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    Mistletoe Wish
    Mistletoe Wish
    Mistletoe Wish
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    Mistletoe Wish

    By Cate Tayler

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    About this ebook

    Under the mistletoe with your mister or miss, make a wish then seal it with a kiss...

    Amaya Montero has a beautiful son, a lovely home, and is married to the love of her life. What she doesn't have is her husband's heart. After a brief summer romance resulted in their son, Cristian did the honorable thing and married her. But Amaya is tired of being his obligation. She wants him to love her the way she deserves -- wholly and passionately. Is that a wish too much for the mistletoe to handle?

    Cristian isn't a sentimental man but he takes care of the people he loves. Though unexpected pregnancy changed his future, he loves the life he has now. Which is why he's surprised when Amaya announces she's leaving him. He hadn't realized how much he'd been taking his wife for granted. Now he must prove to her that he can love her the way she needs and that she has always held his heart.

    For twelve days, Cristian woos Amaya with gifts to show his love truly is real and deep. But just as the ice around her heart begins to thaw, a figure from their past returns and threatens the delicate bond being rebuilt between husband and wife. Will Amaya's mistletoe wish melt away? Or will the magic of the season help her and Cristian find their way back to one another?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCate Tayler
    Release dateDec 12, 2018
    ISBN9781386104070
    Mistletoe Wish
    Author

    Cate Tayler

    Cate Tayler is a beach baby, born and raised on the Connecticut coastline. She met the love of her life while serving in the US Air Force, and after extensive overseas travel, they are now raising their four children in the wild suburbs of Maryland.   When she's not living her own happily ever after, she's creating them in her small-town romances. Because the world always needs more happy endings!   In addition to writing, her passions include cooking, everything 80s, sappy Hallmark movies, Arrow (specifically, Stephen Amell's abs), and the Miami Dolphins.

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      Book preview

      Mistletoe Wish - Cate Tayler

      CHAPTER ONE

      MY SON BOUNCED ON THE balls of his feet with a level of anticipation only a five-year-old can achieve. Kane watched with eyes of tinsel and fire while the three men in our life — my husband, my father, and my brother-in-law — attempted to string colored lights around the oversized evergreen in my mother-in-law’s parlor. His excitement was palpable and I tried to absorb every last bit of it to bolster my spirit. Because after tonight, I’d be breaking my own heart when I asked his father for a divorce.

      Kane studied the trio intently, his head cocked to the left. Exactly the way his father looked when trying to puzzle something out. Kane had inherited my coloring — hair like midnight, hazel brown eyes, the same golden freckles dusted all over his tawny brown skin. But his mannerisms were all Cristian.

      I walked to the kitchen for something strong. My mother-in-law, Iris, had a tendency to make the coquito too strong, but tonight I appreciated the fortification. It wasn’t easy pretending nothing was wrong. Pretending my heart wasn’t breaking.

      Pretending I wasn’t going to leave my husband, the only man I’d ever loved.

      For weeks, I’d been thinking about it. Ever since Kane started school, the distance between Cristian and I had seemed to grow. I’d wanted to talk to him about it, but had been too afraid to ask him the question weighing on my heart. No, it wasn’t the question I was afraid of—it was the answer.

      I might’ve continued to go along with the status quo for a while longer, but today I’d received the flashing neon sign I’d been looking for, though not the one I’d hope to receive. Lucy Prince, my former best friend and the love of Cristian’s life, had come home.

      I’d run into her mother at the grocery store. Mrs. Prince was excited her only daughter was returning home after spending the past six years in England. Lucy’s job had given her a permanent transfer back to Catoctin Ridge. Considering the population of our little town was only in the triple digits, it was inevitable for our paths to cross. Once they did, what would happen to Cristian and me?

      Six years ago, Lucy had broken both our hearts by moving across the ocean. I’d lost my best friend, he’d lost the woman he’d intended to marry. One night of comfort in each other’s arms resulted in Cristian doing the honorable thing, but this was never what he’d wanted. I was never what he wanted. Lucy’s return was a second chance for them. As much as I didn’t want to lose Cristian, the alternative was to continue a loveless marriage, one in which I’d never escape the specter of my husband’s first love. I deserved better than that and so did he. But Cristian’s fierce sense of duty would never allow him to leave me, not while Kane was still so young. It was up to me to do the right thing for both of us.

      I took a long sip and let the rum warm my blood. If I can only get through tonight...

      Since Kane’s birth, our families have spent the holidays together. Cristian’s only family was his brother and his mother. His father had died when he was sixteen. I was five, Kane’s age, when my mother left me, my father, and my sister for a bigger city and a man with a bigger bank account, one who didn’t want to be saddled with stepchildren. Given how small our families were, it only made sense to bring everyone together as one big happy family for holidays and special occasions. But what would happen next year, when we weren’t one big happy family anymore? What would happen when Lucy became a part of the family?

      I took another sip, not wanting to contemplate it.

      You’re quiet tonight.

      Cristian’s voice, like dark roast coffee, sent the blood rushing through my veins, ratcheted up my pulse and heated me from the inside out. His hands were jammed in his pockets, his light cotton sweater rolled up to the elbow revealed strong, sinewy forearms. A day’s worth of dark stubble covered his square jaw and surrounded thick, rosy lips puckered in annoyance. But it was his eyes, like ripe blueberries ready for plucking from the vine, that made my heart wheeze.

      I shrugged. Tired, I guess.

      He jerked his head toward the other room. The lights are up. Kane’s waiting on you before he flips the switch.

      I left my cup on the table and stood in the doorway next to Cristian. The room lights dimmed. My father counted to three and Kane toggled the switch on the remote. The tree lit up in a splendid array of colors that blinked a random pattern.

      Are they supposed to do that? I asked Cristian out the side of my mouth.

      He chuckled quietly. I don’t think so. But look, he pointed to Kane, whose face was as bright as the tree, I don’t think anyone will gripe about it as long as he loves it.

      They do spoil him, I laughed.

      Cristian turned toward me, his head tilted to the left. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh in weeks.

      The smile stilled on my lips. I looked up at him and there went my heart and its stupid stutter.

      Amaya! Cristian! Iris called out in a singsong voice. "Under the mistletoe with your mister or miss, make a wish then seal it with a kiss!"

      We both looked up at the piece of greenery hanging over our heads, then back at one another.

      I wish you loved me. The thought came without effort to my mind.

      It’s a silly superstition, Cristian said, aiming an eye-roll at his mother.

      C’mon, bro, Cristian’s brother, Rey, snorted. Since when do you need convincing to kiss your wife.

      My heart stopped, my cheeks flamed. Cristian gave me a quick, chaste kiss on the lips, then laughed. Everybody happy now?

      I’m not. My heart was shattering, but I played along with the joke. For Kane. For the family. For Cristian. For everyone but me. That would change tomorrow. I would do the right thing for me and for Cristian. I would give him back to Lucy.

      CHAPTER TWO

      DESPITE A THIRD CUP of coquito, I didn’t sleep well at all. I was in a funk while we drove to St. Monica’s for Mass, my nerves jangling. My knee bounced while I sat — in the car on the way there, in the pew, in the car on the way home. Cristian laid a hand on it and I flinched.

      What’s going on with you?

      I couldn’t put it off any longer. We’ll talk when we get home.

      Kane bounded off to change while Cristian and I made his lunch. I set it in the playroom and turned on Moana. It should occupy him long enough to give his dad and me privacy.

      So you want to tell me what’s going on? Cristian pulled out a chair for me at the kitchen table and sat in the one next to it. I walked around and took the seat opposite him. His eyebrows lowered.

      I licked my lips and twisted the marquis diamond on my finger. "You’re not happy here. I don’t know if you ever have been. I’ve tried really hard to make it work. I

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