by Kiley Dunbar
Nari. Nari Bell.
The clearest sound.
The brightest light.
You deserve to fly.
See the world.
See the world.
Encircle it like the moon does.
Always moving on.
Think of me kindly.
Think of me kindly,
And how I’m still here.
And how I’m here waiting and loving you.
I desperately type my reply, and click send, instantly hearing a sharp sound.
Message not sent. Retry?
And so I do retry, again and again. There’s no way it’ll get to her, she’s too far away. There’ll be no signal.
There’s nothing for it but to roll into a ball on the bed and just let the tears fall.
Ping! Then another. Ping! And another. Ping! Ping! Ping! I sit up, wipe my nose on my sleeve, and try to focus on the screen.
Minä rakastan sinua
I scroll.
Jag älskar dig
There’s another one.
Je t’aime
I’m shaking now.
Te amo
Ich liebe dich
Is breá liom tú
And I keep scrolling, and they keep arriving in every language until I see it.
I Love You
I should have said it fifteen years ago. I should have let you say it to me every day in any language you wanted. I’m telling you now. I Love you. Stellan.
I realise I’m gasping for air and holding the phone to my chest as I throw open the bedroom window and take deep gulping breaths. My head spins and the phone pings into life again. I can’t take much more of this!
He isn’t here. Stellan isn’t at the resort! Nari.
And that’s when I drop the phone, just as I hear the sound of insistent knocking at the door of my flat.
Stumbling into the hall, I stand looking at it, unsteady on my feet, my mouth open, still fighting to fill my lungs. There’s a silhouette behind the glass, and I just know.
I pull the door open and he looks at me in amazement as if he didn’t expect it to be me; as if he hasn’t just flown a thousand miles to get here.
‘Stellan.’
‘Sylvie! I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours on three different planes and on the floor of two airport departure lounges, and I got a cab all the way from Heathrow, but I’m here. Did you get my messages? I couldn’t get a signal for ages.’
‘All of them,’ I say quietly, gazing at him in amazement.
‘I mean it. I love you.’
Reaching for him, I pull him into the flat, letting the door close behind us. Stellan’s kiss is like a balm, healing all the sadness and regret.
But he pulls away, like he always does, and I want to weep and say no, not this again, no more hesitating and picking at old wounds, but his words come out in a flurry.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t bring him with me. He’s booked on a flight in February.’
‘Who? Niilo?’
‘No, the last I heard, Niilo was heading to his cabin with Nari. He read her blog out on the trail and rushed back to Frozen Falls to meet her. He’s full of ideas about all the places they’re going to visit together, said he was planning on taking Nari to meet his cousin’s family and some of his old friends in the South before they fly to Seoul. I guess he’s earned some time off, don’t you? And I was wrong about Nari. I should have known if she’s a friend of yours, she must be good, and she’s a perfect match for Niilo. I’m sorry I misjudged her. But, no, I’m talking about Toivo. I got his passport and his quarantine sorted and he’ll be coming to live with his new owner in England in two months. That is, if you want him?’
‘Of course I want him!’ I let out a sharp breath. ‘Come here.’
This kiss feels twice as sweet, and when Stellan pulls away this time, he keeps his lips close to mine as he says with a smile, ‘You know, I don’t want him to miss me. We’re like family, me and the little guy, so I thought I’d fly back here with Toivo, maybe take a long vacation, see the sights and help him settle in? I heard there’s some real nice open country round here for dog walks. Would you like that?’
‘No, I’d love that,’ I say.
‘Minä rakastan sinua,’ he says, before he kisses me once more, and this time I know he won’t stop, and I’m dimly aware that there are fireworks exploding and snowflakes falling from here to Saariselkä.
A Letter From Kiley
Hi, it’s me again, Kiley Dunbar.
I’m so excited you’ve found my book. Christmas at Frozen Falls is my second novel and it was a total joy to write. For a start, it’s about my favourite time of year. As I type this letter to you, I’m sitting at my desk beside bookshelves festively decorated with fairy lights, and I’m wearing my cosy Christmas robin pyjamas, and I have a big slice of gingerbread and orange cake and a steaming cup of cocoa in front of me. It’s June.
If my story happens to get you into the Christmas spirit too, it would give me so much happiness and encouragement if you could (pretty please with a dusting of icing sugar on top) take a few minutes to rate and review it. Your reviews really do make a big difference to me and help other people discover my books. So Thank You in advance for spreading the love for Christmas at Frozen Falls. Whether it’s a blazing August day, drizzling autumn time, or a cold, crisp December, dive in and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on me.
If I could get away with it, I’d be listening to Michael Bublé’s festive songs and watching The Vicar of Dibley Christmas specials (the one with the Brussels sprouts is especially brilliant) all the year round, but I can see how that might be testing for my family. So I channel my love of all things wintry into reading lots of Christmas romances, even at the height of summer. And now I get to write Christmas love stories too. How lucky is that! It’s like all my Christmases have come at once.
I really enjoyed matchmaking for my heroine, Sylvie Magnusson, who you’ll meet when she’s recovering from a broken heart (her ex-fiancé, Cole, is most definitely on the naughty list) and dreaming about her first love from her uni days. I adore a ‘one that got away’ reunion story, and in Christmas at Frozen Falls that’s exactly what you’ll get: a love story that spans fifteen long years of reminiscing about sexy Stellan Virtanen and wondering ‘what if?’
And there’s a whirlwind romance too for Sylvie’s best friend, Nari Bell, all taking place in the winter wonderland of Finnish Lapland at Christmas. And there are husky pups! Loads of them. Ooh, I’m fizzing with excitement for you to read this book! I hope you love it.
I wrote this novel with you in mind, my amazing readers. I wanted to transport you to another world of cosy snowed-in cabins, crackling fireside kisses and dreamy winter landscapes under magical aurora skies. And I wanted to make you properly belly laugh, swoon for our heroes, and sigh for Christmas.
I know you have high standards when it comes to Christmas romances and I’m quietly hopeful Christmas at Frozen Falls won’t disappoint, so make yourself a hot chocolate, grab a blanket and get snuggled up, because we’re off to Lapland. Have fun!
Oh, and if you fancy a festive book chat (at any time of the year) get in touch @KileyDunbar on Twitter. I’ll be right here, in my Christmas jammies.
Love, Kiley x
Acknowledgments
As always, the first people I want to shine a big loving light upon are the Dunbar babies and my lovely Nic. Thank you for loving me. I adore you all, and I’ll always treasure our happy memories of Lapland.
Michael, you are an exceptional human being, my favourite writer and my biggest supporter. Thank you for twenty-one years of love, kindness and giggles.
The Dream Team, big and little, get a great big ‘Thank You’ hug too.
Liz is always there to discuss breaking Keanu news, and for that and lots of other things, I’m grateful. Thanks, love.
Clare Horrocks loves romantic fiction, and I really hope she loves this book! Thank you for all your support, Clare, x
And I’m so glad I have the opportunity to thank all of the incredible book bloggers who helped me spread the love for my first novel as it made its way around the world on its Blog Tour. I literally couldn’t do this without you all. You’re incredible. Thank you times one million to: Jan’s Book Buzz, Donnasbookblog, Varietats, Coffee and Kindle Book Reviews, Stacy is Reading, On My Bookshelf, Jen Med’s Book Reviews, A Little Book Problem, Sarah’s Book Reviews and Kelly’s Book Space. If you don’t yet follow these kick-ass book bloggers, I urge you to get online and check them out!
Thank you Sue Moorcroft and the Romantic Novelists Association for the bursary which allowed me to attend all three days of the RNA summer 2019 conference at Lancaster: yet another example of how book people are the best people.
I have a decade’s worth of gratitude for all of my brilliant students and colleagues (especially Orlagh, Rachel, Joanne, Angi, Neil, Jennie B, Dominika, Susan, Jeongmee, David and Nicola) at Man Met Uni, Cheshire. I miss you and our beautiful, leafy, bustling campus so, so much. We did a good job and I’m proud of everything we achieved together.
Jason and Vanessa helped me with Finnish translations when I was just staring at all the letters and scratching my head. Thank you so much! Any mistakes are my own.
Diane Meacham designed this beautiful book jacket and it’s just as eye-catching and wonderful as her cover art for One Summer’s Night – I’m so grateful, thank you. And thank you to all the Hera Books family too, including Annabell and Jennie for proofing and editing with such care and attention.
I’ll never get tired of saying how much Keshini Naidoo and Lindsey Mooney at Hera Books have changed my life, so I’m saying it again here. Thank you for putting so much love and care into our books and for giving me a fresh start at forty. I hope Frozen Falls does you proud. x
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Hera
Hera Books
28b Cricketfield Road
London, E5 8NS
United Kingdom
Copyright © Kiley Dunbar, 2019
The moral right of Kiley Dunbar to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781912973279
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.