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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014
Kiss Me On This Cold Winter Night by Charlotte Phillips
Copyright © Charlotte Phillips 2013
Charlotte Phillips asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Santa Wore Leathers by Vonnie Davis
Copyright © Vonnie Davis 2013
Vonnie Davis asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
All Wrapped Up In You by Sun Chara
Copyright © Sun Chara 2013
Sun Chara asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Confessions of a Chalet Girl by Lorraine Wilson
Copyright © Lorraine Wilson Ltd 2013
Lorraine Wilson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Secrets of a Chalet Girl by Lorraine Wilson
Copyright © Lorraine Wilson Ltd 2013
Lorraine Wilson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014.
Cover design by Jane Harwood.
Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780008125950
Version 2014-11-20
‘A suite if you have it, but I’ll take anything.’
Tom Henley wrestled his credit card from his wallet. He might have had his plans thwarted by the bonkers British weather, which for some insane reason had decided to dump a shedload of snow over the entire country in late December, putting it bang on track for the first white Christmas in years, but that didn’t mean he had to take it lying down.
‘Odds on for a white Christmas,’ the receptionist said, giving him a wink.
He stared at her beaming smile across the marble counter.
‘And that would be a good thing because…?’
When you’d spent Christmas in Barbados every year for pretty much your entire life, snow was not something to be excited about. On the contrary, it was a complication. Christmas to him meant sunshine and white sandy beaches and swimming in the calm Caribbean sea. And family of course. Let’s not forget that. This year, family responsibility would feature more than ever before. He pressed his thumb and finger to the bridge of his nose. The day had been on a steady nosedive since he’d attempted check in at Gatwick five hours ago only to be told that the entire place was at a standstill because of ‘the wrong sort of snow.’ Faced with the prospect of sleeping rough in the airport concourse, there was no way he was about to see it as a great adventure. A quick change of plan and now he was checking into the Lavington Hotel, his place to stay of choice whenever he came to London. Crystal chandeliers, velvet sofas, marble floors and freshly brewed coffee. Just what he needed after hours of airport tannoys, irritable crowds and fast food outlets. The relaxed luxury and familiarity of the place soothed him.
Or would do, if everyone would stop with the excitement over the UK’s inability to cope with a bit of frozen water.
The receptionist’s smile faltered.