His For Christmas Read Online Free PDF

brief
smile to Claire’s face. She’d patted Esme on the head and sent her
off to practice writing names on place cards. Said it would be
charming.
    Thankfully, Anabelle was busy with the Ladies
League Winter Formal set for New Year’s Eve. His poor darling had
been kept busy by something or another because it seemed the town
of Sugar Bay was populated by a bunch of romantics and they adored
Anabelle. Her personality was such that she hated the extraneous
attention but what Anabelle saw as pity in the town’s eyes, the
town had seen it as concern for her well being.
    A pink jeep pulled up and Charlie got out
with Decadent Den boxes. The men turned into boys and crowded her
arrival. He assumed because she came bearing goodies or it could
have been because they found her presence exciting.
    He shook his head, not understanding the
attraction.
    Charlie was scary.
    Anabelle’s best friend was a younger version
of Claire Broussard except for the auburn colored hair and magical
baking ability. She had a reputation for being a man
eater/heartbreaker about town. Joe knew her through her younger
brothers with whom Joe had gone to school. The only people not
salivating at her arrival besides him were Joe and Heath.
    Derek had to admit the guy he once knew as
‘bow tie’ wasn’t all bad. Sure, he had a prissy English accent but
he didn’t mind getting dirty with the rest of the guys and had
helped clear the barn on Claire’s orders. Derek grudgingly admired
him for it. Even now, the guy kept working despite the group
gathering around Charlie.
    “Hey Derek, how’s it hanging, man?”
    “Not bad, Ethan. Just a few more days of this
chaos and all this wedding nonsense will be over.”
    “Excited?”
    “Yeah, man. I am. Thanks again for hauling in
the Christmas boughs and garland and also for volunteering to
officiate on short notice.”
    “No problem. You know I’d do anything for
Anabelle.”
    Derek nodded. He knew but there had been a
time when that thought would have bothered him, especially since
Ethan was a fancy doctor who Claire had handpicked for Anabelle.
But since Anabelle’s relationship with Ethan had evolved into a
familial type of bond, Derek was no longer worried.
    “Ms. Claire, when are you going to make an
honest man out of my dad?” He asked to a busy Claire.
    Derek couldn’t believe the transformation
that came over Claire at Ethan’s words as she stopped in her
tracks.
    His respect for the man doubled.
    “Ethan, dear. Don’t talk like that. That’s
not appropriate.”
    “You know I’m a poor motherless boy, Ms.
Claire.”
    Derek looked askance at Ethan. The “boy” was
in his late thirties and had a thriving orthopedic practice with a
trail of broken hearts behind him.
    “You’re a sweet boy, Ethan, but your father
and I are just friends.”
    “The kind of friends like Derek and Anabelle
were?” Ethan winked and Claire went from a light pink blush to a
painful sunburnt red. She may be scary but Derek felt the need to
save her.
    “The barn is coming along. The boys brought
the chairs on loan from the Ladies League and Heath showed us how
to put the slipcover on them.”
    “Good. My friends, Callum and Mikael, will be
around to prep the flowers, candles and Christmas greenery. They’ll
be like little elves on the twenty third so all we’ll need to do is
light the candles and have the ceremony.”
    “What about the music?”
    “Janie is working on a playlist as we
speak.”
    Derek winced, hoping he wouldn’t be stuck
hearing One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer for his big day. He
wondered if he should mention the fact that Joe played the
acoustical guitar but figured Joe was hiding for a reason.
    “Don’t worry. She found several wedding
playlists on Spotify that she’s modifying. Besides, your sisters
will do the final approval but right now, they’re prepping the menu
with Charlie’s mother. Charlie is supposed to go help if she
can draw herself away from her entourage long