Sarah Mayberry - The Christmas Wedding Quilt

A FAMILY’S GIFT

When they were young, cousins Ella, Rachel and Jo were always together at their family’s lake house. As they grew up, though, they grew apart…until now, as the three must band together to grant a beloved aunt’s dying wish: to finish the quilt she began as a gift for her daughter’s Christmas wedding.

Let It Snow by USA TODAY bestselling author Emilie Richards

Searching for vintage quilting fabric, independent Jo is reunited with the man she thought she’d marry—and proves that sometimes the second time’s the charm....

You Better Watch Out by Janice Kay Johnson

Ella is desperate when the unfinished quilt goes missing in her care. But a cocky lawyer might just help her find it—

and find love.

Nine Ladies Dancing by Sarah Mayberry

Shy Rachel risks exposing her secret life when she falls for her quilting teacher’s seemingly perfect son.

Together, Jo, Ella and Rachel create a Christmas heirloom that’s both a wish and a promise—of happiness, hope and love everlasting.

Praise for Emilie Richards

“Ms. Richards possesses a magical way with words.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Richards’s ability to portray compelling characters who grapple with challenging family issues is laudable.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Fox River

Praise for Janice Kay Johnson

“I can’t wait to read more of [Johnson’s] books.”

—Dear Author on Bone Deep

“Johnson wonderfully depicts

her characters’ emotions.”

—RT Book Reviews

Praise for Sarah Mayberry

“This very talented writer touches your heart with her characters.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Reading [All They Need] was like finding a twenty-dollar bill in your coat pocket, then unfolding it and finding a fifty wrapped inside.

It started out great and just kept getting better.”

—USATODAY.com

EMILIE RICHARDS’s

many novels feature complex characterizations and in-depth explorations of social issues, a result of her training and experience as a family counselor, which contributes to her fascination with relationships of all kinds. Emilie, a mother of four, lives with her husband in Florida, where she is currently working on her next novel for the Harlequin MIRA line.

JANICE KAY JOHNSON

The author of more than seventy books for children and adults, Janice Kay Johnson is especially well-known for her Mills & Boon Superromance novels about love and family—about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her 2007 novel Snowbound won a RITA® Award from Romance Writers of America for Best Contemporary Series Romance. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She loves to read and is an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter.

SARAH MAYBERRY

lives by the bay in Melbourne in a house that is about to be pulled apart for renovations. She is happily married to another writer, shades of whom can be found in many of her heroes. She is currently besotted with her seven-month-old Cavoodle puppy, Max, and feeling guilty about her overgrown garden. When she isn’t writing or feeling guilty or rolling around on the carpet with the dog, she likes reading, cooking, shoe shopping and going to the movies.

Let It Snow

Emilie Richards

You Better Watch Out

Janice Kay Johnson

Nine Ladies Dancing

Sarah Mayberry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Let It Snow Let It Snow Emilie Richards by Emilie Richards

You Better Watch Out by Janice Kay Johnson

Nine Ladies Dancing by Sarah Mayberry

Let It Snow

Emilie Richards

Contents

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

PROLOGUE

JO MILLER WAS sure she liked her next-door neighbor. There was no reason not to. She and the other woman were both in their early thirties, both professionals. Any number of mornings in the three years Jo had lived in her San Diego condo, she had noticed the other woman downstairs in the parking lot, leaving for work decked out in tailored suits and gotcha heels.

Of course if Jo really liked the petite blonde with the friendly smile, why couldn’t she remember her name?

“So I told the UPS man I would keep it for you,” the neighbor said of the package she had just presented to Jo. “I hope that’s okay? I know how hard it is to track down a delivery once they take it back to the warehouse, especially in December, when they’re so busy.”

Jo realized it was now her turn to speak. “That was so nice of you.”

“Of course, I didn’t realize you would be gone so long. I hope nothing spoiled. It looks like a gift.”

Jo glanced down at the package newly resting in her arms, set there before she and her suitcase could escape into her home and close the door. She was so exhausted she could hardly make out the spidery writing. She squinted, then her heart threatened to stop midbeat. “Oh...” She swallowed.

“I’m sorry, I hope it’s not bad news.”

“No, no...” Jo clutched the package to her chest. “I’m just back from Hong Kong. I...I...” She shook her head. “I’m exhausted, that’s all.”

“No wonder. I thought I’d call out for pizza in a little bit. Would you like to share? My treat? I bet you don’t have a bit of food in your fridge.”

Jo shook her head, a reflex that was her standard response to invitations. “I need sleep more, I’m afraid. Maybe another time?”

The blonde smiled, but without conviction. In three years she and Jo had never crossed each other’s thresholds.

“Sleep well, then.” She opened the door that was only two feet from Jo’s own. “And I’m Marian, Jo. Marian Parker. In case you change your mind.”

The door closed behind her, but not before Jo glimpsed soft peach walls, a slipcovered sofa, and a Christmas tree with twinkling lights in the corner.

She stood staring at Marian’s door for a moment, then fumbled for the keys she had slipped into her pocket during the limo ride from the airport and unlocked her own.

Pulling her suitcase behind her, she stepped into a room that was a mirror image of Marian’s, but only in layout. Here the walls were a gloomy taupe and the furniture sleek black leather with chrome armrests. The only pop of color vibrated from a pillow on the sofa with geometric designs of chartreuse and shocking pink.

Right after Jo had signed the lease here, her mother had decorated the condo as a surprise. Jo had opened her door after another business trip to find it the way it was now.

The surprise had come during Sophie’s interior decorator phase, which had been sandwiched between her jazz singer phase and landscape photographer phase. Jo’s walls were dotted with out-of-focus black-and-white photographs of Point Loma and Venice Beach, framed in more chrome. Thankfully a year had passed without additions. These days Sophie was busy channeling a spirit guide named Ocelot Lee, who was slowly revealing the secrets of the universe in exchange for large infusions of cash to the medium who arranged his visits.