Jingle Bell Hell

She’s a sexually repressed control freak. He’s a muscular ex-con with heavier baggage than Santa’s toy bag. They’re everything each other never wanted.

Mary
I’m usually the first person on my block to decorate for Christmas. This year? Humbug.

My six-year-old son, Aidan, just had a meltdown after learning some hard truths from a drunk Santa impersonator, and I can no longer deny we both need help. Change is hard for Aidan, and right now he’s dealing with several big ones, including A) his father abandoning us, B) our move to Asheville, and C) the Santa snafu.

And me? I’m a control freak, and my life is more out-of-control than a sled on ice.

That’s why I agree to let Aidan join Butterfly Buddies, a group that matches kids with adult mentors.

It’s also why I agree to a mentor of my own—terrifying, pink-haired Nicole, who wants to help me live life on the wild side. Her advice is strangely compelling, especially after I meet Aidan’s new “buddy,” a gorgeous tattooed hunk of a man who makes me wish there weren’t cobwebs in my...well, you know.

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Jace

Mary O’Shea is sexy as hell, but she doesn’t know it.

She also doesn’t know I’m an ex-con, and if she finds out that I served three years in prison, extenuating circumstances won’t matter to her.

The last thing I should do is get attached to her kid...or her, but I didn’t get in this position by making good decisions.