Mistletoe Kisses

By K.L Humphreys and Chelsea McDonald

 

It was supposed to be easy. Marry the man, get the money.

 

But the heart wants what the heart wants and for Avery, it wants her husband…

 

Avery Hale needs money and fast. Her father's health is deteriorating. She needs to pay for his care, but Avery doesn't have that sort of cash…

 

Enter Alexander Cullin, tall, rugged, and handsome. Not to mention filthy rich. Or he will be as long as he marries before Christmas. Then he'll get the company that he's worked so hard to build.

 

Alexander has mere weeks to marry, lucky for him, his sister has the perfect woman for him. Avery Hale.

 

A marriage of convenience was all it was meant to be, but when Avery falls for her husband, lines get blurry…

 

Can Alexander and Avery have a happy Christmas or are they doomed to spend it miserable?

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.L Humphreys
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201803414

Book preview

ONE

avery

I rush into the room, my thoughts running wild with every scenario possible. Getting a phone call that your father has been taken to hospital will make a girl drop everything and run, even in my five-hundred-dollar heels.

I take in the machines that he’s hooked up to. Loving the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat. Hearing it settles the panic inside.

Dad, I say softly as I reach for his frail hand and take a seat beside the bed. You're okay, I breathe. My heart beats rapidly as I take him in, looking for any sign of injury.

He looks at me with a deep frown, making his wrinkles intensify. His eyes are a cloud of confusion. I’m sorry, he begins harshly, and my heart sinks. Do we know each other?

This is the worst part about visiting him. The fact that he no longer remembers who I am. I always play it off, act as though it doesn’t hurt me. It does. It guts me each and every single time he looks at me with those bright blue eyes and no recognition filters through them.

Ms. Hale? I turn at the use of my name and see a doctor standing by the door, his eyes on both me and my father.

I get to my feet and brush a kiss against my father’s cheek. Rest, daddy, I won’t be long, I assure him.

I move toward the door. Doctor James’s smile is soft and I brace. I’ve been around enough doctors in my life to know what that smile means. Bad news. Dr. James knows about my father’s situation; he’s been my father’s consultant for the past two years.

Ms. Hale, he begins as I reach him. Your father had a terrible fall this morning.

My heart sinks. I wasn’t there. Tears spring to my eyes. I hate this. My father’s health has been deteriorating rapidly. He’s confused more times than he’s not. The dementia has taken a hold of him and it’s never going to let go, slowly chipping away at his very essence until there’s nothing left. He’s just a shadow of the vibrant man he once was. How bad was he hurt?

Doctor James’s lips thin into a sharp line. He’s broken his hip, he tells me, sorrow etched in his words.

Tears slide from my eyes. My chest burns with the pain of what my father’s going through. I hate it. Seeing him so weak and frail. It hurts me. It cuts deep. My dad was always my hero, the man that would chase away my nightmares and hold me when I got scared. He’s always been a constant at my side and now he’s vanishing before my eyes.

What can I do? I whisper, hating this uselessness that I feel.

There’s some nursing facilities I can recommend. Places that would help your father. They’re good places, Ms. Hale.

I shake my head. Avery, I remind him, as I always do whenever we meet.

He nods. Avery, you’re not alone in this. There’s many ways that we can get help for your father. Having help doesn’t mean that you’re weak. It’s giving your father the best care that he needs.

"My throat is thick with all the emotion bubbling to the surface threatening to spill out at any moment. Keep it together Avery. I promised him, I say past the lump in my throat. I promised I wouldn’t send him there. That he’d stay at home. Surrounded by the memories he built with my mom.

I look away as my tears fall thicker and faster. I swipe them away angrily. Hating that we’ve come to this. My father deserves to have the very best and I want to give it to him.

We talk about in-home care and I know that’s exactly what I want for my father. I made a promise, something that I’ll never break. Not ever.

Once Doctor James and I are finished talking, I walk back into my father’s room and take the seat beside him again. I reach for his hand and hold it tightly. So much time has passed since my mom died. He never let me know how much her death affected him. She died when I was fifteen, and my dad kept going. Showing me that life carries on. But I knew he missed her, that he hurt with every fibre of his being. My mom and dad were perfect for each other. They fell in love at first sight and were inseparable until the day she died.

Where am I? he asks, his brows furrowing together as he glances around the room.

You’re in hospital, daddy. You had a little fall and hurt yourself. The doctors are taking good care of you, I promise him.

He shakes his head violently, his eyes wide and filled with fear. I want to go home, he whispers, tortured.

I close my eyes and bring his hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss to his palm, just as he used to do to me when I was frightened. "I know Daddy, I know. But I promise you’ll be able to go