Welcome back to Romance Sweet Reads. Today we'll take a first peek at a brand-new, small-town, clean and wholesome contemporary romance series. This series is one of the most unique you'll see for the entire year. Collectively known as the "Seven Holidays", each of the featured holidays will have eight or nine books in the sub-series for that holiday.
We begin our 2023 holiday tour with Valentine's Day, and Chocolates for Cate, by Author Nancy Fraser. Each book will release on Monday, one week apart, beginning today.
Jace Hamilton, third generation chocolatier, hates being sick and especially when he’s the cause of his own distress. Obviously, something in the new recipe didn’t agree with him. However, if getting the chance to talk to the beautiful ER nurse comes with the treatment, he’ll feign stomach cramps for as long as it takes to get her number.
When they meet again at a candymaker’s convention, Cate has to admit to herself the charming and witty former patient has worked his way past her usual defenses. They’re definitely opposites. She’s the serious type, he’s anything but.
Can he woo her with a box of his family’s best handmade chocolates? Or, will she shut him down before the ribbon’s been untied?
Cate Miller pulled up the list of triage assessments and
took a cursory glance at the next patient’s information and initial diagnosis. Stomach pains?
“A thirty-six-year-old man with a tummy ache?” Cate said to
nobody in particular. At her side, E.R. unit clerk, Sally Barton, snickered.
“What did he do?” Cate asked. “Indulge in too many zany wings and pints of beer
at the company Christmas party?”
“Nope. According to the triage clerk, he got it from eating
candy.”
“Oh great,” Cate moaned. “It’s going to be one of those Saturday nights. I’m so glad I picked up an extra shift. I
could be at the movies with one of my sisters.”
“Yeah, heaven knows you’d never waste your valuable time
going out on an actual date. With a man,” Sally teased.
“Circus clown?” Sally repeated, laughing. “Maybe that’s
where your patient got the candy.”
“At least this should be fast,” Cate concluded. “A bit of
antacid and send him on his way.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Edith Crowley, triage nurse,
offered. “His blood pressure was elevated, and he spit up blood while he was
waiting to be seen.”
“I’ll run a full panel of tests,” Cate conceded. “Maybe
there’s more to it than an extra handful of sugar.”
“Keep your wits about you,” Edith warned. “He’s a flirt.”
“Wonderful, a thirty-six-year-old man-child who’s binged on
too much candy, and thinks he’s every woman’s fantasy.”
Edith snorted a laugh. “He is kind of dreamy.”
“Well then,” Cate concluded, “maybe he can dream his way out
of his sore stomach.”
Cate pushed back the curtain surrounding cubical six and got
her first look at...
“Finally. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten me,” the
man said.
“Mr. Jace Hamilton,” Cate responded while checking his wrist
band to verify his identity. “We didn’t forget you. We just prioritized a few
people ahead of you.” Rolling the necessary equipment closer to the gurney, she
told him, “I’m going to take your blood pressure again to see if it’s gone down
any.”
“Not likely,” he quipped before offering her his arm.
“Why? Because we’ve kept you waiting so long?”
“No. I think it’s going to skyrocket because you’re even
prettier than the last nurse who strapped me into this awful contraption.”
“It’s nice to see your sore stomach hasn’t affected your flirtation gene.”
She's also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.
When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
Oh, this story sounds so cute!
ReplyDeleteI read and adored this book!! Wonderful story!
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