A Dash of Christmas
By Samantha Chase
Publication Date 9/24/2019
“The
perfect blend of heart and sass.”—Publishers Weekly for Holiday Spice
With a
dash of Christmas magic…
Two people
who have spent most of their lives being rivals…
Learn a
little something about following their hearts…
Carter
Montgomery broke the family mold when he went to culinary school. Now a
successful restauranteur, he’s at a crossroads: should he continue on his
successful path or look for a new challenge? What he needs is time alone to
think things through. But his matchmaking family has other ideas…
Emery
Monaghan’s no-good fiancé has embroiled her in scandal and she needs a way out.
When mentor Eliza Montgomery offers her a refuge, she’s relieved—until she
realizes that the deal means rubbing elbows with Eliza’s son Carter—Emery’s
childhood nemesis.
The
Montgomery Brothers series:
Wait for
Me (Book 1)
Trust in
Me (Book 2)
Stay With
Me (Book 3)
More of Me
(Book 4)
Return to
You (Book 5)
Meant for
You (Book 6)
I'll Be
There (Book 7)
Until
There Was Us (Book 8)
Suddenly
Mine (Book 9)
Praise for
Samantha Chase:
“Utter
rock star perfection. I dare you to stop reading until the end.”—Rachel Van
Dyken, New York Times Bestselling Author, for One More Moment
“Chase’s
three-dimensional characters leap off the page, encouraging readers to sit
down, put their feet up, and enjoy...charming.”—Publishers Weekly for Until
There Was Us
“Chase just gets better and better.”—Booklist
New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author
Samantha Chase has published more than twenty romance novels, with over half a
million copies sold. Visit her at
www.chasing-romance.com. She
lives with her husband and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Excerpt:
“Don’t go.”
His voice was raw and it wasn’t hard to tell there was a battle
waging within him. Normally, Emery enjoyed watching Carter squirm and struggle,
but for some reason seeing him this emotional after a call with his mother
affected her in a way she didn’t expect.
She felt compassion for him—a need to comfort him and tell him it
was going to be all right.
She made her way toward him. “I think it would be best for
everyone if I did. You didn’t deserve to be blindsided like this, and I’m sorry
it happened this way. I truly believed you were aware of what was going on and
you were coming here specifically to work on the book. I had no idea your trip
here had nothing to do with it or that you were so against giving it more
attention.”
Carter’s shoulders sagged a little. “At any other time…”
“I know,” she said softly, moving a little closer. “I get it. Hey,
there isn’t anything I can do about whatever else you’re dealing with, but on
this particular subject, I can. I’ll work with the files you sent your mother
and I’ll make it into something closer to what she’s looking for, okay? And in
the meantime, I’ll stay out of your way so you can have at least one night’s
peace.”
They stood in silence for a long time, and as much as Emery wanted
to pack and get out of his way, she couldn’t seem to make herself move. In all
the years they had known one another, they had bickered and poked fun at each
other and essentially gone out of their own way to make the other miserable. It
was what they did. It was comfortable. But right now, she couldn’t think of a
single snarky or antagonistic comment.
And that freaked her out.
Swallowing hard, she took a step back. And then another. Next
thing she knew, she had spun and was walking back to her bedroom, mildly trembling.
She went straight to her closet and pulled out her weekender bag. Knowing she
wasn’t going to be going out or doing anything other than vegging in her hotel
room, she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a couple of pairs of yoga
pants, a few T-shirts, a pair of pajamas, and a pair of shorts and tossed them
in the bag. Next, she opened her lingerie drawer and was pulling out a handful
of panties when a large male hand closed over hers. Gasping with surprise, she
turned and found herself face-to-face with Carter.
While they both held her panties.
Awesome.
Emery wanted to be outraged—or at the very least annoyed that he
had invaded her space when she was clearly trying to be the bigger person here,
but for some reason she couldn’t seem to make herself speak or react.
What was happening to her?
“This is crazy,” he said, his voice deep and low and borderline
hypnotic.
So he felt it, too? This sudden, crazy pull toward one another?
The change in the air around them?
“I already said I didn’t want you to go, Em,” he went on and
that’s when she realized what he was talking about.
Forcing her gaze away, she carefully pulled her hand and underwear
from his. “I think it’s for the best.” Then she moved away, tossing her
garments in the weekender bag along with the rest of her clothes. For a few
minutes, she busied herself collecting odds and ends—her laptop, her e-reader,
her iPod—before going into the bathroom and grabbing her toothbrush, makeup,
and brushes. Anything else she needed she’d get from housekeeping. When she
walked back out into the bedroom, she found Carter sitting quietly on her bed.
And her weekender bag emptied.
Okay, now
she was outraged.
“Seriously, Carter?” she cried. “Why can’t you just let me do
this?”
He shrugged. “I already told you. It’s not necessary.”
“To me it is! There’s no reason for me to stay here. And, might I
remind you, I’ve been a thorn in your side since we were kids!”
It pleased her that he paled a little at having his words thrown
back at him.
“I would think you’d be thankful that I was leaving,” she said,
hating the tremor in her voice. “One less thing for you to worry about.”
The curse that flew out of his mouth followed by a huff of
annoyance didn’t really surprise her. This was them. This was the relationship
they had. And honestly, she preferred this to the strained silence and whatever
it was that she was feeling just minutes ago.
Carter stood and walked over until they were toe to toe. “What I
said to my mother,” he began and then stopped. “What I mean is, that was said
in the heat of the moment and really, it couldn’t have been news to you. I’ve
been telling you that to your face since we were twelve.”
“Eleven, but…whatever,” she corrected and smirked when he growled
with frustration.
“That! That right there is why I said it! Can’t you just let some
things go?”
“Me?” she
cried. “How about you? I was being the bigger person here! I was putting your
feelings first, and where did that get me, huh? I should be in a cab on my way
to a hotel with room service, but instead I’m here arguing with you again! Why
couldn’t you just let me leave?”
They both instantly fell silent and Emery felt herself holding her
breath while she waited for his answer.
“What’s the matter?” she finally asked. “Is it possible the
arrogant Carter Montgomery has nothing to say for himself for the first time in
his life?”
Yeah, she was taunting him, but…she needed to. Needed things to be
like they always were. If she didn’t get them back on solid ground—back on the
familiar turf of a lifelong rivalry—she wouldn’t know what to do. For years
she’d been aware of Carter as a person. She couldn’t deal with suddenly being
aware of him as a man.
When his only response was a slight tick in his jaw, she figured
she’d poke the bear a little more. “Did you burn the sauce? Is that why we’re
not eating yet? Or maybe you realized all that pretentious crap you bought was
no better than grabbing a couple of slices from the pizzeria on the corner.”
She noted he seemed to be almost inflating before her eyes—his posture
straightened, his shoulders seemed to grow broader…
Go big or go home, right?
Leaning in, she said, “I bet you really don’t know how to make homemade pizza. At least
not good homemade
pizza.” She let out a devious little laugh. “Probably thought I would be too
naive to know the difference. You probably could have served up one of my
frozen pizzas and I wouldn’t know the difference.”
He was breaking molars now, no doubt.
“Not that it matters. I’ve got some microwave popcorn I can have
for dinner, along with the last brownie. That’s the kind of stuff I can count
on—and will probably be a lot more enjoyable.”
This time when Emery tried to move away, Carter’s large hand on
her arm stopped her.
She had to hide her smile of satisfaction. “Problem?” she asked
innocently.
“You’ve got a real smart mouth, Emery, but you don’t know what the
hell you’re talking about.”
“Oh, really? Care to explain?”
But he shook his head. “As a matter of fact, no. I don’t.”
She shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my dinner
awaits.”
“If you so much as think of making popcorn for dinner, I’ll
strangle you,” he said, tugging her closer.
When she leaned in until they were nose to nose, she said, “I dare
you.”
“Such a smart mouth,” he said right before he claimed it.
***
Excerpted from
A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase. © 2019 by Samantha Chase. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of
Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.
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