Her Merry Mix Up

By Melissa Jolley

It’s not so much that Amber Curtis gave up on Christmas, but that Christmas gave up on Amber.
After a string of chaotic Christmases, and one awkward break-up Amber is looking for some alone time. Unfortunately, the silly season seems out to get her, and instead of the haven of tranquillity she is hoping for she gets Will Stone. Her unexpected roommate makes it his mission to prove she’s not the jinx she’s decided she is, and with the help of his family, she just might realise that a merry mix-up can be a good thing.

Warning: This story contains mild bad language, serious flirting, wine and chocolate...so a typical girls' night out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melissa Jolley
• Release date: Dec 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311707253

Melissa Jolley

Melissa is a proud Kiwi girl currently residing on the South Coast of England with her young family. She embraces the lighter side of love, sex and the paranormal, thus aims for that in her writing.Her passion is writing men who are rough and ready for anything, and women who can usually look after themselves, but won't say no to the right man tagging along.She sets her stories in places she has visited and loved, with the type of people she would have a few drinks and a bbq with—if only they were flesh and blood.Melissa can be found in a variety of places and would love to hear from anyone who takes the time to read her work.If you've enjoyed Melissa's work please let others know via social media, reviews, and ratings. Your support has a huge impact. Thank you.

Book preview

Her Merry Mix-Up

By Melissa Jolley

Copyright 2015 Melissa Jolley

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Acknowledgements

A big THANK YOU to Naomi once again for being magnificent and taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to help me out. I’m so lucky to know you. X

To Tess and Ed, thanks for letting me borrow your names. I honestly could not think of a better inspiration for my characters. X

Dedication

To Dawn, Robyn and Brigit I truly got lucky in the sister in law department.

Thank you ladies. X

To the rest of my gigantic family, near and far, whether we share blood or I’ve adopted you on my journey through life, I’m grateful for each and every one of you.

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Epilogue

Her Mr Perfect Christmas

About the Author

One

Bugger! I can't see a bloody thing! Amber Curtis leant forward her scalp tingling as her hair brushed the windscreen. The snow was thicker than ever and had even started settling on the bonnet. Stopping wasn't an option as she had visions of her frozen corpse being found with an empty bottle of wine in one hand and a gigantic chocolate bar wrapper in the other. Funny how she knew she'd finish both the wine and chocolate before she died. Well, there are worse ways to go. She supposed aloud.

Wait, what was that? Through the haze of snow, she’d glimpsed something, but what—she hoped a sign, but a flurry made her lose sight of the spot briefly. She slowed the car to a crawl desperately hoping she wasn't going to get stuck. Mayfield Cottage Self-Catering Accommodation Next Left. Oh, thank God for that! Amber wasn’t usually in the habit of talking to herself quite so much, but after nearly four hours of purely her own company and the excitement of being so close to her sanctuary, it was difficult not to voice her joy.

It had been one of a very few cottages left available over Christmas on the website, and it was the only one to tick all the boxes—as far away as a full petrol tank would take her, pretty as a biscuit tin and, most importantly, cheap.

The manoeuvre into the single lane was easier than she expected, well not sliding into the ditch was a good start. Fortunately, only crazy, desperate people like her were out in this weather so there was no oncoming traffic to worry about. By the time she came to a little bridge, which was positively picturesque with its tree branch canopy, she was looking forward to the previously imagined wine and chocolate, but this time snuggled up in her PJ's and slipper socks. The fact it was only three thirty in the afternoon didn’t bother her a bit. Holiday mode was well and truly kicking in the closer she got to the cottage.

It was a comforting realisation that the only men in sight or sound since she'd turned her mobile off, would be in the DVDs she'd brought to keep her company. Christmas alone is not only doable. It’s essential for the safety and sanity of everyone I know. The thought arose with such conviction she almost believed it.

As she came to a stop, she noticed with relief that a light glowed within. Her landlady for the week must be there waiting for her. The sky was darkening rapidly now and the snow was definitely heavier. She didn't like the idea of sending the poor woman back out in this, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed a very nice 4x4 parked beside the cottage, it looked like it would keep her safe.

Motivated by the thought of the first tart sip of Sauvignon, she grabbed her holdall and provisions from the back seat and made her way to the front door hoping for a quick handover of keys.

Just as she reached the door, it opened. To her surprise, a very handsome, well-dressed man wearing a confused grin had replaced the portly, affable farmer's wife she'd been imagining.

Surely, this must be the landlady's husband; he wasn't at all what she expected a typical Yorkshire farmer to be. For starters, he was dressed in smart black trousers and a fitted, blue striped shirt that looked expensive. It was something similar to what Karl would have worn, but Farmer Man filled it out much better. His dark hair was slightly longer than fashionable, certainly enough to entwine your fingers in, and the sheen of his leather shoes glinted under the porch light. The one aspect making him a believable farmer was his build—six foot plus, with shoulders and biceps that would have no problem hefting a calf or bale of hay.

Hello. The confusion lingered, and he didn't seem overly inclined to move out of the way. He might look pretty, but he certainly didn't seem very bright.

Hi. She smiled back as pleasantly as she could muster, before stepping forward. Freezing her butt off outside wasn't her idea of fun. He must have realised that standing still would end with him getting kneecapped by her groceries and he deftly darted out of her way.

Dumping the holdall by the door, she spotted the kitchen to the left, the home of the welcoming glow, and continued in with her shopping.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I hope you haven't been waiting for me long. I couldn't get any reception so I switched my phone off. Anyway, I guess you'd like to get home to your family, just leave me the