Sneak Peek!

Your next cozy Christmas read is one step closer!

We’re giving you a first look at the opening chapter of Wishing for Christmas by Caroline Stowe! Get ready for a story full of heart, hope, and holiday wishes.

Pour a cup of cocoa and start reading!

Chapter One

Clara

The urgent clack of high heels against a marble floor sent an echo throughout the corridor of the Darlington Hotel. Clara Jenkins glanced at her watch. It was already past five o’clock, and she now felt slightly ridiculous for having spent the entire day hiding in her office. She slowed her steps and drew in a breath. She couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer.

Clara rounded the corner into the lobby and let out a gasp. The Darlington was always warm, inviting, and full of elegance. Tonight, though, it was also perfectly decorated for Christmas. An eighteen-foot evergreen radiated with the bright glow of thousands of tiny white lights; the crystal chandeliers glimmered in the fading light of an early December evening; and fluffy garlands of wintery frost were draped across the length of the front desk.

Clara inhaled a deep breath of fresh pine and noticed the tension lift from her shoulders. The lobby felt both luxurious and delightfully cozy, like a beautiful fur coat. She hurried over to the tree, reaching out to touch one of the perfectly placed ornaments glittering with gold. Underneath it, packages wrapped in glossy red paper sat atop a plush ivory blanket of synthetic snow. A fire crackled, and the soft jingle of a holiday tune played overhead. Like a layer of freshly fallen snow glistening under the moonlight, tonight, the Darlington was sparkling.

Clara gave herself a mental pat on the back for hiring a professional decorator this year. It was exactly what she needed to impress Mr. Spencer at their meeting next week.

As the sales manager of the hotel, Clara brought in the accounts that kept the property thriving. Her top clients provided consistent guests and meetings, ensuring the Darlington remained the leading luxury hotel in the area. And keeping the place looking impressive, especially at Christmas, was a big part of that job.

Clara gazed at the glow of candlelight that sent a shimmer across the polished floors and let out a quiet sigh of delight.

With perfect timing, the opening notes of “Jingle Bells” sounded from her pocket.

As she checked her phone, she couldn’t help but smile at her background picture. A recent photo of Brent beamed back at her. With his soft brown eyes and deep dimples, just a picture of him gave her stomach a flutter of excitement, even after two months of dating. An Air Force flight suit adorned his tall, muscular frame as he posed in front of a military jet.

She noticed the incoming text was from him, and it felt like an early Christmas present.

Can’t wait for our date tomorrow night!

Clara immediately typed a response, her fingers flying with giddiness.

I’ll be there!

She added a heart emoji—then quickly deleted it. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself. Eight weeks of dating was certainly not long enough to discuss love yet. Still, heart emojis were certainly flying around in her head as she thought about Brent.

She sent the message sans emoji and then typed another right afterward.

Have a good flight tonight!

Clara felt as if she was sparkling, just like the hotel, as she thought about Brent. What better time than Christmas to really get to know each other? It’s what she loved most about this time of year—the possibilities, especially for romance. And this Christmas was full of promise.

“Clara, do you have a minute to talk?” Her boss’s deep voice sliced through the moment.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to hide the obvious wince on her face. She forced herself to turn toward Matthew Edmunds, the general manager, with a smile. Here it was, the moment she’d been dreading all day.

“Sure.” The high-pitched discomfort in her voice was clear, and she hoped he didn’t notice. She walked toward him, her overwhelming desire to suddenly vanish hidden behind the professional square of her shoulders.

Matthew stood with his feet apart, chin raised, and arms folded across his chest. His striking good looks, combined with a hint of swagger, gave him a more distinguished look than most other thirty-five-year-old men.

“The decorator you hired sure did a great job.” He tossed a nod of approval at the tree. “I know I give you leeway over the lobby at Christmastime, but I’m curious to know why you didn’t decorate it this year like you normally do.”

Clara considered telling him the truth—that she had simply been too overwhelmed with her accounts this year to think about decorating. She’d been spending late hours in her office, pouring over sales reports and budgets to uncover as much potential business for the hotel as possible, and she was on pace to finish out the year with record-breaking revenues. Still, with her sights set higher than the sales department, the last thing she needed was for Matthew to think she couldn’t manage her current responsibilities.

Besides, it wasn’t that she didn’t have the time. She could have committed a couple of days to it like she always had in the past. Last year, she and the staff had done it themselves using the Darlington’s own decorations. The lounge sat in chaos for days, with the hotel’s expensive decor strewn all over the place, and Clara had to manage it all between her client visits. It was fun decorating with the staff, but it was complicated too. She supposed the honest answer was that she’d wanted it done quickly and easily this time. With this critical meeting looming, she wanted to get straight to the beautiful result—without all the hassle. Mission accomplished.

She shrugged. “It’s important it looks perfect this year. If I can impress Mr. Spencer during next week’s meeting and finally land that account in the new year, well . . .” She ran a finger down the newly decorated table and admired the shimmering garland. “Well, it couldn’t hurt.”

Matthew’s smile held a hint of intrigue. “It sounds like my sales manager has some big plans.”

Clara gave a nervous laugh in reply. “So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” She tried to sound casual as if she hadn’t given him a single thought all day when, really, it was all she had been able to think about. Ever since he had approached her that morning, wanting to discuss something rather important, she’d made painstaking efforts to avoid him. She braced herself now for what she knew was coming.

Clara liked him enough—as a boss. He was dependable and familiar after all the years they’d worked together. It was their personal relationship that was messy. After nearly eight years of on-again, off-again dating, things between her and Matthew were never simple. The last time he’d wanted to discuss something rather important, it had been to break up with her. She’d been crushed, but had quietly agreed to a mature and professional working relationship. What choice did she have? She loved her job and couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.

She supposed that as another year had gone by, he was due for another change of heart—an idea she had no intention of indulging this time. She smiled to herself as she thought again about Brent. No chance whatsoever.

Clara took a deep breath, mentally preparing the firm but gentle rejection she’d been rehearsing all day. Sure, some feelings would always be there between them, it was only natural. But it was best they closed the door on that part of their relationship for good. As rational as it sounded in her head, she knew putting it into practice was another thing entirely.

Matthew said nothing, just motioned her over to the seating area in the center of the lobby. Clara blew a puff of air out the side of her mouth. She sat on the leather sofa, resigning herself to the painfully awkward conversation she knew was in store for her. She crossed her ankles and wished she was wearing pants instead of an unforgiving pencil skirt. She placed her hands in her lap and waited as Matthew poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver carafe on the end table.

He threw her a glance to offer her one.

She shook her head, just wanting to get it all over with.

He sat across from her, casually crossing one leg over the other. Matthew Edmunds, never Matt, was the ideal representative of the Darlington brand—impressive, beautiful—but at a high price. His dark hair was always perfectly styled, and his eyes were a piercing shade of green that still managed to tantalize Clara whenever he held her gaze.

He leaned forward in his chair. “I’ll go ahead and cut to the chase, Clara.”

Her stomach knotted.

“I’m leaving the Darlington,” he said.

Her eyes popped open in surprise. “What?”

“I’ve been given an incredible opportunity. I’ve accepted an offer to manage the new hotel on Fifth Street.”

Clara could tell he expected her to be impressed. She stared at him, her brain slightly disoriented as it tried to quickly process this unexpected information. “What?” she repeated.

“I know, you probably weren’t expecting this.”

No, she certainly was not expecting this. “You’re leaving?”

He nodded.

She immediately exhaled with relief. An undeniable grin spread across her face before she could even stop it. She forced herself to temper her reaction and cleared her throat. “That’s great, Matthew. Congratulations,” she said.

An intense wave of relief washed over her at the realization that this wasn’t an attempt to rekindle their romance at all. Instead, this was the best news possible. With Matthew leaving, she could finally rid herself of the constant stress that came along with working so closely beside him every day. The blurry lines between their personal and professional relationship would no longer exist. Her ex-boyfriend and his fickle heart would no longer matter to her. She could finally close that door and move forward with her new relationship without that additional baggage.

That was all she wanted at this point in her life—a simple, uncomplicated relationship with Brent. She felt herself fall into a daze of solace as Brent’s dimpled smile appeared in her mind.

She shook her head quickly, her thoughts returning to the reality of the present conversation. It took a moment for her brain to catch up with what Matthew had been telling her. She held up her hands to slow things down a bit. Something still felt off, and she was beginning to realize what it was. There wasn’t actually a new hotel on Fifth Street. At least, not yet.

“Didn’t they just start construction on that hotel? It must be months away from opening.”

“A year, actually—at least. But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve been meeting with corporate about plans for the Darlington’s future after I leave.” He paused to take a sip of his coffee, probably guessing that the suspense was killing her.

Clara held her breath. The news she had been longing for—although she would never admit it—was just within reach.

After the world’s longest drink, he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. “And we all agreed that you should be the next general manager of the Darlington.”

“Really?” She let out a tiny gasp as if she hadn’t been imagining this moment for years. She’d always hoped he would advocate for her when the time came. Their relationship had always remained positive—when it came to work, anyway. Clara hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, though.

“Well, you earned it,” said Matthew. “Your performance reports have been impressing corporate for some time now. It’s apparent to everyone how hard you’ve been working.” He gave her one of his flirty winks. “Including me.”

A tingle of excitement surged through her, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. She forced herself to remain immune to his charm. “I would love—”

Matthew held up his hand, suddenly cutting her off. “That is after you get some additional experience under your belt.”

She stared at him, having absolutely no idea where this conversation was about to go.

He set down his coffee mug in front of him and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Look, Clara, corporate feels your experience in sales would make you a great manager for the hotel.”

She nodded, urging him to continue.

“But they think you need to learn more first.”

“Learn more?”

“About the operations side of running the hotel. They want you to get more experience with that.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Well, they want you to shadow me throughout the hotel for the time I have remaining here. You’ll help me in the day-to-day operations and management.”

“So, I’d be your . . . assistant? For a year?“

“Think of it as an internship.”

“What about the sales office?”

“You’ll still manage it, for now. But you’ll also learn everything you need to know to run the hotel on your own. You should probably move your desk to my office too, now that I’m thinking of it.”

Her eyes widened.

“And then—when the new hotel is ready—I’ll move on, and this one will be yours.”

Clara tried to hide the sudden collision of thoughts going on inside her head. Becoming general manager of the hotel she’d loved for so long was a dream come true. And at her age? But to spend every day of the next twelve months, if not more, alongside her ex? At least in the sales office, she had some degree of separation from him. This arrangement sounded as if they would be attached at the hip for the next year.

Typical Matthew. Wasn’t it just like him to turn something as simple as a well-earned promotion into something so drawn out and tangled? She shouldn’t be surprised. The whole conversation was a perfect illustration of their relationship. Here he was, building up her hopes again, only to throw some curveball in at the last second.

It didn’t matter whether it was personal or business. With Matthew, things were always complicated. He was her ex-boyfriend, her current boss, and the key to her future career. He was like her ghost of Christmas past, present, and future all rolled into one hovering spirit that never seemed to stop haunting her.

On the other hand, she couldn’t imagine where she’d even be in her career without him. She’d been a front-desk agent working summers during college when he’d taken a liking to her, both personally and professionally. He’d mentored her through the ranks and supported her promotion to the sales department. Sure, she had worked hard to get to where she was in her career and, deep down, Clara knew she had earned it all on her own merit. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would have had as much success at another hotel, or career for that matter, without him helping her along.

There was nothing she wanted more than to finally prove herself instead of always riding on Matthew’s coattails. It was why she’d been spending so much extra time at work lately, building these potential client portfolios. She knew she was capable of being successful without him.

Her feelings for him weren’t only about work, though. Despite his ever-changing feelings, he’d always been a stable presence over the years—showing up for her, making her feel taken care of. She thought about his romantic side and the way he had been able to make her heart skip a beat with one look. Perhaps he still could.

She only wished he would stop stringing her along. Clara wasn’t sure why she hadn’t cut that tie already, but there was something about him she couldn’t seem to shake. No matter how long she’d known him, she still felt like the same smitten twenty-two-year-old she’d been when they’d met. She supposed eight years was a long time to have feelings for somebody, and they wouldn’t go away overnight. She’d known for some time she needed to move on from him. It had always just been so much easier to stay.

But what else could she do now—start a new career? No, moving through the ranks somewhere else would take more time than she was willing to put in. This opportunity was simply too good to pass up. Sure, she would have to endure an uncomfortable year, but after that she would be the general manager of the Darlington Hotel.

With new resolve, Clara stuck out her hand toward him and took on the most confident posture she could manage to drive home her unwavering determination. “Okay, I accept.”

His perfect white teeth gleamed back at her.

“And thank you,” she added. “Really, Matthew, I appreciate what you’re doing for me.” As much as she hated the situation she was in, an attachment to her ex was the price she’d have to pay to reach her career goals. She only hoped this continued relationship wouldn’t come at the expense of her new one. Clara gritted her teeth and promised herself this would be the last time she would need Matthew Edmunds for anything.

“But remember,” she said, with a look of warning, “our relationship will only be professional. Understand?”

Matthew smiled back at her from underneath a raised eyebrow and shook her hand. He placed his other hand on top of hers and gave it a warm squeeze. His green eyes held her gaze.

She hated that she felt her heart quicken.

“Of course,” he said as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.

She only wished it could be that simple