Hunter and Chloe’s story is coming December 10! This is a holiday romance, one that I wasn’t expecting to write this year. It’s long for a novella but shorter than a book.
Chloe Richardson is on track…
Running the finances at Flatiron Five Fitness West is a dream job and it’s steadily making her goal of financial independence come true. She lives to work, and likes her schedules just fine. Returning to New York for Christmas should be routine, but her mom starts matchmaking—and Chloe needs a plus-one fast. When Hunter volunteers, Chloe decides he’s the perfect choice—she’ll never get emotionally involved with a guy who refuses to make plans and she knows Hunter is all about variety. It doesn’t hurt that he’s hot, or that he kisses like he invented it—but when Chloe discovers that Hunter hates Christmas, she knows she has to fix that. When she realizes that she’s falling fast for the Hunter no one else sees, can she convince him to give them a chance?
Hunter Tate lives in the moment…
He’s learned the hard way that tomorrow might never come and is determined to make every day count. The problem is Christmas—he needs a major distraction to keep his memories at bay. A fake date to a fancy charity event with his hot co-worker, Chloe, is definitely out of the ordinary for him, but Hunter loves a challenge. What could be a better one than breaking every one of Chloe’s rules? It’s all fun until Chloe decides to help Hunter put the past behind him—she gets to him and demands more, but can Chloe’s love convince Hunter to commit to the future?
Coming December 10, 2020.
Visit the Pinterest board for this book.
Pre-order at these portals:
Just Home for the Holidays will also be available in mass market paperback.
I was so excited when many of the authors of the Haunting of Castle Keyvnor decided to go Back to the Castle for Christmas! We had a lot of fun intertwining our haunted stories and I loved exploring Cornwall as a setting. I’m a big lover of Regency Christmas stories and Christmas traditions, too, so combining them all sounded just up my alley!
Christmas carols are a favorite and in fact, many of today’s favorites originated in Cornwall. Christmas plays are a staple, as are the decoration of churches and villages.
Readers might also be aware of the English Yule Log tradition. In Cornwall, a large log of ash is brought in and named the ‘mock.’ Only in Cornwall do they ‘Chalk the Mock.’ Someone was chosen to draw a figure on the log in chalk. He was said to represent the death of the old year and the birth of the new, or sometimes meant as a representation of Father Time. Adults toasted the mock, stories were told and the Yule log was burnt, with some of the embers saved to be used in the next year’s mock.
Enchanted at Christmas
The Mercenary’s Bride is a Christmas novella and my contribution to 
Hello! I’m Eliza Knight, an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance. Under the name E. Knight, I pen rip-your-heart-out historical fiction. Most of my novels take place in medieval Scotland, which is my favorite time period to write about. I’m fortunate enough to have been able to do some research in Scotland, too, which brings me even closer to my characters and the land they cherish so much.
My story in The Nutcracker Reimagined is The Highlander’s Gift, and it features the daughter of Magnus and Arbella from The Highlander’s Reward. Bella is a fiery and independent lass who definitely doesn’t want to be constrained by the bonds of marriage. And she just so happens to find the most perfect man for her. Sir Niall Oliphant was betrothed to the Bruce’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, until she declares that his wound in battle has incapacitated him as a man. Because he does not wish to marry the spoiled royal, he is glad to pass her off to his brother Sir Walter, and remain a bachelor. Until he is presented with an offer from the Earl of Sutherland to marry his only daughter, a lass more beautiful than any other. Bella Sutherland, daughter of one of the most powerful earls and Highland chieftains in Scotland, can marry anyone she wants—but she wants no one. When she spies the injured warrior at the Yule festival who has been shunned by the Bruce’s own daughter, she makes her choice. What is better than no husband? A husband who cannot truly be husband at all. With them both satisfied that they are gaining a marriage in name only, imagine their surprise when love blossoms and passion ignites?
Deborah Cooke & Her Books 