Sarah Morgan - Snow Crystal Trilogy - Sleigh Bells in the Snow / Suddenly Last Summer / Maybe This Christmas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

As a child SARAH MORGANdreamed of being a writer and, although she took a few interesting detours on the way, she is now living that dream. With her writing career she has successfully combined business with pleasure and she firmly believes that reading romance is one of the most satisfying and fat-free escapist pleasures available. Her stories are unashamedly optimistic and she is always pleased when she receives letters from readers saying that her books have helped them through hard times.

Sarah lives near London with her husband and two children, who innocently provide an endless supply of authentic dialogue. When she isn’t writing or reading Sarah enjoys music, movies and any activity that takes her outdoors.

Readers can find out more about Sarah and her books on her author page at www.millsandboon.com/sarahmorgan. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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Title Page Snow Crystal Trilogy Sleigh Bells in the Snow Suddenly Last Summer Maybe this Christmas Sarah Morgan www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author As a child SARAH MORGAN dreamed of being a writer and, although she took a few interesting detours on the way, she is now living that dream. With her writing career she has successfully combined business with pleasure and she firmly believes that reading romance is one of the most satisfying and fat-free escapist pleasures available. Her stories are unashamedly optimistic and she is always pleased when she receives letters from readers saying that her books have helped them through hard times. Sarah lives near London with her husband and two children, who innocently provide an endless supply of authentic dialogue. When she isn’t writing or reading Sarah enjoys music, movies and any activity that takes her outdoors. Readers can find out more about Sarah and her books on her author page at www.millsandboon.com/sarahmorgan . She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Sleigh Bells in the Snow Sleigh Bells in the Snow

Praise for Sarah Morgan Praise for Sarah Morgan ‘Sarah Morgan puts the magic in Christmas!’ —Now magazine ‘Full of romance and sparkle’ —Lovereading ‘Morgan is a magician with words.’ —RT Book Reviews ‘Sarah Morgan continues to hang out on my autobuy list and each book of hers that I discover is a treat.’ —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books ‘Morgan’s brilliant talent never ceases to amaze.’ —RT Book Reviews ‘Dear Ms Morgan, I’m always on the lookout for a new book by you…’ —Dear Author ‘Definitely looking forward to more from Sarah Morgan’ —Smexy Books

Dedication For my family, with love

Dear Reader Dear Reader , Last Christmas my family and I decided to break with our usual holiday tradition. Instead of staying at home, we rented a log cabin in a forest near a lake. We spent our days crunching through fresh snow and our evenings curled up by a blazing log fire. We took Christmas with us on that holiday (yes, even the turkey and don’t ever ask me about the tree…), but it occurred to me that it would be the perfect place to go if someone wanted to escape all the festivities. There was plenty of time for dreaming and it was while I was curled up by that flickering fire watching big fat snowflakes drift past the window and trying to thaw my numb toes, that I came up with the idea for Sleigh Bells in the Snow . My heroine Kayla hates Christmas and plans to avoid it altogether, so when she’s asked to spend a week in a log cabin in snowy Vermont as part of her job she couldn’t be happier. Jackson O’Neil is trying to save the family business, Snow Crystal Resort, and thinks public relations expert Kayla is the woman to help him. She arrives at Snow Crystal expecting to escape Christmas, only to find herself sucked deep into the very thing she is trying to avoid. Family. And as if that isn’t bad enough, Kayla discovers Jackson doesn’t fit any of the traditional business stereotypes. Soon she’s chopping logs with Grandpa, baking with Grandma and trying not to fall in love. Jackson has so many hero qualities. He is one of life’s tough guys—calm in a crisis, with shoulders broad enough to take whatever pressures come his way. Everyone leans on him. I fell in love with him right away. My heroine Kayla took a little longer, but life has taught her to be guarded. Christmas is a time for giving, but the one thing Kayla cannot give is her heart. Or can she? I hope you enjoy Kayla’s story and however you spend your time over the holidays, I wish you health and happiness. Sarah xx

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, a huge thank-you to my readers who continue to buy my books thereby giving me the opportunity to write more. Special thanks to my brilliant and talented editor, Flo Nicoll, for her enthusiasm and insight. Working together on this book has been more fun than anyone has a right to expect from a job. I’m grateful to my agent, Susan Ginsburg of Writers House, for her wise advice, and to the fantastic team at HQN and Harlequin UK for their support and hard work. Without Kimberly Young and Lucy Gilmour I doubt my career would have reached this point. I owe them both a great deal. Particular thanks to Dianne Moggy for her encouragement and for allowing me to use real-life Maple as fictional Maple in this story. All errors my own. Love and thanks to Laura Reeth for her friendship, support and astute observations on life. All writers need writer friends. I am fortunate to have more than I can mention here—you know who you are!—but I am particularly indebted to Carol Marinelli and Nicola Cornick. Writers also need nonwriter friends. Love and thanks to Sue, who has been there through thick and thin and occasionally forces me to talk about real people as well as fictional ones. I am fortunate to have a wonderful family. Love to my parents and also to my fantastic children for the hugs and laughs and for never complaining when I’m on a deadline and make them eat pizza. Finally, love and thanks to my husband for proving that romance can happen outside the pages of a book. I am grateful to him for teaching me to ski and for patiently picking me up when I landed on my face, thus providing me with plenty of material for this story!

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

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Suddenly Last Summer

Praise for Sarah Morgan

Dear Reader

Dedication

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

Extract

Maybe this Christmas

Praise

Dear Reader

Dedication

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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