Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

I’m back this week showing off book 3 of The Welwyn Marriage Wager series, Yule Be Mine, which released on December 5th and is now available 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!

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 though she’s let her intentions toward him be known, he’s not having any of it! Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

“Or what? You’ll chase me?” She made a face, sticking her tongue out at him just as she’d done all those years ago when he and Victor had forbidden her to tag along to the fishing pond one day. “You couldn’t catch me if you tried.”

Without warning, Yule lunged toward her.

Penelope shrieked, and threw herself backward, circling around the pathway, as the crowd cheered her on. She dodged and wove back and forth, laughing as he came close enough to brush her sleeve before she nimbly skipped out of his reach. This was more like it. She twisted around the stump of a tree, putting it between her and Yule, her gaze darting here and there, trying to find a path to freedom. The only one left her was down between the rows of oak trees. 

And a little more for good measure. . . 

She turned to flee toward her only hope of escape when her heel caught on a half-submerged root. With a cry she fell, her arms going out instinctively to keep her hoops from tangling, guiding them to collapse under her as she’d been taught since she’d first graduated to grown-up clothing more than three years ago.

Strong arms embraced her before she had sunk a foot. Yule grasped her, his hands easily spanning the circumference of her waist and lifted her with an ease that took her breath away. Everything about him took her breath—the touch of his hands on her body, the nearness of him pressed right against her, the faint scent of his citrus cologne—until her lungs burned for lack of air. The rest of her burned as well.

He turned her around until she faced him, staring into the dark blue, no almost black eyes as he studied her for several moments. The crowd had hushed until all she could hear were the beating of her heart and the whoosh of the wind through the trees.

Yule Be Mine has released and is available for purchase on Amazon. 

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