THE CHRISTMAS ESCAPE
Author: Sarah Morgan
ISBN: 9781335462817
Publication Date:
October 26, 2021
Publisher: HQN Books
Book Summary:
This
Christmas, be whisked away by USA Today
bestselling author Sarah Morgan in this uplifting novel of friendship, the
festive season, and risking everything for the biggest gift of all...
Christy and Alix are forever-friends. Not
even Alix's well-meant but badly-timed intervention the night before Christy's
wedding has put a dent in their bond. There’s nothing Alix won’t do for the
woman who helped fill the hole in her heart left by her own family's rejection.
But taking Christy’s boisterous little daughter Holly on holiday to Lapland,
days before Christmas, is a huge ask. Marketing whizz Alix might know how to
turn toys into million-dollar Christmas bestsellers, but the responsibility of
parenthood terrifies her. And unfortunately, she’ll have a witness to her
ineptitude, in the annoyingly delicious shape of Zac, Holly’s father’s best
friend, who will also be there...
Christy had hoped this year would be her
dream Christmas, in her dream new family house. Instead, it's turning into the
nightmare before Christmas, with a frightening list of household repairs, no
money, and a make-or-break crisis in her marriage. Even worse, it's a crisis of
her own making, and one that is on her shoulders to fix. With best friend Alix
coming to the rescue and looking after Holly, Christy will finally have time to
focus on rebuilding her relationship.
As Alix confronts her fears and finds
unexpected romance under the Northern Lights, and Christy fights to save her
marriage, could it be that their Christmas holiday opens their eyes, and their
hearts, to what they’ve always wanted?
Buy Links:
Teaser Excerpt:
1
Robyn
She hadn’t dared hope that this might happen.
Someone less cynical
might have thought of it as a Christmas miracle, but Robyn no longer believed
in miracles. She was terrified, but layered under the terror was a seam of
something else. Hope. The
kaleidoscope of emotions inside her matched the swirl and shimmer of color in
the sky. Here in Swedish Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle, the unpolluted
skies and clear winter nights made for frequent sightings of the northern
lights.
She heard the door
open behind her, heard the soft crunch of footsteps on deep snow and then felt
Erik’s arms slide around her.
“Come inside. It’s
cold.”
“One more minute. I
need to think…” She’d always done her best thinking here, in this wild land
where nature dominated, where a human felt insignificant beneath the expanse of
pink-tinted sky. Everything she’d ever done that was foolish, selfish, risky or
embarrassing shrank in importance because this place didn’t care.
Trees bowed under the
weight of new snow, the surface glistening with delicate threads of silver and
blue. The cold numbed her cheeks and froze her eyelashes, but she noticed only
the beauty. Her instinct was to reach for her camera, even though she already
had multiple images of the same scene.
She’d come here to
escape from everything she was and everything she’d done and had fallen in love
with the place and the man. It turned out that you could reinvent yourself if
you moved far enough away from everyone who knew you.
Erik pulled the hood of her down jacket
farther over her head. “If you’re thinking of the past, then don’t.”
How could she not?
Robyn the rebel.
Her old self felt
unfamiliar now. It was like looking at an old photo and not recognizing
yourself. Who was that woman?
“I can’t believe
she’s coming here. She was three years old when I last saw her.”
Her niece. Her
sister’s child.
She remembered a
small, smiling cherub with rosy cheeks and curly blond hair. She remembered
innocence and acceptance and the fleeting hope of a fresh start, before Robyn
had ruined it, the way she’d ruined everything back then.
Her sister had
forbidden her to ever make contact again. There had been no room for Robyn in
her sister’s perfect little family unit. Even now, many years later,
remembering that last encounter still made her feel shaky and sick. She tried
to imagine the child as a woman. Was she like her mother? Whenever Robyn
thought about her sister, her feelings became confused.
Love. Hate. Envy. Irritation. She hadn’t known
it was possible to feel every possible emotion within a single relationship.
Elizabeth had been the golden girl. The perfect princess and, for a little
while at least, her best friend in the world.
Time had eased the
pain from agony to ache.
All links had been
broken, until that email had arrived.
“Why did she get in
touch now, after so long? She’s thirty. Grown.”
Part of her wanted to
celebrate, but life had taught her to be cautious, and she knew this wasn’t a
simple reunion. What if her niece was looking for answers? And what if she
didn’t like what she heard?
Was this a second
chance, or another emotional car crash?
“You can ask her.
Face-to-face,” Erik said, “but I know you’re nervous.”
“Yes.” She had no
secrets from him, although it had taken her a while to reach the point where
she’d trusted their relationship not to snap. “She’s a stranger. The only
living member of my family.”
Her sister was gone,
killed instantly two years earlier while crossing the road. There was no fixing
the past now. That door was closed.
Erik tightened his
hold on her. “Your niece has a daughter, remember? That’s two family members.
Three if you count her husband.”
Family. She’d had to
learn to live without it.
She’d stayed away, as
ordered. Made no contact. Rebuilt her life. Redesigned herself. Buried the past
and traveled as far from her old life as she could. In the city she’d often
felt trapped. Suffocated by the past. Here, in this snowy wilderness with nature
on her doorstep, she felt free.
And then the past had
landed in her in-box.
I’m Christy, your
niece.
“Was it a mistake to
ask her here?” It was the first time she’d invited the past into the present.
“Apart from the fact we don’t know each other, do you think she’ll like this
place?” For her it had been love at first sight. The stillness. The swirl of
blue-green color in the sky, and the soft light that washed across the
landscape at this time of year. As a photographer, the light was an endless
source of fascination and inspiration. There were shades and tones she’d never
seen anywhere else in the world. Midnight blue and bright jade. Icy pink and
warm rose.
Some said the life up
here was harsh and hard, but Robyn had known hard, and this wasn’t it. Cold
wasn’t only a measure of temperature, it was a feeling. And she’d been cold.
The kind of cold that froze you inside and couldn’t be fixed with thermal
layers and a down jacket.
And then there was
warmth, of the kind she felt now with Erik.
“Christmas in
Lapland?” He sounded amused. “How can she not like it? Particularly as she has
a child. Where else can she play in the snow, feed reindeer and ride on a sled
through the forest?”
Robyn gazed at the
trees. It was true that this was paradise for a Christmas-loving child,
although that wasn’t the focus of the business. She had little experience with
children and had never felt the desire to have her own. Her family was Erik.
The dogs. The forest. The skies. This brilliant, brutal wilderness that felt
more like home than any place she’d lived.
The main lodge had
been handed down through generations of Erik’s family, but he’d expanded it to
appeal to the upper end of the market. Their guests were usually discerning
travelers seeking to escape. Adventurous types
who appreciated luxury but were undaunted by the prospect of heading into the
frozen forest or exploring the landscape on skis or snowshoes. Erik offered his
services as a guide when needed, and she, as a photographer, was on hand to
coach people through the intricacies of capturing the aurora on camera. You
couldn’t predict it, so she’d learned patience. She’d learned to wait until
nature gave her what she was hoping for.
Through the snowy
branches she could see the soft glow of lights from two of their cabins,
nestled in the forest. They were five in total, each named after Arctic
wildlife. Wolf, Reindeer, Elk, Lynx and Bear. Each cozy cabin had
floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking view of the forest and the
sky. The Snow Spa had been her idea and proved a popular addition. The focus
here was wellness, with an emphasis on the nature that surrounded them. She and
her small team used local resources whenever they could. Guests were encouraged
to leave phones and watches behind.
Erik was right. It
was the perfect escape. The question she should have asked wasn’t Will she like it here? but Will she like me?
She felt a moment of
panic. “The last time I saw Christy—well, it wasn’t good.” The kitten incident.
The memory of that visit was carved into her soul. Despite all her good
intentions, it had gone badly wrong. “What age do children start remembering?
Will she remember what happened?” She hoped not. Even now, so many years later,
she could still remember the last words her sister had spoken to her.
You ruin everything. I don’t want you in my life.
Robyn pressed closer
to Erik and felt his arms tighten.
“It was a long time
ago, Robyn. Ancient history.”
“But people don’t
forget history, do they?” What had her sister told her daughter?
Robyn the rebel.
She wondered what her
sister would say if she could see her now. Happy.
Married to a man she loved. Living in one place. Earning a good living,
although no doubt Elizabeth would see it as unconventional.
Christy, it seemed,
was happily married and living an idyllic life in the country, as her mother
had before her.
What would Elizabeth
say if she knew her daughter was coming to visit?
Robyn gave a shiver
and turned back toward the lodge.
Elizabeth wouldn’t
have been happy, and if she could have stopped it, she would have done so. She
wouldn’t have wanted her sister to contaminate her daughter’s perfect life.
Excerpted from The Christmas Escape
by Sarah Morgan. Copyright © 2021 by Sarah Morgan. Published by arrangement
with Harlequin Books S.A.
Author Bio:
USA Today
bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes
contemporary romance and women's fiction. Her trademark humour and warmth have
gained her fans across the globe and three RITA® Awards from the Romance
Writers of America. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the
rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office
Social Links:
Facebook: @AuthorSarahMorgan
Instagram: @sarahmorganwrites
Twitter: @SarahMorgan_
No comments:
Post a Comment