What do you get when you put together a Scrooge of a doctor with a cheerful pregnant widow? Well, if you’re lucky enough to have Elizabeth Bevarly as the one putting them together for you, then the result is a delightful stocking stuffer.

Dr. Reed Atchison and Dr. Seth Mahoney are, almost literally, night and day. Reed is dark, gloomy, cranky, and actually says “Bah, humbug” a couple of times, while Seth is blond, sunny, and cheerfully positive about life. One night, as they’re ready to get some dinner, Seth proposes a bet. If, during the rest of the evening, they spot someone performing a good, selfless deed for someone else, then Reed must do a selfless act of his own. If Seth is wrong and no good deeds are performed, then Seth will pay for a golf vacation to Scotland for two.

Enter Mindy Harmon. Pregnant, recently widowed, and with an eviction notice in her hand, Mindy continues to spread cheer and holiday joy to her customers at Evie’s Diner. A homeless man walks in, proudly announces it’s his birthday, then humbly orders a bowl of chili because that’s all he can afford to buy. As Mindy’s coworker Donna watches, Mindy takes some of her tips and buys a nice meal for the man. Donna, bless her heart, is one of those gossips who actually does some good with their endless chatter. She makes sure the two doctors find out about Mindy’s deed, and much to Reed’s embarrassment, Seth calls Mindy over so Reed can perform his own “selfless” deed.

Over the next few days, Reed begins to take an interest in Mindy, even if she refuses his offer for her to stay at the condo he keeps close to work. His interest in her is a medical one, he tells her when she would will him away. She is too thin, too exhausted by the many hours she works – not healthy for the baby, he says. As he makes a routine of stopping by her apartment to bring her food, he notices the shabby furniture, the ratty surroundings and wonders just how she can still be so happy and cheerful.

At last, as the days before she is kicked out of her apartment dwindle to almost nothing, Mindy finally accepts, and moves into Reed’s condo. Neither one can keep the other out of their thoughts, but each has powerful reasons to keep a safe distance.

Fortunately, we still have Seth on our side. He organizes a holiday party, making sure that both Reed and Mindy will attend. Reed is stunned by the lush, ripe vision before him – in red velvet, no less – but he can’t forget that she is pregnant with her late husband’s child. Mindy can’t stop feeling like a charity case, even if Reed takes her breath – and her heart – away.

While Mindy could have come across as an annoyingly cheerful moppet in less skilled hands, she is instead a young woman who has been through a lot, but refuses to give up on life. Her pride is understandable, her inner battle where Reed is concerned believable, and she is sweet and kind without being oily.

Growing in the sterile, glacial atmosphere of generations of Atchisons has made Reed fear the merest hint of closeness or affection. He’ll readily tell his best friend that he slept with Mindy but he’d never share what he actually feels for her. He is awed by the tiny life growing inside of the woman he has come to love, but the thought of nurturing or caring for that life is alien and frightening to him.

Elizabeth Bevarly has never disappointed me. I have always found plenty of charm and wit in her books, and I am glad that she keeps writing both series and single title books. The love scenes are both steamy and tasteful, the sexual tension palpable from miles away. All in all, a very pleasant holiday confection, but my only question is – when do we get to read Seth’s story?