BooksBarbecue
Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

He throws me a burning stare, which promises he’ll hold me to my word.

My knees go weak under the intensity of his gaze, and I smile wider and brighter than ever before… My transformation from Grinch to Santa Baby is complete.

Seventeen

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

The first, and least-welcome, guest arrives at noon: Aunt Betsy. As I hug her, I do my best not to wince at her usual smell of dust and mothballs.

“Nicola.” She’s the only one of my relatives who in thirty years has stubbornly refused to let go of my full name. “You’re almost unrecognizable this year; what happened to you?” Then she delivers the first jab. “Have you finally decided it’s time to find a man?” And the second. “Has Julia’s engagement lit a fire under you?”

I force my eyes not to roll. “Actually, this is my boyfriend.” I give Diego a slight push forward.

Earlier, after a brief moment of shock at my merry and bright appearance, Mom decided that this year I looked Christmassy enough to be in charge, together with Diego, of answering the door and welcoming the guests in. Julia is still helping her in the kitchen—more supervising nothing contaminates her precious vegan food. And Paul and Dad are tending the fire.

“Diego, this is my aunt Betsy,” I use the diminutive she hates on purpose. “Aunt Betsy, this is Diego.”

“Elisabeth Appleton,” she corrects, throwing me a displeased look as she shakes Diego’s hand. “Nice to meet you, young man.”

“Diego O’Donnell. The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”

They shake hands and, even at the ripe age of ninety, I can tell the woman in Aunt Betsy is not insensitive to Diego’s sex appeal.

Unfortunately, she recovers quickly enough from her initial stupor. “So, Diego, what is it that you do?”

“Acting is my calling.”

“Oh.” An evil little smile plays on her lips. “And does that pay the bills?”

“Not much. I work mostly as a server to make ends meet.”

“I see.” Turning to me, she adds, “Your parents must be thrilled to have both their girls settled down.” The malicious glint in her eyes sends a completely different message. In two seconds sharp, she’s nailed the one thing my parents don’t approve of about Diego: his job.

I plaster a fake smile on my lips. “They are.”

“Well,” Evil Betsy continues. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to talk later, Mr. O’Donnell. Now, I need to go sit down. My old limbs are not what they used to be.”

Oh, she’s such a drama queen. She should’ve been an actress, too. Aunt Betsy is the most independent ninety-year-old I know. She drove here in her car, and she’s never needed to use a cane to help her walk in her life. I’m convinced she’s going to bury us all.