An unexpected guest for Christmas…

Synopsis

She’s always on the outside looking in, but his door might just be the one to open for her this Christmas.

‘Her name’s Tilly. Tilly Thorpe. She lives in London.’

To stop his family from speculating about his love life, travel company CEO Rafe Harrington casually drops Tilly Thorpe’s name as his girlfriend. After all, they’ll never meet – she’s just a name he saw on a rival company’s website.

But when Rafe arrives at his family’s home in Glenbriar for Christmas, he’s shocked to find ‘his girlfriend’ waiting for him.
He has some explaining to do and so does Tilly.

Why did Rafe’s family welcome her with open arms when she’s little more than a spy? Someone who’s trying hard to please her superiors, hoping it’ll bring some desperately desired happiness to her lonely existence.

Rafe isn’t a big fan of the festive season, but neither he nor Tilly can ignore their instant spark. With bad weather forecast, now is the ideal moment to discover some magic. Tilly’s never felt this at home anywhere, but none of it’s real, and that’s not why she’s here.

With time running short, can they seize this unexpected chance to fall in love not only with Christmas but also with each other?

My review

Rafe Harrington has worked very hard to have a successful travel company. And being the CEO also means that he cares about his people, even if they embrace the Christmas Spirit more than he does. As a CEO he is obviously a busy man, also keeping rival companies with underhand schemes at a distance. But that also means that he has no time for love, despite his family constantly asking him about it. To stop his family from asking this Christmas, he decides to tell a white lie and tells that he in fact is seeing someone, Tilly Thorpe. But Tilly isn’t a fictional character, but a real person, a person that caught Rafe’s eyes on his rival’s website. However, when arriving at his parents’ house, he is flabbergasted to hear that  Tilly has surprised him and is waiting for him. Tilly herself is shocked and dumbfounded by the welcome she receives after knocking at the Harrington’s house. She doesn’t understand how they seem to  know her when she didn’t even know the day before she would be here, trying to persuade Rafe to have a meeting with her, to show her superiors what she can do. When bad weather forces Tilly to stay with the Harrington’s, it turns out to be very difficult to ignore the  sparks that fly between her and Rafe… But working for rival companies make it impossible to dive into those feelings, right?

There are authors that write books that just put a smile on your face. So when I started this book, I was ready for the cramps in my face. Unfortunately, I didn’t smile in this book… but I had a HUGE grin on my face, that would grow bigger the more I read, if only that were possible! 😊

Returning to Glenbriar was like returning to a place that you love, something that give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, even if we get the story of new main characters, with the appearance of lovely people that we already love.

Right from the start I truly liked Rafe. I can imagine that he is a great person to work for, as he cares about the people that work for him. And even if he doesn’t join the festivities at the office, he enjoys seeing everyone being happy and cheery.

He is also an absolute family man, as he loves his family deeply, and enjoys spending time with them whenever he cans.

But being part of a lovely and loving family also means that they may be asking the same questions each time they see you. And I speak out of experience, and I could understand how Rafe has had enough of those same questions time after time, again and again.

So while perhaps it wasn’t the best decision he could make, but I understood why he told everyone him dating Tilly Thorpe, even if he has never met Tilly in real life and just ever saw a picture of her online, on his rival’s website.

I have to admit, even if I knew what would happen, it was just hilariously funny to see a shocked Rafe when facing Tilly at his parents’ home. Because it’s one thing that Rafe has been thinking about Tilly, but he never expected to see her home, or just see her for real, period.

And then there is Tilly…

Getting to know Tilly saddened me tremendously… not because I didn’t like her, on the contrary. But she deserved and deserves so much more in her life, and she for sure is the kind of person that is underappreciated.

My heart truly broke reading about her childhood, how it affected her and still affects her. And while perhaps the company she works for isn’t the greatest one, I admired somehow her loyalty. While she isn’t treated in the best way there, she also is grateful that she has a job there. That kind of loyalty, deserved or not, is something that maybe is missing in a lot of people these times. so seeing such a trait in Tilly shows for sure her character.

If I have to be honest, reading how Tilly was welcomed by Rafe’s family, and how she has many ‘firsts’ during her stay there, almost brought me to tears… To read how she missed out on so many things that everyone of us has at least done once in their lives…

So my tender heart wanted nothing more than seeing Rafe and Tilly getting closer. And I wasn’t the only one 😊.

Rafe and Tilly had a completely different upbringing, and their careers are also very different, even if they work in the same branch. Yet Rafe shows his most compassionate and understanding side to Tilly. And he also realizes that even if you have just met someone, there can be a connection.

Seeing them getting closer truly warmed my heart, because they are both people who deserve so much love. Even when there may be some hurdles to overcome, seeing them bonding, opening up to each other and just find each other, lovely, nothing more than utterly lovely!

I absolutely loved reading this next chapter in a marvellous series. We see how connections can be made despite a short time span, but also the kindness and generosity of people, and the Harrington family in particularly. Even if Rafe and his family is a fictional family, I could feel their warmth and heart just from each page. And I could feel Tilly’s pain too, but also seeing that pain somehow getting lifted slowly, little by little.

Margaret Amatt had very, even extremely high expectations to fulfil. Yet she managed so easily to not only reach them, but also to exceed them. I felt myself embraced by love and warmth, not wanting the story to end, yet eagerly reading page after page!