Carolina Christmas Kiss: A Vixens In Love Novella
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Jessup was the missing piece.
When he rounded the corner, he had tears that threatened to spill over and a smile that reached his eyes at the prospect of waking up to another hearty holiday breakfast that would continue the family legacy his mother had spent a lifetime building for her children.
He took me in his arms and dipped me back, closing the distance between his mouth and my own. Ever fiber in my body flushed and burned in the fractions of a second between when I knew the kiss would come and when it finally came. Passionate and deep, it was a tidal wave, a transference of all the things we’d felt but never shared with anything more than a fleeting look in all our weeks of restraint.
When he came up for air, I pulled him back in.
His kiss was more intense than his gaze had ever been, and I was ready to be overwhelmed. By the beauty of life in the middle of darkness, by the impossibility of our odds, the insanity of love.
I was finally ready for all of it.
Epilogue: Next December
At the craft store, Amy helped me choose the materials for the matching flower crowns I planned to make the Vixens as part of their Christmas presents. Our organization had grown from three members to fifteen. Sixteen, if you counted Amy. She was still a good four years away from being in college, but she came to enough of our volunteering events with me that it only seemed fitting to consider her an honorary member.
While I snipped away at the artificial vines and flowers and reassembled them with a mess of hot glue and green twine at the Rice kitchen table, Jessup helped me brainstorm what my contributions should be to my family’s annual Christmas letter.
“Before we start writing, reread me the part from my parents,” I said.
Jessup read using his best imitation of my father’s voice. “My wife and I decided it was in our best interest to ditch the lives we decided we wanted when we took out ungodly sums of money to go get MBAs. At twenty-one, fresh out of college, who isn’t attracted to the allure of the rat race? We wanted a white house with a picket fence and shiny new cars that we could load up with shiny new things. After finding out we both had a knack for marketing, we went on a crusade to convince you that you wanted shiny new things, too. Gadgets and devices and products that would fill that void in your life until you realized the void had grown bigger when you weren’t looking, and you needed something else to plug it with.
“Around the same time, my wife and I got tired. We decided we didn’t want stuff. We wanted adventure. It started with selling our company off and taking a month-long cruise. It turned into selling our house and all the stuff in it so we could downsize to a van we could live in while we traveled to all the national parks and major monuments. To sustain ourselves, we’ve started a blog and a YouTube channel that we hope will inspire people to live with passion and intention. If you’re related to us, you probably don’t want to find either of them, as we go into detail about how to rekindle a slammin’ sex life as middle agers and parents. On occasion, I still feel like I’m in marketing because I use affiliate links when I recommend things like handcuffs and sex swings.”
I roll my eyes and make a gagging sound. In their quest to live an honest and transparent life filled with joy, my parents have become over sharers.
“This is where we turn things over to our daughter, who’s gone on quite a few adventures of her own.” Jessup clicked out of my parent’s email and opened a Word document.
“So where do you want to start?” Jessup asked.
I certainly had plenty of material.
The summer internship I’d taken at a farm in Norlina where I’d gently coached a good ol’ boy that was set in his ways into using more environmentally-friendly practices. The nights of passion Jessup and I schemed up on the Saturday nights Amy slept over at a friend’s house. The beef jerky drive I’d started on campus with the Vixens when Randy wrote home talking about how he and his unit couldn’t get enough of it. I’d even managed to set Andrew up with a new love of his own. It was strange to see him with a Vixen, sure, but the second she’d joined our group, I knew she was perfect for him. He’d matured enough that I didn’t think he’d hurt her the way he hurt me. Andrew was a changed man.
I was changed, too.
“Maybe we start with the date auction,” I said.
About the Author
Like the characters in my novel, I was born and raised in North Carolina. When I started thinking about the Vixens in Love series, I wanted the characters to be every bit as inspired by our land, our people, and our traditions as I am. That’s why I made a point to highlight the beauty of our coast, the flavor of our food, and and the passion that drives us. When I’m not writing, you can find me living out my very own happily ever after with my history nerd husband.
In a world full of books, I’m so grateful you’ve chosen to read mine. If you have a free minute, please drop me a review on Amazon or Goodreads. For an indie author, those mean so much more than a reader may realize.
If you enjoyed the first installment of the Vixens in Love series, keep an eye out for book two, which is Shania’s story. It’s going to be a wild ride. (She’s a biker— see what I did there?)
Have questions? Comments? Wanna chat? Find me using the links below. If you’re extra nice, I might even give you the recipe for Christmas breakfast casserole.
You can connect with me on:
http://www.brookebaileypeters.com
http://www.twitter.com/bannedbrooke
Also by Bailey Peters
Hungry for more romance? I’ve got you covered.
Forgetting Chuck Taylor
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V2PTXVS
As one of Raleigh’s hottest young entrepreneurs, Eva Perry spends her days planning lavish events and helping affluent brides-to-be plan their dream weddings. She keeps her margins, her reviews, and her designer stilettos high. Unfortunately, her success has come with sacrifice. When it’s time to close her office door for the day and head upstairs to her apartment, the only romance she has energy for is in the books she reads from the local public library.
When she pictures the person she’ll end up with, it’s always the same: a goateed book nerd in flannel and Converse sneakers, carrying around a beaten up copy of her favorite novel in his messenger bag. When Eva meets Taylor on the library’s web chat and gets invited to an off-site book club after they exchange witty banter, she quickly gets caught up in daydreams where she walks into the meeting to find the living embodiment of her dream guy.
Instead, she finds a gorgeous brunette that shares all of the more important qualities Eva hasn’t managed to find in anyone else. In the weeks that follow, Eva finds that it’s not Taylor’s gender, but her past, that proves to be the biggest surprise. Can Eva maintain her reputation among the southern elite while courting someone with a criminal record?