FIRST KISS: TUESDAY – from Montana Miracle

ONE WEEK until Christmas…who’s counting?

Me! So much to do and so little time. But I shouldn’t complain. At least, I’m not trying to build a living créche in the little town of Paradise, Montana. That’s my heroine’s ambitious goal, and it’s going to take a whole lot of prayers—and one amazing hero—to make it happen.

Sometimes, it takes a village to create a Montana miracle.

Gage Monroe has given himself until Christmas Day to wrap up the unpleasant bits and pieces of his old life in Paradise, Montana, before starting fresh in much warmer climes. And the last thing a loner like Gage needs is a beautiful, passionate pastor’s misguided attempt to draw him into her flock. The people of Paradise exiled Gage a long time ago…with good reason.

Pastor Samantha “Sam” Zabrinski didn’t move halfway across the country to accept a position in the little town of Paradise because she lacked gumption. She has no intention of giving up on Gage Monroe–a man with depth and heart he hides from the world. Besides, Gage just may be the Christmas miracle Sam’s been praying for…

Here’s a First Kiss snippet from MONTANA MIRACLE (© Tule Publishing):

“Have dinner with me.”

Sam heard the words, but they sounded so much like an invitation to go out with him on a date, she was certain her brain had something mixed up. Men like Gage Monroe–heartthrob handsome, intense, introverted loner types–didn’t date single moms who were also members of the clergy.

She looked at her watch. “Isn’t it too early to eat?”

He stepped closer. “I didn’t mean this minute. Are you being coy or intentionally obtuse?”

“Neither. I don’t get asked on dates very often. That is what you asked, right? Me. On a date? With you? Alone? Not me and my daughter or a double-date with Jody and Rob Barnes?”

The get-real look he gave her made her cheeks burn. “I haven’t double-dated since tenth grade.”

“How’d that go for you?”

“I got to second base.”

“You touched her boob?”

His grin made her knees wobble. “Lightly grazed.” He ran the backs of his fingers across her jaw, barely touching her skin. Still, the sensation shot straight to the heart of her womanly self. “But it felt like a big deal at the time.”

“Did you brag about it to your friends?”

He looked offended. “I asked her to the school dance. She spent the whole time dancing with a junior. We never talked again.”

“Interesting.”

“Clever stall.”

“Yes. Well. The thing is I haven’t been on a date since Makayla was eight. My sister, Gretchen, agreed to babysit. She was fifteen. Very capable. They were watching a movie and decided to try throwing popcorn in the air to catch it. Makayla got a piece lodged in her throat and started choking. Gretch called Dad and Liz, my step-mom, and they took her to the ER to be safe.” She walked to the window to check on Makayla. She hadn’t moved from the passenger seat where she sat with headphones on, eyes on the screen of her phone, and her feet on the dash. “I’d just made up my mind to have sex when I got the call.”

He pointed upward. “You took that as a sign from Heaven.”

“Actually, I chickened out. The one time I let my base desires take control, I wound up a single mom with a baby and a lot of people questioning whether or not I had the moral caliber to be a minister. This episode reinforced my belief that I wasn’t meant to have a sex life.”

His nearly perfect features screwed up in a look of mystified bafflement. “An accidental pregnancy and one near-miss date? That’s it? Wow. You really do have strong faith. But it’s totally misplaced, in my opinion.”

She crossed her arms defensively. “Oh, really. Who are you to judge?”

He framed her shoulders between his big, powerful hands and walked her backwards into the bathroom. He flicked on the switch and closed the door. Grinning, he said, “This is the cleanest–and most private–room in the house.”

Then he closed the gap between them, forcing her to tilt her head back to look up. “Where were we?”

Panicking because the man I’ve been secretly lusting over suddenly asked me out on a date?

He held up one finger, smiled and touched it to the tip of her nose. “I remember. You asked who am I to judge? And I was about to tell you that I’m just a guy who thinks you’re cute. And sexy. I’ve wanted to kiss you since…about the first minute I saw your incredibly kissable lips.”

Her heart stalled and a prickle of panic formed under her armpits. “I have incredibly kissable lips? Really? No way. They’re just lips.”

“I disagree.”

He put one arm around her back to draw her snug against his body, then proved his point. So matter-of-factly, her mouth parted in surprise. He took that as an invitation and deepened the kiss. His tongue touched hers. And, damn, if her treacherous body didn’t react the way a woman’s body was supposed to react when a handsome man kissed her. Her arms looped around his shoulders and she kissed him back.

Good Lord.

If you enjoyed that, you can read the first Chapter for FREE at Tule Publishing: Chapter 1, or you can buy the whole book from the vendor of your choice at Books2Read here: B2R

Have a festive and not-too-hectic next few days!

Happy reading,

Deb

Finally Friday: making memories…

My family and I are about to embark on an early Christmas adventure. Wish me luck, a pocketful of sanity and lots of smiles.

I consider myself very fortunate. My husband and I have never allowed the holidays to lock us into any one tradition. We’ve taken our kids to San Diego (photo below)  to “sleep over the ocean,” we’ve stayed in vacation rentals in San Simeon, Shelter Cove and Aptos, California, with enough rooms to accommodate our whole family. We’ve stayed home so we could invite extended family members to a potluck feast. Our feeling is: It’s all good, if we can be together.

This year, two of our granddaughters will be traveling to Detroit to spend the holidays with their maternal grandparents. While we’ll miss them something fierce, we’ve decided not to let ourselves get locked into a date. Christmas Eve #1 will be tomorrow — ice skating, anyone? Christmas #1 will be Sunday morning. Cardamom rolls and presents–for a select few. 😉

Christmas #2 (Dec. 25th) will be far more low-key, freeing us up to take a hike, see a movie, book dinner out or visit family in the area.

What are your holiday plans/traditions? Flexible or set in stone?

The Romani family in my Betting On Love series has deeply rooted traditions and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed writing this scene from Book IV: A MATCH MADE IN VEGAS. Here’s a small taste of it. Enjoy!

“Ho, ho, ho,” a booming voice said from the street behind her. “Merry Christmas.”

Alexa whirled about. “Santa,” she exclaimed. “You scared me.”

“Perhaps that’s because you haven’t been a good girl this year,” the large-bellied man in a red suit and full, shiny white beard said. From his lack of stature—and because her mother had warned her ahead of time—Alexa knew the portly character was her uncle, Claude.

She put down her sack and rushed to him, hugging him soundly. “Oh, Santa, you know better than that. I’m Saint Alexa, in some circles.”

Her uncle’s hearty laugh touched her deeply, giving her the first real taste of holiday spirit. The merry twinkle in his eyes was probably from the many Christmas lights on the eaves of the houses, but for a second, she almost saw her father behind the lush beard and mustache. “Well, if that’s true, then I expect you’ll be getting a very special gift beneath your tree tonight, my dear. Very special, indeed.”

She laughed and patted his shoulder. “So, you got my letter, then? You know what I want?”

His white gloves squeezed her arm and, keeping in character, he said, “That I do, my girl. That I do. Now, I must be on my way. The rein-ponies are waiting.”

“Rein-ponies?” He just waved and kept walking. His black cowboy boots clicked on the sidewalk.

Her mother had mentioned something about Claude rigging up his pony cart to resemble a sleigh. Her heart suddenly felt lighter than it had been in days; she picked up her bag and went inside.

“Hey, everybody, I just bumped into a guy in a red suit outside. Who’s got the number for our Neighborhood Watch?”

Children’s squeals and shouts echoed throughout the house as Maya, Luca, Gemilla and half a dozen second- and third-cousins stampeded to the windows to look for Santa.

“Way to go, Alexa,” Grace teased. “We were just gonna feed them.”

“Sorry,” Alexa said, handing her bag of wrapped gifts to Gregor. In a soft voice, she asked, “How come you’re not out helping with the sleigh?”

“Nick and Mark volunteered so I could stay with MaryAnn,” he answered in an equally quiet tone.

Mark’s here already? She glanced around and, sure enough, there was Braden standing between Luca and Maya peering out a window. And sitting on the sofa, as demurely as a princess, was Gregor’s wife. She scooted forward slightly, looking interested in what the children were doing.

“Wow. MaryAnn looks great,” Alexa whispered. “Better than great. She looks like her old self.”

Gregor beamed as if Santa had handed him the best gift of all. “I know. I think she’s going to make it. I really do.” Alexa gave him a quick hug then dashed to the couch to talk to the woman she’d once considered a dear friend. They’d lost a lot of the closeness over the years—from work and pressures only MaryAnn truly understood, but Alexa was determined to be a better friend to MaryAnn in the future.

“Welcome home, stranger,” she said, sitting down. “Santa really has granted us our collective wish—to have you back, safe and sound.”

MaryAnn smiled tearfully. “Thank you, Alexa. It’s good to be here. I honestly wasn’t sure this day would ever happen, but Gregor promised me it would, and I guess that’s what I needed—someone who really believed in me.”

They talked a bit longer, until Grace walked into the room and shook one of Alexa’s sleigh bells to get everyone’s attention. “Dinner is served,” she said theatrically, then added, “Santa won’t come until the last plate is in the dishwasher, so let’s move it, people.”

Read on: Books2Read

Happy weekend, my friends! Ho, ho, ho…

Deb

First Kiss: Tuesday – MONTANA SECRET SANTA

‘Tis the season…to stroll down memory lane. It was my great privilege to be part of a six author, twelve book series called Love at the Chocolate Shop. And, lucky me, I was given the privilege of writing Book #3, which takes place in December. In case you missed it, here’s a snippet from MONTANA SECRET SANTA (©Tule Publishing).

I’m happy to say it includes a bit of mistletoe mischief:

With the entire table pressed into taste-testing service, Jonah stood and motioned for Krista to follow him across the room to an open space near a gorgeous holiday display. “Mom assured me this Santa thing won’t take every hour of every day. She said it’s gotten a lot easier since your partner set up an online presence.”

Krista tried not to inhale too deeply because his scent–a combination of winter fresh air, chocolate, and hint of pine–was too distracting. “We might consider creating a private Facebook group and doing the initial critique process for wishes there.”

He held up a hand for a high-five. “Great idea. Then, a few of us can meet here each morning to brainstorm ways to fill the agreed upon wishes and set a budget.”

The touch of his palm connected in a weird way that made her close her fingers in a fist as she dropped her hand to her side. “I may not be able to make every…” She pictured the check. “I’ll be here.”

“Me, too. It’ll be the incentive I need to walk the dogs early. Tonight, I’ll set up an overall plan and flowchart so we can track when and how our requests come in. We’ll need to do the same for the income side of things. I’m curious as to why the donation well suddenly went dry. The sooner we get our account set up online, the sooner we can track things in real time.”

Krista found his analytical approach reassuring. His grand gesture with the check might have had a bit of the theater behind it, but his approach to business was a lot like her own.

“Simple and transparent works for me. As I said earlier, my family is in show business. Nothing is ever straightforward when you’re surrounded by thespians.”

He moved a smidgen closer. “Simplicity of design is key to both my inventions and my business strategy. When I start overthinking something, I step back for a new perspective. I usually hop on my bike. Exercise is a great distraction for an overactive mind.”

“Well, this is Montana. Your bike riding is going to be limited to cycling in the gym for the next few months.”

She chewed on her bottom lip debating about how frank to be. He’d given her ten thousand reasons to say yes to this partnership, but what exactly would that involve? Her inner bullshit reader said he had to have another agenda. And she sure as heck never considered herself a spokesperson for Christmas.

“Blue Sky is my baby. Christmas is a one-off. Four weeks. Blow and go. It’s over and done and I’m looking at a new month, a new intern and no jobs lined up.”

“What about your partner? Is she out of the picture completely?”

Krista didn’t know and the not knowing kept her awake at night. She hated ambiguity. Black and white. Bottom line. Profit and loss. Those were her touchstones.

“Amanda should be able to provide backup by phone. But I want you to know that Blue Sky will always be my first priority.”

He held out his hand. “Understood.”

She shook it twice, intending to let go and return to their table, but as Sage passed by on her way to the counter, she said, “Mistletoe.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Sage pointed up. “House rules. A kiss is mandatory.”

Krista groaned. She’d witnessed this bit of holiday mischief several times when she’d been in the shop. “But–“

Before she could express her protest, Jonah wrapped his arms around her–not unlike the way he had when he broke her fall. Only this time, he was in front of her. And his lips hovered an inch from hers, waiting for permission.

She closed her eyes and leaned in to get the silly kiss over.

The instant his lips touched hers, the magnitude of her mistake hit. Not only had Jonah Andrews been drinking her favorite cocoa, but the sweetness mixed with his natural chemistry created a potent combination that made her knees turn rubbery and her heart begin to pound. She kissed him back because she was powerless to do otherwise.

Luckily, a smattering of applause brought her back to her senses.

Cheeks burning, she turned and bowed. Being the daughter of an actor had to be good for something, right?

If you’re intrigued and want to read more, the first chapter is free at Tule Publishing, click here to: READ MORE.

Or if you missed it last year, you can purchase from the retailer of your choice here: BOOKS2READ

Either way, I hope you’ll check out the Love at the Chocolate Shop Facebook page, where I’ll be running some giveaways this month, including free recipe cards like this one.

Happy reading!

Deb