Sweet Holiday Surprise (Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series) Read online

  Sweet Holiday Surprise

  Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series

  Jean Oram

  This book is dedicated to Jeanster Lucy Jones for all those shoes outside her door during the holiday season.

  Contents

  Sweet Holiday Surprise

  Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series

  Books by Jean Oram

  Acknowledgments

  1. Sweet Holiday Surprise

  What comes next?

  Did you get my free book? Subscribers get what nobody else does--instantly-- starting upon sign up!

  More Veils and Vows

  Blueberry Springs

  The Summer Sisters

  About the Author

  The Last Page

  Your BONUS exclusive!

  Sweet Holiday Surprise

  *****Author note: Be sure to check the last page of your copy of Sweet Holiday Surprise now to claim your LIMITED TIME exclusive extended version of this sweet romance—includes a bonus heartwarming ending and more! Hurry! This exclusive offer ENDS December 31, 2017!****

  About Sweet Holiday Surprise…

  Rule Number One: Never date the boss.

  Given Alexa’s crash and burn history with office romances, it should be an easy rule to follow. Then again, her rules have never gone up against Cash Campbell.

  Her charming CEO boss has a way of looking at her that makes her feel as though she’s the center of his universe, and their constant flirting increases the heat whenever their eyes meet. His attention makes for an addictive, yet tricky situation.

  But Cash likes to keep things light and simple. He doesn’t make promises he can’t keep, and maintains enough space to move fast in the boardroom—as well as in his love life. However, there’s something captivating about his assistant’s direct honesty that has monopolized his attention for almost a year. The problem is, he knows she’ll never date the boss…and he really needs this job. Even if he could date her, she likes things orderly and his life and problems are anything but.

  When the two attend a wedding in the dreamy ocean town of Indigo Bay, they begin to wonder why they ever bothered following the rules. Because sometimes breaking the rules is the best way to discover the love of your life.

  This book is part of the Indigo Bay Sweet Romance series—the holiday edition—which includes four short stories by four great authors as well as several full-length novels.

  Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series

  What is the Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series? It’s a pile of fun for readers! So grab your sweet tea and pull up your chair on the porch and get ready to be swept away!

  The Indigo Bay world has been written so readers can dive in anywhere in the series without missing a beat.

  Read one or read them all! They’re sweet and delicious treats! And you just might find characters like Lucille and Caroline mixing between the books.

  The Full Holiday Story Line Up:

  Sweet Holiday Surprise by Jean Oram

  Sweet Holiday Memories by Kay Correll

  Sweet Holiday Wishes by Melissa McClone

  Sweet Holiday Traditions by Danielle Stewart

  Also be sure to check out the other standalone Indigo Bay Sweet Romances:

  Sweet Dreams (Book 1) by Stacy Claflin

  Sweet Matchmaker (Book 2) by Jean Oram

  Sweet Sunrise (Book 3) by Kay Correll

  Sweet Illusions (Book 4) by Jeanette Lewis

  Sweet Regrets (Book 5) by Jennifer Peel

  Sweet Rendezvous (Book 6) by Danielle Stewart

  Sweet Holiday Surprise

  Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series

  By Jean Oram

  © 2017 Jean Oram

  First Edition

  Contact Jean Oram at [email protected]

  www.jeanoram.com

  Cover Designed by Najla Qamber Designs

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. Although in electronic form, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and it cannot be reproduced, modified, copied and/or distributed by any means for commercial or non-commercial purposes whether the work is attributed or not, unless written permission has been granted by the author, with the exception of brief quotations for use in a review of this work. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite online vendor where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. Keep reading!

  All characters and events appearing in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, alive or dead, as well as any resemblance to events is coincidental and, truly, a little bit cool.

  ISBN: 978-1-928198-47-5

  Books by Jean Oram

  New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

  * * * Get the latest news from Jean Oram, Blueberry Springs AND a free book—The Promise: www.jeanoram.com/FREEBOOK * * *

  The Promise (Devon and Olivia: a prequel)

  The Surprise Wedding (Devon and Olivia)

  A Pinch of Commitment (Ethan and Lily)

  The Wedding Plan (Luke and Emma)

  Accidentally Married (Burke and Jill)

  The Marriage Pledge (Moe and Amy)

  Mail Order Soulmate (Zach and Catherine)

  Companion to the Veils and Vows and Blueberry Springs world:

  Sweet Matchmaker (Logan and Ginger)

  Sweet Holiday Surprise (Cash & Alexa)

  Whiskey and Gumdrops

  Rum and Raindrops

  Eggnog and Candy Canes

  Sweet Treats

  Vodka and Chocolate Drops

  Tequila and Candy Drops

  Companion to the series: Champagne and Lemon Drops (Also available in audio)

  Blueberry Springs Series Starter Box Set (Books 1-3)

  Love and Rumors

  Love and Dreams

  Love and Trust

  Love and Danger

  Love and Mistletoe

  The Summer Sisters Series Starter Box Set (Books 1-3)

  For the Kids

  1,001 Boredom Busting Play Ideas

  Full, up-to-date book list: www.jeanoram.com/books/

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank my Jeanster Beta Sisters. This team of wonderful readers were given exclusive early access to this story and provided invaluable feedback from flow and continuity errors—and helped with fixing the confusing ornaments as well as chose a fancy chicken dish served at the wedding (in the story—I didn’t marry anyone off in real life. Yet). Thank you goes to Jessica DeHaas, Lucy Wright, Barb Ragan, Sarah Albertson, Sharon Sanders, and Millie Gagliano as well as two others who preferred to go unnamed.

  As well, thank you to Margaret C. and Jen L. for the editing help. You ladies always rock my socks off.

  And finally, to all my readers. I hope your holidays are filled with love and happiness. (And happily ever afters!)

  Happy reading,

  Jean Oram

  Sweet Holiday Surprise

  After three years in South Carolina, Alexa McTavish was finally getting homesick for Montana. December was supposed to be so cold you feared losing a nose, and here she was, sporting her best Wranglers and a blouse, with absolutely no worry about imminent death thanks to hypothermia. Although the locals would beg to differ on wardrobe and weather.

  Alexa slid out of her 1976 pickup, her cowboy boots crunching on the crushed seashell driveway as the truck’s engine finally choked and rattled to a halt. She inhaled the ocean air as she took in her accommodations for the night. A cute yellow cottage strung with Christmas lights was nestled in the dunes, looking like the vacation she’d always meant to ta
ke—ideally, with someone tempting, such as her boss, Cash Campbell. Someone she could hole up with for a time and enjoy every tantalizing second. Not that she dated bosses any longer. Nope. She’d learned that lesson and it wasn’t one worth repeating.

  Instead she was here as a personal favor to Cash, and rooming with his eighty-seven-year-old uncle Desmond, helping him maneuver his way through tonight’s recommitment ceremony and reception that Alexa had helped arrange for his great-nephew Luke Cohen and his wife, Emma Carrington. Desmond was a sweet old scallywag, but he wasn’t fantasy material, and everything about this little cottage said romantic getaway.

  Yep, Alexa thought as she carried her canvas duffel, leather purse and tonight’s dress up onto the cottage porch, it’s officially time to get a life. Not that she regretted leaving Blueberry Creek Ranch back home in Montana to come help her sister, Cassandra, get through a tough pregnancy and then a drawn-out divorce. But working long hours for Cohen’s Blissful Body Care, then spending weekends babysitting her two-year-old nephew, Dusty, Alexa wasn’t enjoying the life she’d dreamed of having, and more often than ever she found herself thinking of home and how great it would be for all of them to return to the ranch to start over.

  It didn’t help that for almost a year she’d been acting as personal assistant to two CEOs at Cohen’s. Luke, who was working from afar as he helped his wife launch her new product line out in Blueberry Springs, and his cousin, the interim CEO, Cash.

  Cash. Her heart gave an extra thump just thinking about that package of irresistible male. He was the kind of man women made rules about. And then went ahead and broke.

  She’d fallen for Cash like a mare in heat, ignoring the very obvious fact that the attraction she felt was merely something he’d orchestrated, expert playboy that he was. And yet even though she knew better, it always felt so real when he looked at her as though she was the center of his world, and as though she was important, sexy and wanted.

  But she wasn’t. Or wouldn’t be for longer than that shared moment when their eyes locked, and then one of them politely looked away.

  She set down her duffel and new purse—a very thoughtful early Christmas gift from Cash. Then, slinging her soft gray party dress over her arm, she rapped her knuckles on the cottage’s sunny yellow door, rattling the plastic candy canes hanging from its driftwood decoration. Sighing when nobody answered, she tucked her long hair behind her ears and knocked louder so Desmond, her “date,” could hear.

  Why couldn’t she find what her friends had? Partners, families, or at least a fun fling to keep her mind occupied for a while.

  Her thoughts drifted to Cash once again. Luke was likely to return to Cohen’s to take over his old CEO position in the new year, which meant Cash wouldn’t be her boss for much longer. In fact, he was already overseas for the holidays, being wooed by a beverage company that wanted him to breathe new life into their bottom line. If he wasn’t her boss she could…

  No. She shook her head, discarding thoughts of him as a possible fling. All bosses, current or past, were off-limits.

  But she was going to miss him. There was something so entirely unexpected about Cash. When he looked at her with those warm, chocolaty eyes, she was unable to think of anything other than ways to make his wide mouth curve up into a smile.

  She just had to make it through a few more weeks, then she’d have just one boss again. Simple. No more temptation on the other side of the desk. No more Monday mornings where the fizz of anticipation at seeing him after the weekend brought her alive. No more smiles of gratitude over the mundane, no more insides feeling like she’d just indulged in a helping of her grandmother’s hot bread pudding on a cold winter’s day.

  She went to pound her knuckles on the wooden door again just as it swung inward and a familiar, deep voice set her skin on fire as it said, “Desmond, it’s about time you got yourself to Indigo Bay, because I sure as—”

  The voice halted as Alexa raised her gaze from the strong, bare chest of the man at the door and met the eyes of her boss, Cash Campbell.

  “Alexa?” Cash froze in the doorway. His assistant, who was supposed to be home sick, according to his uncle Des, looked rather healthy in her snug Western-style shirt, which fitted her in a way her blouses at work never seemed to. Her mouth, which had dropped open, snapped shut, and she was now giving him her patented no-nonsense sidelong gaze he had months ago dubbed as the Montana One-Two.

  He could tell she felt as duped by his presence as he did by hers.

  Duped by an eighty-seven-year-old uncle who evidently thought he was a smarmy little good-deed-doing Cupid.

  Cash didn’t know whether to call up the man to chew him out or to thank him.

  Then again, Uncle Des was quite a decent matchmaker, which meant…what?

  Alexa didn’t need a man, and if she did, she certainly didn’t need one with money problems. Their undeniable attraction—which had slipped under his skin on more than one occasion—had almost caused him to break the no-getting-involved-with-our-valuable-assistant promise he’d made to his cousin Luke when he’d accepted the position of interim CEO of Cohen’s.

  “What are you doing here?” Alexa demanded, snapping him from his thoughts.

  “Merry Christmas to you, too,” he replied mildly.

  “It’s not Christmas. Not yet.”

  She seemed uncharacteristically flustered, her eyes flicking to his bare chest before she’d catch herself and train her gaze elsewhere, her cheeks an endearing pink.

  “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve,” he said slowly, struggling with the urge to strut and flex. He almost wished he hadn’t taken the time to don jeans after his shower.

  He noted the leather bucket bag slung over her shoulder. He’d caught her drooling over the purse a few times on her work computer and had relinquished his man card and ordered it as his Christmas gift to her.

  “You like the bag?”

  She instinctively pulled it closer. “Yes, I love it, thank you. Is Desmond okay?”

  “He said you were sick.”

  “I’m supposed to be staying here. With him. Helping him. Taking care of everything.” Cash could see her anger and frustration building, like a train picking up speed as it made its way down the tracks.

  She preferred order and things going according to plan. Duplicity and anything that wasn’t straight down the pipe didn’t sit well with her. It made her a fantastic assistant because she cut through the bull with a determined politeness and direct honesty Cash knew he’d never find in another employee—at least not a friendly one who didn’t put him in his place for being a flirt. But right now, her attitude and the situation might put him within target range of her turquoise cowboy boots.

  He found himself taking a step back, knowing she’d been a bit stressed lately, thanks to Luke hiring her to orchestrate tonight’s vow renewal and reception for himself and Emma and their five hundred guests. The stress of pulling that together—especially after the original August date had been bumped back by almost four months—had likely strained her ability to cope with surprises such as rooming with her boss. A man who quite happily and consistently pushed the boundaries of their working relationship. In the office it was fine, as they both trusted it wouldn’t go anywhere. But here in Indigo Bay, staying together in a little seaside cottage, anything was possible.

  “You’re supposed to be in Thailand.” Her canvas overnight duffel was at her feet and her party dress was bunched up over her arm as she rested her hands on her hips. She dropped one shoulder, head to the side. “And wearing a shirt. Do you have a shirt?” When he didn’t reply straight off, she added impatiently, “Well?”

  He fought a satisfied smile. “I didn’t realize I couldn’t answer the door without a shirt. I’m not wearing shoes, either. Will I be denied service?”

  No shirt, no shoes, no service.

  “Not funny, Cash.” But he spied a spark of amusement in her hazel eyes despite her stern tone.

  “I know. I’m sorry.”r />
  “Then stop smiling.”

  “I can’t.”

  She sighed as though dealing with an exasperating toddler, but she was warming up, coming to terms with the change in plans. He was reminded once again why they were good together: she gave organization to his chaos, while he encouraged her to laugh, play and enjoy it all.

  “Why aren’t you in Thailand?” she asked.

  Right. Thailand.

  He was supposed to be considering a lucrative job offer that would help him deal with his money problems.

  But Christmas in Thailand being wooed by a corporate drone? No, thanks. As soon as Desmond had uttered his plea for help, Cash had clicked Cancel on his plane tickets and found he had no interest in rebooking. Maybe he was losing his edge and that insatiable hunger to tame the wild corporate world and make it his slave. That and his old desire to claim every pretty woman who strutted past with a look of promise gleaming in her gaze.

  “Cash?”

  Right. Why was he in Indigo Bay, only a few hours from home, when he was supposed to be in Thailand?

  “My family was in need,” he replied, knowing Alexa would understand where he was coming from due to the way she’d moved across the continent years ago in order to support her sister. “Is that the dress?” The soft garment had been hanging behind Alexa’s desk since last Thursday, promising to cling to her every curve as well as expose a stretch of thigh he’d yet to see.