The weather is changing which means...you've got it! Christmas is on the way! And there's nothing better than a sweet Christmas romance to get you in the holiday mood! Please welcome Romance Gem Kari Lemor and her latest release, SWEET DREAMS! (Who else has the Eurythmics' song going through your head? Have you seen this guy singing it at the gas pump? One of my favorites! https://youtu.be/q6PAGwtoBwU)
Blurb ~
Faking it has never been so sweet.
When Zachary Donahue breezes back into town for his sister’s wedding, he finds himself the unwilling target of her matchmaking. He’s partnered with her best friend, Kelsey, his biggest childhood crush.
Bridesmaid, Kelsey Ramos, isn’t interested in being set up with her friend’s annoying older brother who used to put frogs and snakes in her backpack. She liked the frogs better than she liked Zack.
To ensure the bride focuses on her wedding, not them, Kelsey and Zack will have to pretend they’re dating. But when Christmas magic hits the air, there’s no telling which way the sweet wind will blow.
Excerpt ~
The
bell above the door tinkled and Kelsey glanced up from the shelf she was
stacking jars of local jam on. She loved being able to sell the wares of people
who lived in and around town. It worked out for all involved as town folks
loved supporting each other.
The navy wool beanie she’d gotten used to
seeing appeared above the shelf next to her. Zack grinned down at her.
“Trying to hide and get out of our date
tonight?”
Could she? When they’d made arrangements a
few days ago to go skating after work, she hadn’t thought anything of it. But
now that the time had come, a tiny flutter of nervousness skittered around her
stomach.
“Would it work?” Her flip tongue always got
the better of her.
“Nope. You said you closed the shop at four
on Sunday. So we’ve got plenty of time to skate. I need to get in shape if I
plan to infiltrate one of the morning hockey games. Are you almost ready to
go?”
“I just need to neaten up this shelf and
make sure none of the mix and match candy got mixed up.”
Zack peered into the half wooden barrels at
the individually wrapped sweets. “I can do that. Finish up the shelves, and we
can go.”
She pointed to the door. “Do you mind
flipping the open sign to closed, please?”
He did as asked, then poked through the
wooden barrels while she straightened the shelves. It had been a busy weekend
and she’d need to contact her suppliers to refill the stock. That always made
her feel great when she sold local goods.
“Let me just lock up the back and grab my
skates. Do you have a pair?”
“There was an old pair of mine hanging in
the barn at my parents’ house. Not sure how sharp they are, but I won’t be
going for any hat tricks today, so maybe I’ll be fine.”
Kelsey gave the back room a quick check,
made sure the doors were locked, then took her skates, coat, mittens, scarf,
and hat. The weather had warmed up to the mid-thirties today, but with the sun
going down any second, it would get chillier.
As she entered the store front, Zack backed
away from the glass case he’d been drooling over.
“Do you want something before we go? Are
you hungry?”
“Haven’t really had anything since lunch. I
didn’t want to be late getting here. But I can wait until after we skate. No
sense having you open up the register again now that it’s shut down.”
Kelsey laughed and scooped two red velvet
cupcakes from the case, then closed it again. “Here. I remember you liked
these. It’s on the house.”
“I’ll pay you back later.” The cupcake was
gone in four bites.
“You can pay me back with a cup of hot
chocolate after we skate. The Boy Scouts sell it by the bandstand.” She took a
bite of her own cupcake. He had good taste. The red velvet ones were amazing.
“It’s a deal. Finish that up so we can go.”
Kelsey took her time eating the rest,
savoring it, then licking the frosting from her lips. Zack stared at her and
his expression was interesting, but she couldn’t quite interpret it. Most
likely she had chocolate stuck to the corner of her mouth. She grabbed a napkin
and did a thorough wipe. Having a dirty face while seeing other people from
town would be embarrassing.
“Am I all clean now?” She smiled at Zack,
and he nodded, then tipped his chin at her.
There was a tiny fleck of cake crumb snagged in the
bristle on his chin, so she reached up and brushed it away. The scruff felt
good scraping her fingers, but she pulled them away as fast as she could. This
was a fake relationship, and it wouldn’t do to start enjoying touching Zack in
any way.
BUY SWEET DREAMS AT:
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GJQGKBX/
B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1140172551?ean=2940162584926
iBooks https://books.apple.com/us/book/sweet-dreams-a-christmas-in-new-england-story/id1586384794
Google https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kari_Lemor_Sweet_Dreams_A_Christmas_in_New_England?id=gpBDEAAAQBAJ
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sweet-dreams-a-christmas-in-new-england-story
Books2Read https://books2read.com/b/bWGyNW