanced at the bottom right of his computer screen. The ever-present clock told him it was seven-fifteen. In the evening. Which meant it was eleven-fifteen in the morning in Shanghai. Heâd stayed late specifically to speak to Franklin about an international business deal that had developed a few glitches. The clog dancers had made the conversation impossible.
He saved the spreadsheet and went to work on his email. He and his business partner had plenty of other projects that needed his attention.