The Single Dad's Secret Santa: Christmas in Alpine Valley, #4

By Kali Hart

The Single Dad's Secret Santa: Christmas in Alpine Valley Book 4
A Single Dad Friends to Lovers Curvy Woman Holiday Romance

This Christmas, join five best friends as a friendly dare to draw Secret Santas leads them all to find their true loves.

Randi

Turner Jacobs and I have been best friends since the third grade.
Though we lost touch for a few years, our friendship picked up right where it left off when he moved back to Alpine Valley.
A part of me thought maybe fate had brought him back into my life.
Until I met his little boy, Carter.
It was obvious I was safely in the friend zone.
I was okay with that.
Until I screwed up and kissed him after one too many glasses of wine.
But any hopes of avoiding him until after the holidays are over are shot down when I draw his name for the Secret Santa event.
Santa, I sure hope you know what you're doing this Christmas.

Turner

Randi Owens is my oldest and dearest friend.
She's the one person I've always been able to rely on, no matter what.
Best of all, my son adores her.
But as tempting as it's been to take things to the next level, I don't want to risk our friendship.
Or the relationship she's built with Carter.
If things didn't work out between us, it would devastate him.
But the more time I spend with her lately, the harder it's been to deny my feelings.
When she surprises me with a kiss, I know she feels the same way.
Except she runs away before we can talk about what comes next.
She goes into hiding, and the next time I see her, she insists that we can't be more than friends.
But our inability to keep our hands to ourselves seems to say otherwise.
Add to it that I'm definitely falling in love with my best friend, and I know I'm screwed.
Santa, I could use some of that Christmas magic to help convince the woman I love that we're meant to be.

Come to Alpine Valley this Christmas and follow five best friends as a dare to participate in the town's Secret Santa event leads them all to true love. These books are sweet and steamy short instalove romances with older heroes and younger curvy woman. NO cliffhangers. NO cheating. Guaranteed HEA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: Jan 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223103066

Book preview

1

RANDI

What have I done? I grumble, my hands clenched on the steering wheel. Lightly I tap my head against it, praying no one’s walking by the community center to witness my torment. I need to go inside, but the last thing I care about is this Secret Santa business. Damn Lily for daring us. There’s no getting out of it unless I want it held over me for eternity.

Last night, I thought the idea of being a Secret Santa might be fun.

But that was before I kissed my best friend.

My phone buzzes from the passenger seat again. I don’t have to look to know who it is. Turner Jacobs. He’s been calling and texting me since seven-fifteen this morning, after he dropped his kid off at school, but I haven’t answered him. That kiss … it was a mistake. I’m sure that’s all he wants to tell me. Just to make sure we’re on the same page. I can hear him now. We need to forget all about last night. Pretend it never happened. Even if it was the best fucking kiss of my life. Don’t go there, I groan.

I feel curious eyes peering at me through the windshield and force myself not to make eye contact. Shoving my phone in my purse, I head inside.

Damn it, Lily, I can’t help but mutter in time with my boot as it stomps up the stairs.

Guilt twists my stomach. Avoiding Turner means not spending time with his adorable son, Carter. That six-year-old is the most amazing kid I’ve ever met. And by some miracle, he seems to adore me. He’s also the reason nothing has ever happened between Turner and me—the reason nothing can happen. You’ll figure it out, I mumble under my breath as I pull the door open and dash inside the community center.

Inside the party room, I find the elderly woman who conned my best friends and me into participating last night while we were buzzed on wine at our annual holiday Sip & Dip. Wilma may appear sweet and innocent, but she’s really a cunning fox. I aspire to be half as good as she is when I’m her age. Wilma, are you running the show by yourself?

Oh my, no. The ladies are on a late lunch right now. She adjusts a silver bowl on the table in front of her, drawing my eyes to the folded papers inside.

Though the holidays keep me pretty busy with stories to chase, it isn’t busy enough. Not if I want to avoid Turner as much as possible. My gaze moves from the bowl, taking in the entire festive spread. The red tablecloth lined with garland. The holiday gift bags on the table behind her. The mini Christmas trees on either end of the long table. An idea strikes me. Could I write an article about the Secret Santa event?

Oh, I would love that! Wilma gushes, her shining smile illuminating the room.

I shoot a text to my photographer, asking her to stop by and grab a couple photos of Wilma and her impressive setup once her help returns from their lunch break. The words for the article are dancing in my head. It’s not only a heartwarming story that the locals will devour, but it’s the perfect excuse to put in some extra hours at the