[Christmas Key 01] • There's Always a Catch

The locals are getting ready for the first group of real tourists to hit Christmas Key— especially Holly Baxter, the 30-year-old mayor of the tropical island located off the coast of Florida. On Christmas Key, holiday decorations are a full-time accessory, golf carts putter around in place of cars, and the cantankerous septuagenarians take great interest in the rocky love lives of their younger neighbors.

Jake Zavaroni, handsome island cop, is still trying to figure out how proposing to Holly under the stars suddenly turned her into his ex instead of his wife, and Holly is left wondering whether the whole relationship was simply one of convenience in the first place—after all, available young men aren’t exactly a dime a dozen on the island. Is it possible that her romance with Jake, while fun and easy, was nothing more than a tame distraction?

Holly’s hands are already full trying to sort out her love life and convince her neighbors that progress isn’t a dirty word when a boisterous group of fishermen arrive from Oregon to give the local economy a shot in the arm. Holly is immediately driven to distraction: handsome ex-baseball player River O’Leary is everything she’s dreamed of: witty, sexy, and a total stranger. They’re drawn to each other the minute River steps from boat to dock, and Holly’s only real dilemma is whether a fling with a gorgeous visitor will pull her away from her plans to turn their little slice of paradise into a viable tourist destination.

Despite family drama, a persistent ex-boyfriend, and more catastrophes than Holly could have dreamed of, she’s determined to put her island on the map. Now, with the bases fully loaded, Holly needs to see whether she and River will strikeout completely when he leaves the island, or whether their game will have extra innings!