Title: The Holiday Boyfriend
Author: Christina Benjamin
Genre: YA Romance
Book Blurb:
Will there be mistletoe magic in Manhattan this Christmas?
Emma Rhodes is hesitant to return to Manhattan for Christmas. After all, she left for a reason. A tall, dark and handsome reason named Will Taylor. But Emma has been homesick for the city ever since she moved to Boston with her mother. So when the opportunity to spend her last high school holiday with her father presented itself, she couldn’t resist.
Plus, Emma has some big decisions on the horizon. With graduation only a few months off, she needs to decide if she’s brave enough to face her past and return to the city for college, or if she’ll continue to run from the heartbreak that haunts her. Nobody is more excited about the holidays than Will Taylor, especially now that his dream girl is back in town. Emma Rhodes was the one that got away and Will has a plan to make sure it never happens again. He’s sure he can use the magic of Manhattan at Christmas to show her the spark between them still exists. Will’s plans to win Emma back hinge on giving her the best Christmas ever, which might be more difficult than he suspected when Emma’s frienemies get involved and her father drops a family bombshell. But Will is determined not to give up his heartwarming quest to prove his love with holiday flare. A seasonal tale of love, family and the magic of Christmas.
Excerpt:
Will grabbed coffee for himself and Emma, and a large mason jar of local maple syrup, grinning wider than Colin.
“Want anything else?” Will asked before paying the guy at the counter.
Emma grabbed a pack of wintermint Tic Tacs and added them to their loot on the counter.
“I should’ve guessed,” Will added with a smirk.
“What?”
“You’re obsessed with those things.”
“Am not.”
“Oh please,” Will teased. “When we were thirteen you told me you’d rather give up TV than Tic Tacs.”
Emma’s heart hiccupped. “Do you remember everything about me?” she asked guiltily.
“Of course,” Will answered looking at her like she’d asked something everyone already knew the answer to.
Emma followed him and Colin out to the truck in a bit of a daze. It had begun to snow and she watched Will lift Colin under the arms and twirl him around through the snowflakes before safely depositing him in the truck. Colin’s laughter pealed through the crisp December air and something in Emma’s chest cracked open. She felt as though she was looking at Will for the first time. He was still the same old Will—the boy who’d been her kind, dependable best friend. But now, as she took him in, the fine shadow of stubble shading his jaw, the slight curl to his dark locks that peeked out from under his navy beanie, the comfortable fit of his gray pants and work boots . . . all she saw was her future.
She’d never seen this version of Will—so comfortable in his own skin. So happy and alive. And suddenly she ached to be the one twirling in his arms under the soundless fall of snowflakes. She wanted to kiss his frost-bright cheeks, share the curling frozen breath between them.
He turned to look at her as if he knew what she was thinking. “What?”
She shook her head, feeling her cheeks glow. How had she ever thought she’d get over this boy? This morning she’d been sure she could. But then Will’s video had changed everything. And when she embarked on this Christmas tree adventure she’d told herself it was just as friends. But clearly it was much more than that.
Emma approached the truck but stopped as she noticed Will rubbing the back of his neck in thought as he stared at the gas pumps.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“This is kinda embarrassing, but I don’t know how to pump gas.”
Emma burst out laughing. “Move over, Miss Daisy” she said playfully shoving him aside.
“Have I ever told you how good you are for a guy’s confidence, Em?” Will remarked.
Emma rolled her eyes. “Okay are you ready for your first gas pumping lesson, city boy?”
“Hey, you’re just as much a city brat as I am.”
“Yeah, but now I’m a Boston city brat. And in Boston, we pump our own gas.”
Will smirked and gave a mock bow, allowing Emma to proceed with the gas. Will blew into his ungloved hands to keep them warm as they waited for the massive tank to fill. “So,” he murmured between puffs of steam. “What changed your mind?”
“About what?” Emma asked.
“Me.”
“Who says I’ve changed my mind?”
“You’re here. I just figured it meant something.”
Emma sighed deeply and a cloud of swirling air hung between them. “I didn’t want you to lose your holiday tradition.” She stuffed her free hand in her pocket. “It seems like we’ve both already lost enough.”
“Have I lost you?” Will asked quietly.
When Emma met his gaze, she felt scorched by the intensity in Will’s exquisite blue eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Em—”
“Will, I don’t think we can go back. Too much has happened.”
“Then maybe we can go forward?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
November is a time to be thankful. What are you most thankful for this year?
Family, friends, health and doing what I love for a living.
Why is your featured book worth snuggling up to?
It’s a great holiday read that makes you want to cuddle up by a fire with a cup of cocoa while the story transports you to nostalgic holiday traditions, reminding us that the magic of Christmas, second chances and new beginnings is tangible.
Giveaway:
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Open internationally.
Runs November 1 – 30.
Drawing will be held on December 1.
Author Biography:
Author, Christina Benjamin, lives in Florida with her husband, and character inspiring pets, where she spends her free time working on her books, eating chocolate and drinking wine. Christina is best known for her bestselling Young Adult romance novels, The Boyfriend Series, which proves that book boyfriends are like chocolate... you can never have enough. Check out the Boyfriend Series for fast, fun, YA romance reads. These destination novels let you fall in love in a new city with new characters, every time. And don't miss her new Billionaire Boyfriend series for clean romance reads. Christina loves to read and write across genres. She also writes under C.J. Benjamin and her best-selling novel, Geneva Sommers and the Quest for Truth, has won multiple awards and stolen the hearts of YA readers everywhere. Packed with magic and imagination, her epic tale of adventure hooks fans of mega-hit YA fiction like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson.
Social Media Links:
For updates follow her on Amazon or at: Facebook @ChristinaBenjaminAuthor Twitter @authorcbenjamin Instagram @authorcbenjamin