Christmas with You

Christmas with You by Nan Reinhardt
She’s loved him all her life… but will he be there when she needs him the most?
Disheartened and adrift after being written out of a hit TV show, actor Aidan Flaherty returns to his family’s historic winery, where he’s invested some of the fortune he’s made. As the holidays approach, Aidan becomes intrigued with the old showboat that’s dry-docked just east of town… and even more intrigued with the daughter of his former mentor, who now owns it. He decides to buy the boat and restore it to its former glory.
Single mom Holly Santos is back in River’s Edge after her divorce and she is over men in general and actors in particular. If she could only get rid of her father’s old showboat, a source of fascination for her son, Mateo. She never expects her old crush to walk into her tea shop or the fireworks that happen every time they’re in the same room.
Can Aidan convince her that he is determined to restore their shared heritage on the showboat and that he’s home to stay?
This is Holly Santos and Aidan Flaherty’s story.
Holly Santos set her chin in her palm, gazed around the Tea Leaf Café, and breathed a satisfied sigh. It was small and, okay, maybe the wide-plank wood floor needed a refinish and the tin ceiling could use a new coat of paint, but it was all hers… or it would be in—she glanced at the screen of the laptop sitting on the table in front of her—another two hundred and thirty-one months. Her teeth worried her lower lip. The ceiling would probably be okay for another year; so would the floor, but the bigger concerns were the two old industrial refrigerators back in the kitchen. It was a coin toss which one would go first.
However, this morning, she could breathe, and stretching, she gave the little computer a thumbs-up. Finally, the ledger was starting to hold its own—no profit yet, but the fall tourist rush had pushed her a little ahead, just as Aunt Susan had predicted when she’d sold Holly the Tea Leaf Café on contract back in December. River’s Edge, Indiana’s economy depended on tourism and the autumn weather had been particularly beautiful this first year of being a merchant.
The opportunity to buy the tearoom in her hometown had come at moment in her life when she’d been at a crossroads, trying to decide whether to stay in River’s Edge or move back to Cincinnati. Her dad’s sister had tossed the idea out one night over a family supper and Holly’s widowed mom had literally squealed with delight.
Aidan Flaherty peered at the clock on the dashboard of his jaunty little MG—six fifteen. Too early for Mac’s. Besides, he wasn’t looking for breakfast anyway, or even a cup of coffee. He wanted tea—strong hot tea. Lapsang souchong, to be exact, and even as gourmet as Mac Mackenzie was, Aidan was pretty certain he wouldn’t find that particular variety of tea at the Riverside Diner. He drove a little farther up Main Street, past dark and shuttered shops, stopping in front of the Tea Leaf Café. When he’d been in River’s Edge a couple of months ago for Sean and Meg’s wedding, Conor’s wife, Sam, mentioned that she’d found his favorite tea at this frilly little place.
There was probably no point in checking, but he pulled into an angled parking space in front of the Tea Leaf anyway. Peering out the windshield at the café tucked cozily between Noah Barker’s Hardware store and The Bookmark bookstore, he couldn’t help smiling. The café had been there forever, with gingham curtains at the front bay window and an attractive display of tea tins, squat teapots, and thin china cups and saucers.
Wait. Is that a light on in the back? Looking around, he didn’t see any other cars parked nearby, but there was a lot behind the row of buildings that served several businesses as well as public parking. He got out of the car, closing the door quietly behind him. Yes, there was a light on in the back. Face pressed against the glass door, he tried to see if anyone was moving around in the space behind the high-ceilinged public area of the café. Yup, someone was there. He could see a slim shadow on the louvered doors that separated the public and private spaces. The posted hours said the place opened at ten, but if someone was inside, maybe he could convince them to make him a cup of tea or at least sell him a tin of lapsang souchong that he could take with him to Conor and Sam’s.
I highly recommend reading.
Christmas with You by Nan Reinhardt is a wonderful well written 5 star book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Nan’s Books with Tule:
A Small Town Christmas
Four Irish Brothers Winery
Meant to Be
Four Irish Brothers Winery
Christmas with You
Four Irish Brothers Winery

Holly has loved Aiden from afar for more years than she can count. When faced with the prospect of loving him close up, she balks because of his career: actor and all that entails in her world and mind.
This is a remarkably lovely story about moving past fears and doubts to find out if love can thrive after all.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had lots of fun reading this story. The characters are well developed and engaging and plenty of chemistry from beginning to the end. Storyline flowed smoothly.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

We are back with the Flaherty brothers in a small Indiana town where everyone knows each other.
This time the story belongs to actor Aidan Flaherty. He finds himself back home when his character is killed off in the series , not sure what his future will be.
Meanwhile , Holly Santos has been back home for a few years , after her parents turned their backs when she got pregnant at sixteen. Her ex, an actor, abandoned her and their son so actors and men in general are not her favorite people.
But fate and the past have a way of interfering and an attraction is there , even when Holly is resistant to any relationship with Aidan.
On the negative side, on a couple of occasion I found that the storyline was anti-climactic and while we were waiting for certain situations to occur, we suddenly read that what we were waiting for has already occurred without further explanation. Also, who many times are you going to call Holly “little one” when though she’s petite, she is strong.
That said, the story was engaging and I found Aidan a very likable individual with a big heart .
In the end, this was a good addition to this series and I am looking forward to Brendan’s story.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Tule Publishing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.