The Sullivans 10 - Kissing Under The Mistletoe - Bella Andre.pdf

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Kissing Under the Mistletoe
Smashwords Edition
~ The Sullivans ~
© 2013 Bella Andre
bella@bellaandre.com
http://www.BellaAndre.com
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For Mary Sullivan Christmas is, and always has been, about family. And this year is no different.
As she awaits the arrival of her eight children and their partners at the cottage in Lake Tahoe, she
hangs the ornaments that they made for her over the years. Each decoration brings with it a tide of
memories, all of which she holds dear to her heart. But when she comes across the oldest
ornament, the one her beloved husband, Jack, gave her on their very first Christmas together,
Mary is immediately swept back to the first days of their whirlwind romance, to the love that
would be the foundation on which they built the family she is so proud to call her own. Join the
Sullivans this Christmas for a story that explores the wonder of the holidays, the meaning of
family and a love that transcends time.
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate Mary and Jack Sullivan’s story to…
All the "Sullifans" around the world—I adore you.
Sarah MacLean—your awesomeness is unparalleled.
Mom and Dad—thank you for supporting my dream and helping to make it become an incredible
reality.
And to my amazing husband, Paul—every single day you inspire me to write the kind of heroes I can't
help but fall in love with. You've always been my forever.
A note from Bella:
As soon as I started writing about the Sullivan family, emails began to pour in about Mary and
Jack Sullivan, parents of the eight Sullivan children who grew up to become the heroes and heroines
in my series.
Was Jack as sexy and loving as his sons? Was Mary as feisty and sweet as her daughters?
When did they meet? Was it love at first sight? Was their road to romance bumpy or smooth? And
could I please tell their love story, too?
I've been asked many, many times about my favorite Sullivan. While I love them all for
different reasons, as soon as I started writing
Kissing Under The Mistletoe,
I was finally able to
make my choice.
Mary and Jack Sullivan's love story is definitely one of my favorite that I've ever written. I
hope that you love it, too.
Happy reading,
Bella Andre
Prologue
Mary Sullivan looked forward to spending Christmas in Lake Tahoe with her family all year
long. After seven decades of Christmas celebrations, she still felt the same wonder and joy for the
winter holidays that she had as a child. Outside the large windows of the cozy log cabin on the shores
of Lake Tahoe, the clear blue sky was quickly giving way to clouds. The thermometer hanging on the
trunk of a nearby pine tree told her the temperature had dropped ten degrees since morning. Mary had
already lit a fire in the commanding rock fireplace that her husband, Jack, had built so many years ago
with the help of his brothers.
The first snowfall of winter was always beautiful, but tonight, sharing it with the people she
loved most in the world would make it pure magic.
This year would be a truly special Sullivan Christmas, because her family—eight wonderful
kids and their families, who had filled her life with so much love and joy—would be arriving by
nightfall.
She couldn’t wait to see them all, but before they all arrived and every room of the log cabin
erupted with constant chatter and laughter, she wanted to have a little quiet time with her precious
memories.
Moving away from the window, Mary headed for the large storage room in the back of the
house. Stepping inside, she spent a few minutes admiring the marks along the inside wall.
She and Jack had measured each child’s growth spurts over the years, from toddlers to full-
grown adults. Smith and Chase had badly wanted to catch up to Marcus and when, at sixteen, Smith
had finally topped his older brother by half an inch you could have heard his bragging for miles. The
twins, Sophie and Lori, had thankfully grown at exactly the same rate. Different in many ways, her
girls had the most important thing in common: big hearts.
Jack and his brothers had built this log cabin nearly forty years ago, and she felt the love of the
entire Sullivan clan on every shelf, every tile, every nail. Taking down the medium-size box from the
middle shelf, she carried it back into the living room and placed it on a glossy wooden table near the
bare Christmas tree.
Mary had several friends who put up elegant Christmas trees using only red-and-gold
ornaments or silver-and-white decorations. Their trees were holiday showpieces, so carefully put
together that even Mary was nervous about knocking off one of the pristine ornaments. She always
kept a good distance from those architectural wonders.
No one would ever call the Sullivans’ big Christmas tree a showpiece or anything close to
elegant, with its jumble of mismatched decorations…but Mary would never change a thing about it,
even though her kids were all grown now. Every ornament on her tree had such a beautiful story
behind it.
With a smile of anticipation, Mary reached into the box and pulled out a thin, flat, bubble-
wrapped package. She carefully undid it to reveal a Popsicle-stick masterpiece. Six wooden sticks
had been glued into the shape of a star. At the center of the star was a hand-drawn picture of the
growing Sullivan family from more than thirty years ago.
Even as a little boy, family had meant so much to Marcus, her firstborn, who now owned the
very successful Sullivan Winery in Napa Valley. Only four years old when he’d made this ornament,
he’d drawn Smith as a toddler, dancing for their attention. Chase was crawling off in his diaper to
discover a new adventure. Marcus stood between Jack and Mary, grinning as he held their hands.

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