Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 12/03/2023 ~ Yule Be Mine~ A Woman’s Feelings

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

I’m back this week showing off book 3 of The Welwyn Marriage Wager series, Yule Be Mine, which is now on pre-order on Amazon and releasing in two days!

BLURB:

‘Tis the season for love—no matter how much mistletoe it takes!

It’s Christmas time and Ulysses “Yule” Quartermain is unenthusiastically looking for a bride when Penelope St. Clare, the little sister of his boyhood friend, makes an appearance at a Christmas party. But it’s been ten years since he’s seen her. Penelope is no longer a child but a ravishing beauty, who’s turning heads everywhere she goes. And much to his discomfort, Yule is not immune to the charms of the little girl next door. But he’s working on it.

Penelope has wanted to marry Ulysses Quartermain for most of her life. Now she’s on the brink of her come out Season–a desirable young lady with wit and determination–and her happy ever after is within her grasp. If only she can make Yule see that she’s grown up and would make him the perfect wife, it’ll be the best present she’ll ever get.

Still, Penelope is not leaving anything to chance. Utilizing every ball of mistletoe she can find, she teases and tantalizes Yule, daring him to kiss her in hopes of breaking down his staunch resolve. As Christmas Day approaches, Penelope sets a final desperate plan in motion. Before the holiday is over, Yule will know just how much of a woman she truly is!

 

Ulysses “Yule” Quartermain is at a house party with Penelope, who was his childhood friend who moved away when she was seven. Now she’s all grown up and determined to make Yule see that. She’s managed to attach herself to Yule as they go out into the woods to gather greenery for the house party. And though she’s let her intentions toward him be known, he’s not having any of it! Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

Yule cocked his head, his frown becoming more pronounced, but before he could speak, Mr. Kastner appeared, grabbed their arms and propelled them forward.

“Come right along, now.” He pulled them along the two lines of people, one only men, the other only women, standing or stamping their feet in the cold, until they reached the beginning of the lines. “The easiest way to make sure the two of you are paired together is to put you at the front of the line. You don’t mind running first, do you?”

“What are you talking about, Fritz?” Yule pulled his arm out of his friend’s grasp, then looked around, his face registering the horror of finding himself opposite Penelope, about to try to catch her as she ran under the huge green ball of mistletoe twisting in the cold breeze above them.

“Good luck on the wager, old chap.” Mr. Kastner slapped Yule on the back as he hurried away from them. “On your mark.”

And a little more for good measure. . . 

Penelope glanced at Yule to find him glaring at her, his stare sharp enough to puncture her heart. At that moment, with his active malice directed at her, all she wanted to do was run as far and as fast as she could to get away from the wretched man who couldn’t see that she wasn’t the little girl he’d said goodbye to ten years ago. She was a woman, with a woman’s feelings that he’d just trampled on as if they were of no consequence whatsoever.

“Get set.”

Blinking back tears, Penelope turned her face toward the lane between the trees, where she intended to run like the wind and never look back. If she never saw Yule Quartermain again it would be too soon. She tensed, ready to—

“Go!”

With a cry, Penelope leaped forward, dashing away as though the hounds of hell were snapping at her feet, though they would have been much preferred to her true Quartermain adversary. Her half-boots slipped on the snow, causing her to wobble, but she found her footing and regained her stride. Listening keenly for his pounding footfalls, all she heard were the racing of her own heart and the shush shush of her own feet. Instinctively, she slowed and, despite her vow, glanced back over her shoulder.

Yule hadn’t moved. He stood watching her, his face pinched, his brows in a deep frown.

 

 

Yule Be Mine is available for pre-order on Amazon for .99 . It releases in just 2 days, on December 5!

 

 

 

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There are some fantastic snippets to be read.

The Welwyn Marriage Wager series