Christmas With The Marine

Subject: Major Ben Hawthorne

Mission: To make one sexy civvy’s Christmas wish come true

Christmas is almost here, and guys are the last thing on personal shopper Ainsley Garrett’s list. But her icy resolution melts when she sees an incredibly hot Marine shopping for toys. A man in uniform with a hot bod and a heart of gold? Maybe a gal can believe in Santa after all...

Major Ben Hawthorne has his career to think about, but when it comes to Ainsley, he’s willing to break his own rules, at least for one night—provided they can get this insanely wicked attraction out of their systems. Only, once isn’t enough. Now Ainsley’s checking her list twice...before she falls for a Marine who’s naughty and nice.

“You’re going to need all your energy tonight...”

It was the way Ainsley said it that made Ben do a double take.

She smiled but didn’t look at him. “Those abs really were impressive. I might like a little alone time with them.”

“So are you saying you want to touch them?” He’d always been direct, and wasn’t into games.

“Yep, all over.”

He laughed. “Well, at least you’re honest. What happened to not wanting to date?”

“I didn’t say anything about a date. I just want to run my hands across those abs more than I want to breathe.”

He nearly tripped.

“It’s bad for me to want you this much,” she said. “But those abs mixed with that big heart of yours is kind of my kryptonite. Just sayin’.”

“Ainsley, my abs are waiting for you...”

CANDACE “CANDY” HAVENS is a bestselling and award-winning author. She is a two-time RITA® Award, Write Touch Readers’ Award and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also a winner of the Barbara Wilson Award. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist, she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood. You can hear Candy weekly on New Country 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Christmas with the Marine

Candace Havens

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

The holidays can be a wonderful time for so many, and at the same time painful for those who are alone, or who have loved ones deployed overseas. I wanted this book to reflect happier times. So for my Marine, Ben, his first Christmas spent at home in a long while had to be one filled with love and surprises.

He and Ainsley represent the good in the universe to me. They are from different worlds, but they find their way to one another.

I’d love to hear from you on Twitter, @candacehavens, or on Facebook. I hope that you have a glorious holiday season filled with love and joy.

Candace

This book is dedicated to the Blaze readers. Thank you for all of your support.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Dear Reader

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

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

1

MARINE MAJOR BEN HAWTHORNE had served three tours in the Middle East. He’d survived being shot and a near-fatal helicopter crash. But this... This was beyond his capabilities. This is what happened when people gambled.

They ended up in giant toy stores in the Barbie aisle, trying to find the right one for a six-year-old orphan.

He’d rather go on another tour. Not that he didn’t want the child to have her toy, it was just difficult. There were so many. Doctor ones and scientists, and an underwater one. And they came in all sizes. But all the child had listed was “Barbie.” And Ben had lost a bet with his friends, so he was on his own buying more than one hundred gifts for the Toys for Tots program.

And he’d do it. As a kid, he’d lived through more than one Christmas without much under the tree. He understood how it felt to wake up with next to nothing there, not that it had bothered him much back then. He’d tried to make sure his little sister always had at least a couple of toys, even if they weren’t exactly what she wanted. Seeing that smile of hers was something he’d sorely missed while being out of the country for the past ten years.

So he felt a lot of responsibility to get this right. That was one of the reasons he hadn’t thrown much of a fit when he’d lost the bet.

Still, a Barbie was not his forte. GI Joe maybe, even Superman, but these dolls were beyond him.

“Hey, are you okay?” He glanced down to see a pair of light blue eyes staring back at him. They reminded him of the color of the sky on a clear day and were framed by a heart-shaped face and beautiful long strawberry-blond hair.

“What?”

Well, that was cool. Beautiful woman talking. Pay attention.

“You keep looking at the list and then the shelf. Do you need help? Are you buying something for your daughter?”

Her voice was soft and she didn’t have a drawl like most of the people who lived in Corpus Christi. Even a lot of the guys on the base where he taught had a Texas accent. He’d grown used to it.

“Do you work here?” Of course she didn’t work here. She was dressed in an expensive leather jacket and jeans and carrying one of those purses that probably cost more than his truck. The last woman he’d dated had treated that same kind of purse like it was her child. She’d definitely liked the purse more than she had him.