Callie's Christmas Wish

A coin

Months ago at the Trevi Fountain, Callie Langston wished for a matinee idol to sweep her off her feet. Instead, she got an action hero! A battle-scarred but sexy security expert used to danger and ready for love…

A proposal

Days ago, Joe Russo went down on one knee and put a ring on her finger. But before she can answer him, safe, predictable Callie is heading back to Italy, permanently, on one crazy Christmas adventure.

A wedding?

Joe is everything she’s wished for and more. But Callie’s waited her whole life to live. Among the timeless beauty and ancient traditions of Christmas in Rome, she’s got to decide: Will it be the plan…or the man?

He knew exactly where to find her.

Watching the Trevi Fountain come to life, water spilling from it into the basin.

“Callie.”

Her hips swiveled. Her head turned. Those soul-stripping eyes locked with his. “Hello, Joe. Tracking me down again?”

“We need to talk.”

She gave a short laugh. “I thought that was my line.”

He sat beside her on the edge of the fountain.

“Do you remember the last time we were here?” she asked after a moment, her gaze on the glistening water.

“I remember.”

“I made a wish then. Should I tell you what it was?”

Joe wasn’t sure he wanted to know. When he made a noncommittal sound, she angled her chin and pinned him with those incredible eyes.

“I wished for a dreamy romantic hero right out of the movies,” she confessed.

“Sorry. Looks like you’re zero for three.” He didn’t see himself as dreamy or romantic or heroic.

“Maybe I should make another wish.” Eyes closed, she looked as though she was sorting through dozens of possibilities before settling on one. Then she sent the coin sailing toward the fountain.

“What did you wish for this time?”

She smiled. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

* * *

Three Coins in the Fountain: When you wish upon your heart…

Callie’s Christmas Wish

Merline Lovelace

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A career Air Force officer, MERLINE LOVELACE served at bases all over the world. When she hung up her uniform for the last time, she decided to try her hand at storytelling. Since then, more than twelve million copies of her books have been published in over thirty countries. Check her website at www.merlinelovelace.com or friend Merline on Facebook for news and information about her latest releases.

Many, many thanks to Machaelie Halsey, who let me pick her brain about counselling techniques during lunch at Chili’s, then read several chapters while we were cooking Easter dinner.

Thanks, too, to Christy Gronlund, who filled me in on the joys and stresses of Children’s Advocacy. You both made this book so rich in detail and rewarding for me to write.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

It started with the fountain.

That damned Trevi Fountain.

Callie and her two best friends had to take a long-dreamed-of trip to Italy this past September. Then she and Dawn and Kate had to defy the tradition that said just tossing a coin in the fountain would bring them back to Rome someday. Oh, no. The centuries-old tradition wasn’t good enough. They had to make separate, secret wishes.

Kate’s came true while the three friends were still in Italy, when she and her husband reconciled mere weeks away from a divorce. Dawn didn’t realize her wish had been granted until she was back in the States and acting as surrogate nanny for a lively six-year-old. A few short weeks later, the laughing, flirtatious redhead had made the surprising and completely unexpected leap from carefree bachelorette to deliriously happy mother to Tommy and wife to hunky Brian Ellis.

Callie had made a wish in Rome, as well. One she hadn’t shared with anyone. Not even her BFFs. It was too silly, too frivolous. And so not in keeping with her usual level-headed self.

That ridiculous wish was coming back to haunt her now. Every part of her thrummed with nervous anticipation as she helped Dawn and Tommy loop fresh pine boughs into Christmas wreaths for the doors of the Ellises’ home. Luckily, the determined efforts of Tommy’s three-month-old wheaten terrier pup to get into the action kept both the boy and Dawn so amused that neither noticed Callie jump when the doorbell rang.

The sound of the bell sent the pup into an immediate frenzy. His butt end whipped around. His claws skittered on the pine plank flooring. High-pitched yelps split the air as he careened out of the kitchen and down a hallway fragrant with the scent of the cloves and cinnamon and oranges in the Christmas potpourri.

“That’ll be Joe.”

Pushing to her feet, Dawn dusted the pine needles from the moss-colored turtleneck that clung to her generous curves and made her eyes appear an even deeper shade of emerald.

“His message said his plane would touch down at three and he’d be here by four.” She slanted Callie a sly look. “Tall, dark, handsome and punctual. What more could a girl ask for?”