Puzzled at Christmas

By J.C. Layne

Living in Chicago, Hannah Griffin has just about had enough of the brutal winters. Unfortunately, that's the price she has to pay for her dream advertising job. But ever since her boyfriend broke up with her and moved to San Diego six months ago, the job hasn't seemed quite so fulfilling.

Now, a little over a week until Christmas, Hannah finds a brightly colored envelope on the floor just inside her front door one evening. Cautiously opening the envelope, Hannah is told by a secret admirer that for the next nine days, she will receive an envelope each day containing a puzzle piece. By the end of the ninth day, the admirer's identity will be revealed to her.

With her best friend, Cassie by her side, the next nine days become a whirlwind of gifts, speculation, and finally revelation. Will the ninth envelope reveal Hannah's true love, or will disappointment find her once again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Layne
• Release date: Sep 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215860342

Book preview

1

Hannah Griffin pulls her coat tight around her body as she shivers. Whose idea was it to walk home from work tonight? It was obviously hers but dang, it was stupid.

Wet drops of snow splatter on the lenses of her glasses, rendering her unable to see anything except blurry figures and blobs of color from the walk signs and stoplights. Wiping the lenses with her wet glove, the mess doesn’t change, it only smears. She really should pay better attention to the weather.

Thankfully, she’s only two blocks away from her house.

Pushing through the biting wind, wet snow, and bone-chilling cold, Hannah makes it to the safety of her home. Stomping her feet on the mat, she grumbles under her breath as a glob of wet snow slips down inside her boot. Squealing as the icy sensation soaks through her sock, she snatches the mail from the box and unlocks her door.

Dropping her backpack and mail on the floor, she hops on one foot as she attempts to pull the leaky boot from her foot. Losing her balance, she squeals again as she topples over, landing on the floor. With frustration, she yells, Dammit!

Tossing the boot to the side, she pulls the other boot off, pulling her sock off with it.

Feeling defeated, she flops back on the hardwood floor. After a few moments of lying there staring at the ceiling, she unbuttons her coat. I hate winter, she mumbles as she sits up and shrugs off her coat.

All she wants to do is go lie in a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine and some classical music. Gathering the mail scattered on the floor, she pushes herself to stand, tosses the mail on the foyer table, and hangs up her coat.

Tossing the mail on the foyer table, she deposits the rest of her wet garments in the foyer to dry.

Hannah heads straight through her bedroom to the bathroom. She turns the hot water on and adds probably too much lavender bubble bath, but dammit, she needs all the relaxation she can get. She flips on the radio, quickly filling the steaming room with the melancholy sound of cello music melding with the dulcet tones of a piano.

She returns to the kitchen and pours herself a large glass of Pinot Grigio and returns to the steamy bathroom.

Shedding her underclothes, she slips into the hot water and groans as the warmth envelops her entire body. She feels chilled to the bone tonight. Closing her eyes, she smiles in satisfaction and takes a long sip of her wine. She’s home now. Her favorite place in the world.

Hannah soaks in the tub until the water becomes lukewarm and the bubbles are almost completely gone. It takes an abnormal amount of energy to force herself to get out of the tub.

Finally standing on the fluffy bathmat, as she wraps her long dark hair in a towel, she wonders if maybe she should cut her hair. Could be a nice change.

Wrapping another soft towel around her still-damp body, she pads into her bedroom, sipping the final drops of wine from her glass.

In a matter of minutes, Hannah is clad in her winter pajamas, fluffy robe, and