“Um, not exactly,” Ivy said.
Ollie came running over and tapped her on the leg. “Aunt Hadley, Aunt Hadley.”
“Hey, Bud.” His hair was too short to ruffle. “What is it?”
“I just petted the kitties! They’re so funny. Come look!”
Kitties?
“I know we don’t take cats,” Ivy rushed to say, “but all the foster homes are full because of all the kittens born in summertime and—”
Mayellen rushed over, nuzzling a black-and-white kitten against her cheek and crooning to it. Angelo trailed close behind, carrying a box.
So adorable and helpless. But there was no room at the shelter. There were dogs everywhere now.
“There are two more just like him in the box,” Mayellen said.
Everyone was gathering around, exclaiming at whatever was in the box.
“Keep that box away from Hadley,” Cam warned, a giant grin spreading over his face.
“I’d take one but I already have three cats,” Mayellen said. “What do you think, Angelo?”
Cam’s dad peered into the box at a tiny orange-yellow head that popped up to peer at him. “Well, look at that,” he said.
“Do you like cats, Hadley?” Cam asked, petting a kitten.
He was egging her on, she knew it. “Of course I do,” Hadley said. “But we have no room for cats. The whole shelter is full of dogs.”
Mayellen said, “Poor kitties.”
Ivy wrung her hands. “Wish there was a no-kill shelter nearby.”
“Of course we’ll take them,” Hadley said. “But only until we find a better place for them. They’ll have to go in the back room for now.”
“Wonder what it would cost to expand the back room,” Mayellen mused.
“I could give you a good quote on that,” Angelo said with a grin that looked an awful lot like Cam’s.
“Everyone, stop!” Hadley said, holding out her arms. “We have a major construction project going on here. And we’re going to be planning a wedding. It would be crazy to take on more!”
“Right, right,” Mayellen said.
Cam pulled Hadley into his arms, which seemed made just for her.
“I’ve seen crazier.” He kissed her on the forehead.
“I’m so glad you’ve both found each other again,” Gran said. “Together you can accomplish anything!”
Hadley kissed Cam in the midst of everyone she held most dear. “You’re my first love,” she said, “and my last. I love you. So much.”
He placed a kiss on her lips and touched his forehead to hers. Grinning widely, he put his lips to her ear and whispered, “I love you more.”
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Author’s Note
Dear Readers,
I am writing this on a historic day—the first precious doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being given to a few lucky health-care workers around the United States, the first vaccinations of many to come.
It is nothing short of a miracle.
Some of you have asked me throughout this year how I’ve been able to write lighthearted fiction when the world seems to have been coming down around us.
It hasn’t been easy. There were times when I opened my computer gritting my teeth. When I’ve stared helplessly out the window, unable to type a word. When there wasn’t a drop of humor left in my brain to squeeze onto the page. When I wondered if what I was doing day after day made any difference at all in a world that has seen so much tragedy in the past year.
But then I thought of the kind messages I’ve gotten when something I’ve written has made someone smile.
That’s a simple thing. A smile, and a little time to escape into a place where your worries fade for just a little while.
My mom used to tell me when I was sad or upset, “Pick up a book.” Yes, she didn’t exactly say, “write a book.” But you get the message, which I still take to heart.
It ultimately became therapeutic for me to escape into a wonderful, sunshine-filled world. Where your friends have your back, where your family might drive you up the wall but know you better than anyone, and where you just might rediscover the love of your life. And where somebody always provides a quip or two (intentionally or not) to make you laugh.
This book was written as a love letter to you. Thank you for choosing to read it! I pray that by the time this is in your hands, we are out of the worst of this pandemic. That we can now visit our friends, hug our family, and head to the grocery store without shaking a little inside.
I pray for you and for everyone who has suffered hardships, big and small, this past year. And I will continue to do so as our world struggles to regain its balance and our lives slowly return to normal.
In the meantime, we can still have a laugh to lighten the load. And love will always go on.
Miranda
December 2020
Sparks fly when Kit and Alex team up to renovate a gorgeous old mansion—but is their new love enough to heal their damaged hearts?
Available Summer 2022
About the Author
Miranda Liasson is a bestselling author who writes about the important relationships in women’s lives as well as the self-discovery and wisdom gained along the way. Her heartwarming and humorous romances have won numerous accolades and have been praised by Entertainment Weekly for the way she “deals with so much of what makes life hard…without ever losing the warmth and heart that characterize her writing.” She believes that we can handle whatever life throws at us just a little better with a laugh.
A proud native of northeast Ohio, she and her husband live in a neighborhood of old homes that serves as inspiration for her books. She is very proud of her three young adult children. And though every day she thinks about getting a dog, she fears a writer’s life may bore the poor animal to tears.
When she’s not writing or enjoying books herself, she can be found biking along the old Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath trails in the beautiful Ohio MetroParks.
Miranda loves to hear from readers!
You can contact her at her website, MirandaLiasson.com or at the following:
Facebook.com/MirandaLiassonAuthor
Twitter: @MirandaLiasson
Instagram: @MirandaLiasson
Pinterest: @MirandaLiasson
Also by Miranda Liasson
ANGEL FALLS SERIES
Then There Was You
The Way You Love Me
All I Want for Christmas Is You
Praise for
Miranda Liasson
“Liasson writes with humor and heart.”
—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
ANGEL FALLS SERIES
“Step into the delightful world Miranda Liasson has crafted in her Angel Falls series, a fictional small town bursting with warmth, romance, and nosy neighbors.”
—Entertainment Weekly
All I Want for Christmas Is You