Title: Eggnog Kisses
Author: Mireille Chester
Release Date: December 2nd 2014
Itâs been six months since Kaleyâs fiancĂŠ called
things off, disappearing with barely an explanation, and the thought of
spending Christmas alone is causing feelings of hurt and loneliness to
ruin her holiday cheer. Tall, dark, quiet, and ever the gentleman, her
next door neighbor has been sneaking into her thoughts more often than
not lately. When she decides to ask him to go to a Christmas party on a
spur of the moment whim, she has no idea sheâs about to unleash a whole
new dimension on her usually normal life.
Born
in Quelondain, Sean is no stranger to a broken heart. Though itâs been
years since the one he loved fated to his best friend, the ache is
still present and crossing over to the other world hasnât helped like
heâd hoped it would. When Kaley asks him to accompany her to a
Christmas party his gut tells him to stay away. Itâs not that he isnât
attracted or tempted, but how is he supposed to explain his past and
what he is. Of course, itâs just one evening, right? What could
possibly happen in one night?
Two broken heartsâŚ
Two worldsâŚ
One fateâŚ
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
She managed to get into her
apartment while keeping a curious JJ from escaping. The fluffy white
cat purred and rubbed himself against her ankles.
âHey, bud. Did
you miss me?â Kaley went to the cupboard and pulled out a few
Whiskas treats for him. She looked around her small apartment and
suddenly, she didnât want to be there alone. âIâll be right back.â
She didnât bother putting
on shoes before closing her door behind her. Sean answered his door
and smiled at the sight of her.
âWhat can I do for you,
neighbor?â
âIâŚâ This was
stupid.
âSo, what brings you
over here?â
I
justâŚâ Kaleyâs good mood vanished.
His smile
softened. âFirst Christmas since Gale left?â
She took a deep breath and
blew it out of her nose. âItâs stupid, I know.â
Sean shook his
head. âNot at all. I know the feeling. I
wasnât engaged, mind you, but my first holiday after my girlfriend left I was a
wreck. Weâd been together four years.â
âIâm sorry.â She
looked at the ground. âWhat happened?â
He cocked his head to the
side. âI was just about to have a rum and eggnog. Want
one?â
She was tempted to turn him
down, but curiosity got the better of her. âSure.â
He held the door opened
wider so she could get in and directed her to the couch. âIt was
your typical breakup. We were young and life had other plans for
us.â
She watched as he mixed the
drinks and brought them over. âThanks.â She took a sip
and he took a long swallow of his drink. âAnyway, it wrecked me when
she left.â
âWhat did you do?â
âI moved
here.â He smiled.
Kaley
frowned. âThat worked? It helped?â
âNot even a little
bit. The only thing that helps is time.â
She couldnât help the
depressed look that took over her face. âFive years, eh?â
Sean
laughed. âItâs been that long, but it didnât take that
long. Iâve had a few other girlfriends since, I just havenât found
anyone else I want to settle down with, thatâs all.â He raised an
eyebrow at her glass. âWant another one?â
âPlease.â
âSo whereâs your party at
tonight?â
âMelâs boss is throwing a
bash for their office. He rented the Rex Hall.â
âCool.â
Kaley noticed him glancing
at the clock on the wall. âDo you have something to
do?â She turned toward the door as someone unlocked it from the
outside and he stood.
âSean!â The dark
haired woman dropped her duffle bag and ran into his open
arms. Kaley watched dumbfounded as he hugged her
close. He had a girlfriend.
âI was getting
worried.â He took her coat from her and hung it up.
âMy bus was
delayed. There was a crash on the highway and we got caught behind
all the traffic. I donât think it was too bad. I mean,
there were ambulances and stuff, but the cars looked to be in not bad shape
when we were finally able to go by.â
âAnd you didnât think to
phone?â
She
shrugged. âOoh! Are you having rum and eggnog without
me?â The woman finally turned her attention to
Kaley. âSince Sean has zero manners, Iâm Reese, by the way.â
âUm, Kaley.â
âLet me
guess. He didnât tell you I was coming?â She took the
drink Sean handed her and settled on the cough beside Kaley. âAnd he
says Iâm forgetful. Youâre getting old, big brother.â
He scoffed. âAnd
you get more immature the more years you put behind you.â
âMomâs going to flip when
she hears you finally have a girlfriend. Itâs about time you got
over that stupid bitch.â
âReese!â
âWell, what? By
the moons, she was. None of us could figure out what you saw in
her.â
âYou were sixteen when we
split. Donât tell me you gave a shit.â
Reese pounded back her
drink. âOf course I cared. How many big brothers do I
have?â
Sean rolled his
eyes. âFour.â
âRight. But you
were always my favorite.â She skipped back to her knee high leather
boots, slipped them on, and shrugged on her coat.
âWhere are you going?â
âIâm meeting
Heather.â She gave him a peck on the cheek. âI have my
key. Donât wait up.â
âJust remember Iâm leaving
at eight tomorrow morning. With or without
you.â
âYeah,
yeah.â Reese grinned. âI missed you.â
âI missed you
too. Brat.â
She closed the door with a
wave at Kaley.
âSheâs, uh⌠sheâs one of
those high energy people.â Sean smiled and went to refill their
drinks.
âNo kidding. I
had no idea you had a sister. Or three brothers for that matter.â
âWhat about you?â
Kaley shook her
head. âOnly child. Your mom and dad?â
âBoth alive and running the
farm. You?â
âMy parents died when I was
fifteen. Drunk driver. I went to live with Mel and her
folks.â
âBut you donât do Christmas
with them?â
âTheyâre not around since
they retired. Mel gets on a flight tomorrow
to join them in Mexico tomorrow morning. They
invite me every year, I just⌠Christmas needs snow. You know?â
He grinned. âI
agree.â
Kaley found her gaze moving
to his mouth. He had a great smile. Had they
really been
living next to each other for almost six years? How had she never
noticed?
âWhat?â
âNothing. I was
just thinking that I canât believe weâve been neighbors all this time and we
know nothing about each other.â
His smile
softened. âYeah. I guess thatâs
life. Everyoneâs too busy.â
She looked at her
watch. âShit. I have to go get ready.â
Sean stood and walked her
to the door.
âSo, youâre just home alone
tonight?â She looked up into his dark green eyes.
âSeems like it.â
âI was just thinking⌠Mel
is bringing a date tonight and Iâm going to be the third wheel. Want
to come along?â
âI donât thinkâŚâ
âCome on. Iâll
owe you one. Thereâs this guy that works there that always gets
drunk and hits on me. You can pretend to be my
boyfriend.â Sweet mother of fuck. Had she actually just
suggested this? She was thirty four years old for shitâs
sakes. Her face turned a deep shade of
red. âSorry. Thatâs so highschool. Iâm just
going to leave before I make myself sound any more stupid. Thanks
for the drinks.â
Kaley rushed out of his
apartment and back into hers. Good god! How many eggnogs
had she had?
Mireille Chester is a stay at home mom of three children and wife to an amazingly supportive husband. Her time is spent playing with the kids, reading, writing, and watching movies with her hubby.
Mireille is a fantasy author who loves to spend time in made up worlds filled with magic. She is a firm believer that no hero is perfect and that all villains are burdened with a tiny shred of humanity. While she writes her Adult and YA novels under the name Mireille Chester, she is now writing a middle grade series under the name M.G. Chester.
Amazon
B&N
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
~~~~~
Presented by
~~~~~