A Christmas Promise: Christmas Mountain RomComs

By Abby Everheart

Humor with heart. Get ready to laugh, cry, and have a happily ever after.

A pug who loves to eat decorations, a saboteur, and a Christmas wedding. What could go wrong? Get ready for heartwarming second chances and laugh out loud shenanigans.


When May is hired to plan a December wedding, she finds more than she bargained for when her client's brother walks onto the scene. But May has a goal, and it doesn't involve snarky doctors.

Chris has two great successes in life. One, he's built a multimillion-dollar company. Two, he doesn't let women drag him into serious relationships. Then he meets his brother's wedding planner and his perfectly constructed world is turned upside down.

As May and Chris battle each other – and their feelings – they must find the saboteur who's trying to undermine May's plans for the Christmas festival, and keep May's pug from destroying all the decorations.


A Christmas Promise is a complete Christmas romantic comedy standalone in the Christmas Mountain RomCom series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Platinum Feather Publishing
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201355296

Abby Everheart

Abby Everheart is the nom de plum for a woman who believes everyone should be able to go on adventures and experience sweet romance from their favorite reading chair. Her favorite part of the day is at night after work when she can sit down and put pen to paper crafting characters and stories she hopes you will love.   You can find her at abbyeverheart.com or follow her on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/authorabby or Bookbub @abbyeverheartauthor.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Chris stared into his coffee mug. Seriously? The murky brown liquid looked like mud water. He tentatively tasted it. Good Lord, was that decaf? Long strides took him back to the kitchen. Stainless steel and dark mahogany provided a dim, calming atmosphere that usually appealed to him, but right now he didn’t have caffeine and nothing appealed to him except the idea of real coffee. He went to the Keurig machine, then looked at the pod he’d popped in. His personal shopper had gotten him decaf, and he considered firing the man for trying to kill him in such a cruel way. Digging through the other K-cups produced no real coffee and Chris growled low in his throat. He had a full slate of meetings today and needed the caffeine.

With a disappointed shake of his head, he glanced at his watch. He’d get coffee later. Right now, he needed to go punch a bag for a few minutes. He’d planned to before this awful encounter with decaf, and now he felt the urge to beat the bag to a pulp.

Several minutes later, the doorbell rang, but Chris ignored it, dodging around the bag, landing solid punches as he went. It was only a minute, and his brother, Karl, walked into his home gym.

How long have you been up? Karl stood tall while Chris leaned against the bag. He glanced at the clock. Yeah, it had been a while. Not that he’d admit that to Karl.

Karl looked sharp in his suit, a Cucinelli exclusive, reminding Chris that they had a series of meetings to attend today before they headed for Colorado. His brother was nuts to get married last minute in some rustic little town.

Oh, ya know, not that long. He’d actually been up since four, nightmares leaving his soul drained. He’d readily admit that he was trying to exhaust his body in an effort to quiet his mind.

So, all night then. Karl crossed his arms. We have meetings, you know. They’ll help you get out of your head. Probably should shower and shave. Unless you’re fine with them thinking you’re a hobo.

Chris grinned. I’ve been called worse by better people.

Karl shook his head. You want to talk about anything? His big brother cared more than he should and had a softer heart than he let on.

Yeah. Chris grabbed the towel he’d thrown over his weight rack that morning and wiped his face. Why are you dragging us all with you and Gloria for almost three bloody weeks? I could be working.

Here we go again. You need a vacation, as do we all. Jana plans to meet up with some of her friends who moved to Colorado after college, and she wants to learn how to ski. Valery—that’s Gloria’s sister, the one you haven’t met yet—plans to hide away at some spa retreat for at least a week and relax after having her baby. And besides all that, Karl arched his eyebrows at him, you’ll be working remotely, probably every day anyway, calling into meetings, staying abreast of everything, and putting out fires. So it really won’t count as three weeks off for you.

It’s like you know me. Chris tossed the damp towel at him, and Karl batted it away.

Go shower before you make us late to the meeting.

Chris left his gym room but then popped his head back in. We have to make time to stop and get coffee. No negotiation.

He headed to his bathroom. His brother was right. As VP of their corporation, Chris had no plans to actually take the three weeks off. Karl would, and he deserved it, but both the vice-president and president couldn’t be away from their duties for that long. There was too much going on.

They’d both started as physicians, founding their own small practice, and had put many hours of work into growing it. And growing it. Chris could do without all the meetings, but at least the busyness kept his mind away from his nightmares.

Two hours later, Chris glanced at his watch, not even attempting to school his face to avoid the look of boredom he knew was plastered across it.

His brother, being older and the one who claimed to be wiser—though Chris would argue that point—kicked his shin under the table as the speaker finished and turned expectantly to them. Were they supposed to be dazzled by the PowerPoint presentation he’d just dragged them through? Chris was not impressed; he’d had a lot of medical supply reps try to sell him equipment through the years. Some items were useful and needed, but a lot of them weren’t necessary. And all were overpriced.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Pinker, Karl started, his voice mellow as it always was. His family nickname was The Voice of Reason, and he always was. But this looks very similar to what we already have. We will certainly keep you in mind for future purchases because I like the upgrades your company has made. But, unfortunately, we don’t need this right now. He got to his feet and continued before the other man could even open his mouth. Again, thank you for your time. It was a pleasure speaking with you, and I hope to do business in the future.

When the man had been cordially escorted out of the room by Karl, Chris, still lounging in the padded leather chair, snorted. It was a pleasure? You’re a good liar. I about started crying to get the guy to hurry up and finish.

Always so gracious, Karl said dryly, sitting lightly on a chair arm. Are you ready to go?

Go where?

To Colorado, you idiot. Karl got to his feet again. Or did you forget that I’m getting married?

The idea is so painful I blocked it from my mind. Chris stood and brushed out a crease in his black slacks.

You’ll eventually find someone who’ll sweep you off your feet. Karl grinned at the disgusted look Chris directed his way. A vacation in the Colorado Mountains is just what you need, you know. You work too much.

I can’t believe you’re dragging the entire family there. You could just go down to the courthouse, sign some documents, and we could use all that extra time to work on the merger.

This right here is why I wanted it to be a full three weeks for the whole family. We’ll vacation and plan the wedding, with the event planner Gloria hired doing most of the work. Then we’ll have the wedding, and Gloria and I will head to our honeymoon. You know all this. Karl gave him a look that informed him his brother didn’t believe his short-term memory loss for a moment.

Chris sighed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. The things I do for you.

Karl snorted. Let’s go or we’ll be late.

Oh yeah, wouldn’t want that.

Karl ignored his smart remarks and made his way out the office door.

Chris glanced around the room. Nothing was out of place. The glass table shone as the sun poured in from the wall of windows, the chrome legs of the chairs and table gleaming to perfection. He shook his head. Leaving this to vacation in a dinky town in Colorado. His brother was nuts. He strode for the door. Outside the room, he nearly bumped into their CEO. She was carrying her baby, who was crying, and had a stiff look on her face.

He paused. Everything okay, Kelly?

The in-house babysitter had to go home for something important and she’ll be back soon, but I have an important face-to-face meeting right now. Henry will just have to come in with me. She gave Chris a confident smile. I’ll keep him quiet and get this done, no worries.

No, that wouldn’t do. Chris had hired an in-house babysitter so Kelly could have her baby near her at all times, and she could feed the little guy herself like she’d hoped to. There was no reason a smart career woman couldn’t be a successful, attentive mother, too, and he’d wanted to help her with that.

He reached for the baby. Why don’t you let me try to calm him? We’ll hang out until you’re done.

Kelly gave him a startled look, then glanced at her son. Well, if you’re sure?

Yep.

She handed him the baby. He was a little thing, only four months old, and probably suffering from colic for all the crying he’d been doing.

Thank you, Chris. She gave him a grateful look and walked swiftly down the hall to her meeting.

Hey, buddy. Chris looked down at the upset baby. The kid stopped crying for a minute, staring up at this new, random person holding him. You think you’ve got problems? Let me tell you, my brother is dragging me across the country to Colorado. Can you believe it? A winter wedding. What crazy person came up with that?

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It had to be perfect. May fiddled with the last bouquet.

You’re absolutely correct. The professionally trained florist we contract with, the one with decades of experience, didn’t get them right. Riley, May’s assistant, put a hand on his hip and arched his perfectly manicured brows at her.

She swatted at him and huffed at the smart remarks. I want to make sure things are done right.

By spending half an hour on an already gorgeous set of bridesmaids’ bouquets?

So glad you understand.

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. When are our newest clients arriving?

They’re flying into the city tonight, and we will meet them in Colorado Springs tomorrow, early afternoon. I have some ideas of what she wants from a couple of brief conversations, but it seems like she has no idea what kind of venue she’s looking for, so that’s something I really need to nail down. Money doesn’t seem to be much of an obstacle to them, but this is all very last minute.

Riley huffed and settled onto the bench next to her. Couldn’t they just wait until next year when there’s plenty of time to book everything?

Guess not. From what she said—in quite a whirlwind way on the phone, mind you—the proposal was an amazing surprise, and they don’t want to wait, and I quote, ‘another moment to make our commitments to each other.’ May forced herself to refrain from rolling her eyes. Usually, she was a romantic at heart and adored planning weddings. But she’d just broken up with another boyfriend, and she wasn’t feeling it today.

They’re going to inconvenience everyone else so they can, Riley put his hands together dramatically in front of his chest and fluttered his eyelashes, display their love for all to see and promise their lives to one another forever and ever. He dropped his hands and his voice returned to its normal timbre. Gag me.

Riley! May chuckled at his outrageous display. One of the most unorthodox and best assistants she could have ever asked for, she was always so glad to have him around. Even if she sometimes did have to hide him from the clients because of his remarks.

They both jumped when her phone belted out a loud holiday tune. She practically threw the bouquet into his arms and grabbed for it.

Easy there, Flash, he muttered.

She ignored him and answered. Hello?

Hey sis, her sister, and forever best friend, said.

Oh, my gosh, Robin. Are you okay?

Yes, the word was drawn out. Why wouldn’t I be?

May sat back with a relieved breath. I was afraid you were in labor or something,

I would still be okay. It would just mean you’d need to be on the alert to come to the hospital. Besides, you know baby number two isn’t due for nearly another month.

It didn’t matter. May couldn’t shake the feeling of something bad happening with this one. Not that she’d ever say that to Robin. She was supposed to be the optimistic, uplifting one.

You’re right. Still, little Miss Clarabell might decide to come early, and I want to be emotionally prepared.

Robin snorted loudly, which elicited a smirk from Riley, who’d apparently heard her through the phone. May swatted his shoulder.

May, I hate to break it to you, but you were less emotionally prepared than me when I gave birth to Aaron. And we don’t know it’s going to be a girl.

It has to be. I need someone to dote on. She dreamed of being able to do the girl’s hair and take her shopping for makeup and buy her pretty dresses. She’d practically had to threaten her sister with blackmail, using Robin’s baby pictures, to get her into a dress for her wedding a few years ago. May would adore having someone else in the family that liked to dress up like she did.

Robin sighed, and May could envision the Lord help me with this one gaze she’d probably cast at the ceiling.

Instead of responding, though, her sister changed the subject. Now that we’ve established that I’m not in labor or dying or anything, I wanted to let you know that Juniper is doing great after her shots and Anthony was approached by a councilwoman…gosh, what was her name? I can’t remember. But they want you to plan our town’s first ever Christmas Extravaganza. Personally, I think it’s some type of gimmick to get more tourists here to spend money over the Christmas season. But still, it might be a fun community thing for you to do.

May’s heart leapt at the idea of such an exciting prospect. Oh, that would be such fun!

Riley, who had walked over to inspect the décor arranged around the window, turned and gave her a suspicious look.

Robin laughed. Of course, you’d be thrilled. I’d be completely daunted, but you’re perfect for the task. Anyway, Anthony told her you’d probably be interested, and he’d pass along the request.

Of course, I am! I’ll head over to City Hall after, she glanced at her watch, ugh, it’s too late now. I’ll head over after the wedding tomorrow morning. Oh, wait, I have meetings. She tapped her fingers on her leg. I’ll go chat with them tomorrow evening and get everything arranged. She didn’t think she had anything scheduled for the evening, but she would have to consult her planner. It was buried in her purse, so she’d check later. If anything, she could call them and arrange a meeting for a better time.

She remembered her sister’s mention of her furbaby. And you said Juniper did good?

As good as she could. Of course, she was dramatic about the whole thing. Started screaming the moment she laid eyes on the syringe, which I was trying to hide, but she didn’t trust me and wanted to see the hand I was hiding. Robin sighed. I know I’ve said this before, but your dog, May, is a special one. I had to get Anthony to hold her while I gave her the shots.

Aw, my poor baby. She would have to treat Juniper to a burger at the drive-thru when she got home. Not that she’d tell Robin that. No need to get scolded again for making her dog pudgy and so spoiled she wouldn’t eat regular dry dog food.

She’ll live. Listen, I have to go. Aaron is getting into something. A clatter, like something breaking, sounded in the background, and Robin called her son’s name sternly. Back on the phone, Robin finished, Dinner this Saturday, right?

Yes! It’ll be so nice to see you after we’ve both been too busy to do anything together for such a long time. May loved family time and missed her sister. Their schedules seemed to keep them from being able to do things like they used to. Especially now with Aaron running around and causing a ton of chaos and work for his parents.

It will. Okay, love you, bye.

Love you too. May hung up.

Riley turned around and put his hands on his hips. I’m afraid to ask, but what was it that got you so excited?

May bounced to her feet and grabbed his hands. We’re going to plan the town Christmas celebration. It’s the first one they’ve ever officially hosted, and we get to be the ones to make it perfect!

His eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t resist as she waved his hands back and forth in celebration.

"I can’t believe I have to be the voice of reason, but I’m going to remind you that we just finished this big wedding—or rather, it will be finished tomorrow morning when they actually get married—and