‘Ellie,’ he called now, as we were just finishing cleaning up after the last of our customers had left, either to make their short journeys home or to set off on their way to St Cuthbert’s for the midnight mass service, where we’d shortly be going too. ‘Come here and have a look at this.’
He stood in the doorway of the pub and pulled me into his embrace as he pointed up into the night sky. A blast of cold air greeted me and I gasped.
‘Oh. My. Word. Did you arrange this specially?’ I asked, as I watched transfixed, thick snow falling all around us.
‘Well you know… For you, Ellie darling, nothing is too much trouble.’ He chuckled, squeezing me tight, and planted a kiss on my cheek. ‘Come on, we should get a move on, we don’t want to be late for church.’
Locking up the doors to the pub, I took a glance up at the new Dog and Duck sign and felt a huge swell of pride. Landlady of The Dog and Duck. Fancy that. And with the most gorgeous and loving man at my side - make that two gorgeous men - it felt as all my Christmas wishes had come true. For tonight only, I was leaving Digby in his new basket snuggled up by the fire at the pub, but I suspected he wouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever in settling into his new home. I tucked my arm into Max’s and we set off, walking huddled together through the snow, which was already blanketing the ground in a thick and heavy layer. I looked up into the night sky, relishing the sensation of snowflakes falling on my face, and wondered if Father Christmas might be up there somewhere after all. For now, I really could believe it to be true because the one thing I’d learnt from today was that miracles, they really can happen.
We hope you enjoyed this book!
The next book in the Dog & Duck series, Summer at the Dog & Duck, will be released in June 2017
More addictive fiction from Aria:
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
For more information, click the following links
Acknowledgements
About Jill Steeples
Become an Aria Addict
Acknowledgments
I love pubs - well I did spend a great deal of my formative years outside drinking establishments with a bottle of pop and a packet of crisps in hand, waiting for the grown ups to reappear - so that’s probably why they’ve etched a special place in my heart. I love dogs and I love Christmas too, so you can imagine the fun I had writing this book.
A big thank you to the Aria team, in particular Caroline Ridding and Sarah Ritherdon, for giving me the opportunity to share these characters with you, and for their brilliant editorial expertise and advice in helping to turn my story into what it has become today. To Jade Craddock too, for waving her magic wand over my manuscript.
I must definitely give a shout-out to my lovely four-legged friends at the Thursday morning agility class who gave me the inspiration for the dogs in this book and whose names I may have borrowed for the purpose.
To my husband, Nick, and my kids, Tom and Ellie, - thank you for all your encouragement and support, I really couldn’t have done it without you all.
And to everyone who has picked this book off the shelves to read - thank you! It means a lot and I really hope you enjoy it!
Finally, in the inimitable words of Noddy Holder, Merry Christmas Everybody!
Jill xxx
About Jill Steeples
JILL STEEPLES lives in a small market town in Bedfordshire with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, baking cakes, eating them and drinking wine.
Find me on Twitter
Visit my website
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the new digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
It’s Aria’s ambition to discover and publish tomorrow’s superstars, targeting fiction addicts and readers keen to discover new and exciting authors.
Aria will publish a variety of genres under the commercial fiction umbrella such as women’s fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, saga and erotica.
So, whether you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher or an avid reader looking for something to escape with – Aria will have something for you.
Get in touch: [email protected]
Become an Aria Addict
Find us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Find us on BookGrail
Addictive Fiction
First published in the UK in 2016 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Jill Seeples, 2016
The moral right of Jill Seeples to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781786691781
Aria
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.ariafiction.com
Christmas at the Dog & Duck Page 28