“I needed a marriage license. And I needed your parents to know how I felt about you. I didn’t want a lifetime of awkward duty visits. I needed to convince them I was serious. That I wasn’t playing around.”
“Knowing my mother, that must have taken some time.”
He laughed. “Most of the morning and part of the afternoon. It helped when I showed her the ring.”
“It’s beautiful.” She pulled off her glove and took another look at it, sparkling on her finger. “I didn’t want to leave this place. I didn’t want to leave you.”
“I wouldn’t have let you. We’ve been part of each other’s lives for too long.”
She turned her head and looked at the beauty of the snowy forest. “Somewhere around here is a tree with my name carved on it.”
“There’s a tree called Brenna Daniels?”
“Brenna O’Neil.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “You carved that on a tree?”
“I was dreaming, and I wanted to see how it looked.”
He lowered his head. “And how did it look?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “It looked perfect.”
* * * * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THANKS, HUGS AND KISSES go to my talented editor Flo Nicoll who has worked with me on all three O’Neil Brothers books and sprinkled her own special brand of editorial magic over each story. Thanks also to Harlequin HQN in North America and Harlequin UK for all their hard work in putting this series into the hands of readers, and to my agent, Susan Ginsburg, for her invaluable advice and input.
Right from the start I knew how I wanted Maybe This Christmas to end. I’m indebted to Alison Kaiser, Town Clerk from Stowe, Vermont, for her guidance on the marriage license laws in the state of Vermont and for her patience in answering my many questions as I tried to find a way to make my dream ending a reality.
The process of writing this series has frequently slipped into family time, and without the endless support and encouragement from my husband and two sons I would have starved and been found buried under several months’ worth of laundry. They are nothing short of brilliant (and I mean that even though they washed a red sock with my white shirt).
I owe the biggest debt of gratitude to my readers who continue to buy my books, thus ensuring I can continue with my dream job, writing them. Thank you. You’re the best.
Keep reading for an excerpt from SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER by Sarah Morgan.
“Morgan’s brilliant talent never ceases to amaze.”
—RT Book Reviews
If you loved Maybe This Christmas, be sure to also check out Sleigh Bells in the Snow and Suddenly Last Summer by USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan. Available today in ebook format.
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And don’t miss the first two titles in Sarah’s Miller Sisters series, only from Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin:
Ripped
Burned
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