Title: The Gifts of Christmas
Author: Sue Ward Drake
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Holiday Romance
Book Blurb:
A New Orleans tour guide and her new Alpha hero husband…
Must find a home for an adorable abandoned puppy...and gifts for each other...
All while planning a family Christmas celebration to cheer his elderly aunt.
Christmas is only days away and Cath Guidry, French
Quarter ghost tour guide, wants to find a special gift for her
husband, Mitch, for their first holiday together.
Dress shirts for an ex-Army sniper who favors tees and camo just don’t fill the bill.
Her problems are solved when his Aunt Edi and brother Kurt welcome the dachshund into their home and suggest repairing Mitch’s long-lost, but cherished, wristwatch. Then when her good luck necklace is damaged in a tussle with a purse snatcher, Mitch sees how to create a distinctive gift for her.
But how are they going to keep their gifts a secret when Mitch vows to stick to her side through Christmas Day?
EXCERPT FROM A Big Easy Christmas by Sue Ward Drake:
Mitch followed Cath through the French Quarter streets, resisting the urge to check the time. She wasted no time looking around the Christmas shop before carrying a white candle thingy to the register. They paid and left, stopping to buy pralines before heading back to Cath’s office.
Her office manager, Bea Harvey, looked up and pointed to the big bags he carried inside. “Ooo, somebody’s been shopping.”
Mitch set the huge bag with the centerpiece on the couch and pulled out a box of pralines. The candy shop had added a red bow with a sprig of holly to dress up their regular package. He placed the box on Bea’s desk. “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, my, bless your heart.” She took his hand in both of hers. “I just made a new pot of coffee. You want a cup?”
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and chicory wafted toward him from the back room. “I could use some, thanks.”
“Me, too,” Cath said.
When Bea rolled back her chair as if to stand, he held up his hand. “I’ll get it. You want a cup?”
“I’ll get it later, thank you,” she drew out the last words and batted her eyelashes at him.
Mitch walked down a short hallway to the stockroom, heat flooding his face. If he listened to Bea too long, his ego would get too big to handle.
A mug labeled “Boss Lady” and another with a fleur-de-lis symbol rested on the drainboard. He chose the one he figured was Cath’s and a disposable cup, the women’s voices in the office drifting to him.
The phone in his pocket nudged the table with the coffee maker, and the reminder torqued up the tension in his gut. He could have missed an incoming text and pulled his cell to check.
Nope. Nothing. Hal hadn’t called. Neither had his other brothers.
Mitch stifled a sigh and filled the cups. After doctoring Cath’s the way she liked it, he carried their coffees back to the front office.
Cath jerked her head around as if he’d startled her.
“They said they were open—” Bea stopped talking and clamped her mouth shut.
His nerves now on high alert, he didn’t miss the way Cath planted a hand on top of Bea’s notepad. Why would she stand like that?
“Thank you.” She reached for her mug, all nonchalance.
He glanced at her hand on the pad and lifted his brows. “Is there something I should know about?”
Cath shrugged. “Time will tell.”
What did that mean? Mitch propped a hip on the edge of the nearby desk, watching her.
“Do you know something?” Bea tapped an orange-lacquered fingernail against her lips and looked at him. “I sensed you coming down the sidewalk even before I saw you through the door.”
Really? He swung his leg. “Why do you think that was?”
“You must have an aura that precedes you. You know, reaches out and vibrates in the air.”
He took a sip, let the strong, hearty brew slip down his throat. “You believe in auras, Bea?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. The guy who rents downstairs from me is into all this New Age stuff. He makes it sound reasonable.”
Was Bea trying to distract him? Why?
She dropped her glasses on their chain. “Don’t you ever think about someone and then have that person appear?”
“Not immediately.” He glanced at Cath, still standing over Bea’s desk though she had her own right behind him. “Last night I thought and thought, and wondered and wondered where Cath was, and she finally appeared a couple of hours later.”
“That’s not exactly the kind of appearance I’m talking about. My neighbor, Cecil, says it has to do with how two separate auras intersect.”
He could go along, see what else Bea would say. “Especially if one of them is a dashing bounty hunter?”
Bea leaned back in her chair. “That helps, I think.”
He muzzled a smile and nodded. “So, you’re saying I could maximize my aura to attract women?”
Cath tapped her wedding band. “Are you really interested in attracting other women?”
“I’m only wondering if I should fine tune my aura. What do you think?” He raised an eyebrow.
“It’s working fine already. I can attest to that.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Special on-sale price of $.99 at all vendors
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gifts-of-christmas-sue-ward-drake/1146361940?ean=2940180791665
What makes your featured book a must-read?
New Orleans celebrates Christmas in wonderful ways: Christmas in the Oaks light show in City Park and Storyland and Botanical Gardens, special Christmas Eve late night dinners, Christmas Eve midnight services at the cathedral, and strings of lights on French Quarter balconies.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs November 25 – December 3, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on December 4, 2024.
Author Biography:
An award-winning author of romantic suspense, Sue loves using her experiences living in a farmhouse on a Greek island and her years in the French Quarter as fuel for her stories as often as possible. Publishers Weekly and other reviewers have called her work “sizzling,” “gripping,” “emotional,” and “an edge of your seat thrill ride.”
To discover more about Sue and her books, visit www.SueWardDrake.com
Social Media Links:
AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL: https://www.amazon.com/SUE-WARD-DRAKE/e/B06Y4TBF6Q/
TWITTER: https://x.com/SueWardDrake
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SueWardDrake/
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/suedrakeauthor/