I’m dreaming…of a white Christmas. Where did you grow up? In my childhood in northern Virginia, I can remember only one white Christmas. My senior year in college, a heavy wet snow fell all day and through the night on Christmas Eve, ten inches in all. My family lived on seven acres in a white frame farmhouse at the end of a gravel road that was a quarter of a mile long. My dad, sister, and I spent that Christmas morning taking turns shoveling as we made our way down that drive, his transistor radio tuned to a station playing Christmas music. My mother had the turkey dinner ready when we got back to the house.
It wasn’t until I moved to Chicago in my early twenties that snow on Christmas became a regularity—and then some. I’ve always loved the first snow of the season. Some places I’ve lived, that came as early as Halloween – requiring inventive solutions to the kids’ costumes. Often by the time Christmas rolled around, the snow piles were grey and ugly, and more snow wasn’t welcome. Sometimes snow even interfered with the holidays. When my husband and I lived even farther north, in the upper reaches of Minnesota, we made a practice of not driving anywhere at night if temperatures were worse than twenty below zero. That prevented at least one Christmas Eve outing I can remember.
Fast forward to our move to the southwest, about ten years ago. The first few years, we lived and traveled in our motor home, and I still remember my reaction the first time we took an early December evening walk in the balmy temperatures among the palm trees and saw people putting up Christmas lights. Not a combination I’d ever thought about, and it took some getting used to.
BUT when our publisher put out a call for warm fuzzy holiday stories and we had to decide on a setting, no way were we going to deal with warm weather. We set this story in one of our fave old haunts, the Lake Como area of St. Paul, MN, where there is definitely a LOT of winter. My own Minnesota memories have to do with chopping ice dams off the roof, but instead we sent our couple ice skating, and then on a trip even farther north, where there’s some great cross-country skiing, plus a Christmas Eve memory straight out of our past.
We hope our readers enjoy this short story as much as we did writing it. Our two fifty-year-old characters may seem a tad curmudgeonly at the start, but we warmed up to them, and for sure they went on to heat things up, big time.
BOOK INFORMATION
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Publisher: Extasy Books
Word Count: 12,698
Genre: Erotic Romance, Mature Heroine, Holiday Story
Heat Level: 3 flames
BLURB
Is it ever too late to find happiness?
They’re in their fifties. Grief-stricken (her) and battle scarred (him) from their previous loves, they don’t want to risk more heartbreak, ever. They’ll have to take it slow, talk it through, test the waters carefully. Can they make it happen at this speed, get it done in a short story, and reap the benefits of sizzling sex at their age? Why not?
EXCERPT
Set Up: Carol’s best friend, Sue, has invited Carol and Cliff for lunch…
“Damn!” Sue looked at Carol, then at Cliff. “Sorry, I have to run. There’s a crisis at work that apparently only I can solve. Enjoy your lunch. My treat.”
Carol shook her head as Sue scurried off, thrust a handful of bills at the cashier, and exited the restaurant.
Cliff’s soft chuckle redirected her attention. His short salt and pepper beard framed an inquisitive smile.
“I’m surprised Sue stayed as long as she did. You’ve known her much longer than I have. Is she always so obvious?”
“That’s Sue.” Carol absently brushed hair away from her eye. “What you see is what you get. A big heart, and too often more than a bit pushy. But the truest, dearest friend I’ve ever had.”
Cliff nodded. “That’s special. She left before the waiter came back to take our orders. Wonder how much she paid them! Do you want to stay? I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Besides, sharing a meal that’s already been paid for with an attractive woman who seems as skeptical about this process as me might be an opportunity not to be missed.”
Carol’s breath caught—but she didn’t want to look that interested. She shrugged. “Why not? So you don’t do the so-called blind date adventure often?”
“Never. Until Sue twisted my arm so hard I thought it would break. By the way, I should add, I’m not disappointed I came. You do seem intriguing, and what is there to lose? We have a free meal to share, and who knows what we might discover.
“Sure. We can always walk away and say nice meeting you, have a good day.”
BUY LINKS
From the Publisher, Extasy Books:
https://www.extasybooks.com/coming-soon/A-Reluctant-Santa
Other retail outlets:
https://books2read.com/u/3RzZzD
REVIEWS
Loved it
This was a fun book with a great storyline. Carol and Cliff had super hot chemistry that made this even better. They made for a steamy story. It’s a definite must read.
A Christmas cracker
A short, sweet and sexy Xmas romance that will bring festive hope to all the over 50’s – love and a fulfilling sex life are not just for the younger generation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adriana Kraft is the pen name for a married pair of retired professors writing erotic romance together. We like to think we’ve broken the mold for staid, fusty academics, and we hope lots of former profs are enjoying life as much as we are.
Having lived in many states across the Midwest, we now make our home in southern Arizona, where we enjoy hiking, golf, and travel, especially to the many Arizona Native American historical sites.
Together we have published more than fifty romance novels and novellas to outstanding reviews. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and a compelling story.
We love hearing from readers at adrianakraft99@yahoo.com, and here is our website:
When It’s Time to Heat Things Up https://adrianakraft.com
Find us at:
Blog: https://www.adrianakraft.com/blog
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Extasy Books Page https://www.extasybooks.com/adriana-kraft
Thanks so much for hosting me and my new release today!