A Very Country Christmas--5 sparkling holiday reads by Rachael Johns

A Very Country Christmas--5 sparkling holiday reads by Rachael Johns

Author:Rachael Johns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mira


Matt watched as Hannah crossed the short pathway and escaped into Elliot’s Emporium and then he thumped the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding beeping the horn. A string of swear words he reserved for rare occasions thundered off his tongue and as he pushed his foot onto the accelerator and eased the car back onto the road, he had one destination in mind. If he didn’t deserve a drink after the encounter he’d just had, he didn’t know what warranted one.

Being the day before Christmas Eve, the local pub was buzzing with activity and cheesy Christmas carols blasted from the ancient stereo. A group of women who looked as if they’d come to have a drink following an end-of-year work lunch glanced up, giggled and waved perfectly manicured fingers at him as he crossed the floor to order a beer. Under normal circumstances he’d flirt back with such a group, happy for the attention, but today he couldn’t summon any enthusiasm. His body was taut and unsatisfied after his near miss with Hannah and he thought the only way he might get her out of his mind was by downing a number of tequila shots in quick succession. Unfortunately he wasn’t much of a tequila fan.

He sighed as he leant against the bar and waited for the publican to approach him. Mid-forties, faded blonde hair, wearing reindeer ears and looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here, she offered him a tired smile as she poured him a beer. She looked about as enthusiastic about Christmas as he was.

‘There ya are, luvvie.’ She pushed his drink towards him, took his money and scooted off to serve someone else. Matt was glad of the peace as he knocked back the first few satisfying gulps and began to ponder what the hell had just happened to him. He felt like something had been cut short and it wasn’t just the sex.

Less than half an hour ago, he’d had Hannah Elliot naked and in his arms and she’d felt better than any woman ever had before. There’d been seconds the last few days when alien thoughts had invaded his mind. He’d imagined coming back to Wildwood Point for longer than a couple weeks. He’d imagined maybe even buying a house, putting down some roots. His mum would drink a whole bottle of bubbly in celebration if she’d known he was even circling around thoughts of settling down but he couldn’t lie to himself—all these thoughts came down to Hannah. Since he’d first seen her behind the desk at the Emporium, she’d burrowed under his skin and knocked him sideways into a world where commitment didn’t seem a dirty word.

He shook his head at the irony—the one woman who had ever brought him close to thinking long-term came with baggage he could never take on. Pregnant. Who’d have thought? Strangely, the thought of her carrying another man’s baby hadn’t killed his desire at all, but maybe it was a good thing she’d turned him down.



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