Book Description:
In gorgeous Hopley Village twinkly lights are going up, snow is falling and the delicious smell of gingerbread is in the air. Will two broken hearts find their happily-ever-after this Christmas?
The most wonderful time of the year is approaching but thirty-year-old Holly Hanwell doesn’t really feel like celebrating… not after the bombshell news that her boyfriend was leaving her to have a baby with someone else. But she still has her adorable little house in Hopley Village with its bright yellow front door and her job teaching at the village school. And she’s planned a cosy, quiet Christmas, focusing on the little things in life that she loves.
Until she bumps into Edward, the handsome single father of her newest pupil. He’s moved to Christmas House, at the edge of pretty Hopley, to give his eight-year-old daughter Eliza a fresh start. Sheltering from the snowy weather in the warm village café, Holly and Edward start to bond over delicious mugs of hot chocolate, topped with cream and sprinkles.
Despite the spark between them, Holly knows she needs to protect her already fragile heart and she’s determined NOT to fall in love this Christmas. But holiday magic works in mysterious ways when a festive crisis at Christmas House brings them together. Yet just as Holly starts to realise her feelings are growing for kind but complicated Edward she discovers a secret from his past which makes her question everything she thought she knew…
Will Holly and Edward’s December romance be over before it’s begun? Or will this be a Christmas to remember?
Curl up with this magical, feel-good Christmas read! Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Sarah Morgan and Carole Matthews.
PROLOGUE
Last Christmas…
Holly
Holly Hanwell stood in front of the mirror, smoothing her festive, ivy-green satin dress over her hips. She’d gone full sparkles with her jewellery in honour of the occasion, outlined her brown eyes with a moss-green eyeliner and left her golden hair loose and wavy. The hotel-room door was ajar behind her and she could hear music wafting faintly up from the rooms below – the velvet tones of Johnny Mathis singing about the birth of a special child. Her hands drifted to her stomach and rested there. What did life have in store for her and Alex? Behind her, the door opened wide. ‘Wow, you look stunning, Hols!’ It was Alex, coming to search her out. Holly turned with a smile and they exchanged a quick hug. Alex was stocky, not much taller than Holly in her heels, with corn-blonde hair and a cheeky smile that belied his ambition and sharp corporate mind. He looked like an affable gardener or nanny but, in reality, he was a solicitor, who’d just been made partner at his new firm. ‘You OK?’ Alex asked. ‘Everyone’s dying to meet you.’ ‘I’m fine. Just making myself look pretty.’ And taking a pause before launching herself into Alex’s work Christmas party. After ten years together, she’d been to enough of them to know what to expect. He moved firms often – If you can’t move up, move out, he liked to say – but although they were mostly a new set of people, they were usually very similar. They always found Holly, who was a primary school teacher, a ‘refreshing novelty’. ‘Well, I should say job done. You look very pretty indeed. Come on.’ He held out his hand and Holly took it. They checked they had the key card to their room then descended the hotel staircase, which was vast and curved and perfect for a dramatic entrance – not that Holly wanted to make one, and not that anyone would have noticed, deep in conversation as they were in little knots of three or four. The banisters were thickly garlanded and a tall golden Christmas tree stood opposite a real, roaring fire. Gold candles and pine cones were heaped on the mantelpiece. No expense had been spared. At the foot of the stairs, waiters stood by holding trays and offered them glasses of champagne. The music changed to Leona Lewis. ‘It’s lovely, Alex, really lovely.’ He grinned. ‘Glad you approve. Come on – there’s George. George? This is my partner, Holly.’ An hour later, Holly felt as though she’d met everyone in the entire firm. They were a nice enough bunch on the whole. They’d gone through the initial breaking-the-ice conversations about career, and Holly had several times explained that yes, she did love teaching and no, she wasn’t looking to become a principal; she liked to be in the classroom with the children. Alex had caught her eye and winked – they often laughed together about how law-folk couldn’t imagine doing anything but law and certainly couldn’t countenance working with small, messy, noisy people for a living. Now they’d moved on to personal chat: how long had various couples been together/married; how many children did they have; where their next holiday would be and so on. Alex and Holly explained that they were planning a whale-watching trip in the Azores in April, that they’d been together ten years, and that they had no children yet but definitely would in the future. Holly squeezed Alex’s hand each time he said ‘definitely’. His positivity was one of the things she loved about him. Holly felt tired but relaxed. School had broken up yesterday and Christmas term was always the busiest. Dean Court Primary, just outside the little town of Hopley in Kent, held a Christmas pageant every year and Holly had gone all out with her class’s offering. She loved the creativity of it, the challenge of making festive magic that the children would remember for years, the joy of putting smiles on small faces… It was hard to explain things like that at a party like this, so she allowed herself to fall quiet and simply take it all in as the Christmas songs played on and the champagne glasses glinted and swathes of golden fairy lights glowed around the curtained windows. Alex’s colleague Rosa shouted for attention and proposed a toast. ‘To Alex!’ Holly raised her glass and took another sip of sparkling champagne, super proud of her man. Alex made a short speech and then, while he was shaking hands all around, Rosa came to stand beside Holly. ‘Let’s hope we hang on to him for a while,’ she murmured. ‘I know he likes to go where the opportunities are. I think we can offer him plenty of scope, though.’ ‘Oh, I know you can,’ said Holly. ‘Alex is very excited about this position.’ ‘What about you? Do you move around a lot too?’ ‘Me? Not really. I’ve been at my present school five years now and I love it – bar the long drive from where we live in Maidstone. They have a strong emphasis on drama, which is my thing, so it’s the full package for me.’ ‘That’s great,’ said Rosa. ‘Sweet. You’re bound to be a great mum when the time comes, with all that kiddie experience. Will you guys do it soon, do you think?’ Holly had to smile; even in this day and age, if you were a woman of child-bearing age, you always got asked these questions, even by another woman who was successful and career-minded. And if she had a pound for every time someone told her she’d be a great mum… ‘We hope so,’ she answered good-humouredly, raising her glass. ‘Here’s to the year ahead.
Author Bio:
Tracy Rees was the winner of the Richard and Judy 'Search for a Bestseller' Competition and her books are paperback, ebook and audio bestsellers. A Cambridge graduate, she had a successful eight-year career in nonfiction publishing and a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling before becoming a writer. She lives in Wales. https://twitter.com/AuthorTracyRees
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3AAZbTM
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