Gina Calanni - How To Bake The Perfect Christmas Cake

A delicious cake. A guy who is late. Merry Christmas to all.

After the best Thanksgiving of her life, Lauren Hauser can’t wait to see Jack-the-pecan-hoarder so they can finally be in the same place at the same time. Long distance really doesn’t work when you’re head over heels!

But when Jack doesn’t turn up at the airport Lauren is left wondering if their relationship is really as great as she thought? Sure Jack’s kisses were delicious and when he looked at her, her knees felt weak, but what did they really know about each other?

A big Hauser family Christmas is just what is needed for this situation. Not only will her mom be decking the halls with boughs of monstrous-Christmas-decorations, but Lauren is baking a Christmas cake to once again claim dessert queen of the family! Will Jack fit in with the Hauser clan? Or will Lauren have to face the music…and accept that not every holiday romance was made for a happily ever after…

Also by Gina Calanni Book List Title Page Author Bio Acknowledgements Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Excerpt Endpages About the Publisher Copyright :

Home for the Holidays

How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake How to Bake the Perfect Apple Pie How to Bake the Perfect Wedding Cake

Ice Cream Dreams

Dream Come True Dream A Little Dream

How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake

Gina Calanni

www.CarinaUK.com

Copyright Copyright

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2014

Copyright © Gina Calanni 2014

Gina Calanni asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © June 2014 ISBN: 9781474020268

Version date: 2018-07-23

GINA CALANNI

currently resides where bluebonnets line the highways in the spring, but she prefers the rock flower anemone from under the sea. Above the ocean’s surface Gina likes to bake with her three boys and run like the ground is crumbling beneath her feet while being dragged along by her pooch, Schatzi, Music is the backbone of each one of Gina’s books and her favourite button to press is repeat. At the end of the day Gina’s glass of wine is always half full.

You can follow Gina on Twitter at @Gina_Calanni Instagram: @gina_calanni

Check out www.ginacalanni.comto keep up to date with the latest scoop in her life.

To Ethan, Beck, and Jude, the perfect Christmas cake is one shared with you.

To my mom, thank you for showing me that often the best gifts are the ones you make.

To my author consigliere, Tracie Banister thank you for your sage advice and guidance.

To my friend and critique partner Helen Rena, thank you for reading all of my stories and offering such valuable insight.

To my Gems, thank you for answering endless polls and supporting me and my books, y’all are as sparkly as they come.

Thank you to my editor Victoria, you truly bring out the best in my stories.

Thank you to the lovely team at Carina UK (Harlequin) you are such a supportive and wonderful group, I’m honored to be associated with you.

To my pooch Schatzi, who can’t read but I’m sure appreciates a mention, thank you.

To all the bakers of the world, the ones that follow the recipe and the ones who make it up as they go, this one is for you.

Contents

Cover

Blurb A delicious cake. A guy who is late. Merry Christmas to all. After the best Thanksgiving of her life, Lauren Hauser can’t wait to see Jack-the-pecan-hoarder so they can finally be in the same place at the same time. Long distance really doesn’t work when you’re head over heels! But when Jack doesn’t turn up at the airport Lauren is left wondering if their relationship is really as great as she thought? Sure Jack’s kisses were delicious and when he looked at her, her knees felt weak, but what did they really know about each other? A big Hauser family Christmas is just what is needed for this situation. Not only will her mom be decking the halls with boughs of monstrous-Christmas-decorations, but Lauren is baking a Christmas cake to once again claim dessert queen of the family! Will Jack fit in with the Hauser clan? Or will Lauren have to face the music…and accept that not every holiday romance was made for a happily ever after…

Book List Also by Gina Calanni Book List Title Page Author Bio Acknowledgements Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Excerpt Endpages About the Publisher Copyright : Home for the Holidays How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake How to Bake the Perfect Apple Pie How to Bake the Perfect Wedding Cake Ice Cream Dreams Dream Come True Dream A Little Dream

Title Page How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake Gina Calanni www.CarinaUK.com

Author Bio GINA CALANNI currently resides where bluebonnets line the highways in the spring, but she prefers the rock flower anemone from under the sea. Above the ocean’s surface Gina likes to bake with her three boys and run like the ground is crumbling beneath her feet while being dragged along by her pooch, Schatzi, Music is the backbone of each one of Gina’s books and her favourite button to press is repeat. At the end of the day Gina’s glass of wine is always half full. You can follow Gina on Twitter at @Gina_Calanni Instagram: @gina_calanni Check out www.ginacalanni.com to keep up to date with the latest scoop in her life.

Acknowledgements To Ethan, Beck, and Jude, the perfect Christmas cake is one shared with you. To my mom, thank you for showing me that often the best gifts are the ones you make. To my author consigliere, Tracie Banister thank you for your sage advice and guidance. To my friend and critique partner Helen Rena, thank you for reading all of my stories and offering such valuable insight. To my Gems, thank you for answering endless polls and supporting me and my books, y’all are as sparkly as they come. Thank you to my editor Victoria, you truly bring out the best in my stories. Thank you to the lovely team at Carina UK (Harlequin) you are such a supportive and wonderful group, I’m honored to be associated with you. To my pooch Schatzi, who can’t read but I’m sure appreciates a mention, thank you.