Jingle This! Read online

  Jingle This!

  ***

  Stephanie Rowe

  “Rowe is a paranormal star!” ~J.R. Ward

  ***

  Praise for Forever in Darkness

  “Stephanie Rowe has done it again. The Order Of The Blade series is one of the best urban fantasy/paranormal series I have read. Ian’s story held me riveted from page one. It is sure to delight all her fans. Keep them coming!” ~ Alexx Mom Cat’s Gateway Book Blog

  ***

  Praise for Darkness Awakened

  “A fast-paced plot with strong characters, blazing sexual tension and sprinkled with witty banter, Darkness Awakened sucked me in and kept me hooked until the very last page.” ~ Literary Escapism

  “Rarely do I find a book that so captivates my attention, that makes me laugh out loud, and cry when things look bad. And the sex, wow! It took my breath away… The pace kept me on the edge of my seat, and turning the pages. I did not want to put this book down… [Darkness Awakened] is a must read.” ~ D. Alexx Miller, Alexx Mom Cat’s Gateway Book Blog

  ***

  Praise for Darkness Seduced

  “[D]ark, edgy, sexy … sizzles on the page…sex with soul shattering connections that leave the reader a little breathless!…Darkness Seduced delivers tight plot lines, well written, witty and lyrical - Rowe lays down some seriously dark and sexy tracks. There is no doubt that this series will have a cult following. ” ~ Guilty Indulgence Book Club

  “I was absolutely enthralled by this book…heart stopping action fueled by dangerous passions and hunky, primal men…If you’re looking for a book that will grab hold of you and not let go until it has been totally devoured, look no further than Darkness Seduced.”~When Pen Met Paper Reviews

  ***

  Praise for Darkness Surrendered

  “Book three of the Order of the Blades series is…superbly original and excellent, yet the passion, struggle and the depth of emotion that Ana and Elijah face is so brutal, yet is also pretty awe inspiring. I was swept away by Stephanie’s depth of character detail and emotion. I absolutely loved the roller-coaster that Stephanie, Ana and Elijah took me on.” ~ Becky Johnson, Bex ‘n’ Books!

  “Darkness Surrendered drew me so deeply into the story that I felt Ana and Elijah’s emotions as if they were my own…they completely engulfed me in their story…Ingenious plot turns and edge of your seat suspense…make Darkness Surrendered one of the best novels I have read in years.” ~Tamara Hoffa, Sizzling Hot Book Reviews

  ***

  Praise for No Knight Needed

  “No Knight Needed is m-a-g-i-c-a-l! Hands down, it is one of the best romances I have read. I can’t wait till it comes out and I can tell the world about it.” ~Sharon Stogner, Love Romance Passion

  “No Knight Needed is contemporary romance at its best….There was not a moment that I wasn’t completely engrossed in the novel, the story, the characters. I very audibly cheered for them and did not shed just one tear, nope, rather bucket fulls. My heart at times broke for them. The narrative and dialogue surrounding these ‘tender’ moments in particular were so beautifully crafted, poetic even; it was this that had me blubbering. And of course on the flip side of the heart-wrenching events, was the amazing, witty humour….If it’s not obvious by now, then just to be clear, I love this book! I would most definitely and happily reread, which is an absolute first for me in this genre.”Becky Johnson, Bex ‘N’ Books

  “No Knight Needed is an amazing story of love and life…I literally laughed out loud, cried and cheered…. No Knight Needed is a must read and must re-read.”Jeanne Stone-Hunter, My Book Addiction Reviews

  ***

  Dedication

  For all those who need a little uplift during the holidays.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to my core team of amazing people, without whom I would never have been able to create this book. Each of you is so important, and your contribution was exactly what I needed. I’m so grateful to all of you! Your emails of support, or yelling at me because I hadn’t sent you more of the book yet, or just your advice on covers, back cover copy and all things needed to whip this book into shape—every last one of them made a difference to me. I appreciate each one of you so much! I want to give a huge shout out to all my beta readers, who turned this novel around super-fast so I could get it out to my readers. You guys are the BEST! I also want to give a huge shout-out to all my Facebook friends, who supported me so much during the writing of this book when I was sure I would never get it done. Special thanks also to: Jeanne Hunter, Jan Leyh, Summer Steelman, Teresa Gabelman, D. Alexx Miller, Holly Collins, Janet Juengling-Snell, and Phyllis Marshall. There are so many people I want to thank, but the people who simply must be called out are: Denise Fluhr, Dottie Jones, Alencia Bates, Emily Recchia, Rebecca Johnson, Nicole Telhiard, Denise Whelan, Tamara Hoffa, Jean Bowden, and Ashley Cuesta. Thank you also to the following for all their amazing help: Judi Pflughoeft, Deb Julienne, Julie Simpson, Shell Bryce, and Jodi Moore. You guys are the best! Thanks so much to Pete Davis for such an amazing cover, and for all his hard work on the technical side to make this book come to life. Mom, you’re the best. It means so much that you believe in me. I love you. Special thanks also to my amazing daughter, who I love more than words could ever express. You are my world, sweet girl, in all ways.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Praise for Stephanie Rowe

  Dedication and Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Sneak Peek: No Knight Needed

  Sneak Peek: Fairytale Not Required

  Sneak Peek: Darkness Awakened

  Sneak Peek: Ice

  Stephanie Rowe Bio

  Select List of Other Books

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  If you want true love, buy a dog.

  –Angie Miller

  Angie Miller eyed the fake mini Christmas tree on the corner of her desk. Was it fire retardant or not? She decided to find out. Anything holiday related didn’t deserve to live.

  She pulled open her desk drawer and rummaged through it to find the lighter she kept for office birthday parties. She searched past a toothbrush, toothpaste, an emergency stash of tampons, and her Christmas CD’s before she finally found the item in question, which she probably hadn’t used in two years.

  She sighed when she saw the cheerful snowman on it wearing a Santa cap.

  Seriously. Was there nothing safe from holiday cheer?

  After she burned the tree, she’d have to find a hammer and smash the lighter too.

  Feeling surprisingly empowered by the fact she was about to wreak vengeance on the season of mistletoe, Angie picked up the tree and shook it vigorously over the trashcan. The pinging of the shiny gold and silver balls dropping into the garbage was unexpectedly invigorating. In fact, she was almost feeling better by the time she coaxed the snowman to dish out some flames and held the lighter up to one of the branches artfully decorated in faux snow.

  To think she’d been so excited for this holiday season. Hah.

  She sighed with satisfaction as the tree began to smoke and the putrid scent of burning plastic began to emanate through her office. She wrinkled her nose at the scent that was a little too much like burnt microwave popcorn multiplied by a thousand, and waited for the burst of flames that would signal her release from all pre-fabricated, commercialized holiday cheer.

  But the tree just continued to smoke. No fire. Not even a spark.

  Ang
ie sighed. Figured. She couldn’t even successfully destroy all evidence of the holiday season. Nothing was going right for her.

  “Angie! What is that god-awful smell?” Her friend Heidi Simmons, who was wearing a full-fledged elf costume complete with green felt shoes with bells on the toes, flung the door open. Her gaze caught the lighter flame trying to ignite the tip of one of the branches. “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing? Trying to burn this thing. Unfortunately, it’s not working so well.” She eyed her friend’s pointed hat. “Nice outfit. Is it flammable?”

  “Don’t even think about setting me on fire.” Heidi grabbed the tree out of Angie’s hand and set it on the corner of the desk, annoyingly out of reach. “Since when are you in a bad mood on the first Monday after Thanksgiving? This is your primo season.” She gestured to the walls, which were decorated with tinsel, lights and snowflakes, all of which Angie had put up before she’d left for her highly-anticipated Thanksgiving long weekend. Over the door hung a particularly beautiful sprig of mistletoe… hmm… that was real. Would it burn?

  The longer Angie studied the mistletoe, the more annoyed she became. Mistletoe was like a double insult: holidays and kisses. Simply being thrust into the Christmas season wasn’t enough of a punishment. The fact she had to be reminded that there would be no snuggle moments under any mistletoe for her this year? Pure torture. Mistletoe was the ultimate evil. How had she never realized that before? Fire wasn’t enough. She was going to go buy some weed killer and stealthily take out any and all mistletoe she came across for the next month.

  Yes, yes, good plan. Feeling better already, Angie pulled out her phone and put “weed killer” on the top of her shopping list, even above chocolate. Mistletoe eradication on its way.

  “How could you possibly be in a bad mood today?” Heidi eyed the lighter, as if contemplating whether she could snatch it before Angie could hide it. “Usually, you could get run over by a car during the Christmas season and still be in a fabulous mood. So what’s up with the pyromania?”

  Sudden depression coursed through Angie, and she slumped back in her chair, feeling exhausted and drained. She was utterly unable to fend off the reality of her life anymore. Completely despondent, she held up her left hand. “This.”

  Heidi frowned. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

  Well, hello? Did she have to spell it out? “It’s empty.”

  Her normally astute friend wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Right…and your point is… what, exactly?”

  Nothing like friends to forget the most important day of your life. Or utter lack thereof. “Don’t you remember? The private Thanksgiving celebration with Roger, instead of a crazy affair with my family? Specially orchestrated by Roger so we could be alone on the holiday?” Her delightful, charming and incredibly thoughtful boyfriend Roger, who had insisted on the private getaway to celebrate their two year anniversary.

  “Ohh…right…the romantic interlude with Roger.” Heidi slid into the chair opposite Angie’s desk, her bells jangling with annoying cheerfulness. “So, based on your less than scintillating mood, I’m guessing the romantic getaway didn’t result in him dropping to one knee to declare his undying love and devotion for all eternity? Or does he want you to foot the bill for the ring? Yeah, that’s probably it. With the company not doing so well and everything, he’d probably want you to pay for it. You know, Roger being such a modern man and all, he’d probably think it made perfect sense to make his future bride spring for her own engagement ring before he took the risk of popping the question.”

  Angie started to defend Roger, as she’d been doing for the last two years since Heidi had first declared Roger unworthy of the affections of her best friend. “Heidi—”

  Her friend raised her brows. “Really, Ang? You’re going to defend the scum-sucking pig? Really? After he put you in this mood?”

  Oh…Heidi had a point. For the first time in two years, Heidi’s not-so-thinly veiled disgust of Roger wasn’t as annoying as usual. It was surprising how being cruelly disposed of seemed to alter a girl’s loyalties. “You can stop hiding how much you revile him. He dumped me.” He dumped me. Just saying the words was like taking a dagger to her heart, and no, she wasn’t being melodramatic. Tears stung her eyes, and Angie balled her fists, fighting not to cry.

  She’d been crying for three days, and she was so drained she didn’t have the energy to mourn anymore. Roger’s brutal dumping on Thanksgiving had given new meaning to Black Friday. Yeah, it had been black all right. Black eyeliner streaming down her cheeks. Sunlight blocked from her bedroom. Black bags under her eyes. Welcome to the holiday season. Sob.

  Heidi blinked. “Roger dumped you? As in, broke up? As in, I’m no longer going to woo you in hopes that the extensive Miller inheritance will wind up in my bank account once I marry you?”

  “Apparently, he doesn’t want to use me for my family’s money, seeing as how he dumped me. So, you were wrong. He’s not a gold-digging bastard like you thought.” Yay, her. Shallow victories were the small joys in life.

  “This is great! I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear this.” Heidi looked absolutely delighted, and even had the mind-boggling insensitivity to actually applaud the breakup. “Now you can really enjoy the holiday season! Imagine if you’d gotten yourself wedded to that slow-brained, penny-pinching, sponging dimwit? Christmas came early for you!”

  “Seriously, Heidi?” Funny how Angie wasn’t feeling a strong female-bonding thing right now. “You better watch it. When Roger and I get back together you’re going to have to make up for insulting the man I love.”

  “What? You wouldn’t dare get back together with him, would you?” Heidi looked horrified. “I’ve been hoping for this day for two years. If you take back this gift, then you aren’t a true friend.”

  “You’re the one who isn’t a true friend. Can’t you see I’m devastated?” Understatement of the millennium. “I love Roger. We belong together.” Angie felt the burn of tears at the back of her eyes. Bastard. How dare he make her cry? She lifted her chin. “Can you hand me the tree again? I really need to vent.” She picked up the lighter. “I’ll pretend it’s Roger. That should make you happy.”

  Heidi grabbed the tree and cradled it to her glittery red vest. “No chance. Hand over the lighter or I’m turning you in.”

  “To who?”

  “The authorities. Granted, I’m all for torturing Roger, but if you end up burning down this office, then I’ll be out of a job, and I won’t be able to pay for all my new clothes for the holiday parties and my honeymoon. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” Heidi set the tree down on the carpet beside her chair and leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with the excitement of a woman about to get married to her true love.

  Sigh. She’d been so close to having that sparkle…

  “So, I’m thinking of going to Tiffany’s and making a list of the items I like, so Quinn will know what to buy me for a wedding present,” Heidi said. “Do you think that’s tasteless? I mean, I know he’s going to buy me jewelry, so there’s nothing wrong with giving him a little guidance, is there? He is a guy, after all. They usually aren’t born with a natural sense of fashion.”

  Weird how hearing about someone else’s upcoming nuptials wasn’t improving her mood by any great margin. Why would that be? “How did you know that talking about your upcoming wedding would be exactly what I needed to make me forget that I just got dumped by the man I thought was going to propose?” Angie shoved her chair back from her desk and started yanking decorations off her walls. “You must be a genius. A dear and sensitive friend who knows exactly what her broken-hearted friend needs to feel better—”

  “Hey there, missy.” Heidi jumped up and grabbed Angie’s wrist before she could really gather some good momentum in the holiday destruction effort. “How can you let some jerk destroy your joy in your favorite season and your excitement about your best friend’s wedding? Ten years from now, you’ll look
back and be so angry at yourself for letting some loser ruin your holiday.” Heidi’s rouged elfin cheeks were so chipper and spritely, the complete antithesis of the burning anger, depression and total misery pervading Angie’s body and soul.

  She glared at her friend. “He’s not a loser.”

  “Course he is. If he wasn’t a loser, he wouldn’t have dumped you, right?”

  Angie had to acknowledge there was an appealing logic to that argument. “Well, you have a point.”

  “See? I’m a genius.” Her eyes still sparkling with good humor that felt so hopelessly out of reach, Heidi leaned forward. “Hey, on a completely unrelated topic, I don’t mean to pressure you, but what time are you going to have your story done? I need to copy edit it and get it posted online by five o’clock today. You may technically have a midnight deadline, but with me as your copy editor, I’m saying five o’clock. I’m not interested in staying late.”

  The story. The mere thought of it made Angie want to drop her forehead to her desk. Hard. And repeatedly. She’d totally forgotten about her assignment for the next month. The company she worked for, New Age Marketing, had been trying for months to land a high-profile client, Swift Department Stores. In September, Angie had been part of the team that had persuaded Swift to give them a try with a holiday marketing campaign for their well-known diamond collection. Angie’s assignment? To write a daily online serial to convince men to give diamonds to the women they love for Christmas, to be posted on the home page of Swift’s website. If she impressed Swift, they would hire New Age for more projects. If she didn’t, her company would get no further deals from Swift.

  She liked pressure. She liked writing. Plus, she adored diamonds, relished every moment of the holiday season and was a hopeless romantic, so she’d jumped at the chance for the project. In October, the assignment had been her dream come true, a chance to prove herself. She’d spent all fall researching it and interviewing couples for inspiration. Last week, before she’d headed off for the Thanksgiving weekend, she’d made sure everything was organized. When she’d walked out the door, she’d been fired up and ready to attack the stories when she got back into the office.