With the holidays right around the corner, I’ve been thinking about what holiday romances I would like to add to my TBR list. I try to read, or listen to, at least 4 holiday-themed stories during the month of December.  

Are you a fan of holiday romances, too? 

I’m not sure what it is about romances set around the holidays that have me swooning, but they are some of my favorite stories. Over the years, I’ve incorporated the holidays into a lot of my stories, but only one of my books has been a standalone holiday romance. 

As with many of my stories, the idea for Tangled in His Embrace came when I was writing another book. I was about halfway through Longing for His Kiss when I realized I needed to give Gabby her own story. She was a single mom who’d had her heart broken when the man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with up and left her…and their daughter. 

The setup was perfect for a second chance romance (another one of my favorites). And what better time for it to take place than Christmas. 

One of the advantages to writing a story that takes place in the winter months, at least for books set in the northern hemisphere, is the ability to add snow to make things interesting. It’s amazing how those cold temperatures always help to heat things up! 

Below is an excerpt from my second chance romance, Tangled in His Embrace, which is on sale now through December 15th for only 99 cents. 

Tangled in His Embrace

A lock of Gabby’s blond hair had fallen out of her ponytail, her loose curls tickling the side of her face every time she moved. The urge to brush it back out of the way was strong, but he resisted. Jax knew it wouldn’t stop there. He’d want more. Like he’d wanted more the last time he’d stepped into her personal space to pick a piece of lint from her jacket.  

It had been completely innocent, until he’d touched her, felt the heat coming off her body, calling to him. He’d looked into her eyes and in that moment he saw the same need reflected there that he felt deep in his soul. Instinct had taken over and before he knew it she was lying naked beneath him and he was buried inside her.  

Gabby tucked the hair behind her ear, drawing his attention back to the present. “Are your parents going to pick her up next weekend or . . .” 

“Yeah. Mom was hoping to pick her up from the babysitters so they can beat the Friday rush.” 

“I’ll let Emily know.” 

There was awkwardness in the air that never used to be there between him and Gabby, and he had no idea how to fix it. After Taylor’s nightmare the night before, he didn’t know if he deserved for it to be fixed. He’d caused his little girl pain. He deserved to suffer. “I should get going.” 

A look of relief showed on Gabby’s face and it was like a knife to his heart.  

“Mommy, why don’t we have a Twist-mas tree like Grandma and Grandpa?” Taylor walked into the room, dragging her favorite stuffed animal behind her.  

“I just haven’t had time to drag everything out of the attic yet.” Gabby ran her hand over the top of their daughter’s hair in a loving gesture. “Maybe we can do it this week before you leave on your trip with Grandma and Grandpa.” 

“I can get everything down out of the attic for you if you want,” Jax said. 

“That’s okay. I can—” 

“Come on, Daddy. I’ll shows you.” Before Gabby could even get her refusal out of her mouth, Taylor took him by the hand and coaxed him to follow her down the hallway.  

Jax shrugged as he let his daughter lead him down the hall to where the attic access was in the ceiling. He reached up to pull the rope that would lower the staircase. “I need you to stand back.” 

Taylor moved closer to her mother, one arm wrapped around Gabby’s legs. 

The fold-up ladder creaked as he lowered it. He looked over his shoulder at Gabby. “Is there still a light up there?” 

“Yeah. As soon as you get to the top it’ll be on your left.” 

Jax nodded and climbed the steep rung of stairs leading up to the attic.  

He’d only been in Gabby’s attic once before. They were fixing up the room that would become Taylor’s nursery. It had been a happy time for both him and Gabby. He’d been so full of nervous excitement that he hadn’t paid much attention to the attic itself or what was up there.  

Gabby’s house wasn’t all that big, but it still took him several minutes to locate the artificial tree and two boxes of Christmas decorations mixed in with several boxes of toys and baby clothes. He couldn’t help but wonder why Gabby was holding on to Taylor’s old clothes. Was she hoping to have another baby one day? Or maybe she was holding on to them for her sister. 

As much as it shouldn’t matter what her reasoning for keeping Taylor’s baby clothes was, Jax couldn’t shake it off. He carried the boxes Gabby needed down the ladder and placed them along the wall.  

Once everything was down, he folded the ladder back up and made sure the access panel was secure before grabbing one of the boxes from where he’d left it. “Did you want these in the living room?” 

“I can get them.” 

He met her gaze and held it for a long moment. “I’m here. Let me help.” 

She didn’t answer right away, seeming to weigh her options. Finally, she nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” 

Jax didn’t stay long after putting the boxes in her living room. It was getting late and he knew Gabby would want to start getting Taylor ready for bed. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew he had given up that right when he’d decided to leave them. 

Grab your copy of Jax and Gabby’s story at one of the below retailers.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3ooAMgb
Apple: https://apple.co/3bQLvtS
Nook: https://bit.ly/3bVFzzv
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3quP8hJ
Google: http://bit.ly/2Tgqa1N 

Sherri Hayes
Sexy Stories. Real Heroes.
http://www.sherrihayesauthor.com/