His Mistletoe Wager

Wonderful Christmas story! I really enjoyed it.

Hal Stuart, Earl of Redbridge, enjoys being a bachelor, but lately feels like he’s missing something. His sister, Connie, [Her Enemy at the Altar] is happily married to Aaron Wincanton and they have 2 daughters. Hal and Aaron love to bet on things and the loser has to muck out the winner’s stable. While at a Christmas party Aaron challenges Hal to steal 5 kisses by Twelfth Night from a woman Aaron chooses. Aaron’s choice is Lady Elizabeth Wilding.

Lady Elizabeth, aka Lizzie, was left at the altar 5 years ago by a man she believed loved her. She loved him and they anticipated their vows, resulting in her son, Georgie. She loves Georgie very much but he’s mostly housebound to prevent ton gossip. Her plan is to move to a cottage away from London, change her last name and raise her son. Her father keeps introducing her to men, but she doesn’t believe they would accept her son. She plans to tell her father, who loves his grandson, that she is moving after the holidays.

Hal talks her into pretending, for the holiday season, they like each other to avoid the women chasing him and the men her father introduces her to. The time spent together has him thinking of marriage but she is still planning on leaving London and society after Twelfth Night. Hal meets Georgie and his reaction is not what she expected. The rest of the story you must read as several things, not all good, occur before the HEA. I don’t like to write spoilers.

I can easily recommend this standalone book. Characters from his sister’s story do appear but you do not have to read that book to follow this one.

This was a fun book to read and kept me hooked from beginning to end. It opens with a prologue describing Lizzie’s excitement at marrying the man she loves, despite others’ warnings that he isn’t to be trusted. That fact becomes all too clear when her fiancé fails to appear for the wedding, having eloped with a richer girl instead. Devastated and pregnant, Lizzie relies on her family’s support. She has her baby, and with their help, raises him in secrecy.

Five years later, her father is determined to find Lizzie a husband, while she is equally determined to remain single. Forced back into society regularly to endure her father’s attempts, she swears this will be the last time. She has her own plans for her future, starting the day after Twelfth Night. In the meantime, she must endure her father’s parade of eligible “dullards.”

Hal Stuart is confused and troubled. He spent most of his adult life indulging in every rakish vice he could find and avoiding all responsibilities, reveling in angering his cold, controlling father. In the year since inheriting the title, Hal discovered that he likes estate management, testing his mettle in the financial markets, and even listening to the debates in the House of Lords. Even worse, he seems to have lost all interest in sowing the wild oats he’s sure he still has in him. He also has no interest in falling victim to the hordes of debutantes determined to snag his very eligible self. In an effort to cheer him up, Hal’s brother-in-law challenges him to The Mistletoe Wager. Hal must get five separate kisses, in five different locations from a woman of Aaron’s choosing. Supremely confident in his abilities, Hal accepts. Then he learns that his target is “Sullen” Lizzie Wilding.

In the first pages, I wasn’t sure I was going to like Hal. The bet, and his overwhelming confidence that he would win, put me off a little bit. But I also had the feeling that there was more to him than it appeared, simply because of how he already left his rakish ways behind him. I loved the first meeting between Hal and Lizzie. She was doing her best to hide from her persistent suitors when Hal joined her. I loved how she had no trouble informing him that he was wasting his time if he was trying to flirt with her. Hal quickly realized his original plan wasn’t going to work, switched tactics by telling her that he was also hiding, and using her as a shield against “the baying hordes.” Hal was immediately intrigued by her wit and beauty, and I loved their banter as she tried to drive him away. I enjoyed his proposition that they team up and protect each other during the upcoming month of Christmas festivities.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Hal and Lizzie. Though she first rejected his idea, she quickly came to realize that it would have its benefits. Over the next week, they sought each other out at various functions, becoming fast friends as they talked about anything and everything. I loved seeing Lizzie go from tarring Hal with the same brush as her ex-fiancé to realizing that there was much more to him. Meanwhile, Hal found himself more and more fascinated by Lizzie, seeing the intelligent and fun woman beneath the standoffish exterior. There were some terrific scenes of their growing friendship. My favorite was the one at Hambly’s toy store. I loved watching Hal help Lizzie pick out a veritable army of toy soldiers for her son, even though he didn’t know it at the time. Lizzie returned the favor after a hilarious conversation about his efforts as the “naughty uncle” buying for his nieces.

I loved watching the trust between Lizzie and Hal blossom. Lizzie doesn’t trust easily after her ex-fiancé’s betrayal. That trust was critical, as Lizzie called upon Hal’s vow to be there for her if she needed him. The first instance was when her father sprung a dinner party on her; one that included three of his “dullard” choices as suitors for her. A panicked note to Hal inviting him to the same dinner brought him running. That dinner was fantastic as Hal showed those men up as what they were, both subtly and bluntly.

That trust became even more vital when one of Lizzie’s suitors enlists her ex-fiancé in a scheme to blackmail her into marrying him. Ockendon knows more than Lizzie realizes, and his threats against her, her son, and her father plunge her into despair. I loved seeing Hal’s protectiveness and support even before he found out about her son. That discovery provided a small bump in their relationship, though Hal recovered quickly and came through it like a champ. He realized that “Lizzie was his friend. She was in trouble. An innocent little boy was in trouble, too.”

I loved watching the amiable and charming Hal as he transformed from a lovable scoundrel to a warrior protecting his woman. There was no doubt in my mind that he would succeed in finding a way to protect the woman he loved. His efforts were thorough and determined, and he refused to give up. His actions were vividly described, and I was on the edge of my seat as each step was revealed. The final confrontation was tremendous and I loved how Hal pulled it off. I ached for Lizzie, who by this time knew that she had fallen in love with Hal, but was also convinced that she was not worthy of him because of her past. The ending was fantastic with an unexpected solution that warmed my heart and made me love Hal even more.