Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

Continuing on with a brand new novella just put up on pre-order: The Christmas Pact, a holiday novella that appeared a couple of years ago in an anthology. The idea for it was originally found in my All Wrapped Up flash fiction holiday anthology which you may have read. This iteration is a longer and much more satisfying telling of the tale of love at Christmas time. Hope you enjoy!

The Christmas Pact

BLURB:

Will a childhood promise lead them to true romance?

When Henrietta Price accidentally pummels a gentleman with a snowball, her instant mortification turns to delight when she discovers the young man is none other than her childhood best friend, Charlie. Though they haven’t seen each other in ten years, he still has the same vivid blue eyes, wicked laugh, and caring nature she remembers so well. Once he’d even vowed—at ten-years-old—to marry her, if necessary, to save her from a life of spinsterhood. And although she’s considering another man’s proposal, she can’t quite keep that long-ago promise out of her head…

Charlie Newkirk hasn’t stopped thinking about Hen since she stole a kiss from him all those years ago. Now he can scarcely believe the beautiful woman in front of him is the same girl whose braid he used to pull. Worse, he has no idea if she’s given her heart to the wealthy young marquess courting her or if she even remembers the promise he hopes to fulfill.

With their future happiness at stake, will Charlie be able to remind Henrietta of their Christmas pact and turn their childhood friendship into a newfound romance? Or will he forever remain just someone she used to know?

I’m continuing today’s snippet from where I left off last week, at the beginning of chapter 2, with Henrietta and Charlie sitting down to catch up. Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

With both her brothers occupied, Henrietta turned her attention back to Charlie, amazement filling her once more.

The boy she remembered so well had turned into a most handsome gentleman. His face still retained some of the features from childhood—his eyes especially had not changed from the vivid blue she recalled so well—but the roundness of the boy’s face had gone, leaving him with a leaner, almost chiseled look. A high brow and cheekbones, firm jaw, and broad shoulders made Charlie a gentleman ladies would look at more than once. Well, at least Henrietta was doing so. She blushed and glanced away.

“What brings you to London, Charlie? Or do you live here now?” So very odd not to know where he lived or what he did. “Are your parents well?”

And a little bit more…

He smiled at her flurry of questions. “Let me answer in the reverse order. Mother and Father are well indeed.” He ticked that off on one of his fingers. “I live in London only while Parliament is in session. My uncle managed to get me into the House of Commons. I’m the MP for our old district in Suffolk.”

“But Parliament isn’t in session now, is it? It’s two days ’til Christmas.”

“No, they’ve adjourned for the holiday, but I’ve got a special meeting I’m attending tomorrow, and that answers your first question, why I’m in town.” He smiled at her. “Afterward, I’ll go back to Haverhill to spend the New Year with my family.”

“Oh, Charlie, that’s splendid news. About being a Member of Parliament, I mean.” Henrietta was pleased beyond words. She’d always known Charlie would do well in the world. He’d been very smart, studying first with his father and later with a tutor.

“But now tell me about you, Hen.” He gazed into her eyes until she had to look away. A warmth she couldn’t explain had crept into her chest. “What have you been doing all these years since you went away?”

“There is a frightful lot to tell, Charlie.” Her nose and fingers were going numb with the cold and wetness from being pummeled by snowballs. Henrietta rose to keep her feet from freezing. “Why don’t you come home to tea, and we can have a proper catch-up?”