Series: Richmond Rogues (Book 5)
Big city ballplayer meets small town sweetheart. Richmond
Rogues baseball star Alex Boxer speeds through a school zone on a Sunday in
Holiday, Florida. He gets a ticket and faces forty hours of community service.
That service includes playing Santa Claus at a local mall. He's one unhappy
man, until he realizes local Holly McIntyre could be the best Christmas present
ever. She's sugar and spice and all things nice.
Fun story, but too short. Alex got caught speeding
through a school zone in a small town. It was Sunday, but the judge didn't
care. Even if it weren't a school zone, it would have been speeding. The judge
gave Alex a fine, plus forty hours of community service.
Alex did not make a good first impression on me. He is
full of himself, just shy of creepy with his innuendo-laden remarks, and
unwilling to put any effort into being Santa. I spent a fair amount of time
wanting to kick him in the butt.
Holly is the local resident assigned to ride herd over
Alex and keep him in line. She loves Christmas and is involved in many events
around town. She also owns the local ice cream shop. She is one of Santa's helpers
and dresses as a nutcracker.
The development of the relationship between Alex and
Holly is fast. It starts confrontational, as Holly is the court-appointed
monitor of his community service. Alex makes no secret of the fact he doesn't
want to be there and his unwillingness to perform his role. He looks at Holly
as a potential bedmate who can make his stay there bearable. Holly is not
impressed with his attitude, nor his attempts to hit on her. Neither can deny
the sparks that fly between them. I liked watching the effect that Holly had on
Alex as he learns the spirit of Christmas. There were some sweet scenes where
Alex demonstrates that spirit, including fun cookie decorating with some senior
citizens. When Alex earns an early release, he's a bit freaked out to realize
that he's going to miss Holly, and is determined to force his life back on
track. Holly is sad to see him go and realizes that she fell in love with him.
I liked Alex's big moment at the end. Admitting his feelings wasn't an easy
thing for him to do, and his condition showed what he'd been through on his
journey of self-discovery.
Originally published in Santa, Honey (Oct 2009)
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