Christmas Carole
by Nancy Fraser
GENRE: Sweet Holiday Romance
BLURB:
When divorced mother of two, Carole Kelley, moves herself and her children to Dickens, she figures the most difficult thing she'll have to face is providing a perfect Christmas for her 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.
What she doesn't count on is Jaxon Matthews, Wil-Bar Toy's attorney and quite possibly the most infuriating man she's ever met.
Jax wants nothing more than to finish up his current workload within the next few weeks so he can pack his bags and leave for his usual solitary Christmas on Grand Cayman Island. His plans are quickly derailed when a big contract falls through, forcing him back to the negotiating table less than a month before the holiday.
His plans are further delayed when he meets Carole Kelley. Despite his best intentions to steer clear of any romantic entanglements, he can’t help but be drawn to the beautiful woman and her infectious holiday spirit... something he hasn’t felt in years.
Once he realizes getting to know Carole means competing with her two children for her attention, he’s ready to give up on furthering their relationship. What he doesn’t count on is the power of family, and the magic of the wish stick.
]
Excerpt:
Law Office of Matthews, Baker, and Matthews
November 3oth
Once Mrs. Gimble left his office, he let out a sigh of frustration. What else could possibly go wrong?
He’d spent over a month ironing out the kinks in the shipping contract between Flannigan and Will-Bar Toys. Now, on the eve of the signing, they were trying to pull a fast one. Flannigan wouldn’t have tried such an underhanded move, Jax realized, if his father were still alive and managing the Wil-Bar account.
Leaning forward, he balanced his head in his hands, his elbows on the desktop. He needed a break, his annual holiday vacation to Grand Cayman. It wasn’t going to happen unless he was able to tie up all the loose ends on the last three outstanding corporate contracts.
For the past six months, since his father’s passing, he’d been playing catch up, doing his best to manage the workload caused by not just his father’s unexpected death, but also the retirement of Thomas Baker, his other partner.
“Jaxon,” Mrs. Gimble called from the outer office, “Mr. Flannigan is out of the office until three. His secretary will have him call you when he gets in.”
“Thank you.” He laid his hands on the keyboard, intending to forward Flannigan’s email to Wil-Bar. Instead, he picked up his cell and punched the speed dial number for Rick Barrett’s office.
The phone rang four times before a very out-of-breath voice answered, “Wil-Bar Toys, Carole speaking.”
“Is Mr. Barrett there?” he asked.
“No, not at the moment. Can I take a message?”
“How about Margaret?”
“No, she’s not available either.”
“Where the devil is everyone?”
The woman’s sigh slid across the line ahead of her explanation. “Today is Margaret’s last day, and everyone’s downstairs on the factory floor for her retirement party.” She paused, “Everyone but me, obviously.”
Jax pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to ward off an oncoming headache. “I take it, you’re the new Margaret.”
“No, I’m not,” she said sharply. “I’m Carole.”
Cold. Impatient. And, a smart mouth.
“I really need to talk to Mr. Barrett as soon as he’s available.”
“Who should I say is calling?”
“Jaxon Matthews.”
“And your name?”
Oh... god... would this day-long nightmare ever end?
“That is my name. Jaxon, J-A-X-O-N. Matthews.”
“Oh, sorry. Jaxon Matthews sounds more like an investment company, than someone’s name.”
“Listen... uh... Carole. I realize, you’re new, maybe this is even your first job. No doubt you’re overwhelmed. Can you just give Mr. Barrett my message? Tell him it’s important.”
“Yes, Mr. Jaxon, with an X, Matthews, I can. May I tell him what this is about?”
“No, that’s okay, Carole. My name will be enough.”
“Thank you for calling Wil-Bar Toys, Mr. Matthews. I’ll be sure to let Rick know you called.”
“Rick? Is that any way to address your new employer?”
He could have sworn her heard her smirk.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. He really only hates it when I call him Ricky.”
NANCY FRASER is an Amazon Top 100 and Award-Winning author who can’t seem to decide which sweet romance genre suits her best. So, she writes them all.
When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
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10 comments:
I love the cover, synopsis and excerpt, this is a must read for me. Thank you for sharing your bio and book details and for offering a giveaway
Sounds like a very good book
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for hosting this first stop on my tour. As always, it's a pleasure to be here. And thanks to Bea and Sherry for their comments.
Really great cover and love the excerpt!
I'm thinking Rick is a relative. Enjoyed the excerpt and love the title! Best wishes for CHRISTMAS CAROLE!
Great excerpt
Congrats on your new release, Nancy, I enjoyed reading the excerpt and Christmas Carol and I think your book sounds like a perfect holiday read! Thanks for brining it to my attention and good luck with your book and the tour! Have a magical holiday season!
I love the beautiful cover and the excerpt. Thanks for the giveaway!
This sounds like a wonderful book. Pretty cover!
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