Title: the Gingerbread Lodge
Author: Vicky Burkholder
Series: The Christmas Cookie Series
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Sweet Romance/
Holiday Romance/Friends to Lovers/ Fantasy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: Nov 3, 2021
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook
Blurb/Synopsis:
Gisele Reid returns to the Gingerbread Lodge to help her aunt, but without paying guests, she's afraid the lodge will have to be sold. An event she vows to stop. When an old friend shows up, she is astonished to find Max has turned into a man who makes her knees and heart tremble. Max Oakley, a developer, has a client interested in buying land around the lodge. He has fond memories of the resort, as well as the girl who left him behind. When he runs into Gisele again, she's even more beautiful than ever. A woman who could make him forget everything—even his job. Plumbing problems, electrical outages, and the return of Gisele's family throw a wrench into Max's plans to woo Gisele. But when the truth comes out, she believes he's betrayed her trust, and it will take a Christmas miracle to make everything right again.
While Gigi went into the room just off the kitchen and closed the door, Max went back into the mudroom where he did a quick wash with the water Minerva provided and donned the worn sweatpants she had there. When he emerged, Gigi was sitting at the table, head in her hand, eyes drooping. If he was tired, he figured she had to be exhausted.
“Sit. Eat. Then off to bed with you both,” Minerva ordered.
Max chuckled. Nobody mothered you like Minerva. Which was a shame for someone who’d never had any children of her own. Not even his own mother, who was an incredible mom, handled kids of all ages like Minerva. He glanced at Gigi who had laid her head down on the table and had fallen asleep. Max downed a ham and cheese sandwich, took a hefty gulp of the tea, and rose and went over to her. He gently bent down and put one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders and lifted her up.
She didn’t stir beyond snuggling closer into his chest, and he thought he’d never felt something so wonderful in his life. She felt so right there. So…perfect. Like she’d always been a part of him.
He followed Minerva up the stairs and into Gigi’s room. A low lamp burned on the nightstand and the embers in the stove gave off a nice glow and some warmth. Minerva turned down the covers and Max gently laid Gigi onto the bed. He pulled up the covers and smoothed them over her. She curled onto her side with a sigh, one hand under her pillow, the other tucked under her chin. He bent down to brush a kiss over her forehead, and she surprised him by opening her eyes and looking at him.
“Don’t go,” she whispered.
As her alter-ego, Vicky has multiple homes all over the universe. She looks human - for the most part - but when she starts writing about characters being able to move things or flicking fire from their fingertips, or changing the course of rivers, people tend to get a little freaked out. She found the one guy out there in the universe who loves her for who she is and they've been together forever and raised four wonderful (now) adults. Her career includes work as a technical writer/editor, a stringer for the local newspaper, and an editor and copy editor for various publishers. At various times in her life, she has been a teacher, a secretary, a short-order cook, a computer specialist, a DJ, and a librarian. When not editing or writing, she can be found in the kitchen creating gluten free goodies for her family.
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