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Jul 155 min read

His Christmas Wish by Melissa McClone is a Christmas in July Fete pick #holidayromance #romance #christmasinjuly #giveaway



Title: His Christmas Wish

 

Author: Melissa McClone

 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

 

Book Blurb:

 

Carly Bishop loved Christmas…until tragedy struck.


Carly Bishop doesn’t want to come home for Christmas. Hood Hamlet is filled with nothing but heartbreaking reminders of the fiancé and brother she lost six years ago. But her family needs her, so Carly must dig deep to unearth her Christmas spirit so she can give her niece and nephew the best holiday ever.


Mountain rescuer Jake Porter believes he could have saved his two friends that fateful day and kept the Bishop family from experiencing such a heart-wrenching loss. He hopes helping Carly rediscover the magic of Christmas will allow him to finally move forward with his life, but he's not certain anything can relieve the guilt that's kept him stuck all these years.


As Jake and Carly spend more time together, attraction grows, but toe-curling mistletoe kisses aside, his late best friend would never think Jake is good enough for his little sister. But maybe he can open her heart to something else she’s given up on…love.


Excerpt:

 

Returning to Hood Hamlet had been a mistake.

 

She should have stayed in Philadelphia, where she’d made a new life for herself, far away from the shadow of Mount Hood and all the mountain had stolen from her. If only staying away had been an option, but her brother’s widow, Hannah, was expecting a new baby and needed help with her two children.

 

So here Carly was. Ready to be an aunt extraordinaire for her niece and nephew. For better or, most likely, worse.

 

All she had to do was survive her time here, including December twenty-fourth, the twenty-fifth, and New Year’s Eve.

 

How difficult could that be?

 

Given she hadn’t celebrated the holidays in five years, she didn’t want to know the answer.

 

Carly tightened her grip on the suitcase handle before climbing the steps to the front porch. With a tentative hand, she reached for the doorknob before remembering this was no longer her brother’s house. She pressed the doorbell and waited.

 

The doorknob jiggled.

 

Straightening, Carly forced a smile. Years of working with customers had taught her how to put on a happy face no matter how she felt inside.

 

The door cracked open.

 

“Welcome back, Carly,” a male voice greeted her warmly.

 

She’d expected to see Hannah’s husband of two years, Garrett Willingham, but the man standing in the doorway looked nothing like the clean-cut, non-risk-taking, business-suit-wearing certified public accountant. This guy was too rugged, too fit, too…familiar.

 

“Jacob Porter.”

 

Over six feet tall with brown hair that fell past his collar, he still had piercing blue eyes, a killer smile, and a hot, hard body that made the girls, herself included, swoon back in high school. Those features had only improved with age.

 

Her pulse kicked up a notch. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Waiting for you.” His grin widened, the same way it had whenever he and Nick teased her. “Merry Christmas.”

 

“Merry…” Simply thinking the word left a bitter taste in her mouth. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Season’s greetings. Where’s Hannah?”

 

“At a doctor’s appointment,” Jacob explained. “Garrett drove her. She didn’t know if they’d be home by the time you arrived or before the school bus dropped off Kendall and Austin, so they asked me to come over.”

 

Carly noticed Jacob’s clothes—a light blue button-down oxford shirt, khaki pants, and brown leather shoes. A bit more stylish than the T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers she remembered him wearing. He must have come from work.

 

“Thank you.” Though she wasn’t surprised. Jacob had always gone out of his way for them, a surrogate everything to what remained of the Bishop family. He’d found her the job in Philadelphia. He’d taught Nick’s two kids to ski and fish. He’d even introduced Hannah to Garrett.

 

“Come inside before you get too cold.” Jacob reached for Carly’s suitcase. His hand—big, callused, and warm—brushed hers. The accidental contact startled her, and she jerked away. “You city girls aren’t used to the temperatures up here.”

 

Forget the cold. She wasn’t used to her response to his touch. That was unusual for her. “Philadelphia gets cold, too.”

 

As she stepped inside, heat surrounded Carly, cocooning her with the inviting comforts of home. The homey touches—a fleece blanket on a chair, throw pillows, candles, and framed photos—were ones missing from her apartment.

 

His gaze ran the length of her. “You look the same.”

 

He looked better. “So does this place.”

 

And that somehow made everything…worse.

 

A fire blazed and crackled in the fireplace. The way it had that horrible, dark Christmas morning when a teary-eyed Hannah had told the kids to unwrap their gifts from Santa.

 

Carly wanted to shut off the video of years gone by streaming through her mind, but the fresh evergreen scent, the twinkling multicolored lights, and the ornament-laden branches wouldn’t let her.

 

The popcorn-and-cranberry garland, keepsake decorations marking special occasions, and silver bells and gold balls reminded Carly of the rush to take the tree down before Nick’s funeral. Hoping to protect the children, Hannah hadn’t wanted the event to be associated with Christmas in any way. Her efforts seemed to have worked, but Carly couldn’t think of one without the other. Even now.

 

The door closed.

 

She glanced over her shoulder.

 

Jacob stared, an unrecognizable emotion in his eyes.

 

One time, during an argument with Iain, she’d turned to Jacob for advice. There’d been a moment when she thought he might kiss her. He’d been studying her then the same way he was now.

 

Her temperature rose—the combo of forced-air heating and fireplace, no doubt. She shrugged off her jacket.

 

“I’ll take that.” He hung her coat on the rack by the door. “It’s good to see you again.”

 

“You, too.”

 

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What I love most about the holiday season:

 

I love how people are filled with the holiday spirit and are so much nicer during December. I wish it could be all year long, but I’ll take it. From wishing a “Merry Christmas” to opening a door when you have package-laden arms, I love how people joke and laugh and even share memories with strangers during this time of year.

 

Why is your featured book a must-read to get you in the holiday mood?

 

The story takes place in a small town on the slopes of Mount Hood so snow and pine-scented air sets the scene for the holidays. There’s also a strong community element, and the heroine must find the joy in the season, something she’d lost six years ago.


Giveaway –

 

One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs July 1 – 31, 2024

 

Drawing will be held on August 1, 2024.

 

Author Biography:

 

USA TODAY bestselling, award winning author Melissa McClone writes heartwarming women’s fiction and sweet contemporary romance novels for Tule Publishing Group, Harlequin Books, and Cardinal Press. She has also optioned two screenplays. When she’s not writing relatable characters and sigh-worthy happy endings, she spends her time in the rainy Pacific Northwest reading from her Kindle’s ever-growing TBR, napping with her Norwegian Elkhound and two mini panthers, and decorating her Happy Planner. Melissa graduated from Stanford University with a mechanical engineering degree, but discovered she prefers writing happily ever afters to jet engine testing and analysis. 

 

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