Hot Broke college student Winter Snow wants Christmas to be over. Thanks to her annoying name, this time of year always leaves her feeling Scrooged. The only cheer she wants is cold hard cash from her mall cleaning job—until a surprise offer from a hunky firefighter sparks one sizzling midnight temptation . . . Hotter William Holiday needs a replacement elf for his fire station’s fund-raiser. Convincing Winter she's perfect for the part—and giving her some one-on-one training—is a task he’s happy to take on. Because her irrepressible smarts and luscious curves are making this seductive Saint Nick want to deliver all night long . . . Burn Winter isn't betting on more than an X-rated Xmas fling. But Will plans to show her they have more in common than their quirky last names—enough to keep their wildest holiday wishes coming true . . .
Release date:
November 21, 2017
Publisher:
Lyrical Press
Print pages:
56
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Winter rolled over in her cozy bed and squinted at the alarm clock.
“Go away, Jasmine!” she yelled, her voice still groggy with sleep. “And stop calling me Winnie!”
“Winnie!” This time the yelling was followed by a solid thump to the cheap door holding her roommate at bay.
“What did you do? Run into the fucking door?” Sliding from her fuzzy blankets, Winter stumbled to the door and swung it open.
“You don’t have to be a bitch. I wanted to bring you dinner in bed and give you your Christmas present before I left for my mom’s,” Jasmine grumbled as she pushed past her roommate to drop a bag of takeout Chinese onto the bed.
“I’m sorry, Jas. I guess I just napped harder than I thought I would.” Winter slapped her cheeks lightly to help herself wake up.
“Winnie, you need to take it easy.” Digging into the bag, Jasmine pulled out an eggroll. “These part-time jobs are gonna kill you if you keep it up.”
“I told you to stop calling me that.” Winter snagged the eggroll out of Jasmine’s hand and took a bite. “If you keep calling me that, I’m gonna start calling you Minnie. Then we’ll be Minnie and Winnie,” Winter threatened with her mouth full.
The women had been instant friends from the moment they’d met. Winter was older than Jasmine by five years but seemed to be behind her in life. When Winter had answered an ad for a roommate one year ago, it had been one of the best things she’d ever done. Jasmine was only twenty-two but extremely dependable and hard-working. Going to nursing school during the day, she had the help of her well-off family to take care of her living expenses as long as she did well in her classes.
Winter’s situation was completely the opposite. She’d been working full-time since she graduated high school. College had been put off since she didn’t really know which direction she wanted to go in. After working in an office for years and getting passed up for promotions, she knew the time had come to get a degree or find herself treading water for the rest of her life. Unlike Jasmine, Winter didn’t have a wealthy family as a fallback for help. Living off school loans, a small scholarship and part-time jobs, she made ends meet. Having sold her car, she rode the bus. Instead of living alone, she found an apartment with a roommate. It actually was working out amazingly well except that she was exhausted all the time. Going back to school at twenty-seven was going to possibly kill her if she didn’t catch a break soon.
Winter was startled out of her thoughts when Jasmine tossed a fortune cookie at her chest.
“Do not call me Minnie! I’ll stop. I promise.” Jasmine glanced around Winter’s room as she spoke. “This place is a mess. Are those all dirty clothes?” Jasmine seemed horrified at the size of the fabric mountain in the corner.
“Don’t judge me! I haven’t had time to do laundry in two weeks. Finals kicked my ass.” Chewing for a moment, Winter scanned the large calendar on the wall by her door. “I have Christmas off so I’ll hit the laundromat then.”
“That’s fucking depressing.”
“Gee thanks.” Winter shrugged. “I decided to quit my job and go back to school. Welcome to my new reality.”
Jasmine passed over some more food from the bag, giving her a sad look. “I still wish you could’ve taken a few days off. You need a break and my mom would’ve loved to have you come home with me.”
“I know, and I really appreciate the offer.” Winter settled in with her noodles and enjoyed the treat of restaurant food. “The mall gig is offering time-and-a-half this week which means I can put even more into savings than I planned. Plus it gives me the excuse to bail out on picking which parent to visit. If I chose my mom then my dad would pout and vice versa. It’s easier this way.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to leave my car for you? My brother can come by and pick me up on his way home,” Jasmine offered.
“Jas, he lives two hours away!” Winter admonished. “Don’t you even think of having him drive all the way here in the snow just so I can borrow your car. I’ll ride the bus to work and then see if Enrique can give me a ride home at the end of my shift if that makes you feel any better.”
“If you’re sure…” Jasmine appeared hopeful Winter was going to change her mind.
“I’m sure.” Wanting to change the subject before her roommate got weepy, Winter pointed at the package on the bed. “You said something about a present?”
Jasmine clapped her hands together in excitement. “I almost forgot.”
Winter took the gaily wrapped box from her, not liking the wicked glint in her roommate’s eye.
“What is this?” She shook the box, hearing a thump come from inside it.
“Winter Snow, it would ruin the surprise if I told you.” Jasmine arched her brow, evil-villain style. “But I can give you a hint. Let’s just say I got. . .
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