A Little Christmas Charm
Page 23
As the countdown to the big day begins, Faith can’t seem to keep away from her mysterious guest, but still finds herself with more questions than answers: just what happened to Adam Hunter? And why does he hate Christmas?
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A Second Christmas Wish
Do you believe in Father Christmas?
For Melissa, Christmas has always been overrated. From her cold, distant parents to her manipulative ex-husband, Lawrence, she’s never experienced the warmth and contentment of the festive season with a big, happy family sitting around the table.
And Melissa has learned to live with it, but it breaks her heart that her seven-year-old son, William, has had to live with it too. Whilst most little boys wait with excitement for the big day, William finds it difficult to believe that Father Christmas even exists.
But then Daniel McCormick comes into their lives. And with his help, Melissa and William might just be able to find their festive spirit, and finally have a Christmas where all of their wishes come true …
Read an extract here.
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Oh Crumbs
Sometimes life just takes the biscuit …
Abby Spencer knows she can come across as an airhead – she talks too much and is a bit of a klutz – but there’s more to her than that. Though she sacrificed her career to help raise her sisters, a job interview at biscuit company Crumbs could finally be her chance to shine. That’s until she hurries in late wearing a shirt covered in rusk crumbs, courtesy of her baby nephew, and trips over her handbag.
Managing director Douglas Faulkner isn’t sure what to make of Abby Spencer with her Bambi eyes, tousled hair and ability to say more in the half-hour interview than he manages in a day. All he knows is she’s a breath of fresh air and could bring a new lease of life to the stale corporate world of Crumbs. To his life too, if he’d let her.
But Doug’s harbouring a secret. He’s not the man she thinks he is.
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Too Damn Nice
Do nice guys stand a chance?
Nick Templeton has been in love with Lizzie Donavue for what seems like forever. Just as he summons the courage to make his move, she’s offered a modelling contract which takes her across the Atlantic to the glamorous locations of New York and Los Angeles. And far away from him.
Nick is forced to watch from the sidelines as the gawky teenager he knew is transformed into Elizabeth Donavue: top model and the ultimate elegant English rose pin-up, seemingly forever caught in a whirlwind of celebrity parties with the next up-and-coming Hollywood bad boy by her side.
But then Lizzie’s star-studded life comes crashing down around her, and a nice guy like Nick seems just what she needs. Will she take a chance on him? Or is he too damn nice?
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Before You
When life in the fast lane threatens to implode …
Melanie Taylor’s job working for the Delta racing team means she is constantly rubbing shoulders with Formula One superstars in glamorous locations like Monte Carlo. But she has already learned that keeping a professional distance is crucial if she doesn’t want to get hurt.
New Delta team driver Aiden Foster lives his life like he drives his cars – fast and hard. But, no matter how successful he is, it seems he always falls short of his championship-winning father’s legacy. If he could just stay focused, he could finally make that win.
Resolve begins to slip as Melanie and Aiden find themselves drawn to each other – with nowhere to hide as racing season begins. But certain risks are worth taking and, sometimes, there are more important things than winning …
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Do Opposites Attract?
There’s no such thing as a class divide – until you’re on separate sides
Brianna Worthington has beauty, privilege and a very healthy trust fund. The only hardship she’s ever witnessed has been on the television. Yet when she’s invited to see how her mother’s charity, Medic SOS, is dealing with the aftermath of a tornado in South America, even Brianna is surprised when she accepts.
Mitch McBride, Chief Medical Officer, doesn’t need the patron’s daughter disrupting his work. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks and has led life on the edge, but he’s not about to risk losing his job for a pretty face.
Poles apart, dynamite together, but can Brianna and Mitch ever bridge the gap separating them?
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Too Charming
Does a girl ever really learn from her mistakes?
Detective Sergeant Megan Taylor thinks so. She once lost her heart to a man who was too charming and she isn’t about to make the same mistake again – especially not with sexy defence lawyer, Scott Armstrong. Aside from being far too sure of himself for his own good, Scott’s major flaw is that he defends the very people that she works so hard to imprison.
But when Scott wants something he goes for it. And he wants Megan. One day she’ll see him not as a lawyer, but as a man … and that’s when she’ll fall for him.
Yet just as Scott seems to be making inroads, a case presents itself that’s far too close to home, throwing his life into chaos.
As Megan helps him pick up the pieces, can he persuade her that he isn’t the careless charmer she thinks he is? Isn’t a man innocent until proven guilty?
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Search for the Truth
Sometimes the truth hurts …
When journalist Tess Johnson takes a job at Helix pharmaceuticals, she has a very specific motive. Tess has reason to believe the company are knowingly producing a potentially harmful drug and, if her suspicions are confirmed, she will stop at nothing to make sure the truth comes out.
Jim Knight is the president of research and development at Helix and is a force to be reckoned with. After a disastrous office affair he’s determined that nothing else will distract him from his vision for the company. Failure is simply not an option.
As Tess and Jim start working together, both have their reasons for wanting to ignore the sexual chemistry that fires between them. But chemistry, like most things in the world of science, isn’t always easy to control.
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Where heroes are like chocolate – irresistible!
To you, dear reader.
May this be your best Christmas ever.
A
cknowledgements
Writing a book – especially a Christmas book – is an utter joy. Mainly. But it can also be hard work, frustrating and feel like it will never be the book you intended it to be. So my first thank you is to my family and friends. Without their shouts of encouragement (and sometimes just shouting), this book might never have been completed.
My next thank you is to the Choc Lit Tasting Panel, who kindly supported A Little Christmas Charm for publication: Dimi E, Jennifer S, Els E, Jo O, Heather P, Gill L, Jo L, Lil R, Kirsty T and Monica M. And of course Choc Lit themselves, who gave it a title far better than one I’d come up with, honoured it with a beautiful cover, and, following some deft touches from their fabulous editor (thank you, thank you) pushed it firmly into the great wide (festive) book world.
Having a book published is exciting, but the real thrill is in seeing it read – if you’re lucky, by readers and bloggers who enjoy what you’ve created. So, to the marvellous book-loving community out there, a massive thank you for supporting A Little Christmas Charm. I hope you enjoy Owen and Gabby’s story. And I wish you all a very Happy Christmas ☺
Copyright © 2018 Kathryn Freeman
Published 2018 by Choc Lit Limited
Penrose House, Crawley Drive, Camberley, Surrey GU15 2AB, UK
www.choc-lit.com
The right of Kathryn Freeman to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
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 the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Barnards Inn, 86 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1EN
ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-78189-431-6
Preview
A Second Christmas Wish
by Kathryn Freeman
PROLOGUE
Christmas Day, almost three years ago
The dining room was so silent Melissa could hear her knife scraping the plate as she cut through the turkey. Why didn’t Lawrence talk to his parents, for goodness’ sake? Why did he just sit there, his face like thunder?
Her eyes scanned to her in-laws. Attractive yet cold, aloof. Perhaps it was no wonder Lawrence couldn’t talk to them. His parents belonged to an era when the Lord and Lady of the manor ruled their household with a rod of iron. When guests who stepped out of line were silenced with a sharp tongue and a stern look. When children were seen and not heard.
Lawrence was fast turning into them.
Next to her, William started to become restless, kicking his legs under the table, shifting about in his seat.
‘Finish your meal, darling,’ she whispered.
He shook his head. ‘Not hungry.’
Lawrence’s black eyes darted across the table at them and William immediately froze. Melissa touched his small hand reassuringly. ‘Okay, if you’re sure you’ve had enough you need to sit patiently while everyone else finishes.’
‘He’s got the appetite of a sparrow,’ Lawrence’s mother stated witheringly. ‘He should be made to eat his meal.’
Melissa bit the inside of her cheek and fought for control. ‘It’s Christmas day. William should be allowed to do whatever he wants on such a special day, don’t you think?’
‘If you give children an inch, they’ll take a mile,’ she retorted, then glanced over towards her son. ‘You’re very quiet, Lawrence. The turkey not to your satisfaction?’
Lawrence clattered his knife and fork onto his plate and drained the contents of his third glass of wine. ‘I have no appetite for dry turkey,’ he announced, shooting Melissa a cutting glance.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, then bit her lip, angry with herself for being so timid. ‘Perhaps if you put some more gravy on it?’
‘Drown overcooked turkey with lumpy gravy?’
She felt tears prick. Did he have to be so rude to her in front of his parents? In front of their son?
‘Manners,’ his father scolded. ‘What’s got into you today?’
Lawrence reached for the wine bottle and refilled his glass. ‘I’ll tell you what’s got into me. My darling wife announced a few days ago that she’s leaving me.’
Melissa’s heart bounced inside her rib cage. Oh no. She’d begged him not to raise the subject today. She’d wanted to give William a Christmas to remember – for the right reasons. ‘I don’t think today is the time to discuss this,’ she said, unable to stop her voice from shaking.
‘Why not?’
She turned to William, who was hanging his head, staring at his lap. ‘Because Christmas is a time for smiling. For having fun. Especially when you’re nearly five.’
‘And are you having fun, William?’ Lawrence asked his son coldly.
William’s head shot up. ‘Yes.’
Lawrence continued to glare. ‘Is that how you’ve been taught to address your elders?’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘And what constitutes fun in your book?’
Confusion flickered over William’s face and Melissa reached for his hand again, this time holding onto it. ‘Your father just wants to know which part you’ve enjoyed most today.’
For a brief moment his eyes filled with joy. ‘Opening my presents from Father Christmas.’
Lawrence snorted. ‘Father Christmas, eh?’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘You seriously believe one man goes round to all the children in the world delivering presents in one day?’
Melissa inhaled sharply. ‘Don’t,’ she hissed. ‘Please, I beg you, don’t ruin this day for him.’
‘Ruin it?’ Lawrence thrust his glass onto the table with such force some of the wine spilt, forming a blood-red stain on the white tablecloth. ‘I rather think you’re the one who’s ruining things.’ His eyes flicked over to William who looked impossibly small on the large antique chair. ‘Let me save you a lot of heartache later in life, son. Love, rather like Father Christmas, doesn’t exist.’
‘He does,’ William shouted, shifting agitatedly in his chair. Melissa had never heard him answer his father back, ever.
‘If you believe that, then you’re as big a fool as I am.’
William started to cry and, as he scrambled desperately off his chair, he sent his plate clattering to the floor.
‘You bloody idiot,’ Lawrence bellowed.
Melissa slid off her chair and scooped her sobbing son into her arms. ‘You’re the idiot, Lawrence,’ she replied as evenly as she could. ‘Mr and Mrs Raven,’ she nodded over to her in-laws, ‘I’ll leave your son to entertain you. I’m going to take William upstairs.’
She spent the rest of the day playing games with William in his playroom. Because it was a far better way to spend Christmas afternoon than sitting with his stuffy parents, Melissa almost felt like thanking Lawrence for his petulant outburst at the dinner table. Almost. But she would never forgive him for taking the magic out of the day for William. Though she’d tried to reassure him Father Christmas did exist – that his father thought he was being funny saying he didn’t – she wasn’t sure William believed her.
When he was finally asleep in bed, Melissa walked hesitantly back downstairs. She found Lawrence sitting by himself in the lounge, staring into the fire. With the crackle of the logs, the cosy glow of the flames and the fresh smell of the pine tree she and William had carefully decorated, the scene should have brought her a warm, fuzzy Christmas feeling. It didn’t.
The man on the sofa was too cold, the atmosphere far too tense.
‘Decided to come back down, have we?’ Lawrence stood and walked towards her, his dark eyes glittering menacingly.
‘
You upset your son today,’ she accused, fighting for calm though her heart was hammering. ‘How could you do that?’
Irritation flickered across his face. ‘You mollycoddle him too much. He’s turning into a real mummy’s boy, frightened of his own shadow. He needs toughening up.’
‘He’s a few days away from being five. ’ She dared to look up at him. ‘I asked you not to discuss the separation today. It wasn’t the right time.’
‘I beg to differ. My parents had a right to know.’ He bent his head and she caught the smell of stale wine on his breath, mingling with his exotic aftershave. ‘I still find you incredibly attractive, Melissa.’
The words – ones she’d heard often over the years – were almost a purr. Once she’d believed them. Now she knew it was his way of keeping control. One minute charming, the next cruel, it made sure he kept her unbalanced. ‘And you’re still trying to manipulate me,’ she retorted, twisting her body away from the confines of his. ‘I won’t be pushed or pressured by you anymore.’ Back ramrod straight, she raised her chin. ‘You got away with it when I was young and naïve. Now I’m old enough to fight back.’
Lawrence took a step away, his long hair falling away from his sharp features. ‘How is telling my wife she’s attractive trying to manipulate her?’
‘You blow hot and cold, and I’m tired of second guessing your mood. Tired of feeling on edge all the time, wondering how you’re going to react to me. How you’re going to treat your son.’
His lip curled. ‘You make me sound like an ogre. Have I ever hit you, hurt you?’
‘Physically, no.’ Damn, her voice had started to tremble. She took in a deep breath before speaking again. ‘You had an affair, Lawrence. Did you really think that wouldn’t hurt me?’
He laughed harshly. ‘That was ages ago and there were reasons for that. Reasons I’ve explained and you accepted.’