Noah flicked a glance over his shoulder to watch Ainsley walk toward a row of low-hanging shelves that still looked too high for her to reach. “Do you need me to get something for you?”
“No, no. I have it.” Standing on tiptoe, she used her fingertips to move a large basket closer to the edge of the shelf. Things didn’t look like they were going her way. The basket tipped, and Noah ran toward her just as what looked like hundreds of strings of lights dropped on top of her head, draped her body, and cascaded to her feet. He skidded to a stop. “Are you okay?” She peeked out through a row of lights. “So I guess I didn’t have it.” He burst out laughing and walked closer. “Let me see if I can get you out of these.” “I think I can…” She pushed her arm through a hole only to have another bunch of green wires fell on top of it. “If I can just get this right here…” Another poke caused a similar tumble of string. Still laughing, Noah began to peel away the lines, unwrapping her like a chocolate bar. “Just stay still.” “Ow! Something’s caught in my hair.” Ainsley tried to pull away from the pain. “Wait. Don’t move.” His fingers dove into the silkiness of her blonde strands and dislocated her hair from the plug. “How many strings of lights does this place need?” “A bunch. There’s another basket up there.” She peeled two strings apart that were tapping against her cheek. “Oh, this is ridiculous.” Noah didn’t disagree, but he couldn’t deny he enjoyed being this close to her. The slight flush to her cheeks and the brightness of her eyes tripped up his concentration, and his fingers fumbled in the lights, causing one to smack the back of her head. “Sorry. Sorry. These things are all tangled.” “Yeah. I noticed. What if you just lift the entire batch, and I’ll try to step out from underneath?” “They’re not all in order, and I doubt they’re going to go at one time, but we’ll give it a shot.” Noah squatted and gathered as many of the strings as he could and began to ease them up her body. But the thickness of the strands proved more tenacious. The more he pushed, the more they slipped. “Okay. You’re right. I’ll just stand here, and you can unwrap me.” She rolled her eyes. “This is going to take forever.” Noah stood. His gaze meeting hers. “I’ll go as fast as I can.” She looked back at him, and for a long second, neither one of them spoke. His gaze dropped to her lips then he quickly looked away. “Right. I’ll get started.”
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By the time Making Christmas Magic releases on November 2nd, it will have been two and a half years since my last book release. So I had my fingers crossed when I started submitting this book to reviewers. I'm happy to say that the first review brought a HUGE smile to my face! And I appreciate Heidi Lynn so much for such a quick turnaround time!
On October 15th, Making Christmas Magic will be available for pre-order! Then you'll have it in your ebook reader on November 2nd!
Available November 2, 2020She paused long enough to look over her shoulder. “You here alone, or did you come with Mrs. Noah?” The blatant curiosity brought a wide smile to his face. Margie probably had a niece or best friend’s cousin’s daughter who happened to be single, and surprise, here he was single, too. “There isn’t a Mrs.” Another pause, this time with widened eyes. “How has no one managed to snag you?” She waved a hand in front of her face. “Listen to me. I should be ashamed of myself for embarrassing you like that.” “I’m not embarrassed, and you don’t look ashamed.” He gave her a wink. “But I don’t think you’re asking about my marital status for yourself.” Her cheeks flushed, and the hand-waving picked up speed. “Well, heavens no. I’ve been happily married for thirty years. Well, happily for the most part. Man sure does know how to get on a woman’s nerves.” “Don’t we all?” Noah conceded with a laugh, wishing he had a little more than three days to spend in Broadway. Margie stopped in front of a large, three-drawer metal filing cabinet. “So what’s the address of that piece of land you’ve inherited?” “171 Bedwick Circle.” Her hand dropped to her side, and she whirled to face him. “That can’t be right.” He couldn’t be mistaking the drop in temperature in the room. “It is.” He dug into the inner pocket of his suit coat and checked the address again. “171 Bedwick Circle. I’m supposed to get the deed in the mail in the next two weeks or so, but I thought I’d…” He stopped talking when he realized he didn’t have her attention. “Margie?” She clamped her hands on her hips. “Well, you can’t have that property.” I’m single and not looking for a relationship. In fact, I write a blog that is about helping single women in all aspects of their lives. I do that because, for the most part, I enjoy being single. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy romance. I love watching it, reading it, writing it, and seeing it with my friends and their families. To me, romance is that special feeling of knowing you belong, that you have someone in your corner. I may not have the traditional romance of having a partner, but I do have people in my corner, friends I can depend on. One has even promised to paint my eyelids a garish blue if I cross over before she does. But then, I’ve promised to give her a clown’s grin with lipstick if she goes first. Isn’t friendship wonderful? I’ve been writing romance for thirty-four years, and while I’ve veered off into suspense and young adult, I know I’ll never give up the wonder of romance. The journey of two souls finding their way to one another is timeless and irresistible. I can enjoy that without needing it in my life…at least not right now. You never forget your first true love. I never believed those words until the day I saw Sam again. And just like that, twenty years evaporated, and we were standing together by the cannons in WhitePoint Gardens.
He’d held my hand, promised we’d see each other again, but I’d known then it was a promise he probably couldn’t keep. Sam never knew when he’d be able to return…or if he could. Then he’d kissed me, just a gentle touching of our lips, and he walked away without looking back. I’d tried to forget him. Had even moved on and gotten married, but it hadn’t worked out. For the past ten years, I’d stayed away from men because they couldn’t be trusted not to break your heart. But there stood Sam, and my heart didn’t listen to that voice inside my head telling me to walk away as fast as I could. Then it was too late. He’d seen me. “Victoria?” His raspy voice reached out to me across the distance between our cars. Now frozen in place, he was half in and half out of his silver Lexus. I clutched my purse. “Hi, Sam.” My response spurred him into action. He straightened, closed the car door, and came toward me. “Hi? After all this time, that’s what I get?” Without waiting for permission, he swept me up into a tight hug, and the moment his arms closed around me, my heart soared. It shouldn’t. I wasn’t a twenty-five-year-old unemployed mother anymore. I’d matured and had raised two kids with lives of their own now. My heart had no business soaring because a man I hadn’t seen in two decades was holding me. But I held him, too, breathing him in and absorbing the warmth of his body close to mine. All too soon Sam let me go and looked down at my face. “Have you been here all along?” “At the bank?” I knew what he meant, but I needed time to compose myself so I wouldn’t start peppering him with questions. Stupid questions like “why didn’t you call” and “do you know how worried I was about you”. His lips curved into a smile, and I caught a glimpse of the dimple that used to make me stare. It still did. The years had been more than kind to him. “You know what I meant. Here in Charleston. You stayed?” I shrugged and adjusted the top button of my blouse. “It’s my home.” He folded his arms, and the button-down shirt clung to his muscles. Still kept himself in shape. I had to wonder if he was still working for the FBI. Would he have retired by now? I couldn’t imagine him walking away from the work he loved so much…unless someone had given him a reason to. Acting as casually as I could, I glanced down at his ring finger, but I never could get anything past Sam. He grinned and held up his left hand. “Not married.” My surprised gaze flashed to his face. “Ever?” “Only to the FBI.” “Are you still working for them?” He’d spent most of his time undercover so many of our meetings had taken place in the dark or in some of the small towns surrounding Charleston. He had to be careful who saw him. Though it had strained our relationship, I had wanted to make it work. “Yeah. I’m actually here on assignment right now.” “Still chasing the bad guys?” My purse felt too heavy for my arm. He laughed. “Actually, I’m teaching the younger guys how to chase the bad guys.” “You’re teaching?” I wrinkled my nose. “You told me that was for old guys ready to draw a pension.” “Who knew one day I’d be one of those guys?” With another laugh, he took hold of my arm. “Listen, I have to get to work, but I’d like to see you again.” We didn’t know each other anymore, but I wanted to see him again. I just wasn’t sure it was a wise decision. I countered the request with a question. “How long are you in town?” With a wry smile, he pushed my hair away from my cheek. “Always the skeptic, aren’t you?” “Considering I last saw you over twenty years ago, I’d say I have a right. How do I know you’re not going to stand me up again?” He lowered his hand and dipped it into the pocket of his black slacks. “Here.” He handed me an embossed card. “There’s my number. You can call me if you want to see me again.” Leaning down, he pressed a kiss against my cheek. “It was good to see you, Victoria.” As he walked away, I knew I’d call. He knew I’d call. Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year, but I’ve never written a book set during the season. I don’t know why, but when the opportunity to take part in this anthology arose, I knew I wanted in. First, it got me back into writing fiction. I’d let that fall by the wayside as I’ve been focusing more on essays and articles. Writing about Ainsley and Noah’s story was invigorating and made me realize what I’d been missing. Making Christmas Magic is only about 18,000 words, but I’ve already started writing an Easter novella that will come out next year with plans underway for a few more novellas. Maybe I’m not ready to jump back into writing full-length novels, but writing about romance during Christmas, Easter, or other holidays is exciting to me. I hope you enjoy Making Christmas Magic, my first book release in 2 ½ years. I’m looking forward to continuing on this new(ish) journey I’ve started. Because I love to be creative and to stay busy, I started creating graphics in the evenings. I made them for my books, for other books, for ads, and more. I had previously made some premade cover art for some authors so I thought I'd give my hand at making more of those, and before you know it, I now have an Etsy shop (with my sister) for premade covers! We just launched the shop on September 9th, and we've already uploaded 34 covers. (I've always been an overachiever!) This is just one of my many endeavors that is both fun and relaxing. And I hope, eventually, profitable.
So if you, or any author you know, is looking for a premade cover, I hope you'll visit our site. We're adding new covers practically every day and have a large inventory of some pretty unique covers. Beth shielded her eyes against the sun and glared at the blue Mercedes parked in her spot. Not again. How could people not see the reserved sign? With a huff of irritation, she maneuvered her Beetle into the only open guest spot even remotely close to her office and killed the engine.
Juggling her lunch, insulated mug of coffee, and several files she’d taken home the night before, she held her door open with one knee while wiggling her way out of the narrow opening. The brick side of the building prevented her from walking normally so she inched her way toward the sidewalk using a half-squat waddle. She’d almost made it to the finish line when a gray suit coat blocked her path. Blowing her hair out of her eyes, she looked up. Of course, it would have to be Daniel Haven witnessing her awkward shuffle. All 6’3 inches of dark-haired, broad-shouldered male. “You look like you could use some help.” Without asking, he captured the files from her arms and held out a hand to help her onto the sidewalk. The feel of his fingers wrapped around hers nearly rendered her speechless. How many times had she walked past this man’s office, hoping, praying he would look up and notice her? Now, today, when the humidity had already fried her hair and melted the makeup off her face, he decided to strike up a conversation. “You okay, Beth?” He gave her fingers a little squeeze. She fumbled for a response. “I…um…I’m fine. Just not used to parking so far away from the building. Someone took my spot.” The second the words left her lips, she winced. “They probably had a good reason, though.” Daniel shifted his green-eyed gaze to the Mercedes. “I think that’s your boyfriend’s car.” Beth tugged her hand free. “My…what?” “Your boyfriend.” He gave her his full attention. “His name’s Stuart, right?” “Stuart? As in Stuart Adler?” Beth gritted her teeth. “He is not my boyfriend.” He was, however, in a world of trouble. “Oh.” Daniel led the way around the building toward the main entrance. “He said the two of you had been dating for a couple of years.” Steam bubbled up inside Beth’s ears. Of all the practical jokes…she and Stuart had grown up together, and he’d always been a prankster. And his jokes had continued throughout their college years. But when he’d gotten hired as junior counsel at the same law firm she worked, he’d promised there’d be no more pranks. Apparently, he’d lied. Realizing she was keeping Daniel waiting, Beth tucked her coffee close to her side and reached out her hands for the files. “I’ve known Stuart since we were kids. He likes to joke around.” Daniel opened the door instead of handing her the files. “So maybe he wants more than he’s telling you.” “We’re more like brother and sister. He said those things because he thinks he’s funny. Anyway, thanks for your help.” “No problem.” He pressed his back against the door so she could walk past him. “So just to be clear, you’re not dating Stuart. At all?” “Never. We’ve only been good friends. Of course, that may change after today.” One step toward the elevator, she realized Daniel wasn’t moving. “Are you coming up?” “In a second.” He gave her a small smile that made her cheeks flush. “Oh, okay.” She shuffled uncertainly from foot to foot. “Then I’m going to need those files.” “Have dinner with me.” The words danced in the air, leaving Beth both breathless and faint. “What? Did you…just ask me…” “To have dinner with me. Well, it was really more a command. That’s probably how it sounded, but it isn’t how it was meant.” Beth tilted her head back to see his face better, and she couldn’t be mistaking the slight tinge of red on his cheekbones. “So you’re asking me?” He chuckled and ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Yeah. I would have asked you sooner, but…” “Stuart.” She grinned, the world a bit brighter, and she didn’t even care about the Mercedes in her spot. “Well? Will you?” Her heart thumped so loud, she wondered why he couldn’t hear it. “Absolutely.” The word gushed out, and the tips of her ears went hot. “I meant that as an affirmative not as…” “As long as it’s a yes, Beth.” “It’s definitely a yes.” Later that night, Daniel walked her to her front door, his hand holding hers. “You know, we should find whoever owns that Mercedes.” Beneath the porch light, Beth looked up at him. “Why?” “To say thank you.” He brushed his lips against hers, and Beth sighed. “We’ll do that first thing tomorrow morning,” she whispered. “Give her the house.”
“I don’t want the house.” And she certainly didn’t need it. What Jackie needed most was air and to avoid her husband’s angry eyes. “What Mrs. Crenshaw means is that she doesn’t want only the house.” Jackie’s attorney tapped a pen on the conference room table. “Did you bring a list of your assets today, Mr. Crenshaw?” “Jackie knows about my assets.” Andy bit out each word. Remaining silent, Jackie kept her gaze trained on the polished gleam of the table where she could see her reflection. “I will not have my client intimidated.” This from the attorney Jackie wished she’d never hired. “Mr. Crenshaw has no interest in intimidating your client, Ms. Winslow.” Andy’s attorney sounded just as cool as the icy blue shirt he wore. “That’s certainly not what I’m seeing. He hasn’t taken his eyes off her since we sat down.” Her gaze flickered to Jackie’s face. “Are you okay?” Jackie wanted to scream. No, she wasn’t okay. She was suffocating. Drowning in her own foolish decision to drive her husband away. Andy answered for her. “She needs a break.” Jackie finally met his gaze. He knew her so well. After ten years of marriage, why did that knowledge surprise her? Andy’s attorney, a shark with a reputation of going for the jugular, sniffed. “My client is only looking out for his wife’s best interests.” “Ex-wife,” Ms. Winslow corrected. “The court has yet to make that distinction.” With all eyes watching him, Andy pushed away from the table and walked around to where Jackie sat. He took hold of her chair and gave it an easy pull. “Come on. Let’s get some air.” “Andy, you shouldn’t be talking to her,” his attorney protested. “”Walking isn’t talking.” “She’s your ex-wife!” “The court has not made that distinction yet. Excuse us.” Andy’s arm around her waist offered comfort as he guided her out through the double doors of the conference room. They didn’t say a word to one another until they walked out into the warm sunshine. “Why don’t you want the house?” Jackie stopped walking. “Memories, I suppose.” Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away rapidly. He tucked her hair behind her ears, a gesture so familiar, her breath caught. “Some of them were good,” he whispered. She bit her lower lip. “I know.” Andy sighed and crammed his hands into the pockets of the grey dress slacks that fit his lean frame so well. “If you don’t want the house, what do you want?” “Not this.” But this, asking him to leave, had been her choice. She couldn’t blame Andy for being angry, confused. He took hold of her arms. “What ‘this’ don’t you want? The division of our assets? The meeting with the attorneys? What?” “I don’t want to lose you.” The words spilled out before she could stop them, and the look on her husband’s face kicked her in the stomach. “You wanted me to leave.” “No, I didn’t. It just seemed liked my only option.” Time to tell all. Give him the facts so he could make the decision on his own. “The cancer’s back, Andy.” He yanked her into his arms, holding her so tight her ribs ached. “That’s what’s been going on inside of you. I knew something was wrong, but you wouldn’t let me in.” “I won’t let you watch me die, Andy. I went through that with Mom, and it hurt so much I could barely breathe. Andy loosened his embrace so he could look at her. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, his tears matched hers. “I’m not going to watch you die, Jackie. I’m going to watch you live. You’re scared, and I understand that, but pushing me away isn’t the answer.” A sob tore through her chest. “I know. I know. I just don’t want you to go through—” “How about you let me decide what I go through?” She was back in his arms again, her head on his chest. “I’ll probably lose my hair this time.” “I’ll buy you a wig.” “I probably won’t be able to work for a while.” “I’ve always wanted a wife who didn’t work.” He leaned back to give her a grin. Jackie returned his smile. “I feel so stupid now.” He brushed the remaining tears away from her cheeks. “Admittedly, pushing me away wasn’t one of your shining moments.” The smile segued into a laugh. “Not just that. I gave my attorney a $5,000 non-refundable retainer.” “Ah.” Andy nodded. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I just put my attorney’s kid through college.” “I’m really scared.” “I know, but the only way we’ll get through this is together. Now let’s go home.” |
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