The Billionaire's Christmas Bride (Big Bad Billionaires #3) - L. Steele

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"I am just a girl standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a doughnut."

-From Amelie's diary

Amelie

"Aww, they clearly like each other," the radio show host exclaims.

"They hated each other, couldn’t stop trading insults—" the male announcer interrupts her.

"Only it was all build-up, OMG…" the first announcer cuts in. "The feels, the emotions.. They wanted to stab each other, but turned out, it was a different kind of stabby that they had for each other."

"Is that what they’re calling it these days, Ivy?" The man snickers, "Good thing this is a late-night chat show."

"I can always count on you to keep me in line, Wolfgang," Ivy quips.

"Call me Wolf," the male announcer drawls.

"Right, well," Ivy clears her throat. " For everyone listening on this blustery night in the lead up to Christmas..." She pauses to take a breath, "The question I’d like to pose is, is it rude to interrupt someone mid-sentence by uh! distracting them? Email us, text us, call in and tell us after the break. This is Smile FM…"

I snort aloud, then switch off the radio tuned into the local radio station. The talk show hosts seem to be living in la-la land, or is it the Christmas spirit that’s affecting them? More likely, it’s the chemistry, between them, which not even the airwaves could disguise. Must be nice, to have that kind of sizzling attraction, huh?

The kind that makes you want to slap the man, punch him in the nuts, maybe; right before you jump on him, wrap your legs around him, and—

That…had been the kind of no-holds-barred romance I’d hoped for when I had met my ex. He'd done everything right, hadn't attempted to kiss me until our third date. In short, he’d been a gentleman…of the double-crossing kind.

Bastard had dumped me after three weeks.

He'd seen my name connected to all the notoriety that had followed my friend Victoria and her now-husband Saint’s wedding… His mother hadn’t been happy about it, and as he’d rushed to inform me, he couldn’t go against his mama’s word… So, I’d been dropped.

On the other hand, my fledgling pastry business had taken off.

Everyone wanted the desserts that had been featured prominently in the publicity accompanying the marriage… I had more orders than I could fulfill. I had worked around the clock in the lead up to Christmas. I’d fulfilled my last booking this morning and handed over the reins of the company to my assistant—yep, I made enough money in the last month to finally hire the intern who had worked with me since I’d started the business.

I can trust her to keep the business going, while I take some time off over Christmas and New Year’s. A few days of no work, no waking up in the early hours to bake… Not unless I want to do it for pleasure; and damn, if I am not going to bake the hell out of some new recipes that I want to try out.

I am going to use the next week to unwind, to reconnect with the girl I’d once been—carefree, happy, with hope in her eyes and a spring in her step—before business worries had taken over my life. I hunch my shoulders. At twenty-five, I am not that old… Except for the fact that I’ve never met a man with whom I’ve managed to hold a relationship down for more than uh—three months.

Well, to hell with that.

I am going to make the most of what I have. To start, I'll rejuvenate over the festive season, then bounce back into London all bright-eyed and ready to take the New Year by storm. Yeah! I turn off the highway, down the narrow road that leads me deeper into the countryside. My sturdy Volkswagen eats up the miles, until I get to a turn-off. I glance at the GPS… Yup, this is the road. Well, what the hell? I turn down the unpaved path. I’d wanted solitude. Guess I am getting it, one way or the other. I drive another mile, turn another corner…and drive up to massive gates.

I roll down my window, pull up the security app I’d installed on my phone, then reach out and wave my phone over the keypad in the wall.

The gates swing open. Awesome, and on the first try!

I continue down the driveway to a single-story bungalow, with a porch running around it, then park the car. I switch off the engine and

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