Christmas Grump

By L.A. Remenicky

Bryce usually loved the Christmas season but this year, not so much. He'd waited too long and the woman he loved was now married to another man. It was enough to turn anyone into a grump. Noelle tried to ignore the grump in the stall next to hers at the Yuletide Market. And of course, he was the one to come to her rescue when her car wouldn't start in the middle of a snowstorm. It was enough to put anyone off Christmas. Stuck together in her tiny house, would the Grump ruin her holiday mood?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lavish Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Jul 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781649000859

Book preview

Chapter One

Bryce stared at the snowflakes as they drifted down and landed on the windshield before they were swept away by the wipers.

Great, just what I need today, he yelled to the sky as he drove toward the Yuletide Market. At least this year the market was being held inside the new market building on the former campus of Federal Electricity. The empty factory buildings had been repurposed as stores and a large market space. He followed the signs around the building to the loading dock. After getting the bakery van backed up to the loading dock, he started unloading the carts of trays filled with cupcakes.

Normally, Ashley would be the one unloading and setting up for the market, but Thorn, her new husband, had surprised her with a trip to the Bahamas before their little family increased to three in the spring.

The jealousy felt like a burning lump of coal in his gut. He was glad she was so happy, newly married and expecting their first child. Dammit, it should have been him, but as usual he waited too long to tell her how he felt. By the time he gathered the courage to admit his feelings for her she was already in love with the lawyer who’d tried to buy the rights to her cupcake recipe. So now, instead of being blissfully happy he was stuck running the Sweetheart Bakery stall at the Yuletide Market by himself.

He scowled at the Christmas music playing over the PA system as he transferred the first tray from the rolling rack to the front table to begin setting up the displays. As he set it on the table someone ran into him from behind causing him to jostle tray, the first row of cupcakes falling off and landing upside down on the floor behind the table.

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.

He turned around to find a petite redhead looking up at him.

I was trying to see my display from a distance, and I didn’t realize I was that close to you.

His heart did a slow thump before settling back into a normal rhythm. His first instinct was to grab her and kiss her but then his bad mood expressed itself in his bad reaction. Dammit, now there’s icing all over the floor, he muttered as he stared at her. Her hazel eyes narrowed as he stared.

Don’t be taking your bad mood out on me. You’ve got a couple of those dammit lines in your forehead, she said as she crossed her arms.

Busted. How could she tell his mood just by looking at him? Normally, Ashley was the only one who could do that. Damn, she was beautiful.

I, uh, sorry, he stammered as he strode into the booth to deal with the ruined cupcakes.

She huffed out a breath and turned back to her booth. He stared after her, taking in the assortment of handmade wood ornaments she had displayed. They were cute but he just wasn’t in the mood for Christmas this year. Normally he loved the holiday, but he just couldn’t find his Christmas spirit this year, maybe because it