It’s just a Christmas fling, a short-term, no-strings affair…except when the stakes are higher than either of them realises Spending Christmas in a small English village with his estranged mother and stepbrother is not Alessio Cavalcante’s idea of a good time. But a deathbed promise to his father means he’s stuck here for the week…and not a minute longer, if he has anything to say about it. A chance meeting with a beautiful stranger offers a small silver lining. What’s the harm in a meaningless fling while he’s in town? Especially when the woman he intends to seduce is the object of his much hated stepbrother’s affections? Charlotte Smith’s life was completely derailed with the sudden death of her brother and sister-in-law, leaving her as legal guardian to her adorable nephew. Her whole life revolves around the little boy—she has no time for a relationship. But with the arrival of the sexy Italian, she starts to wonder: would a short-term, secret fling really be the end of the world? With no idea of the family drama she’s walking headlong into, this secret relationship has the power to throw a grenade into the middle of Charlotte’s ordered life, threatening everything she’s worked so hard to build.