Two Weeks 'til Christmas

by Laura Greaves

  Thanks also to Amanda Martin and Alexandra Nahlous for your spot-on editorial insights and your patience as I clumsily juggled two books at once.

  I am a dog person, but Claire inconveniently decided to be a horse person and that left me in a bit of a pickle. Thoroughbred-sized thanks to my old friend Dr Samuel Hurcombe, equine specialist extraordinaire, for giving me a crash-course in horse medicine and answering all my silly questions.

  As ever, I could not have written this book without the support of my husband, Mark. Thanks, NP. The contribution of wine and procrastinaps to the writing of this book also cannot be overstated.

  And finally, thanks to everyone who loves romance novels as much as I do and who reads them unapologetically. Love is a universal experience and a fundamental human need and we could all use a little more of it. #loveozromance

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Laura Greaves is a award winning author, journalist, and editor and who announced her intention to be a writer at the age of seven, largely because of her dual obsessions with Anne of Green Cables and Murder, She wrote.

  Two Weeks ’til Christmas is her third novel. She is also the author of Be My Baby and The Ex-Factor, as well as two non-fiction collections of dog stories, Dogs with Jobs and Incredible Dog Journeys.

  Laura lives in NSW’s stunning Blue Mountains with her family and two incorrigible (but seriously adorable) dogs. Her enduring Anne of Green Gables fixation is matched only by her dog obsession, which is why you will always find at least one four-legged-friend in Laura’s books.

  Connect with Laura:

  lauragreaves.com

  facebook.com/lauragreaveswritesbooks

  instagram.com/lauragreavesauthor

  twitter.com/Laura_Greaves

  How does a regular Aussie girl win the heart of the most famous man on the planet in the unforgiving glare of the spotlight?

  Talented, gorgeous and hopelessly in love, American movie star Mitchell Pyke and Brazilian supermodel Vida Torres were Hollywood’s most talked-about couple. They seemed destined for ‘happily ever after’ – until Vida left Mitchell for his best friend, and Mitchell publicly vowed he would never love again.

  Sydney dog trainer Kitty Hayden has never even heard of Mitchell Pyke. When her work takes Kitty to Mitchell’s movie set, their worlds spectacularly collide. The chemistry between them is undeniable – and it’s not long before Kitty is turning her life upside down to be with her leading man. But as Kitty quickly discovers, when someone as famous as Mitchell Pyke tells the world he’ll never love again, the world listens.

  Some are born to be great mums, some achieve greatness, and some have motherhood thrust upon them.

  Ambitious, independent and happily child-free, Anna Harding isn’t worried when her best friend, Helena, unexpectedly falls pregnant. After all, she’s living the expat high life in London with her boyfriend, Finn, while Helena is on the other side of the world in sleepy Adelaide. Anna’s not even fazed when Helena asks her to be the baby’s godmother. How hard can it be from 15,000 km away?

  But when a depressed Helena turns up on Anna’s doorstep, begging her to look after baby Ivy while she escapes to Scotland to get her head together, the dirty nappies really hit the fan. How can newspaper gossip columnist Anna carry on her A-list lifestyle with a screaming kid in tow – especially when her job is at risk and Finn ups and moves to Ireland in pursuit of his own dream career?

  With Helena swept up in her new life in Scotland, Anna fears she’ll be left holding the baby for good – until her grumpy neighbour, Luke, unexpectedly emerges as her go-to infant expert. Maybe pseudo-parenthood isn’t so bad after all . . .

  MICHAEL JOSEPH

  UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

  India | New Zealand | South Africa | China

  Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies

  whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

  First published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2017

  Text copyright © Laura Greaves 2017

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Cover design by Louisa Maggio © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Text design by Samantha Jayaweera © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Cover photographs: couple by courtneyk/Getty Images; Christmas decoration by Karen Katrjyan/Shutterstock; lights by Studio Peace/Shutterstock

  penguin.com.au

  ISBN: 978-1-76014-386-2

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