A Home For The Holidays Book Novels & Stories

It did not matter what day of the week Christmas landed on that year considering we both had the next day off along with others. By the time that I got home it was almost 3am, the house was dark when I left and you have left it that way. When I entered I lit the hallway bath so that I could take my jacket off and hang it in the closet and make my way at the same time, then I turned the light on in upstairs hall way for later, my plan was to go up and have a nice long awaited relaxing shower. Even with the upstairs hallway lit it never fully lit my bedroom. As I climbed the stairs and made my way to my bedroom my view was blocked by all of the Holiday presents that I received for that year an

I went home to rest. The next day, I went in as usual and found the staff busier than normal. There were extra people cleaning and trucks of fresh feed arriving, making the animals restless. Zane must’ve gotten scared. To keep things peaceful over Christmas, he’d finally scraped together some money and splurged a little for the animals.

At twenty-nine, I had flown in from Seattle after a brutal year: my long-term boyfriend had left me for his assistant, and my job as a graphic designer had turned into endless Zoom calls that left me isolated. Mom insisted I come home for Christmas to recharge, and honestly, the thought of her famous roast and Dad's bad jokes was the only thing pulling me through. Zoe Harper, back in her flannel pajamas era, ready to pretend everything was fine. The house smelled like pine and cinnamon as I stepped inside, arms full of gifts. Mom enveloped me in a hug, her apron dusted with flour. "Zoe, honey, you look exhausted. Come sit by the fire."

Before I could figure out what was going on, a tall and slender woman approached Dylan and me. She locked arms with Dylan and shot me an irritated look, asking, "Who's this?" Dylan answered before I could even say a word, speaking in a tone that made it seem like we had coincidentally run into each other. "She's Blake's girlfriend. She came to look for him." The woman immediately dropped her guard and curiously gave me a once-over. She smiled sweetly and introduced herself as Trixie Ashford. She was Dylan's girlfriend, and she had returned to the country specifically to celebrate Christmas with him.

I shifted a sly glance at Jeanne, who gave me back a confused look. "You can have your annulment," I began, and the man let out a sigh of relief, "But not until the third of January." He froze, "Excuse me?" "Well, the thing is, I need a husband for Christmas," I winced at the look on his face, "And New year." "Not interested." He deadpanned. "And you already happen to be my husband," I braved on. "Not for much longer." "You won't have to do anything. Just show up for a few days, and wear a smile. Or not. Christmas in my hometown is amazing and I promise you won't regret it." I said with a hopeful smile.

"Oh, thank you, Sam." Doris and Max stepped into the grand foyer of the mansion, immediately struck by the opulence of the holiday decor. The marble floors were polished to a high sheen, and the walls were hung with lavish paintings of winter scenes. A large Christmas tree towered in the corner, decorated with twinkling lights and glittering ornaments. The air was filled with the scent of evergreen and the strains of festive music, giving the space a magical, holiday feeling. Doris and Max felt as though they had stepped into a winter wonderland.

I asked Ace when we were out of the family sight. “You know how you missed Christmas Eve and how you miss Christmas too?” Ace opened the door to my room, “I wanted to give it to you.” My jaw dropped as I saw how beautifully decorated my room was. He had decorated the rooms with light, there was a Christmas tree and gifts under the tree. There were snacks and a projector. “It's beautiful,” I smiled as I entered the room, “Why did you do all this?” “I know I can't bring the 24th and 25th but I hope this will be okay? I also wanted to thank you for saving me,” Ace shut the door behind him.

"My love, I missed you!" Andrew was stunned. This woman was calling him her love. He didn't know who she was, but he felt a strange connection to her. It was as if he had known her his whole life. She led him into the house, and he saw a beautiful Christmas tree decorated with ornaments and lights. There were stockings hanging by the fireplace and the smell of gingerbread cookies wafted through the air. "This is your home," the woman said. "We've been waiting for you to come home."

Killian immediately shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, and she pulled it tight around herself, breathing in his scent. "I loved Christmas here," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It was—they made it so special. So magical. Mrs Morales would start decorating the day after Thanksgiving. She had made us all hot chocolate and put on Christmas music–Mary's Boy Child by Bonney M precisely, and we'd spend the whole day turning the house into something out of a Hallmark movie. And Mr Morales, he'd read us the Christmas story every single night in December, counting down until the actual day. And Daryl would—" She couldn't finish. "I hated the smell of Christmas

Chapter 1 Elena's POV The living room glowed with warmth, the fire crackling against the chill of the snowy night outside. My family had gathered, laughter and chatter filling the air, the scent of cinnamon and roasted turkey lingering. It was the kind of Christmas Eve I had always loved; cozy, familiar, safe.