Christmas magic is in the air at the Santa Clause Ball! Will it lead to love? Growing up in a town called Mistletoe Mountain, it's no wonder I love Christmas. My parents named me appropriately, too. You can't get much more Christmas-y than Holly Lane Garland! This Christmas is going to be even more magical than usual--I can just feel it! At the annual Santa Claus Ball, I meet an amazing man who makes my heart play "Jingle Bells." There's just one problem--well, maybe two. I have no idea what his name is--or what he looks like. (Did I mention the Santa Claus Ball is a masquerade?) Searching for my perfect man leads me to make a new friend. Patrick is amazing, and we have so much in common. He loves Christmas, too. But I think he has a girlfriend. And, well, he's just not the guy who kissed me under the mistletoe. Or is he? Will I find love before Santa arrives, or will I lose my chance at mistletoe magic? If you like sweet, clean Christmas romance novels that get you in the mood for the holidays, you won't want to miss this new romance from the author of Melody's Christmas, Christmas Cocoa, and All I Want for Christmas is Pooch!
View More*Holly*I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas. Usually, it was just me and my parents out at their house making cookies and watching Christmas movies. But this year, we had a couple of extra people to celebrate with. Early that morning, Patrick picked me up at home. This time, he gave me a twenty minute warning for his arrival so I had plenty of time to get dressed. It helped that I was already awake anyway. The excitement and anticipation of the day woke me up with the sun, so I had all of the time in the world. I ran out to his truck as soon as he pulled in the driveway, not even giving him the chance to be a gentleman and come to the door. He got out anyway and greeted me with a warm kiss that made my heart flutter. He opened the passenger side door for me and picked up Carol to put her in my lap. “You’re ready early,” Patrick said. I shrugged nonchalantly. “You know. It’s just my favorite day of the year and all, so I’m not really excited or anything.”He laughed
*Patrick* Mistletoe Mountain’s Christmas Eve party never seemed special before. I hadn’t actually been to it since my parents died. Before that, I was young and I generally had fun, but I didn’t fully appreciate it until I went with Holly. When I was dating Emily, she always insisted that I use Christmas Eve as a vacation day. She didn’t work, of course, and I always ended up just following her around shopping or whatever she felt like doing. I would see pictures that friends shared on social media and I would be interested in going. But even when I asked Emily if we could go, she would just say that she already made plans for us out of town or something. With some distance from her now, I was actually free to do what I wanted. And I’d found someone I shared common interests with, someone I had fun with, someone I could confide in. She was someone… magical. And I didn’t intend to let her think otherwise ever again. Honestly, it was more than magical that I’d found Holly. It was a
*Holly*The last few days had been a wild ride. But Glen and Pam confirmed that Emily was officially sent off to work at one of their companies on the coast. I was relieved, but the biggest weight was lifted off Patrick. He was like a whole new man. When I first met him, I thought he was lighthearted and cool and kind, but now, he was even more so. And those times he’d been a little flirty with me were just the tip of the iceberg. The man was the definition of suave. But mostly, it was the light in his eyes that shined the brightest. The blue in them became iceberg-clear. It was like a mirror of peace and happiness when I looked into them. I caught myself slipping into them again and again. After the Emily ordeal, we’d had a couple of days of work to put under our belts, but it was officially the day before Christmas Eve, and it was time for the biggest festival of the whole season. It was even grander than the Santa Claus Ball. Instead of being localized at the auditorium, the part
*Patrick* “I have to say I didn’t expect you to call me,” Emily said. It hadn’t been easy, but I had called her to meet, saying we could talk over dinner. I asked her to meet me at the place of our first date, a little retro diner with plastic booth seats and red barstools. She showed up all dressed up like usual, her dark hair straightened so it fell just so over her shoulders and down her back. She wore red lipstick that drew attention to her full lips, and her eyes were winged with eyeliner that she thought made her look catty in all the right ways. She even wore a mini skirt, but at least she had enough sense to wear tights underneath. She was certainly trying to win me over with her looks.I shrugged and gestured for her to sit on one side of the booth. I sat across from her and folded my hands together on top of the table. “I gave it a lot of thought, and I decided to take you seriously,” I told her. She smirked. “I thought you might have reconsidered since you decided to br
*Holly*A few days later, I felt a little strange, I had to admit, going to a diner with my love interest and his ex-girlfriend's parents. It felt like I had crossed some kind of line, but Patrick assured me that despite Emily’s behavior, her parents were good people. We could trust them, and they might be our last bit of hope at getting her to leave us alone.I let Patrick lead me by the hand into the restaurant. He laced his fingers naturally through mine, and I wondered if his heart wasn’t going as crazy as I felt. He was so casual about it, but this was the first time we’d held hands like this.And my heart was beating anxiously on top of that. We’d just made it to the table where Emily’s parents were waiting for us. The two of them looked kind enough. The lady was probably nearing fifty, and she wore her hair short and dyed a mahogany red color. She donned a pair of bit pearl earrings on her ears and a matching pearl necklace around her neck. The man’s hair was short and thinning
*Patrick*I almost couldn’t contain my excitement as soon as I saw Holly. She looked lovely as ever with her long hair curled into waves. But her eyes looked a little duller than usual, more earthy and dry than like a bright emerald. I wanted to go to her, but as soon as she saw me, she turned away. At that moment it felt like someone had gut-punched me. She definitely saw me, and she definitely ignored me, too. I remembered what my aunt Louise had told me about giving her space while still letting her know I cared and wanted to see her when she was ready. I supposed she got the flowers when she went to work, but maybe she didn’t like them. Maybe she needed more time.So throughout our caroling tour, I kept my eye on her. I tried to sneak in, but her friends had barricaded her off. I closed in after the first couple of songs, and when her friend on the left side got hung up chatting with her boyfriend about the archway in someone’s yard, I used the moment to get next to her. Holly s
*Holly*The morning was fresh with new-fallen snow. I wasn’t due to go to work until ten o’clock, so I spent my morning drinking hot cocoa and trying to read. But I couldn’t focus on the book, and my hot cocoa didn’t taste as sweet as usual. I didn’t even eat the whole first round of marshmallows. I hated to admit it, but I felt like my holiday spirit had been sucked dry. Maybe occasionally in the past, I would feel this way for a day or two because I felt like the world was too far beyond repair, or because I’d had a fight with my roommate back at college. Maybe once I had a crisis trying to decide if what I was going to school for was really what I wanted to do. Of course, I got over all of those. But this time, the nagging feeling of apathy was just hanging around far too long. Even Abigail was at a loss, and she was always the one to find a way to cheer me up. I’d never been lovesick before, and I wondered if this might be what it was like. I knew I needed to get over it. It wa
*Patrick*I was starting to get particularly worried. It had been a full week since I heard anything substantial from Holly. I messaged her every day at least once, but the most I had heard back since Emily came to her workplace was that she was too busy to meet or check her phone often. I didn't quite believe it, but I gave her some space anyway. Something about the situation had caused her to pull away, not that I could blame her.But I maintained a little bit of hope. There was a kids’ Christmas craft event that we had talked about. We both had already planned to go to it, and I hoped I would see her there. Maybe I could get her to talk to me or at least listen. I had spoken to Emily’s parents and I was sure they were on my side. I knew if Holly would only give me a little bit more time, I could get rid of Emily and we could pick up right where we left off. I could seal that kiss that got interrupted. I could return her scarf and tell her I thought she was beautiful and amazing an
*Holly*I felt bad for being curious. I had decided it wasn't my place, that it was better if I just left Patrick alone. But when I got a text message from a random number saying that Emily and Patrick were together in front of his house, my curiosity got the best of me. Were they fighting? Were they ending it for real? Could I possibly stop ignoring him and get back to hanging out with him like I really wanted?It was such a shame. I really wanted the best for Patrick. While I knew Emily’s problems had nothing to do with me, I could tell my involvement was just making things worse. I figured it would be better for everyone to get over this if I would just step back for a while. And then maybe later on–just maybe–I could start seeing him again when she had finally stopped. So I tugged on a sweater and a hat and slipped on my boots. I found Abigail standing in the kitchen, snacking on a bag of chips.“Abbi,” I said.She almost jumped out of her socks, flinging a few chips across the s
*Holly*I should have expected my parents’ bakery to be busy with the official kickoff of Christmas starting this weekend, but the mountains of boxes of Christmas cookies piled on the counter and near the back door were clear evidence that Christmas was in full swing. And I knew it wasn’t a minute too soon as I caught a glimpse of the first snow beginning to fall flake by fluffy flake outside the small window in the bakery’s back room. I topped one final swirl of baby Jesus’ hair on his sugar cookie-baked head. Perfect, I thought, but the sound of my mom calling to me from the front of the store brought me out of the zone. “Holly! You’re fixin’ to be late if you don’t get out of here soon!” she called. It was a sweet, sugar-coated, well-meaning threat. I was my parents’ only kid, and while I’d been a regular attendee of the Santa Claus Ball for my whole life, this was the first year I would be attending as a single adult woman. I technically could have participated in the one adult a...
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