One Night Before Christmas

Serenity Woods

Serenity Woods

About this ebook

One night with a scarred stranger for a million pounds. What would you do?

This Christmas, I’m a modern-day Bob Cratchit, struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over the head of my disabled daughter, Immi. With bills piling up, holiday gifts and a festive dinner are an impossible dream.

Then a last-minute kitchen job at Midnight in Mayfair, an exclusive London nightclub, changes everything. When I help an injured dancer, I catch the eye of the club's owner, Te Ariki Thompson: tall, Māori, rich, scarred, and extremely intimidating. He suggests I fill in for her. I’m ready to refuse—until I realize how much it pays. 

After watching my performance, Te Ariki offers me another five thousand pounds for a private dance. Desperation wins, and I can’t resist. Then he asks me to return the next evening. Night after night, I find myself dancing just for him, gradually glimpsing the man beneath the scars.

Then he makes an unthinkable proposal: one million pounds for a single night together, with two conditions—he’ll blindfold me, and I must agree to be restrained. I’m terrified, but the money could change everything for Immi and me.

I don’t expect to fall for him. But after that night, Te Ariki expects me to walk away. What happens when Beauty can’t leave her Beast?

Ratings and reviews

Here's an entertaining take on the Beauty and the Beast tale against a holiday backdrop. Astrid, a single mom, is our Beauty, taking on temp jobs to make ends meet. When a kitchen staff gig at an exclusive club unexpectedly turns into a performance position, she meets Te Ariki, billionaire owner of the club. He is our Beast, being badly scarred following a plane crash. This unlikely pair has an undeniable chemistry, not just between them, but also for the reader. As a prequel for the Under the Southern Stars series, this novella does an admirable job. It sets the tone of richer/poorer and even introduces some upcoming characters. As we've come to expect from Ms. Woods, serious issues (challenges of raising a special needs child and grief/misplaced guilt) are woven into the spicy romantic story. So give yourself a gift with your own copy but don't forget the book lovers on your list!

This quick steamy holiday fling made me realize that sometimes a random situation can totally flip your life around. Te Ariki and Astrid had both been through some rough times. But their chance meeting and budding romance ended up making a positive difference not just for them, but for the people closest to them too. I appreciated the way Linc supported his friend. It also sounded like Linc had some pretty heavy issues to deal with himself. Hope Te Ariki and Astrid get a longer book.

What a lovely feelgood factor Christmas book from Serenity Woods, this short story has real "Beauty and the Beast" connotations' The lives of Astrid Bergman and Te Ariki Thompson couldn't be more different, Astrid was a young widow with a disabled, wheelchair bound daughter, Immi, she was working numerous jobs trying to make ends meet, Astrid's mother was a great help looking after Immi but Christmas was going to be bleak this year. Te Ariki was a multi millionaire, he was part owner of a high c

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Serenity Woods writes sizzling New Zealand billionaire romances. Alternatively called "The Goddess of Witty Banter" and "The Queen of Happy Endings" by reviewers, she likes to describe her heroes as 'nice guys doing naughty things,' so if you like your men hot, rich, funny, and respectful out of the bedroom but wicked beneath the sheets, you've come to the right place!