New Year's Kisses: Holiday Love, #2

By Rhian Cahill

She didn't plan to fall in love. He's not accepting anything less.

 

Emily's five-year plan does not include romance. But no one told Wade Johnson that. It doesn't matter how many times she says she's not interested in dating him he keeps asking her out.

 

Wade can't believe he's resorting to blackmail to get a date. But when it comes to Emily Warner, he'll do whatever it takes to get her to say yes. And this December 31st he'll make it a date neither of them forget.

 

This New Year's Eve Emily will discover the best beginnings begin at year's end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rhian Cahill
• Release date: Dec 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781925375572

Rhian Cahill

Rhian Cahill is the alter ego of a former stay-at-home mother of four. With motherly duties rapidly dwindling Rhian is able to make use of the fertile imagination she used to keep herself sane for all those years of slavery. Having spent some years living overseas and visiting tropical climates has helped inspire some steamy stories. Multi-published in erotic romance and contemporary romance, Rhian, with the help of Mr. Muse, spends her days and nights writing. When not glued to the keyboard you'll find her book or knitting in hand avoiding any and all housework as much as possible.   To find out more, visit Rhian on her website and subscribe to her newsletter.  You can also follow Rhian on Facebook ,Instagram and Twitter. 

Book preview

Chapter One

Emily Warner threw another skirt back into her closet and cursed Wade Johnson. The man had her questioning every decision she’d ever made right down to the clothes in her wardrobe.

Indecision was not her thing.

She was a take-charge-get-it-done kind of woman.

Except when it came to Wade.

Her shoulders drooped and her head fell forward as all the air left her chest.

How had one man managed to shake her confidence with such profound effect?

If only she hadn’t needed that favor. But she couldn’t put on a Christmas concert for the children without Santa.

Refusing his offer of help to avoid a date hadn’t seemed fair.

She’d met Wade months ago, their attraction mutual and obvious, but Emily had a five year plan and nowhere was there mention of a man, least of all one who made her stomach drop and her mind wander through a white picket fence and down the garden path.

With her plan firmly in place, she’d rejected every advance he made in the hope he’d give up and move on to greener, more amenable pastures.

She should have known better.

A man like Wade Johnson couldn’t be brushed aside easily.

He was like a dog after a bone and now that he’d finally sunk his teeth into her, she doubted either of them would come out unscathed.

Cursing the man and his rotten timing—and her treacherous libido—Emily dove back into her closet with the determination to wear the first thing she put her hands on.

Whatever she pulled out next would be it.

No more waffling.

The black dress she came out with was the sexiest piece of clothing she owned. Wasn’t that just typical of her current off-the-track life plan that it would be the outfit she’d grab?

Dammit. She tossed the dress across the end of her bed and stared at it, muttering. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

She didn’t have to wear it. Except she’d made a decision and she would stick to it.

She’d be damned if Wade Johnson was going to make her second guess one more thing.

Head high, she spun on her heel, and stomped to the bathroom. He’d arrive in less than an hour and she needed every second of that to pull herself together.

Heaven forbid he see her flustered. The man would pounce on any weakness she showed and Emily Warner never showed anything but calm, cool certainty.

Her shoulders drooped.

Until Wade.

Steam from her shower still hovered in the bathroom and she had to wipe a towel across the mirror to clear the fog.

She studied the face in front of her, but only saw the same woman she’d seen every day for years.

Nothing had changed outwardly, but internally…

Inside something was different.

Cracked.

It didn’t matter how much she denied it or fought it, there was no way to hide from the impact Wade had on her. He made her think of things she’d put aside years ago.

Made her remember what it was to yearn for something she didn’t have and thought she didn’t want. Not yet anyway. And now he had her questioning the plan.

With a sigh, she pulled the towel from her head and picked up her comb. Her short hair was practical for work and the natural curl gave her a feminine look, but if she were being honest she’d have to admit the style was quite boyish.

The robe she wore hung off her slender shoulders, emphasizing the less than curvaceous body beneath. More proof she didn’t live up to the image of most men’s fantasies.

With another sigh, she ran the wide-toothed comb through her tangled curls. It didn’t take long to remove the knots and fluff the waves into place. Reaching for her make-up bag, she pulled out her meagre supply and set to work on her face.

She may lack curves in the places men lusted after, but her face was her saving grace.

She’d been called classically beautiful. What that meant she wasn’t sure, but her deep blue eyes and long lashes were often called bedroom eyes, and drew more than a few compliments.

Her full red lips had been described as kissable by a number of guys she’d dated over the years. Personally she thought they were over-large and took up too much of her face. To counteract her large mouth, she emphasized her eyes and down-played her lips.

The one place she didn’t worry about make-up was at work. She never knew when one of the children would plaster a paint covered hand on her cheek, so it was best to not have to worry about cosmetic repairs at all.

The old cuckoo clock that had been her grandma’s whirred to life out in the living room. With a squeak of hinges and a time-worn voice, the little cuckoo sprang from his house and chirped seven times.

She was down to thirty minutes before Wade arrived.

He hadn’t told her where they were going or what