Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

I’m back this week showing off book 3 of The Welwyn Marriage Wager series, Yule Be Mine, which is now on pre-order on Amazon!

BLURB:

‘Tis the season for love—no matter how much mistletoe it takes!

It’s Christmas time and Ulysses “Yule” Quartermain is unenthusiastically looking for a bride when Penelope St. Clare, the little sister of his boyhood friend, makes an appearance at a Christmas party. But it’s been ten years since he’s seen her. Penelope is no longer a child but a ravishing beauty, who’s turning heads everywhere she goes. And much to his discomfort, Yule is not immune to the charms of the little girl next door. But he’s working on it.

Penelope has wanted to marry Ulysses Quartermain for most of her life. Now she’s on the brink of her come out Season–a desirable young lady with wit and determination–and her happy ever after is within her grasp. If only she can make Yule see that she’s grown up and would make him the perfect wife, it’ll be the best present she’ll ever get.

Still, Penelope is not leaving anything to chance. Utilizing every ball of mistletoe she can find, she teases and tantalizes Yule, daring him to kiss her in hopes of breaking down his staunch resolve. As Christmas Day approaches, Penelope sets a final desperate plan in motion. Before the holiday is over, Yule will know just how much of a woman she truly is!

In this excerpt, Ulysses “Yule” Quartermain is at a house party with Penelope, who was his childhood friend who moved away when she was seven. Now she’s all grown up and determined to make Yule see that. She’s managed to attach herself to Yule as they go out into the woods to gather greenery for the house party. And she’s managed to let her intentions toward him be known! Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

Yule halted dead in the snow. Penelope continued several steps ahead before she noticed he had stopped. What the devil did she mean by that? “But that’s the object of the game.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, a smile spreading over her face. “Are you sure about that, Yule?”

Unable to move, Yule stood still watching as Penelope continued picking her way through the snow toward the clearing, his mind devoid of thought other than the crystal clear idea that he was in more trouble than he had ever bargained for.

****

Grinning wider with every step, Penelope reached the clearing well before Yule put in an appearance. Pleased with how well her endeavor had worked out so far, she took a moment to congratulate herself on a plan well executed. Of course, she’d been arranging this first meeting with Yule for the past two years, ever since Mama began talking about Charlotte’s come out.

And a little more for good measure. . . 

It had been her own suggestion that she and Charlotte come out together, ensuring she would be taken to all the entertainments and not left at home with a governess. Because how else was she to meet and enchant Yule Quartermain?

And things were progressing nicely. So far today, she’d done exactly what she’d set out to do. She’d talked to Yule respectfully, using his formal name as Charlotte had suggested. When she talked, she’d spoken with him about the approved topics, such as the weather and Mr. Dickens, which had worked admirably to further their conversation. And now she’d given him notice—thrown down the gauntlet, metaphorically speaking—that she was actively looking to get kissed during the Mistletoe Run. She’d shocked him, of that she was certain, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least he couldn’t deny any longer that she was a young lady–an eligible young lady–one he could look on with an eye to becoming his wife.

Yule Be Mine is available for pre-order on Amazon for .99 . It releases a month from today, on December 5!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There are some fantastic snippets to be read.

The Welwyn Marriage Wager series