Carla Neggers - Christmas at Carriage Hill

Celebrate the holidays with this magical Swift River Valley novella from New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers

When fashion designer Alexandra Rankin Hunt is asked to create the dresses for Olivia Frost’s Christmas wedding in tiny Knights Bridge, Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance. She’s certain she’ll never get to design one for herself—not with her history of falling for the wrong men. Ian Mabry, the sexy fighter pilot whose bravery reminded her of her beloved great-grandfather, was the worst yet.

To Alexandra’s surprise, Ian is also at Carriage Hill, Olivia’s picturesque country inn. And if anyone can charm his way into a wedding, it’s him. Ian wants more than an invitation—he’s determined to find a way back into Alexandra’s life.

Don’t miss Echo Lake, the next novel in Carla Neggers’ unforgettable Swift River Valley series.

Christmas at Carriage Hill

Carla Neggers

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dedication One Two A Recipe for English Scones Three Four A Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts Five A Recipe for Mulled Wine About the Author Copyright ,

I hope you enjoy this story, whether you’re new to my Swift River Valley series or have read it from the beginning, when Olivia Frost and Dylan McCaffrey meet in Secrets of the Lost Summer . A Christmas Eve wedding is perfect for them!

I’ve long been enchanted with the idea of Christmas weddings, perhaps because my own parents were married a few days before Christmas. My father was a Dutch sailor working on a farm near my mother’s small Florida Panhandle home when they met. They went to New Orleans for their honeymoon, and a few years later moved to rural Massachusetts just before I was born. They had two little kids (five more to come!) and packed everything they owned into their car.

Of course, that’s the short version of their story!

The classic little Massachusetts town where I grew up is the inspiration for Knights Bridge, which Alexandra Rankin Hunt, an up-and-coming English dress designer, never heard of until she discovers that her great-grandfather was also Dylan’s grandfather, an RAF pilot who died early in World War II. Alexandra has a fiery relationship with a fighter pilot of her own...and his unexpected arrival in Knights Bridge brings us Christmas at Carriage Hill .

Happy Christmas!

Carla

www.CarlaNeggers.com

Dedication Dedication One Two A Recipe for English Scones Three Four A Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts Five A Recipe for Mulled Wine About the Author Copyright

To the memory of my godmother and English aunt, Lily

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Celebrate the holidays with this magical Swift River Valley novella from New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers When fashion designer Alexandra Rankin Hunt is asked to create the dresses for Olivia Frost’s Christmas wedding in tiny Knights Bridge, Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance. She’s certain she’ll never get to design one for herself—not with her history of falling for the wrong men. Ian Mabry, the sexy fighter pilot whose bravery reminded her of her beloved great-grandfather, was the worst yet. To Alexandra’s surprise, Ian is also at Carriage Hill, Olivia’s picturesque country inn. And if anyone can charm his way into a wedding, it’s him. Ian wants more than an invitation—he’s determined to find a way back into Alexandra’s life. Don’t miss Echo Lake, the next novel in Carla Neggers’ unforgettable Swift River Valley series .

Title Page Christmas at Carriage Hill Carla Neggers www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Dedication One Two A Recipe for English Scones Three Four A Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts Five A Recipe for Mulled Wine About the Author Copyright , I hope you enjoy this story, whether you’re new to my Swift River Valley series or have read it from the beginning, when Olivia Frost and Dylan McCaffrey meet in Secrets of the Lost Summer . A Christmas Eve wedding is perfect for them! I’ve long been enchanted with the idea of Christmas weddings, perhaps because my own parents were married a few days before Christmas. My father was a Dutch sailor working on a farm near my mother’s small Florida Panhandle home when they met. They went to New Orleans for their honeymoon, and a few years later moved to rural Massachusetts just before I was born. They had two little kids (five more to come!) and packed everything they owned into their car. Of course, that’s the short version of their story! The classic little Massachusetts town where I grew up is the inspiration for Knights Bridge, which Alexandra Rankin Hunt, an up-and-coming English dress designer, never heard of until she discovers that her great-grandfather was also Dylan’s grandfather, an RAF pilot who died early in World War II. Alexandra has a fiery relationship with a fighter pilot of her own...and his unexpected arrival in Knights Bridge brings us Christmas at Carriage Hill . Happy Christmas! Carla www.CarlaNeggers.com

Dedication Dedication Dedication One Two A Recipe for English Scones Three Four A Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts Five A Recipe for Mulled Wine About the Author Copyright To the memory of my godmother and English aunt, Lily

One

Two

A Recipe for English Scones

Three

Four

A Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts

Five

A Recipe for Mulled Wine

About the Author

Copyright

One

Alexandra Rankin Hunt hoped—fervently—that a Christmas wedding in the small New England village of Knights Bridge would be the perfect diversion and would put her latest mistake behind her. It had been three months, three weeks and—she glanced at her bedside clock—two hours since she’d met, and then fallen in and out of love with said mistake.

Out of love was still a work in progress, but she was determined to return to England after Christmas a new woman.

She sat on the edge of her bed and picked up a copy of her favorite photograph of her great-grandfather. She’d never met Philip Rankin. He was killed early in World War II during the Battle of Britain. The photograph was the only one she knew of with him in his Royal Air Force uniform. He was smiling his rakish smile. It was just a few weeks before his combat death, but she couldn’t detect a hint of fear or overconfidence in him. By then, he’d fallen in love with Grace Webster, a young American woman facing eviction from the only home she’d ever known in order to make way for a massive reservoir. Until a few months ago, only Philip and Grace had known of their love affair late in the summer of 1938. Grace had created a secret hideaway as her family prepared to leave their doomed small town for Knights Bridge, another small town in western Massachusetts. Injured and on the run, Philip had taken refuge in her hideaway. He’d just “stolen” jewels in Boston—from his brother-in-law, a difficult man who’d tried to claim them after his sister, Philip’s wife, had died. Philip had been determined to get the jewels back to his daughter.

And he did , Alexandra thought with a smile—it had just taken decades.

Philip had returned to England and gone to war, never to return. Grace had stayed in America. She was in her nineties now, a retired schoolteacher who had never married.