The one who got away is back...and as bad as ever!
Callie Umberto has had enough of dating disasters after the holiday fling of a lifetime ended abruptly and she swore off men for good.
Now her ex-flame is back in her life. Pro surfer Archer Flett might be as gorgeous as always, but his commitment phobia is just as active. She must be out of her mind to agree to be his date for his brotherâs wedding! But thereâs something about Archer that has always tempted Callie to throw caution to the wind....
âI need to ask you a favor.â
âWhat is it?â
Now or never. âMy youngest brother, Travis, is getting married Christmas Eve and Iâd like you to be my date.â
She stared at him in open-mouthed shock, her soda can paused halfway to her lips.
âYouâre asking me to be your date?â
She made it sound as though heâd asked her to swim naked in a sea full of ravenous sharks.
âIs it that much of a hardship to be my date for an evening?â
âConsidering I donât know you anymore, yeah.â
âEasily rectified.â
Before he could second-guess the impulse, he leaned across and kissed her.
It was nothing like his reckless, prove-a-point kiss in the car. This time it just felt right.
Dear Reader,
Ever experienced the thrill of a holiday romance? The carefree, live-in-the-moment attitude? The buzz of falling for someone quickly? The rush of squeezing in so many lush experiences into the limited time you have?
Thereâs something infinitely appealing about falling head over heels while on holiday: living for today with no thought for tomorrow. Itâs truly exciting!
I wanted to recreate that tummy-tingling vibe, so Archer and Callie were born. Their week in Capri was magical, before circumstances and choices tore them apart. So what happens when two people who were meant for each other reunite eight years later?
I hope youâll have a ball discovering how a holiday fling may just lead to a happily ever after...
Happy reading,
Nicola
Nicola Marsh has always had a passion for writing and reading. As a youngster she devoured books when she should have been sleeping, and later kept a diary, which could be an epic in itself! These days, when sheâs not enjoying life with her husband and son in her home city of Melbourne, sheâs at her computer doing her dream job: creating the romances she loves.
Visit Nicolaâs website, www.nicolamarsh.com, for the latest news of her books.
For Natalie Anderson and Soraya Lane, the best writing buds a girl could wish for.
Your support and friendship mean so much.
Huge thanks!
CHAPTER ONE
âIF you mention weddings or tinsel or Secret Santa one more time Iâm going to ram this wax down your throat.â
Archer Flett brandished his number-one-selling surfboard wax at his younger brother, Travis, who grinned and snatched the wax out of his hand.
âResist all you like, bro, you know youâre fighting a losing battle.â Trav smirked and rubbed a spot heâd missed on his prized board.
When it came to his family it always felt as if Archer was fighting a losing battle.
Despite making inroads with his brothers Tom and Trav, nothing had changed with his parents over the yearsâhis dad in particular. That was why coming home for his yearly obligatory Christmas visit set him on edge. And why he rarely stuck around more than a few days.
This year would be no exception, despite Travis turning into a romantic schmuck.
âWhat were you thinking?â Archer stuck his board vertically in the sand and leaned on it. âA Christmas wedding? Could you get any cheesier?â
His brotherâs eyes glazed over and Archer braced for some more claptrap involving his fiancée. âShelly wanted to be a Christmas bride and we saw no point in waiting.â
Archer placed his thumb in the middle of Travâs forehead and pushed. âYouâre under this already. You know that, right?â
âWeâre in love.â
As if that excused his brotherâs sappy behaviour.
The Fletts were third-generation Torquay inhabitants, so he could just imagine the shindig his parents would throw for the wedding. The entire town would turn up.
Christmas and a wedding at home. A combination guaranteed to make him run as soon as the cake had been cut.
âYouâre too young to get married.â Archer glared at the sibling whoâd tagged after him for years, pestering him to surf.
Heâd spent the bulk of the last eight years away from home and in that time Travis had morphed from gangly kid to lean and mean. Heavy on the lean, light on the mean. Trav didnât have a nasty bone in his body, and the fact he was marrying at twenty-two didnât surprise Archer.
Trav was a marshmallow, and while Shelly seemed like a nice girl he couldnât imagine anything worse than being shackled to one person at such a young age.
Hell, at twenty-two heâd been travelling the world, surfing the hotspots, dating extensively and trying to put his folksâ deception out of his mind.