Lucy Stephenson is facing a Christmas nightmare.
Her bistro, 'The Town Mouse', is in a bad financial way when her sous chef, Emily, drops the bomb that she’s leaving her in the lurch just weeks before Christmas.
Lucy is in a rut, unable to see how she can turn her business around, without a head chef and at the busiest time of year.
She reaches out to Dustin at a cookery agency to find a temporary chef.
In a stroke of luck, Dustin says he has the perfect man for the job.
In fact, this candidate seems too good to be true and Lucy doesn’t understand why such a talented and experienced chef is without a job at Christmas and willing to accept a position below his station and salary.
But when James Drummond gets a call from the agency he signed up with a while back, he’s intrigued by the bistro in Dexford.
Just back from New York, where he had visited his injured son Sam, James in unsure whether to accept a glamorous job in a London hotel or a stop-gap job in a cosy bistro.
Drummond, professional and practical, never takes a job without scouting its potential and travels to Dexford to inspect 'The Town Mouse' incognito.
But when he sees how busy the restaurant is, and how pushed the staff are, he feels guilty not doing anything to help.
Thinking on his feet, he charges into the kitchen and offers a hand.
Lucy is surprised to see a stranger in her kitchen, a gorgeous one at that, but she’s glad of the help.
As the two work together through the night, feelings stir between them and Lucy in desperate need of holiday help, offers this mystery man a job.
He doesn’t respond to the offer and won’t tell her his name.
Disappointed to see this beautiful enigmatic man go, Lucy decides she must interview whoever it is Dustin has lined up. She has no choice.
So when the man with no name walks through her door the next day claiming to be her interviewee, Lucy is in shock.
Although she’s glad to see him again, she’s not sure she can bare his arrogance.
James’ normal mantra is Get in, Revolutionise, Get out. But will it be that simple with The Town Mouse?
Will Lucy be able to digest his wacky ideas for the restaurant and deal with him pointing out the flaws in her business every step of the way?
Will they be able to repress their feelings for each other and save the restaurant from ruin? Who knows, is love on the menu?
Crazy Days of Christmas was originally published as A Spoonful of Love.
Praise for Jill Barry:
"An enjoyable romance, sensitively written." Holly Kinsella, author of Uptown Girl.
Jill Barry is the author of ‘The Christmas Getaway’, ‘Christmas in the Country’, ‘Devilish Delights’, ‘Love on the Menu’, ‘Suddenly You Know’, ‘A Life Less Lonely’ and 'Homefront'. She is a former airhostess, secretary and guest house owner and now finds inspiration for her contemporary and historical romance novels in her own quiet corner of Wales.
Her bistro, 'The Town Mouse', is in a bad financial way when her sous chef, Emily, drops the bomb that she’s leaving her in the lurch just weeks before Christmas.
Lucy is in a rut, unable to see how she can turn her business around, without a head chef and at the busiest time of year.
She reaches out to Dustin at a cookery agency to find a temporary chef.
In a stroke of luck, Dustin says he has the perfect man for the job.
In fact, this candidate seems too good to be true and Lucy doesn’t understand why such a talented and experienced chef is without a job at Christmas and willing to accept a position below his station and salary.
But when James Drummond gets a call from the agency he signed up with a while back, he’s intrigued by the bistro in Dexford.
Just back from New York, where he had visited his injured son Sam, James in unsure whether to accept a glamorous job in a London hotel or a stop-gap job in a cosy bistro.
Drummond, professional and practical, never takes a job without scouting its potential and travels to Dexford to inspect 'The Town Mouse' incognito.
But when he sees how busy the restaurant is, and how pushed the staff are, he feels guilty not doing anything to help.
Thinking on his feet, he charges into the kitchen and offers a hand.
Lucy is surprised to see a stranger in her kitchen, a gorgeous one at that, but she’s glad of the help.
As the two work together through the night, feelings stir between them and Lucy in desperate need of holiday help, offers this mystery man a job.
He doesn’t respond to the offer and won’t tell her his name.
Disappointed to see this beautiful enigmatic man go, Lucy decides she must interview whoever it is Dustin has lined up. She has no choice.
So when the man with no name walks through her door the next day claiming to be her interviewee, Lucy is in shock.
Although she’s glad to see him again, she’s not sure she can bare his arrogance.
James’ normal mantra is Get in, Revolutionise, Get out. But will it be that simple with The Town Mouse?
Will Lucy be able to digest his wacky ideas for the restaurant and deal with him pointing out the flaws in her business every step of the way?
Will they be able to repress their feelings for each other and save the restaurant from ruin? Who knows, is love on the menu?
Crazy Days of Christmas was originally published as A Spoonful of Love.
Praise for Jill Barry:
"An enjoyable romance, sensitively written." Holly Kinsella, author of Uptown Girl.
Jill Barry is the author of ‘The Christmas Getaway’, ‘Christmas in the Country’, ‘Devilish Delights’, ‘Love on the Menu’, ‘Suddenly You Know’, ‘A Life Less Lonely’ and 'Homefront'. She is a former airhostess, secretary and guest house owner and now finds inspiration for her contemporary and historical romance novels in her own quiet corner of Wales.
