Her Grumpy Christmas Hero: Chestnut Grove Christmas, #2

By Juliet Jake

She's sworn off men in uniform.
He's a bomb squad captain who wants her back.
And the magic of Christmas might give him that chance.
In a way he couldn't have imagined.

Nicole
I work at a department store in the small town of Chestnut Grove. I'm up to my ears in the blinking lights, fake snowmen and crowds of frenzied last-minute shoppers. I'm counting the days until Christmas- when it will be blissfully over. Then who walks in? The sinfully sexy Captain Zach Riker. The only man who will ever have my heart. And the one man, I must forever resist.

But... I've been a good girl all year. Maybe I deserve a little Christmas joy while I can get it.

Zach
My heart has never healed since Nicole broke our engagement two years ago. But I never wanted the reunion to happen this way, locked in the Chestnut Grove Department store– especially during Christmas week.
But escaping from the department store is child's play compared to escaping with our hearts.
I only hope that the magic of Christmas really does make dreams come true.

Her Grumpy Christmas Hero is a fun holiday romance about seconds chances that is sweet with heat and a whole lot of heart. No cliffhangers or cheating, just a hilarious, sizzling romance with a delicious happily ever after. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love Smitten Books
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215861608

Juliet Jake

Juliet Jake writes sizzling romance with heart, humor and heat. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the beach with her toes in the sand, drinking a Margarita and watching the world go by while she plans her next romantic adventure story.

Book preview

Her Grumpy Christmas Hero

Juliet Jake

Other Books by Juliet Jake

Other Books by Juliet Jake

What Happens in Vegas Series

That Night in Vegas

Four Weddings and a Baby Shower

The Non Proposal

My Royally Grumpy Boss

Shadow Force Series

Redemption - Rum Harbor

Reckless - Rum Harbor

Crazy Irresistible - Rum Harbor

Christmas Romances

Chestnut Grove Christmas

Her Bossy Christmas Grinch

Her Grumpy Christmas Hero

Crushing with Colton

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher and author. For more information regarding permission, contact the author.

Copyright © 2022 Juliet Jake

All rights reserved.

Silver Gate Press

Chapter One

Nicole

Will you look at that Santa?

I jerked my head up, forgetting about the elf cap that sat askew on my head. I caught the hideous green velvet hat just as it tumbled off my shoulder. How had I ever been talked into dressing as one of Santa’s elves? The short, leaf shaped skirt showed too much leg and made me self-conscious. Worse, the ghastly green tights were uncomfortably hot and falling down between my thighs.

I caught my reflection in one of the many mirrored walls in the Chestnut Grove Department Store and stopped to straighten my Santa elf Christmas hat. Kermit green was definitely not my color. I glanced up, slower this time to where my co-worker Stacey was pointing between the crowds of shoppers at our stoned Santa.

This year’s hired Santa was apparently on break and was shoving holiday cookies in his mouth at record speed. Red and green sugar crumbs covered his fake beard and mustache like a rainbow of colored Christmas snow while his sun-bleached mane crept out from below his white wig. I cringed as he wobbled to the coffee cart and took a swig from a carton of milk set out for customers.

Is that Corey in the Santa suit? I asked.

Stacey had moved on to fixing her fading makeup from this morning. We’d had a grueling double shift today. She didn't bother to look up from the mirror as she slicked on a coat of hot pink lipstick.

That no good beach bum. I think he’s added something to his eggnog, she said, patting down her golden curls. Or his brownies.

I chuckled. He must have.

A large clatter screeched across the first floor of the department store as Santa Corey fell against the folding serving table, sending black coffee and Styrofoam cups flying through the air. Mr. Lance, the uptight manager, scurried across the aisle from the women’s lingerie department in a huff.

Stacy lifted her eyebrows as she glanced at me. I wonder what he was doing in that department?

Yes, I wonder, I said.

We both burst out laughing. Stacy and I stared as Mr. Lance grabbed Santa Corey by the fake beard and pulled him away from Santa’s Enchanted Cottage.

I think someone is getting fired, Stacey sang.

We watched as Mr. Lance hustled the drunk Santa out of customers’ sight. The department store was no place for Corey, that was certain. He belonged in Southern California, living in a surfer commune, if there was such a thing.

It’s a good thing there aren’t any kids waiting, Nicole remarked.

Sure is. Most of them are home on Christmas break. I wish I was home instead of dealing with the last-minute shoppers.

Thank God, Christmas day is almost here. I can't wait until it is over.

Wait until the day after Christmas, honey. You haven’t seen anything yet, Stacey said as she checked her hair in the mirror. The returns are even worse.

I couldn’t imagine it being worse than now, with only a week before Christmas. The crowds had only now started to thin. I’m not looking forward to it, I said.

You’re a Christmas baby, Miss Nicole Russell. I can't understand why you dislike Christmas so much. It’s in your blood. I bet you were born singing Jingle Bells.

The fact that my grandmother, my great grandmother and I were all born on Christmas day seemed to amuse people. I'm just not a Christmas person, I said quietly. As always, I avoided explaining. Some things were just too painful to discuss. And for me, Christmas was doubly painful.

I glanced at my watch. One more break left on my grueling shift. Come nine o’clock, I was out of there. I’m going on break. I’m going to take Sammy out for a walk, I said. If I can sneak past Mr. Lance.

Later, Elf. Stacey rolled her eyes as a woman with a cart full of stuff approached the register. Don’t leave me to the wolves too long.

Sammy looked almost grateful when he saw me, his tail wagging a mile a minute. We are going for a long walk, I told him. I scooped him up in my arms and laid an affectionate kiss on the top of his furry head.

He squirmed in my arms as I picked him up from the gloriously named Santa’s enchanted cottage, which was really a small shed that