A Daddy by Christmas

Good story about two people brought together by their desire to help a little girl. Anders is a billionaire businessman who is fighting for custody of his orphaned niece. If he isn’t married, he will lose her to the other set of relatives. He doesn’t want to marry anyone, but he’ll do it for his niece. The problem was finding someone willing to enter into a short-term marriage of convenience. During a clash with a woman at an animal shelter, he impulsively proposed marriage to her.

Chloe was a dancer with the Rockettes, but had a run of bad luck during a performance, causing them to demote her. She was relegated to passing out performance flyers on the street. Dance has been her life, and Chloe was feeling lost without it. She also lost her boyfriend over it because she was no longer useful to his plans. Her pride wouldn’t let her confess her problems to her family. The only thing that made her feel better was the puppy she was in the process of adopting until even that was threatened.

The confrontation between Chloe and Anders at the shelter was intense. Both wanted that puppy – Chloe for herself, Anders for his niece. Underneath the antagonism of the argument the sparks of attraction flew. It was interesting to see that Chloe rattled Anders to the point where he looked at her as a possible solution to his problem, even though she was the opposite of everything he wanted. Chloe was a bit off-center herself, with her mind drifting to daydreams about him rather than concentrating on getting the dog. Anders’s sudden proposal, backtracking, and abandonment of his claim showed just how confused he was.

Fate wasn’t done with them yet and tossed them together yet again when Anders brought Lolly to her ballet class – the same one that Chloe has just taken over the teaching of. The sparks were still there, and I had fun seeing Chloe jerk his chain about the proposal. But she felt a little guilty when she learned the story behind Anders and Lolly being together and decided to do something about it. Meanwhile, Anders was still trying to solve his wife problem and getting nowhere. Desperate, he made a proposition to Chloe. Their plan was for a paper marriage that would end as soon as Anders had custody of Lolly. They didn’t count on the paparazzi getting wind of the marriage, which forced them to make it look real.

The intense attraction between Chloe and Anders had both of them on edge. Though Chloe insisted on a platonic arrangement, the chemistry between them blew that away the first night. I loved the effect it had on Anders, who suddenly realized that maybe being married wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But Chloe freaked out at the intensity of her feelings and pulled back hard. They both put on the show that it was a real marriage, though Chloe kept reminding herself and Anders that it would be over soon, trying to protect her heart (which was a losing battle). I loved how easily they melded as a family. It was great to see the workaholic Anders leave work earlier every day, just to spend time with Lolly and Chloe. I ached for both of them, as Chloe was afraid to believe, and Anders finally understood what his brother had tried to tell him. When it came time for Chloe to make a choice, she had to decide where her heart really belonged. I loved their big moment at the end, and the setting was perfect.

I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, but they are now on my list of ones I want to read. The love and support that they all had for Chloe was fantastic. I loved how they all came together to make the wedding happen, and how they drew Lolly and Anders into the family. I ached for Chloe, who let her pride get in the way of asking for help. And I loved her mom, who was a lot smarter than Chloe gave her credit for, and played a big part in Chloe’s happy ending.