Magic & Mistletoe

(This is a short story with six chapters. A condensed version of the first chapter originally appeared in the Tiny Treats: A Holiday Collection anthology.)

Can a Bookworm and a Badass Find Love?

Growing up in a dangerous slum, Peri Lee hated the daily fear that her loved ones would die just trying to make it home from work.  Her current job teaching mage children gives her the quiet, predictable life she craves.  Too bad the guy who pushes her go buttons, Roland Wade, has a linebacker’s build, broken nose, and badass attitude, much like the thugs who haunted her childhood home.

As a deputy shire reeve, Roland is one of the good guys, but he’s far better at taking out ghouls than talking books. Smart, petite Peri, he figures, is way out of his league. Especially since his job puts him in the line of fire daily and makes him exactly the kind of guy Peri doesn’t need.  Yet she has a spark he can’t resist.

Will their differences doom any chance for a real relationship, or will they find their own kind of magic under the mistletoe?