At thirty-five and single, I’m tired of the dating game. Tired of men who look at me and say, “You’d be prettier if you shed a few pounds.”
There’s only one man I want a future with — my grouchy friends with bene fits, Nolan. But he’s adamant about keeping things casual.
All that changes when one night we get careless, and those pink lines show up on the pregnancy test months later.
Nolan wants to do right by me. He wants to give me what I’ve been searching for, but I’m pretty sure he’s only doing it out of obligation. It’s not like the bearded brewmaster loves me like I love him.
“Come outside and help me put up the lights before Avery gets home.”
We grabbed our coats and walked outside. Declan untangled the lights from the plastic bag someone had shoved them inside. I grabbed the ladder from the shed and put it against the house. Declan directed me where to hang the lights while he held the ladder. I wasn’t sure how long we had been out there, but it felt like it took forever. I didn’t care how long it took; I just wanted it to be perfect for Avery.
“I think it looks good,” Declan called up to me.
I walked down the ladder, and he ran inside to flip the switch. The house lit up with twinkling white lights, like some fucking winter wonderland. Avery never would have expected me to decorate for Christmas. I wanted to surprise her with it, to make it feel like this was her home, too.
Dec came out of the house and whistled. “Looks good. She’s gonna love it.”
I frowned and ran a hand down my beard. “I hope so. I want everything to be perfect for her.”
Dec nudged me with his elbow. “Take the night off. Go help your baby mama get the rest of her stuff and get situated. The brewery will be fine without you for one night. Okay?”
“I…”
He cut me off by holding up his hand. “Nolan, this is why we have staff. You don’t have to work your fingers to the bone like when we first opened. You’re the head brewer. You don’t have to micromanage every tiny detail of the process. I know you’re stressed about money, but it’s gonna be okay.”
“I want to be good enough for her. And for Peanut.”
“Peanut?” he asked with a confused look.
I shrugged. “It’s what I call the baby.”
My brother beamed at me. “That’s so cute.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “Shut it!”
He pushed me back. “Get out of here. I’ll handle s**t at the brewery tonight. Go help your lady.”
Declan didn’t have a life outside of the brewery, either. He was just as bad as I was. I couldn’t remember the last time he even went on a date. I don’t think he’s had a serious relationship since his high school girlfriend Lila broke his heart when she went to college in California and never came back.
I was about to run back into the house for my car keys when two cars pulled up into the driveway. I planned to go over to Avery’s apartment to help, so she didn’t have to carry all those boxes inside. She shouldn’t be lifting anything heavy in her condition. I hadn’t realized how long it took us to get the tree up and decorated. Getting the lights up on the house had taken longer than I would have liked, even with my brother’s help. I felt like a dick. I should have helped her pack up all her things.
Avery got out of her car with a box in her hand, and I rushed over to help her. She scowled at me. “I can lift a box, Nol,” she argued, but the debate died on her lips when she looked up at my brightly lit-up house. “Oh… Oh! You put up Christmas lights?”
Her eyes sparkled as the reflection of the lights hit her just right. The way her entire face lit up in delight struck me in the chest.
“Nolan, did you do this for me?” she asked in surprise.
I grunted in response.
“But you hate Christmas.”
I took the box from her and walked into the house. I smiled when I heard her gasp. “Oh, Nolan,” Avery whispered.
Danica Flynn is a marketer by day, and a writer by nights and weekends. AKA she doesn’t sleep! She is a rabid hockey fan of both The Philadelphia Flyers and the Metropolitan Riveters. When not writing, she can be found hanging with her partner, playing video games, and reading a ton of books.
Left alone in the world after losing her parents, Cora Lee Schuster travels across the country to the newly-established town of Holiday, Oregon, to become a mail-order bride. She arrives in town to be greeted by her future father-in-law with her betrothed nowhere to be found. When it becomes obvious her reluctant groom-to-be has no intention of showing up at the family ranch where she’s staying, Cora Lee must decide if she’ll follow her head or heart.
Jace Coleman has loved trains since the first time he rode on one as a boy. Now, he spends his days as an engineer driving the Holiday Express line on a new engine named Hope. When a mail-order bride turns up at his father’s ranch to wed his brother, Jace has an idea his meddling father has tried his hand at matchmaking. The longer Cora Lee stays at the ranch, the harder Jace works to keep from falling for his brother’s intended bride.
Will Jace and Cora Lee discover the gift of hope? Find out in this sweet holiday romance full of memorable characters, warmth, and Christmas cheer.
On silent feet, Jace moved across the kitchen. A lamp on the table cast an amber glow around the room, illuminating his father as he snuck a piece of apple pie from beneath the towel where Mae had left it on the counter after supper.
“I thought I’d be able to catch you in here.” Jace spoke quietly as he stepped near his dad.
Grant spun around so fast, the slice of apple pie he’d just set on his plate slid to the edge and would have plopped to the floor if Jace hadn’t caught it. He nudged it back on the plate, licked the juice from his finger, then helped himself to a slice while his father glowered at him.
He filled two glasses with milk and set them on the table, then carried over his dish of pie before taking a seat next to his dad.
“What are you doing sneaking around at night?” Grant asked, waving his fork at him. “You could cause a body to have a fit of apoplexy or their heart to plumb stop with such tomfoolery.”
“I wasn’t the one digging into Aunt Mae’s pie.” Jace smirked at his dad. “Besides, we all know you can’t help yourself when it comes to apple pie or chocolate cake. As quick as you think everyone is asleep, you sneak into the kitchen and steal a piece or three.”
“I’ve never eaten three pieces,” Grant blustered, then lowered his voice. “But you did catch me. Mae probably knew I’d get up to snitch a slice, which is why she made an extra pie in the first place. What are you doing up? And don’t tell me it was a craving for pie.”
“It is good pie, Pops.” Jace licked the juice from his fork. “As for why I’m up, I want to hear the truth about why that poor girl is here, thinking Jude will marry her.”
USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.
Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.
Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic, which makes her the perfect columnist to answer lonely heart letters in The Marriage Gazette. When Amelie plays matchmaker with two anonymous lonely hearts, she also decides to secretly observe the couple’s blind date. To her surprise, the man who appears for the rendezvous is Harold Radcliffe—a grieving widower and a member of Amelie’s book club.
Police detective Michael Baker has been struggling ever since his best friend and brother-in-law dies in the line of fire. Because he knows the dangers of his job, he has vowed never to marry and subject a wife and family to the uncertainty of his profession. But when he meets Miss Hampton, he is captured by her innocence, beauty, and her quick mind.
When a woman’s body is pulled from the river, Michael suspects the woman’s husband—Harold Radcliffe—of foul play. Amelie refuses to believe that Harold is capable of such violence but agrees to help, imagining it will be like one of her favorite mystery novels. Her social connections and clever observations prove an asset to the case, and Amelie is determined to prove Mr. Radcliffe’s innocence. But the more time Amelie and Michael spend together, the more they trust each other, and the more they realize they are a good team, maybe the perfect match.
They also realize that Mr. Radcliffe is hiding more than one secret, and when his attention turns toward Amelie, Michael knows he must put an end to this case before the woman he loves comes to harm.
A Note from Author Nancy Campbell Allen
I have my editor, Lisa Mangum, and the podcast “Lore,” by Aaron Mehnke, to thank for the inspiration for The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart. Lisa had been listening to Lore and mentioned an episode I’d also heard (because you can’t listen to only one Lore episode, you have to binge them all). The episode was about a gentleman whose wife died of a mysterious illness, and then his second wife tragically died…a string of sick and dying wives began to arouse suspicion among locals and law enforcement alike.
One of the fun details we’d also discovered about the Victorian era was the popularity of personal ads in local papers and magazines. I combined the idea from the Lore episode with an imagined character who works for a newspaper, has an insatiable sense of curiosity, and is a voracious reader of mystery and romance novels.
Et voila! A new Victorian series was born, featuring three cousins who live in London and are determined to become modern Women of Independent Means. My books almost always feature a healthy dose of mystery along with the romance, and I believe people who have enjoyed my work in the past will not be disappointed here!
Nancy Campbell Allen is the award-winning author of 19 published novels and several novellas, which encompass a variety of genres ranging from contemporary romantic suspense to historical fiction. Her most recent books, which include Regency, Victorian, and steampunk romance, are published through Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance line, and the What Happens in Venice novella series is part of the Timeless Romance Anthology collection published by Mirror Press.
Nancy loves to read, write, travel, and research, and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She nurtures a current obsession for true crime podcasts and is a news junkie. She and her husband have three children, and she lives in Ogden, Utah with her family, one very large Siberian Husky named Thor, and an obnoxious but endearing YorkiePoo named Freya.
