Ian sat in front of the fire and patted the rug next to him. “I have a present for you, Alex,” he said.
She sat tentatively next to him. “I don’t have one for you.”
“Of course not. You didn’t know I’d be here, but I don’t need or want one.” He touched the curve of his hand to her cheek. “All I want is for you to be in my life forever.”
“Ian...” She couldn’t get out another word.
He edged closer to her as the fire crackled and a chunk of red-hot coal fell off a log into the ash. “We overcomplicated things and got cold feet not because we were falling out of love but because we were falling deeply in love. It’s true, isn’t it, Alex?”
“It is,” she whispered.
“I’ve less than a year left in the service. I’m coming home, and when I do, I don’t care if you’ve gone back to London to be a world-famous fashion designer or if you’re in your little shop down the street from my family’s pub. Wherever you are, I want to marry you in the village church and for us to have a life together.” He took her hand. “Alexandra Rankin Hunt, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Ian. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She smiled, fighting tears. “You put into words what I haven’t been able to. Oh, Ian... I love you, Wing Commander Ian Mabry. I love you so much and you’re right—it scared me.”
“But it doesn’t anymore?”
She didn’t hesitate. “No. It got all mixed up with my lack of confidence because of my past mistakes and my worries about my career. I don’t care if I’m another Chanel. I love my little shop. I thought Gran would be disappointed, but she isn’t—she told me when I called her this morning that all she’s ever wanted is for me to be happy. She wants to visit my shop and for me to take her for fish and chips and a pint.”
“Your gran?”
“My gran. Of course, she’ll want it served on Wedgwood china. Ian...” Alexandra felt her throat tighten with emotion. “I’d given up on love. I’d so given up.”
He presented her with an engagement ring, one designed and crafted by a jeweler he knew in their Cotswolds village. “It was the first thing I packed for this trip,” he said, slipping it onto her finger.
“A man with a mission,” Alexandra said.
He grinned at her. “Always.” Then he kissed her. “Happy Christmas, Alex.”
“Happy Christmas.”
“Do you have a wedding dress in mind for yourself?”
“Sketched and ready to be stitched—by me, in my little shop.”
“All you needed was the groom, eh?”
“You, Ian. All I needed was you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “All I need is you.”
He pulled her down to the rug with him and his mouth again found hers. She’d meant for her Christmas at Carriage Hill to be a diversion to help her get over her RAF fighter pilot. Instead, it had brought her back into his arms and helped her see what she had refused to see—that he wasn’t the latest wrong man in her life. He was the right man, and the man she loved and would love forever.
The fire crackled and the Christmas lights seemed to twinkle even more brightly. Alexandra smiled, feeling her great-grandfather’s presence, and his love.
A Recipe for Mulled Wine
Ingredients:
2 bottles of dry red wine
1—2 orange(s), sliced into “circles” (peeling is optional)
⅓ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (optional)
¼ cup brandy
¼–½ cup sugar (to taste)
8 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 nutmegs, cracked into pieces
Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and heat on low. Optional: combine cloves, cinnamon sticks and nutmegs in a cheesecloth bag. Do not boil. Serve warm!
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About the Author
Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels of contemporary romance and romantic suspense, including Cider Brook, That Night on Thistle Lane, Secrets of the Lost Summer, Harbor Island, Declan’s Cross, Heron’s Cove and Saint’s Gate. An avid traveler, Carla is always plotting her next adventure—whether in life or for one of her novels. She lives with her family on a hilltop in Vermont, near Quechee Gorge, where she is at work on her next novel.
For more information, and to sign up for Carla’s newsletter, please visit her at www.carlaneggers.com.
“[A] beautifully described tale that rewards readers with an intriguing mystery as well as a deliciously satisfying romance.”
—Library Journal on Secrets of the Lost Summer
If you loved Christmas at Carriage Hill by New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers, be sure to also catch these other great titles in the irresistible Swift River Valley series:
Secrets of the Lost Summer
That Night on Thistle Lane
Cider Brook
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ISBN-13: 9781459256507
Christmas at Carriage Hill
Copyright © 2014 by Carla Neggers
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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