Candace stomped back to her cozy flower shop, Kiss from a Rose. That guy. Thinks he knows everything. <\/em>Of all the She\u2019d never daydreamed about kissing Luke in high school or before, she\u2019d never written their names together in her homework notebooks, and she\u2019d never studied his body. Until present day. Setting up Kiss from a Rose right next door to the Carrigans\u2019 family pub was pure coincidence, and one that had made her grimace internally and externally when she\u2019d come face to face with him while painting her newly purchased walls.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, well, well.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019d heard his unmistakable tone behind her and whipped her head around so fast her neck muscles stung.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re stalking me, aren\u2019t you?\u201d he\u2019d asked.<\/p>\n His tall, defined build took up her doorway and stopped the sunlight from streaming through.<\/p>\n \u201cLuke Carrigan,\u201d she deadpanned as her mind raced to catch up. Why would he think she was stalking him? The bar next door.<\/em> Dammit. How had it taken her until now to piece that gem together? \u201cJust trying to make the neighborhood a better place.\u201d She focused on his eyes, careful not to let her gaze roam. She couldn\u2019t give him any upper hand. Especially not now. Great, just what I needed. It\u2019s bad enough I\u2019m new to having a business of my own but now I have to contend with Luke Carrigan? Just my luck.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re just doing the work for the real owner, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou wish,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m here to stay. I bet it\u2019s going to suck to have someone around who won\u2019t take your crap.\u201d<\/p>\n If his dark brown polo hadn\u2019t fit him snug around his biceps, she might\u2019ve said something nice. But it did. He\u2019d grown up well. Time had only created a handsome man. And one who knew he was handsome. Which, sadly, wasn\u2019t totally unattractive. What are you doing? Don\u2019t think of him like that. He\u2019s bad news. He\u2019s <\/em>still bad news.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mind at all. Because she surely doesn\u2019t give it as good as she gets it.\u201d With a proud chuckle at his own ridiculous try at a joke, he rolled from the wood door frame and ambled toward his pub. Those were the only few seconds she\u2019d ever thought about selling her new building and setting up shop somewhere else, but the notion was just plain dumb. She would have to find a way to deal with him, just like high school.<\/p>\n And, just like school, they managed to stay out of each other\u2019s way unless completely necessary\u2014which was usually in the back parking lot that their businesses shared. Seven months into a neighborly relationship, it seemed their stay-out-of-my-way truce had now ended.<\/p>\n She made her way through her flower shop. The year-round bright green walls, crisp white flooring, and splashes of pinks were a welcome relief to all the mahogany in Luke\u2019s dank bar. She tried to shake off the cold of winter\u2014and Luke. The small white Christmas trees peppering her front room and cheerful ornaments hanging from the ceiling couldn\u2019t help but bring a smile to her face. The holiday magic always conjured hopefulness, possibilities\u2014this year, however, it had brought negative tidings.<\/p>\n \u201cWho was that <\/em>hunk of hottie?\u201d Sophie Graystone asked as she finished repotting a large butterfly palm plant. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him around. I didn\u2019t know you knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s no one.\u201d Candace rubbed her forehead before picking up a sprig of evergreen lying on the island workstation behind the main counter. The beautiful bouquet of dark, long-stemmed red roses for the customer who was apparently very <\/em>sorry for his actions the previous night wouldn\u2019t start itself.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had a no one<\/em> who looked like him, I wouldn\u2019t share either.\u201d<\/p>\n Holiday Hoopla<\/em>:<\/strong> Halle Adams’s gift shop needs a serious cash infusion to survive, and banker Blake Ellison needs a no-strings date for his family’s holiday functions. It’s a perfect solution – he’ll approve her loan if she’ll be his escort – until feelings of jealousy surface. Romance wasn’t on their holiday wish list. Will a business deal between strangers get hoodwinked by holiday hoopla?<\/p>\n Christmas<\/strong> Clash<\/strong><\/em>: Candace Ellison is determined to stop the city council’s new convention center project from demolishing her new flower shop. Unfortunately, that means she’ll have to cooperate with annoying Luke Carrigan, whose family pub is also on the chopping block. Will this Christmas bring miracles or the destruction of everything these old rivals love?<\/p>\n Candlelight Conspiracy<\/em>:<\/strong> When Sophie Graystone’s apartment building loses power during the holidays, the aloof restaurant owner next door surprisingly invites her for a late-night menu tasting. Marc Sizzo’s too busy concentrating on success to fall in love. But sharing confidences in the intimate candlelight just might be the spark for a real relationship . . . unless an old flame reclaims his heart. Will Sophie find herself alone on New Year’s Eve after all?<\/p>\n Get your copy today!<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Barnes & Noble<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Season](\"http:\/\/danavolney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Season-of-Love-FINAL-cover-2015-273x300.jpg\")
<\/a>places she had to choose to locate her flower shop, she had to buy the one right smack dab next to Luke friggin\u2019 Carrigan.<\/p>\n