Genre: Holiday Romance

Amy Winstead is a twenty something video producer who loves Christmas more than anyone she’s ever known. This year, the holidays are gonna be a lot less happy because she can’t afford the plane ticket home to celebrate with her family, and her best and oldest friend Josh is moving halfway across the country for a new job that he couldn’t turn down.

When Josh asks her to accompany him on his road trip from Texas to Connecticut and offers to pay for her plane ticket back home, how could Amy say no? He’s promised some fun surprises on the trip, and more time with him could never be a bad thing.

One surprise Josh hasn’t planned on is the record-breaking blizzard heading their way. They decide to wait out the storm in the charming town of Holly Hill, where a little holiday magic and a lot of snow combine to help Josh and Amy realize that the something that’s always simmered between them could easily become something more…

Exclusive Excerpt

Fate blessed me the moment Josh Abbott came into my life. It was just before his first birthday, when I was six weeks old. My mom set me down across his lap, posing us for a picture that I keep a copy of on my phone, one that’s framed and displayed on the fireplace mantel at my parents’ house.

In it, Josh is wearing this little yellow and blue striped t-shirt, his blonde hair a cute mess that was his trademark until we graduated from high school. I have on a light pink onesie with a hood that has ears on it. Josh grins down at me as I hold his finger in a white-knuckled grip.

Mom says neither one of us wanted to let go that day, and that’s when she and Josh’s mom, Gloria, knew we’d be best friends forever.

Twenty-six years later, we’re still inseparable…for the next six days, at least. That’s when Josh is loading up his car and making the drive from Austin to Connecticut to start a new job that he just couldn’t turn down. They offered him almost double his current salary; I can’t really blame him for ditching me right before my favorite holiday, honestly.

I’m trying to learn how to deal with it. Most days, I desperately lie to myself about how living without him won’t be as bad as I think. Then I wind up flip-flopping between being irrationally angry at him and unfathomably sad. I’m constantly 100% head-over-heels in love with him.

That’s my little secret, though.

For one brief moment, I had a sliver of hope that we were on the same page. He invited me out to dinner at our favorite place, and I’d gotten swept up in fantasies that he’d take my hands across the table, smile that gorgeous smile of his and say, “Ames, I’m in love with you.”

What he actually said was, “Ames, I’m moving back home. I got a job in New York.”

I can’t blame him for trying to soften the blow with barbecue, but I lost my appetite after that.

I haven’t really gotten it back. It’s worked out in my favor for the most part, since this time of year I’m working a schedule that doesn’t allow much time for eating. I’m an editor/producer for a social media baking star. We’re about four months ahead in the production schedule, so while it’s Christmas in real time, it’s been Easter in my world for the past few weeks. I’ve barely had time for a real meal, so I’ve basically just been inhaling the baked goods after we’ve finished taking pictures of them for Instagram.

Yesterday, I had a handful of almonds and a sizable portion of a bunny’s butt made out of yellow cake, raspberry jam, and the most amazingly fluffy buttercream frosting I’ve ever had.

At this point, my body is screaming, NUTRIENTS, PLEASE!

Josh knows me like the back of his hand, and has some kind of weird internal alarm that sounds whenever I’ve gone a few days without eating a vegetable. I’m positive that’s why he invited me over to eat, and why I gave him a hard time before I said yes.

I know I’m lucky to have a friend like him. He’s smart, he’s fun, he’s funny, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s model-gorgeous and an absolute pleasure to look at, especially when he’s in the kitchen making me dinner.

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About Cassie Cross

Cassie Cross is a Maryland native and a romantic at heart, who lives outside of Baltimore with her two dogs and a closet full of shoes. Cassie’s fondness for swoon-worthy men and strong women are the inspiration for most of her stories, and when she’s not busy writing a book, you’ll probably find her eating takeout and indulging in her love of 80’s sitcoms.

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