Take Me Home for Christmas

She invented Mr. Right…just in time for the holidays.

Every tangled web starts with one tiny white lie. The kind you spin when you’re desperate.

One day I, Mia D’Angelo, third-year pediatric resident, was telling my mom that I’d finally met the perfect guy. Gushing about how amazing he was. And how happy I was.

It was all true. Until my "perfect guy" turned out to be my co-worker and my only competitor for a spot in the best practice in town…and then suddenly I was dumped…again. But I kept going with the stories, to get her through a very tough time.

My mom’s health crisis ended, and just when I thought things had settled down, my family wanted to meet my wonderful boyfriend for Christmas.

So I asked (okay, begged) just about every male I knew under forty, except for Dr. Braxton Hughes.

Don’t get me wrong. I could always count on him in a pinch. At work, that is.

Brax is an amazing pediatrician, but he would never fit the bill as a boyfriend. Maybe in looks. And charm. And his big heart. The problem is that he’s the biggest commitment-phobe this side of the Mississippi.

He’s the kind of guy I would definitely never take home for Christmas. There’d be no kissin’ under the mistletoe, no canoodling under the tree—because my heart could not survive falling for him again.

My car is packed and I’m down to no one, when magically, there he is, duffle in hand, melt-me smile on his face.

Oh, joy.

Keeping it professional is going to be a whole lot harder than I thought. Especially when he charms my parents, my whole family, and even my dog.

And Dr. Wrong…well, he’s suddenly looking awfully right.