Sunshine for Christmas by Mary Jo Putney
Searching for sunshine…
Lonely and depressed by far too much rain, Lord Randolph Lennox decides on impulse to take the first ship leaving London for the sunny Mediterranean. Chance brings him to Naples—where it’s also raining. But the rain clears and as he discovers the city, a pleasant young English governess rescues him from an altercation with a flirtatious girl and her protective family.
Miss Elizabeth Walker is between jobs and taking a holiday in Naples when she meets the quiet, handsome Englishman. When he proposes that she act as his guide for the next few days, she accepts because they enjoy each other’s company. Elizabeth matter-of-factly recognizes that of course she’ll fall quietly in love with him and nothing will come of it, but she’ll have some lovely memories to cherish in her old age.
…and finding a second chance at love…
As they come to know each other better, Randolph starts thinking thoughts of forever, but that seems impossible—until fate takes an alarming hand.
- File Name:sunshine-for-christmas-by-mary-jo-putney.epub
- Original Title:Sunshine For Christmas: A Regency Christmas Novella
- Creator:Mary Jo Putney
- Language:en
- Identifier:urn:uuid:516bbc15-3e44-4403-bcd6-fb81fb456d5a
- Publisher:Pandamax Press
- File Size:451.547 KB
Table of Content
- 1. Cover
- 2. Praise for…
- 3. Title Page
- 4. Contents
- 5. Foreword
- 6. Sunshine for Christmas
- 7. Author’s Note
- 8. Also by Mary Jo Putney
- 9. About the Author
- 10. Copyright
Sunshine for Christmas was about Lord Randolph Lennox, the second son of the Marquess of Kinross, and Miss Elizabeth Walker, a British governess living in Naples, Italy. Fed up with all the rain in London, Randolph decided to flee to the Mediterranean and sunshine. Unfortunately upon arrival in Naples, Randolph found it raining there too. While walking the streets, he found himself in the midst of an altercation involving a young Italian girl intent on flirting with him, her father, and her betrothed. Not able to speak the local dialect, Randolph soon found himself embroiled in a fight. When Elizabeth stepped in and rescued him, he offered to repay her by buying her lunch, which she accepted. During lunch, they got to know a little more about each other and he asked her to become his guide. The more time they spent together, the more Elizabeth fell in love. Due to things spoken by Randolph during one of their outings, Elizabeth believed him to be married and, therefore, off-limits. So she was determined to keep things light between them and build memories for when she was old and gray. Randolph, having had two bad relationships in his past, never thought to find love again. However, the longer he knew Elizabeth, the more he believed he could settle for a marriage where friendship was present. Although he had proposed hours before, she had declined, as she had thought he only offered for her to become his mistress. Later, when they were trapped together and awaiting rescue, Randolph realized he had fallen in love with her, but when he proposed marriage and she had refused, he believed it was because she couldn't bring herself to marry him. As both began talking about past relationships, they also determined there had been misunderstandings between them and both realized that they were, in fact, in love with each other. While the emotions were a bit lackluster and the book was short and sweet, it still made for a gentle love to grow between two mature, yet lonely people. Perhaps not a five-star worthy story, but definitely worth the time spent reading it.
So freaking sweet. Short stories are great and always leave me wishing for more.