Book excerpt: HIS CHRISTMAS GIFT Two years ago, Alia Youngblood’s husband was taken prisoner on a top secret military mission. Now Adam Braithwaite is back and nothing like the confident physicist she married. This Adam is guarded, mistrustful…and still evokes a passion Alia can’t deny. She vowed for better or for worse and she won’t give up now. But when Alia’s new business assignment exposes Adam’s emotional scars, will holiday magic reignite love’s fires and make them whole again? DECADENT HOLIDAY PLEASURES Executive chef Elise Jennings is eager to prove herself at her new job. But when Giovanni Castillo, sexy heir to the Hamptons polo club, saunters into her kitchen, she’s tempted to taste forbidden fruit. An affair with her boss’s son could ruin her professional credibility. But Giovanni’s seductive caresses are impossible to resist! When their secret fling leads to not-so-secret gossip, will Elise get the man and career for Christmas…or be left outside in the cold?