Two wounded people struggle with love and trust in this contemporary romance set during the Christmas holidays. "Santa, my friends say you're just a story, like my dad." Trish's heart aches when she reads the note from her five-year-old son. She needs a man, but only to play Santa for Tyler. Widowed for several years, she's not quite over the scars left by her dishonest husband, although having someone to rely on is tempting. So is Sam Carrow, but she refuses to fall for an unambitious man. Not again. Sam, a wealthy contractor, doesn't want a relationship either. Recently burned by his ex, who had her eye on the top of the corporate ladder, he lets Trish think he's poor and out of work to keep her at arm's length. When she and her son invade his heart, he has to 'fess up and win her over. Will Trish be able to overlook his dishonesty? To top it off, Trish's former mother-in-law is enacting her own family drama. She views raising Tyler as an ideal way to reinvent the past. She just has to oust Trish from the picture. When things look their gloomiest, it doesn't hurt to have Santa on your side. "Charming romance" and "a runaway good read" 4 1/2 Stars --Romantic Times Book Reviews for Stand-In Mom