The
Heart of Christmas
by
Brenda Novak
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Just
call her Christmas Eve…
Eve
Harmon has always enjoyed Christmas, but this year it reminds her of
everything she doesn’t have. Almost all her friends are married
now, and that’s what Eve wants, too. Love. A husband and kids of
her own. But the B-and-B she manages and even Whiskey Creek, the
small Gold Country town where she was born and raised, suddenly
seem…confining.
As
Eve turns thirty-five, she’s worried that her future will simply be
a reflection of her past. She’s dated all the eligible men in the
area. There’s no one she could even imagine as a husband—until a
handsome stranger comes to town. Eve’s definitely attracted to him,
and he seems to have the same reaction to her. But his darkly
mysterious past could ruin Eve’s happily ever after—just when it
finally seems within reach. Just when she’s counting on the best
Christmas of her life!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
There
was a naked man in her bed.
Eve
Harmon’s stomach tensed, and her heart skipped a beat—but she was
pretty sure she’d invited him. From the way their clothes were
strewn carelessly around the room, it was obvious that, not long ago,
she’d been happy to have him with her.
She
nearly groaned as her eyes swept over him. What had she done? She
didn’t have a boyfriend and she never slept around. She hadn’t
been with anyone since Ted Dixon—an old friend who had briefly
turned into more a year ago. And before him, it had been much longer.
Most people, at least those younger than her parents, would consider
her extended periods of celibacy rather pathetic for a woman her age.
But she lived in a small town, cared about her reputation and had
been holding out for the kind of love that came with a white picket
fence.
She just
hadn’t found the right guy, and she was beginning to think maybe
she never would. The odds weren’t in her favor. Now that most of
her friends were married, she didn’t get out all that often.
But she
had a lot to be grateful for in spite of her dismal love life, she
quickly reminded herself. Although she’d never been the type who
wanted work to become her sole focus in life, she liked her job. She
ran Little Mary’s, a B and B in a converted Victorian owned by her
retired parents. They lived in the house a hundred yards in front of
her own small bungalow—when they weren’t traveling in their RV
like they were at the moment. Thanks to them, and the quaint, bucolic
area where she’d been raised, her life had always been pleasant and
safe—and predictable. Absolutely predictable.
Until
now.
God, she
hadn’t even slept with someone she knew. And since there were only
about two thousand people in Whiskey Creek, it was hard to find
someone she didn’t.
Shifting
carefully so she wouldn’t wake the man lying next to her—she
needed to regain her bearings before confronting him—she tried to
get a look at his face, but a thunderous headache made it difficult
to sit up. That headache also explained how she’d ended up in this
predicament. Last night she’d made the mistake of going out to
celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday even though her friends weren’t
available until tonight, and she’d drunk too much. She’d been
determined to do something wild and fun and completely out of
character before reaching such a significant age, the age at which
some doctors advised against getting pregnant.
Now she
was paying the price for her out-of-control evening.
Had they
even used birth control?
Briefly
squeezing her eyes shut, she sent up a silent prayer that she’d had
the presence of mind for that at least. It would be entirely too
ironic for someone like her—someone so cautious—to get pregnant
because of a one-night stand.
What
have you done?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
New York
Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak is the author
of more than fifty books. A four-time Rita nominee, she has won many
awards, including the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s
Best, the Book Buyer’s Best, the Daphne, and the Holt Medallion.
She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every
May at www.brendanovak.com (her youngest son has this disease). To
date, she’s raised over $2 million. For more about Brenda, please
visitwww.brendanovak.com.
links:
BarnesandNoble.com:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heart-of-christmas-brenda-novak/1119221344?ean=9780778316398
The 12 Days of Christmas Contest: http://www.brendanovak.com/monthlycontests/rafflecopterbloggercontest/
2 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks a million for hosting me. I'm excited that my latest book is finally out. Seems like I've been waiting forever for Rex's book to hit the world!
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