Christmas at Midnight: Modern Christmas Fairy Tales

By Lexi Ostrow

For the holidays, all Harper Slindel wants is to skip work, forget about her final semester of medical school and lose herself in the university gala - a ball started by her late father. Unfortunately, a fight with her step mother lands her houses to clean alone. It's work or lose her college money. Goodbye Christmas cheer. Until her fairy godmother - aka her father's closest friend - comes to the rescue.

Dim lighting, fancy gowns, and Christmas lights made for an almost perfect secret evening for Harper. Duke Norrington, jock and all around prince, made her night a Christmas miracle. She's drawn to him, even knowing she could never be "good enough." An evening spent together is brought to an end when the clock strikes midnight, and Harper must return the gown and make certain her stepmother never knows she attended, or any college savings she has will get divided between her stepsisters.

Duke is entranced with the blonde beauty he's never seen before. He's supposed to be focused on finishing his degree so he can and get started on his career with the Islanders, but all he can focus on is the beautiful woman behind an elegant mask. She's down to earth, breathtaking, and understood him in a way no one else ever had. So when she vanished damn near in a puff of smoke, he knows he has to track her down.

A little Christmas magic, a lost house key and a romance to remember shape up to a very modern fairy tale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lexi Ostrow
• Release date: Jan 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201143916

Lexi Ostrow

USA Today Bestselling Author Lexi Ostrow has been in love with the written word since second grade when her librarian started a writing club. Born in sunny southern California she's spent time in various places across the country thanks to her husband's USCG career. Now, she's also mom to a far too adorable toddler, and a menagerie of pets, spinning fantastical worlds whenever she gets the opportunity. Lexi has been a writer ever since the second grade in some form or another. Getting her degree in creative writing and her master's in journalism she couldn't wait to get a chance to put her fantasies down on paper.  From paranormal romance to thriller there isn't a genre she doesn't love to spend her time reading or writing. With her BA in creative writing from UCR and her MA in multi-media Journalism from Emerson College, she's ready to take on the literary world one novel at a time. Reading and writing are her first loves, but her passion for shopping, love for yummy food and her love for all her many pets are not far behind. Lexi is an enthusiast Whovian and DC Comic Show lover who isn't afraid to talk someone's ear off about them. She hopes to one day help other readers fall in love with writing as she did.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Harper huffed, stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth, and pushed her arm as far up the wall as she could reach. The duster on the end of the pole failed to reach up to the window valance.

Still too short. Her shoulder ached as she finally gave up, letting the pole land beside her foot. Of course Sherry can’t be bothered to buy us a ladder or a telescoping pole. That would mean denting her income.

Spinning, Harper made sure the pole pivoted on the cream Israeli marble tile—the last thing she needed was to piss off the client by scratching their floor. She could only hope they had no way of checking on top of the window dressing, or they’d immediately know the famously rated Slindel Cleaning was a sham.

No, not a sham, just a one-woman show. Grumbling, she walked in front of the next floor to ceiling window and did her best to stretch all the way to the top, up against the vaulted ceiling. Harper still came up short.

Her stepsisters clamored away nosily somewhere in the house. It sounded as if they were raiding the kitchen, but the Dalling’s were a new client, and Harper didn’t know the layout of the house—yet. Harper knew the way the sound carried through every other house she cleaned. She used it like a homing beacon for her stepsisters’ location so she could avoid them.

Sixteen years and Harper avoided Talia and Sara every chance she got. If only she could avoid her stepmother as easily. That woman had been a witch since the moment she’d said I do opposite Thomas Slindel. Harper never trusted Sherry, everything about the woman seemed off. Sherry never looked at Harper while she was merely the girlfriend. Not in the entire two years Harper’s father dated her. After the wedding, if she spoke to Harper, it was over a magazine or through a cell phone. Not much had changed.

Her mother died when Harper was two – cancer was a bitch. Her father and Sherry met through Sherry’s company, Carson Cleaning, and that alone made Harper furious she had to work for the company. Her father had been a fantastic cardiologist, but a terrible housekeeper. Even then, when they were in her home cleaning, Harper never saw Sherry lift a finger. Didn’t stop her from sinking her claws into Thomas, marrying him, and changing the business name.

Thinking about her father did little good. A car accident stole him away less than a year into the marriage, and left Harper little more than a slave in her home. Once upon a time, she’d had a wonderful life, a caring father and enough family income to support her dreams of becoming the best surgeon in New York—maybe even the country. When he died, Sherry used every penny to make her business seem better than it was—advertisements, fake reviews, and boughie parties to mingle with wealthy clients.

Her father had been a proud man. She assumed he thought he’d even beat death, and that’s why no will had been found. No will, and thanks to that, no way to stop Sherry as his wife from taking everything. Fast forward and Harper was stuck as a one-woman cleaning crew. Twenty-seven years old and all she had to show for it was a couple hundred dollars a month.

The woman made Harper’s life a living hell, but Sherry was fair about one thing, and all the wages Harper earned went directly to her school. She lived rent-free in her childhood room, though Sherry tried to stick her in an empty wine closet after her father’s death. Wine Sherry indulged on so quickly all two hundred bottles disappeared within a week of his departure. The only reason Harper succeeded in staying in her room was her father was a popular guy, people checked in, at least in the beginning. It kept Sherry in line.

Harper needed the wages. Sherry burned money into her company, and the client list paid generously. Many often tipped Harper if they happened to bump into her. Sure, she could take her chances attempting to get a loan, but since Sherry legally adopted her, every chance failed. Even as a grown adult, the government saw her an extension of her stepmother. Private loans would leave her drowning in debt, and only one year of med school remained.

One year until you’re a resident and able to sever every tie to this horrid threesome.

Dusting was useless, so Harper stalked back to the entryway and set the dusting pole down. Snatching up Pledge and a handful of microfiber cloths, she made her way over to the windows—utterly unsure as to how she could possibly clean the windows in their entirety without a ladder.

Sooner or later, Sherry’s clients would realize the woman was a fraud—it would just be after Harper left because Harper needed the rich paying for her education, so she continued doing a good job. A little elbow grease builds character.

Snorting, she aimed the can and sprayed, watching her reflection blur in the window in the same way her life had become a dripping mess of exams, studying, and cleaning to survive. Her dark blue eyes still maintained hideous dark circles underneath, they just grew harder to see in the dripping mess. Some people would say to spray the cloth, Harper couldn’t care less as long as there were no streaks to get her an earful when the family came home.

New York University, med school in general, didn’t come cheap, and unless there was a way to sell her soul, her wicked stepmother was all she had.

Harper stopped thinking. Thinking led to anger, and she had no time in her hectic life to be constantly dwelling on how pissed off she was. Especially when glorious white flakes of snow drifted past the window. She scarcely resisted pressing her hand against the freshly cleaned glass to reach out to one, or touch her forehead to it to look down below.

The Dalling’s had a beautiful view of Central Park. Snowfall in December could be unpredictable, but this year there was no shortage of it. A glimmering white blanket reflected in the sun in the areas where people didn’t trudge through it. She couldn’t quite make out the zoo, but the clean slate of snow stretched the entire length of the park. Though Harper hated the snow for taking her father, she couldn’t deny the beauty in looking out over a fresh snowfall.

No! You got an invite? Talia’s shrill voice seemed to bounce off the window and slam into Harper.

The one and only. Sara’s bemused tone carried down through the condo.

What on earth are they on about now? Harper looked down the long line of windows still to clean in the current room and then down the hall carrying her stepsisters voices. Anything that makes them talk that loud has to be important.

Setting down the can, she draped the wet towel over it and walked down the hall. The kitchen was indeed at the at the end of it, and her stepsisters sat casually plopped on the barstools in front of the magnificent marble island. Harper took a moment to compose herself while basking in the awe of the expensive materials and elegant design work.

The kitchen was huge, and not just by New York City standards. It was simply gigantic. Imposing stainless steel appliances were covered in fingerprints, and even a bit of food was plastered on the fridge. Talia and Sara had been doing nothing as usual. White marble counters with quartz streaks boasted more crap sitting on them than she’d ever seen —piles of paperwork, kid’s art projects and what looked like last night’s dinnerware. The white cabinets lining the room remained pristine, but they were the only things. Harper was reasonably positive her stepsisters had made the bulk of the mess, snooping and helping themselves to the food in front of them.

Seriously? If you’re not going to help, why do you even come?

Security cameras, Talia smirked and pointed just outside the kitchen entrance. They expect a crew of cleaners, so we stay out of sight except for coming in. Really, we could probably leave, but with those silly doorbells announcing people now, it’s not worth the risk. Mother would kill us if we got caught.

Right, because she cares so much when you don’t work.

That’s what we have you for. Sara’s plump lips wore an identical smirk to her fraternal twin sister’s. Some things looked the same no matter what.

Red dotted Harper’s vision, and she squeezed her nails into her palms, ignoring the slice of pain as many of her nails broken from housework cut into her skin. If you’re going to be a pain in the ass, do it quietly.

What fun would that be if I can’t torment you both with news of my invitation the NYU Christmas Gala?

Harper’s jaw dropped. Excuse me?

That’s right. New York University’s finest. Like a frat party for grad students and rich donors. Sara shoved a forkful of pasta into her mouth, speaking without bothering to finish chewing or swallowing. Just you wait. I’ll come home with a handsome, rich boyfriend just in time for him to spoil me over the holidays. Specifically, Duke Norrington. He’s a god, and I hear he’s every bit as good in bed as on the ice. With him by my side, I’ll never have to work again. Mother wouldn’t risk my rich boyfriend thinking I had to work, so she’ll have to pay a staff member.

You’re disgusting.

Yes, well, you’re the one sweating in December.

Clenching her jaw, Harper stalked out of the kitchen, her footsteps echoing after her thanks to the tile floor. The condo seemed ten times larger as annoyance lit her blood on fire.

Her father started the damn party in question, and of course, she hadn’t received an invite – or if she had, Sherry would’ve torched it and flushed the ashes down the toilet. Harper imagined going. All the time, actually. She missed her father, and going to a ball he essentially started was one way to be closer to him. Sherry never went either, the small miracle always tickled Harper.

Just go to the damn windows and clean. Christmas time isn’t for people like you. It’s for people like them.

---

Sweat matted Duke’s hair against his head, and as he tugged his helmet off it dripped an uncomfortable path down the side of his face. Working out on the ice meant absolutely nothing for sweat levels. Even in winter. Hey, Dean, toss me a towel, ya?

Dean Theo, the team’s youngest member and only freshman, grinned before tossing a full-sized towel at Duke. All yours! Great practice today!

Duke chuckled. His presence tended to have that effect on most of the guys on the team. Well, that’s what happens when the Islanders want you.

Six months ago, Duke received everything he’d always wanted—a contract to play in one of the major conferences. Thanks to the quick work of his agent, the deal offered him a year off before starting. A year to finally get his degree.

Dreams of NHL grandeur delayed Duke starting college over a decade ago. Which was why he was a twenty-nine-year-old college senior, instead of looking at a post-degree like most people his age. After years trying to get noticed, he’d realized college hockey would be his best shot. Thankfully, good grades and a killer slap shot put him on the short list for NYU. The university wasn’t known for sports, but the Fighting Violets hockey team was one of the best in the country. It did the trick, but now Duke wanted the degree he’d worked so hard for.

Alright, who’s skipping first shower so I can hop in? Being a star came with perks. He was joking, of course, but wasn’t surprised when two of the underclassmen raised their hands. Kidding, guys. Go ahead. I can wait for a shower just like everybody else. Tugging his shirt off over his head, he cringed at the sweat coating his body.

Duke, are you going to the big gala? I heard they like to parade certain people around for the rich people to feel like their money is being well spent. Antony, resident cocky guy, was one of the guys who’s best years were before he truly became an adult. It’s also a fantastic way to meet women. Especially if you’re into older ladies with money. He also had no shame dropping his pants

Antony, keep your perversions to yourself. Duke hid his smile. He personally didn’t understand the appeal, but if Antony liked cougars, that was fine by Duke. Yes, I’m going. Chuck Wang will be there. It’s part of my contract that I show up.

Whoa-oh! Owner of the new team already showing off his prize player. Stuart, another forward, chuckled, walking around the corner to the showers. Better get a sharp tux, you’re not a player yet. You still have time to look pretty.

That drew a laugh from everyone in the locker room.

Pretty sure a broken nose discounts that.

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