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Excerpt #1
“So, um…what are you doing here, Chloe?” He knew that Aunt Mabel had scheduled an interview with the lone candidate who’d applied for the nanny position, but seriously? That lone candidate was Chloe Richardson?
Chloe’s big brown eyes went wide. “You remember me?”
“Of course I remember you, Blondie,” he said, using the nickname all the kids at church camp had called her back in the day.
“Oh.” A flicker of hurt and confusion flashed across her face. “I thought…”
She seemed to think he’d forgotten all about her, and Steve knew why. His seventeen-year-old self had been a real coward. He never should have kissed her in the first place, and after he had, he should have had enough courage to call her and tell her why things could never work out between them instead of disappearing without a trace.
But what was done was done. There was no changing it now.
Aiden finished feeding, and Steve stood and patted him on the back. “So, did Aunt Mabel ask you to come over to talk about the nanny job?”
Chloe looked away. “We were talking about it, yes…”
“But you didn’t know you’d be working for me, did you?”
She looked up at him and shook her head, her dirty-blond bangs falling into her dark eyes and making Steve’s breath catch in his throat. Still so beautiful. “I didn’t even know you were back on Cape Cod.”
Excerpt #2
Inside, Steve found Chloe asleep on the couch, Aiden snoozing in the travel crib nearby. Chloe was curled up with her head propped on the armrest, her mascara smudged, her hair mussed, spit-up on her sleeve. Oddly, seeing her like that, her features soft with sleep, made him feel calmer than he’d felt all day—maybe even since Eloise had died.
He felt an unfamiliar pang of longing in his chest. Coming to Cape Cod the summer he was seventeen had been a respite—a haven from the chaos at home. And Chloe? She’d been a huge part of making it feel that way.
What if…?
He squashed that thought before it had time to take hold. A guy wouldn’t get a second chance with a girl like Chloe. Especially not a guy like him.
Excerpt #3
“You live above The Candy Shack with the seventy-year-old proprietor of the store as your roommate. How can you not lead with that in every conversation you have?”
She laughed, and a sense of warmth spread through him. He liked the sound of her laugh. It was like the trill of a flute, or tinkling bells.
“Seriously,” he said. “Every boyhood dream I had about living in a chocolate factory is springing to life right now.”
She laughed again. “I don’t live in the store, you know.”
“But it must smell great up there, doesn’t it? Where does Irene make the fudge? In your apartment? Or in the store?”
She kept laughing. “You’re as bad as Jonathan!”
“Jonathan?” he asked, the sense of warmth receding. He should have assumed she had a boyfriend. Maybe she was even married, although she wasn’t wearing a ring.
“Remember my friend, Laura, from church camp?”
He shook his head. He didn’t. The only girl he remembered from church camp that summer was her.
For weeks, he’d looked for excuses to stand next to her, to sit beside her, to hear her laugh. When she’d finally noticed him, he’d had to content himself with holding her hand when they were out in a group, because she’d been young—only fifteen—and her parents wouldn’t let her go out on a date with a boy alone.
And then he’d kissed her that last night, right before he went home to New Hampshire and all the terrible, awful things had happened with his dad.
“Jonathan’s her fiancé.”
“Got it,” he said, feeling relieved, although none of his reasons for failing to pursue a relationship with her—or anyone, aside from his one, short-lived attempt in college—had changed over the years.
I dedicated The Baby’s Christmas Blessing to my sister because she inspired some of my heroine’s quirky tastes in food!
I love giving my characters little quirks for a few reasons:
• In real life, we all have a few wacky habits or preferences that make us unique
• The right quirks can add depth and humor to the story
• Little oddities make characters memorable
So, just how quirky are we talking when it comes to Chloe Richardson, the heroine of The Baby’s Christmas Blessing?
Well, she tries to get the hero to eat ROAST BEEF FUDGE!
Sounds disgusting, doesn’t it? Apparently, it’s pretty good. 😆
I haven’t tried it, but if you’re a brave soul with a daring palate, you can find the recipe on the Mid-Century Menu blog. If you try it, be sure to let me know what you think!
Meghann Whistler writes sweet Christian romance novels that won't make your grandmother blush.
Her debut novel, Falling for the Innkeeper, was named one of “Six Sensational 2020 Debut Series Romances” by the American Library Association’s Booklist Reader, and was also a finalist for the 2021 Book Buyers Best Award.
Her next book, The Billionaire’s Secret, was a #1 bestseller and #1 Hot New Release across multiple categories on Amazon.com, including Christian Romance, Christian Women’s Fiction, and Contemporary Religious Fiction, among others. It won the 2022 Selah Award for Contemporary Romance, placed second in the romance category of the 2022 Christian Indie Awards, and was a finalist for the 2022 HOLT Medallion.
Before settling down with her rocket scientist husband and raising three rambunctious boys, Meghann earned a B.A. in English from Amherst College and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College.
She is grateful to be living her dream of writing sweet, hopeful stories that demonstrate the power of love and grace.
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