It Started One Christmas

One crisp December night, Keira Carlesso takes in yet another stray—this time, a man. Dalton is a brilliant scientist with no home for the holidays. As Christmas works its magic, two strangers become friends, then best friends, then something much, much more...

Susan Mallery’s heartwarming charmer proves that true love is the greatest Christmas gift of all!

“Heartwarming...this book is sweet and will appeal to readers who enjoy the intricacies of family drama.” —Publishers Weekly on When We Found Home

#1 New York Times bestselling author SUSAN MALLERY writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship and romance. She’s best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise and delight readers. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into twenty-eight languages.

Susan lives in Washington State with her husband, two cats and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at susanmallery.com.

Also by Susan Mallery

When We Found Home

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Daughters of the Bride

Happily Inc

Not Quite Over You

Why Not Tonight

Second Chance Girl

You Say It First

Mischief Bay

Sisters Like Us

A Million Little Things

The Friends We Keep

The Girls of Mischief Bay

Fool’s Gold

Best of My Love

Marry Me at Christmas

Thrill Me

Kiss Me

Hold Me

Until We Touch

Before We Kiss

When We Met

Christmas on 4th Street

Three Little Words

Two of a Kind

Just One Kiss

A Fool’s Gold Christmas

All Summer Long

Summer Nights

Summer Days

Only His

Only Yours

Only Mine

Finding Perfect

Almost Perfect

Chasing Perfect

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

It Started One Christmas

Susan Mallery

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09599-0

IT STARTED ONE CHRISTMAS

© 2018 Susan Mallery, Inc.

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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Praise for New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery

SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS ~An Amazon Best Book of the Month~

“Mallery blends the friend-and-family relationships and self-actualization focus common to women’s fiction [with the] happy ending of a contemporary romance, making this an excellent summer read for fans of both genres.”

—Booklist

“Mallery creates a cute and charming world in Tulpen Crossing, and her three main characters are immensely likable and sympathetic.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Verdict: [a] charming tale of love unrequited (maybe), love ignited, and wild sex with naked cooking. The men here are pretty awesome, while the gals have a lot to learn about facing the truth. For romance fans and admirers of fresh women’s fiction.”

—Library Journal

DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE

~An Amazon Best Book of the Month~

“Susan Mallery never disappoints and with Daughters of the Bride she is at her storytelling best.”

—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“[Mallery] will appeal to fans of women’s fiction, especially such friendship books as Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club.”

—Booklist

“Heartfelt, funny, and utterly charming all the way through!”

—Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE
Freshman year—the absolute very last day to make up missed labs. Really.

“I THINK OUR lab guy just fainted,” April Herskovic murmured as she put two beakers back in the drawer.

Keira Carlesso spun around to check out the guy sitting at the desk at the front of the lab. Okay, not sitting—he was kind of slumped, but still. As she watched, he shifted to a more upright position. Thank goodness—they only had a couple more items on their list and then they were done with their makeup lab. The last thing she wanted was to fail the assignment because some lab tech passed out.

“He’s moving. Let’s get this done and then we are out of here.”

As she spoke, she realized she wasn’t being the least bit compassionate. What if the guy was really sick? What if he was all alone in the world with no one to take care of him? What if—

She groaned. No. No! She would not be distracted. It was humiliating enough that she and April had to make up the lab in the first place to get this required course out of the way, but they did and they were and it was nearly Christmas and honestly, she just wanted to get done and get home.

“Tongs, three sizes,” Keira said.

April held up three sizes of tongs.

“Triple beam balance.”

They both looked around the lab. Keira spotted it first.

“It’s right there.” She grabbed her pen and paper and raced over to write down the serial number to prove that yes, she’d seen it, touched it, cuddled it and knew what it was. On her way back, she passed by the front desk. The guy there, all pale and sweaty, moaned.

Uh-oh, she thought, returning to their station.

“Done,” she said, waving the paper. “We just need it signed off.”

April glanced doubtfully at the lab guy. “I don’t want him touching my pen. Do you have hand sanitizer?”

Keira pulled out the piña colada–scented gel she always carried because, hey, it was college and the dorms were nothing if not germ incubators. Plus, college-age guys were fairly disgusting when it came to hygiene. She shuddered. Thank goodness she’d been smart enough to request a women-only floor. She did not want to share a bathroom with a bunch of guys.

She and April put away the rest of the supplies, then walked to get their lab report signed as proof that they had completed the assignment. As it really was the very last day of makeups, there had only been a handful of students who had shown up, and the rest of them had already left. She and April were the last students standing, so to speak.

“Finished?” the guy asked, his voice low and husky. Keira noticed his white lab coat had a name badge that read Dalton.

April handed over the paper with both their names on it. He glanced at the sheet.

“You missed the first lab of the quarter?” Dalton asked. “How did you do that?”

April and Keira exchanged a look of frustration. Everyone always asked the same question. It was so embarrassing.

“We didn’t give ourselves enough time to get to the lab,” Keira said with a sigh. “And then we got lost. We were twelve minutes late, and our lab assistant had already locked the door.”

“Huygens,” Dalton said. “He’s a jerk who enjoys torturing freshmen.”

“And you don’t?” Keira asked.

“I have better things to do with my time.” He pulled a pen out of his white jacket pocket and signed their paperwork. “You are done for the quarter, ladies. At least with your science lab. Have a good holiday.”

“You, too,” April said as she headed to the door.

Keira hesitated. She couldn’t help noticing the sweat on Dalton’s forehead and the pallor to his skin. He didn’t look well.

“Are you feeling all right?” she asked.

“Not really.”

April paused, one foot in the hallway. “Keira, come on. I have a plane to catch.”

April lived in eastern Washington and was flying home for Christmas break. Keira had a very short drive to her house, and she would be taking a cab.

“You go ahead,” Keira told her. “I want to make sure Dalton gets to his place okay.” She had to do something to make up for her selfish thoughts from before.

April nodded. “Have a good break. I’ll text you.”

“Bye.”

Dalton put his arms on the desk and his head on his arms. “Just go. I’ll be fine.”

“You look awful. Come on. I’ll help you to your car or apartment or whatever. You need to get into bed.”

She half expected an awful leer at her last remark—she’d encountered plenty since starting at the university. But Dalton didn’t stir.

“No, thank you.”

“You’re really sick.”

“I’m aware of that, however, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“All evidence to the contrary? Yeah, I’m not leaving, so you might as well give in. Just as an FYI, I’m really bossy and stubborn. You can ask anyone, so surrender to the inevitable. It will be easier, trust me.”

For a long moment, Dalton simply stayed where he was. Keira had time to notice his too-long hair was a pretty shade of dark brown before worrying he’d passed out. Finally he raised his head, pushed up his glasses and sighed.

“Yes, I’m sick, but I will recover. The human body has amazing recuperative powers, mine more so than most. I appreciate your concern, but it’s unnecessary. Have a good holiday. You are free to go.”

“Uh-huh, so what part of stubborn wasn’t clear?”

She expected him to shout at her or something. What she didn’t expect was him to blush. He was so pale that the sudden flush of color contrasted significantly with his clammy skin.

“It’s complicated,” he mumbled. “Please, just go.”

“Nope, I’m curious.” She perched on the corner of the desk. “What’s the real story? I have all the time in the world.”

“Lucky me.”

She smiled, determined to wait him out.

“My apartment is rented for the holidays,” he began. “To the visiting family of one of my professors.”

“That’s very nice of you.”

He cleared his throat. “I was supposed to be going to Aspen with my girlfriend for the holidays.”

“I hear Aspen is lovely this time of year.”

He returned his head to his arms. “Yes, that’s what I hear, too.”

“I take it you’re not going to Aspen?”

“She dumped me.”

“Did you do something dumpworthy?”

He raised his head again. The color was gone, and he looked close to passing out. “I didn’t have to. She’s beautiful. I mean, startlingly beautiful. I never had a chance with her.”

“But she was your girlfriend.”

“For two weeks.” The head dropped again. “It’s my failing. I’m incredibly smart. Seriously, I’m probably the smartest guy you’ve ever met. I started college when I was fourteen. I’ve already been to medical school, and now I’m getting a PhD. But when it comes to women, I’m an idiot.”

“You mean when it comes to beautiful women,” she teased. “You have a thing for them. It’s cute.”

“Thanks.”

“So you have no home, no girlfriend and you can’t go to Aspen until you feel better.”

“I can’t go at all. She stole my ticket and, I think, the ski clothes I bought.”

“She sounds amazing. I wish I’d met her.”

“She wasn’t amazing. She was just...”

“Beautiful.”

“Yes, that.”

She considered the situation. “Where were you planning to spend the holidays?”

“In my car. It’s not so bad. I’ve done it before.”

“I thought you were smart.”

“I am, but I’m also poor. It’s not as great a combination as you’d think.”

Keira swung her backpack over her shoulder. “Come on, Dalton. Get your stuff.”

“You’re going to walk me to my car?”

“Yes, then I’m going to take you home with me. We have a spare room. You can recover there. No one should live in their car over Christmas.”

“Maybe I’m Jewish.”

“Fine. Then over Hanukkah.”

He looked at her, his gaze out of focus. “I’m not Jewish, but I like what you said. You’re very accepting.”

“For me, it’s the spirit of the season, not the religion. But then, what do I know? I’m eighteen years old.” She frowned. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-four.”

“And you’ve really graduated from medical school?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re not a doctor.”

“I’m going into research. I want to cure cancer.”

She held in a laugh. “Of course you do.”

His blurry eyes narrowed. “Did I mention my intelligence?”

“More than once. You’re going to need a new topic of conversation. My family is going to have expectations.”

He winced. “You have a family. Of course. I can’t impose.”

“Not to worry. They’re used to me dragging home strays.” Dalton would be the first human stray, but she doubted anyone would be surprised.

“I live with my sister and her husband and their kids. Frick and Frack are two and four years old.”

“They named their children Frick and Frack?”

She laughed and helped him to his feet. “No. I just wanted to know if you were really listening or if all your energy was taken up in being so very, very smart.”

“Book smart,” he told her, staggering only a little. “Not life smart. Hence the beautiful girlfriend who abandoned me.”

“Hence. Have you thought about dating someone more normal? It might work out better.”

“I have tried, but it’s not the same. There’s something about a beautiful woman.”

“For someone as smart as you claim to be, you’re kind of an idiot.”

“Tell me about it.”

CHAPTER TWO

AS KEIRA PULLED into the driveway of the hundred-year-old, three-story house on the edge of Lake Washington, she felt a zing of relief combined with happiness. Everything was exactly as she remembered from her last visit. Although, as she’d been home for dinner a mere two weeks ago, a case could be made that she should stop worrying.

Keira knew she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t like a lot of other people her age—she was a worrier. Until age twelve, she’d never been sure about being loved and welcomed. She wanted to take things for granted like everybody else, but sometimes it was hard not to assume the worst.

After she parked Dalton’s car by the steps leading up to the front door, she glanced at her sleeping passenger. He was still pale and sweaty and looked like crap. She was pretty sure he had the flu or something equally normal, but if he wasn’t better in the morning, she was going to drag his butt to an urgent-care center.

She left him where he was and went inside the house. After breezing through the huge two-story entry decorated with a twelve-foot tree, wreaths and lit pine garland draped along the staircase banister, she went directly to the kitchen, where she knew she would find her sister. Visiting with her niece and nephew would have to wait—Callie ran a tight ship, so to speak, and Keira had arrived during mandatory nap time.

Sure enough, Callie Trejo stood at the huge island, expertly chopping vegetables into perfectly equal pieces. It was Thursday and therefore spaghetti night. Questionable ingredients, like vegetables, were often discreetly placed into otherwise kid-friendly dishes.

“I’m home,” Keira said. She grinned at her sister, then took a step back as Callie started to put down the knife. “Let me wash my hands before we hug. I might have icky flu germs on me and I don’t want to spread them.”

Callie chuckled. “I continue to be amazed at how perfect you are.”

Keira rolled her eyes. “Then you need to look at raising your standards.” She washed her hands at the sink and dried them before turning and hugging Callie.

The two women were about the same height and of similar build. They both had blond hair, blue eyes and lots of freckles. While they had different mothers, they shared a father and were nearly thirteen years apart in age.

Almost six years ago, Keira had been plucked from foster care in Los Angeles and brought to Seattle to live with previously unknown relatives on her late father’s side. At first she’d lived with her half brother Malcolm, her grandfather Alberto and the housekeeper, Carmen. A few months later, Callie had been found and joined them. Theirs had been a rocky start as a family, but now they were close and perhaps just a little too involved in each other’s lives.

“So who’s the guy?” Callie asked, returning to her vegetables. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

Keira fought a wave of guilt. When she’d called to ask if she could bring Dalton for the holidays, she’d sort of implied that they were possibly involved.

“Yes, well, it’s not like that.”

Callie made a little moue of disappointment. “Here I was hoping you’d finally taken the plunge and decided to find yourself a boyfriend.”

“No. Yuck. Why?”

“At some point you’re going to have to surrender to your baser emotions.”

Keira grabbed a tiny square of carrot and popped it into her mouth. “I’m perfectly happy being single.”

“You’re eighteen. You’re supposed to fall in and out of love with boys. It’s the way of the world.”

“Not my world.”

Keira was not the least bit excited about giving her heart to some stupid, oafish guy. They were too interested in sex, too selfish, too big, and sometimes they smelled. Thank you, no. In her heart of hearts, she knew there might be some leftover emotional issues about her past, but why go there?

For a couple of years in high school, she’d wondered if there was something wrong with her. Or if she was a lesbian. But she had no interest in playing for the other team, and every now and then, she had to admit she got a bit of a quiver when she met a guy. But then he ruined it by doing something gross like burping or trying to kiss her or lying about how beautiful she was. Keira was smart (not as smart as Dalton claimed to be, but still, she did okay), funny and passably pretty, but she wasn’t anyone’s standard of beautiful.

“Besides,” she said, leaning against the huge island in the center of the massive kitchen, “you should be discouraging me from falling in love. What if I start having sex?”

“I’ll be very happy for you.”

“You’re supposed to treasure my virginity!”

“Yeah, not so much with the treasuring. By the way, I got out all your ornaments, and Santiago put up the tree last night. So you’re good to go.”

Keira hugged herself and spun in a circle. “Thank you, thank you. I can’t wait to put it all together. Okay, I’m going to go drag Dalton upstairs. I promise to keep him isolated until we know he’s getting better. And no babies up there. I don’t want them getting sick and missing Christmas.”

She’d barely finished speaking when she heard the sound of canine nails skittering across the hardwood. She turned and dropped to her knees as a small mixed-breed brown-and-white ball of fluff crashed into her.

“Emerson!” She scooped up the small dog and hugged him close. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Emerson wiggled and kissed her face before shimmying free and racing over to Callie. He stood on his hind legs and scratched at her thighs, begging for a carrot.

“You’re the most spoiled dog on the planet,” Callie grumbled, even as she handed him half a raw carrot.

He took the treat and made a beeline for his bed in the family room. Keira stood and stretched.

“All right, it’s time to begin my mission of mercy.”

“Let me know if you need help wrestling your young man into bed.” Callie paused. “That sounded way more dirty than I intended.”

Keira laughed and retreated to the car.

Dalton was exactly where she’d left him, and he hadn’t been kidding about planning to live in his car. He had a couple of duffels, a cooler, a bag of cold supplies and tissues from a local pharmacy, a blanket and two pillows.

“Practically a five-star hotel,” she murmured, opening the passenger door. “All right, my pretty, let’s get you inside.”

Dalton’s eyelids fluttered. “Do I know you?”

“Not really, but you’re sick enough that it doesn’t much matter, does it? There’s no way you could fight me off. All right, big guy, on your feet.”

He surprised her by obliging. Excellent. As long as he was willing to follow instructions, this should go smoothly.

“I’m going to get you upstairs and into bed,” she told him. “Unfortunately we’re going to the third floor, so that could take some doing.”

He rubbed his face. “Where am I?”

“My place.”

He looked at her, then frowned. “You’re not Mandy.”

“I’m her sister. Come on. She’s just inside.”

“Really? She didn’t dump me? That’s so great. God, she is so beautiful.”

Keira rolled her eyes. “You’re incredibly shallow. Why is that?”

“I was physically and emotionally abandoned as a child.”

“Really?”

He flashed her a smile that caught her completely unaware. She felt hot then cold, and there was an odd sensation in her stomach. She shook it off and told herself it was just because she was afraid of getting the flu.

“No,” he said, walking unsteadily toward the house. “My parents were very nice people who supported and loved me until they were killed in a car accident ten years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” He looked at the house, then back at her. “Mandy isn’t waiting inside, is she?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. And you brought me here because...”

“You’re sick and it’s Christmas, and I’m not going to let you spend two weeks in your car.”

He shuddered. “That makes me sound pathetic.”

“If the shoe fits,” she murmured, then motioned to the door. “Let’s get this done.”

Dalton managed to get up both flights of stairs, although the climb seemed to suck the last of his strength. He was shaking and swaying by the time he staggered into the guest room. He managed to stagger across the room before falling onto the bed facedown, leaving Keira with a six-foot-tall dilemma.

“See,” she said, mentally sending the image to her sister. “Men are a giant pain.”

She walked toward Dalton. She had to get his shoes off, and she would feel better if he was on his back. Otherwise, she was going to leave him where he was. This wasn’t some ridiculous romantic comedy where she struggled to undress him and things got out of hand.

She got off his worn boots, ignored the hole in his sock and poked him in the shoulder until he groaned.

“Roll over,” she said in her most forceful tone.

He complied but didn’t open his eyes.

Lizzy, her calico cat, raced into the room, meowing her complaints about Keira being gone for so long. Keira picked her up and snuggled her close.

“Hey, pretty girl. I missed you.”

Lizzy rubbed her head against Keira’s chin and purred loudly.

“I’m home for the holidays. We’ll be together every day, I promise. Oh, and I got you something wonderful for Christmas.”

Lizzy gave her a quick kitty kiss before jumping onto the bed and sniffing Dalton.

“I can explain that,” Keira said. “Or maybe not.”

She left him in Lizzy’s capable paws and went back downstairs. Callie met her in the foyer, and together they carried his duffel, the meds and his backpack upstairs.

“What’s he like?” Callie asked.

“He thinks he’s really smart, but he’s stupid when it comes to women.”

“That’s very judgy of you.”

“I call them as I see them.”

Callie chuckled, but her laughter faded when she walked into the guest room. “He’s totally out of it.” She crossed to the bed and felt his forehead. “He’s got a fever. Go get the thermometer. It’s in the linen closet on the second floor. Also, get the Tylenol and that small basin on the second shelf. I should have everything else I need up here.”