Meet Me under the Mistletoe. Julianna Morris

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      “Can we get her a Christmas present?”

      What did you get for a woman who must have everything?

      “We’ll get a poinsettia,” Alex promised his son. Plants were usually safe, especially since it should look like a seasonal gesture.

      Jeremy looked relieved, and turned his head to gaze in the direction Shannon had driven. For the first time in a year his son wasn’t clutching Mr. Tibbles to his chest; instead, he was casually swinging the stuffed animal by one arm.

      Alex sighed. He had to be careful. Seeing too much of the woman next door could lead Jeremy into getting ideas about a new mommy.

      Yet Alex couldn’t help thinking about Shannon. She was as different from his wife as a woman could be. He’d considered dating since Kim’s death, but none of the women he’d met were particularly interesting.

      And none of them were like Shannon O’Rourke.

      Dear Reader,

      What is the best gift you ever received? Chances are it came from a loved one and reflects to some degree the love you share. Or maybe the gift was something like a cruise or a trip to an exotic locale that raised the hope of finding romance and lasting love. Well, it’s no different for this month’s heroes and heroines, who will all receive special gifts that extend beyond the holiday season to provide a lifetime of happiness.

      Karen Rose Smith starts off this month’s offerings with Twelfth Night Proposal (#1794)—the final installment in the SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE continuity. Set during the holidays, the hero’s love enables the plain-Jane heroine to become the glowing beauty she was always meant to be. In The Dating Game (#1795) by Shirley Jump, a package delivered to the wrong address lands the heroine on a reality dating show. Julianna Morris writes a memorable romance with Meet Me under the Mistletoe (#1796), in which the heroine ends up giving a widower the son he “lost” when his mother died. Finally, in Donna Clayton’s stirring romance Bound by Honor (#1797), the heroine receives a “life present” when she saves the Native American hero’s life.

      When you’re drawing up your New Year’s resolutions, be sure to put reading Silhouette Romance right at the top. After all, it’s the love these heroines discover that reminds us all of what truly matters most in life.

      With all best wishes for the holidays and a happy and healthy 2006.

      Ann Leslie Tuttle

      Associate Senior Editor

      Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

      Julianna Morris

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      Books by Julianna Morris

      Silhouette Romance

      Baby Talk #1097

      Family of Three #1178

      Daddy Woke Up Married #1252

      Dr. Dad #1278

      The Marriage Stampede #1375

      *Callie, Get Your Groom #1436

      *Hannah Gets a Husband #1448

      *Jodie’s Mail-Order Man #1460

      Meeting Megan Again #1502

      Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock #1531

      Last Chance for Baby! #1565

      †A Date with a Billionaire #1590

      †The Right Twin for Him #1676

      †The Bachelor Boss #1703

      †Just Between Friends #1731

      †Meet Me under the Mistletoe #1796

      JULIANNA MORRIS

      has an offbeat sense of humor, which frequently gets her into trouble. She is often accused of being curious about everything—her interests ranging from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, walking on the beach and reading science fiction. Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes, and recently she was adopted by a feline companion named Merlin. Like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—she says he can transform the house into a disaster area in nothing flat.

      Julianna happily reports meeting her Mr. Right. Together they are working on a new dream of building a shoreline home in the Great Lakes area.

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Shannon O’Rourke pulled into a spot in the post office parking lot and then grabbed her Christmas cards. Normally she would have mailed them at work, but she was reluctantly taking a few vacation days from her job as a public relations director.

      In a nearby parking space she saw her new neighbor getting out of his Jeep Cherokee.

      She’d only seen Alex McKenzie once, but according to the gossipy head of the condominium association, he was a thirty-four-year-old widowed college professor with a doctorate in engineering.

      He was also one of the most ruggedly handsome men she’d ever seen.

      “Jeremy,