LOVE ALWAYS, CHRISTMAS, page 1
PRAISE FOR KAREN SCHALER
EMMY AWARD–WINNING WRITER
“Schaler’s smart, appealing protagonists will keep readers turning the pages, and the plotting is pitch-perfect, leading to an inevitable but charming happily-ever-after.”
—Publishers Weekly
“How A Christmas Prince [Netflix] screenwriter Karen Schaler
became a holiday publishing darling.”
—Entertainment Weekly
Praise for Karen’s A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale
A “sweet Christmas charmer…Royal family enthusiasts and fans of wholesome romance will embrace this enjoyable love story.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Karen’s Christmas Ever After
“A wonderfully festive setting…The cast is charming and the atmosphere’s enchanting.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Karen’s Christmas Camp
“VERDICT a charming movie-to-book crossover that would be right at home on the Hallmark Channel and a winner for fans looking for a touching holiday read.”
—Library Journal
Praise for Karen’s Finding Christmas
“For Schaler, creating these fantastical
holiday stories comes naturally.”
—Money
Copyright © 2022 by Karen Schaler
LOVE ALWAYS, CHRISTMAS
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
FIRST EDITION
As a work of fiction, all names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to real events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Cover design by Kristen Ingebretson
Edited by Elizabeth Mazer and Nan Reinhardt
Interior design by Ramesh Kumar Pitchai
Cover art – house photograph – © Quartermain House B&B
Illustration details © Shutterstock
Author photograph © Scott Foust
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
ISBNs 978-1-7347661-8-9 (trade), 978-1-7347661-9-6 (hardcover),
978-1-7347661-7-2 (ebook)
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
The recipes in this book are meant to be followed exactly as written. The publisher and author are not responsible for any of your adverse reactions to the recipes found in this book, or for your individual allergies or health issues that may require medical assistance.
ALSO BY KAREN SCHALER
FICTION
A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale
Christmas Ever After
Finding Christmas
Christmas Camp
Christmas Camp Wedding (novella)
SCRIPTED MULTI-CAST AUDIBLE ORIGINAL
Once Upon a Christmas Carol
NONFICTION
Travel Therapy: Where Do You Need to Go?
Begin Reading
Contents
About the Author
Bonus Content
Copyright Page
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For Heather MacDonald-Bossé,
You will always be in my lifeboat…
Chapter 1
Libby never meant to land on top of him. But there she was on the snowy sidewalk, spread eagle, their faces just inches apart.
“Where did you come from?!” she sputtered as she struggled to get up.
She’d been minding her own business, jogging around her quaint, Christmas-loving Seattle neighborhood, when she’d rounded the corner, and he’d appeared out of nowhere, smacking right into her.
She was almost standing again when her foot got tangled up with his leg, and she was dumped back in his lap.
He grinned at her.
“You think this is funny?!” she asked, exasperated.
His eyes twinkled with mischief, and as she struggled to free herself, his arm swung up and accidentally knocked her sideways.
“Seriously?” she gasped. Furious, she stood up, stepping on him. “How does that feel!”
“What are you doing?” a male voice demanded behind her. “You’re hurting him!”
“He attacked me first!” Libby threw back as she whipped around and locked eyes with a man who took her breath away. He had the most gorgeous cobalt-blue eyes she’d ever seen. The man was tall, with unruly, jet-black hair, and had the kind of chiseled features you’d see on a model.
Libby’s eyes narrowed. She was instantly suspicious. In her experience, anyone who looked that good meant trouble…big trouble.
The man, eyes flashing, pointed at Libby’s assailant—a giant inflatable Santa that was now flat as a pancake from the hole Libby had kicked in his stomach. “You killed him!”
Libby quickly jumped away from the demolished Santa. “This was his fault,” she insisted. “He came out of nowhere and knocked me over!”
“So, your answer was to annihilate him?” the man asked incredulously as he tried to gather up the deflated Santa. “Who are you, the Scrooge? I thought this neighborhood was supposed to be all about having Christmas spirit. When my parents moved here, they practically had to sign a contract promising they would bring the Christmas cheer and embrace the whole ‘the more the merrier’ idea.” He looked her up and down taking in her all-black running outfit. “You must not be from here…”
“What?” Libby’s eyes widened as her hands came down hard on her hips. “I’ll have you know I grew up here. My family started the Christmas decorating tradition in Evergreen Valley. My dad is the one who got all four streets in Evergreen Valley involved. Our little neighborhood isn’t just famous, we are legendary,” Libby said proudly. “People come from all over to see all our lights and Christmas decorations.”
“Christmas decorations like this Santa you just destroyed?” the man asked, holding up the limp Santa.
Libby pointed at the jolly good fellow who no longer looked so jolly. “He was flying around and hit me. I’m the innocent one here!”
The man laughed. “Innocent? I doubt that.”
Libby’s jaw dropped open. She couldn’t believe this guy was judging her. She fought to find the words for a snappy comeback, but when their eyes met, all she could think about was how impossibly blue they were, making her forget what she was going to say. This made her even madder. Get a grip, she told herself as she tore her eyes away from him.
There was no denying how handsome he was, but that didn’t mean she had to act like a teenager with a crush. It wasn’t like he was flirting with her. Quite the opposite. He was looking at her like she was the problem. That’s why Libby was surprised when he suddenly held out his hand.
“My name’s Adam Thompson.”
She hesitated a moment before taking his hand. “Libby, Libby Larson.”
Despite the freezing weather, when their hands touched Libby felt a rush of warmth. Her body tingled all the way down to her toes. Her eyes flew to his in spite of herself as she wondered if he felt the same spark. But his expression gave nothing away. Embarrassed by her reaction, she quickly pulled her hand back and stuffed it into her sweatshirt pocket.
“I can assure you this whole thing wasn’t my fault,” Libby said. “I don’t know where this Santa came from, but I’ve definitely never seen him before, and I know every Santa on this street.”
The man lifted an eyebrow.
Libby realized how ridiculous she sounded, so she stopped talking. Instead, she focused on trying to brush all the snow off herself from her tangle with Santa.
“Look, you’re right. This Santa is new,” Adam said, surprising her. “I put him up this morning for my mom. My parents just moved in.” Adam pointed at the house they were standing in front of. “My mom called and said I needed to come over right away and put up all these Christmas decorations. She made it sounds like it was a matter of life or death. She said she needed to do her part and get the house decorated ASAP, so she wasn’t the only house in the neighborhood that didn’t have any lights up.” Adam pointed at the house next door. “Now it’s her neighbors who haven’t decorated who are the only Grinchy ones.”
Libby’s eyes flashed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “That’s my house.”
Adam didn’t even try to hide his surprise. “Of course it is. But I don’t get it. If your family is the one that started all the decoration traditions here, why isn’t your house decorated? I don’t understand.”
“You wouldn’t,” Libby shot back at him and then quickly changed the topic. “So, your parents are Carol and Larry? I met them briefly when they moved in. I was heading to work so we didn’t have much time to talk, but they seemed nice.”
Adam laughed. “You sound surprised. My parents are nice. They’re the best, so please don’t let our run-in get in the way of your liking them. They reall
“They really are special,” Libby said as she looked around with pride at her picturesque neighborhood of quaint, craftsman-style homes. All the houses, except for hers, were decked out with endless strands of Christmas lights and an abundance of beautiful wreaths and garlands. There were also multiple Christmas trees on all the front patios, porches, and decks.
“That’s why my mom loves it,” Adam said.
“At night, when everything’s lit up, it’s even more impressive,” Libby said wistfully. “We literally have thousands of Christmas lights, and not just on the houses. We have lights all throughout the landscape—in the trees, the bushes, the flowerbeds, and even on the ground, lining all the yards. When everyone comes at night, all our different homes play Christmas songs to go with them. It’s like you’re living inside a Christmas carol.”
“I saw that when I drove in last night,” Adam said. “It’s pretty impressive. And that’s another reason why I’m here. My mom needs me to put up a sound system. And every year there’s a different theme, right?”
“Right. This year it’s A Very Vintage Christmas,” Libby said softly. “My mom always picks the themes.”
Adam nodded. “My mom told me. She’s thrilled because she has so many antique decorations she can’t wait to use. She’s really excited to be a part of all this. She loves Evergreen Valley.”
“So do I,” Libby said. Her voice trailed off as memories of Christmases past came rushing back to her. She stopped them just in time, because remembering anything that had to do with Christmas just hurt too much.
“So, if your parents started all of this why isn’t your house decorated?” Adam asked. “I saw the For Sale sign. You’re selling the house?”
A sigh escaped Libby before she could stop herself. “Yes, probably.” Her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands. She hated thinking about selling, even though she knew she didn’t have any other choice.
“Probably?” Adam asked, confused.
“I have until the end of the year to decide, but the realtor thought it would be smart to put it up for sale now while everyone’s coming by looking at all the Christmas decorations,” Libby said. “Get more eyes on it, you know?”
Adam nodded. “So, you’re trying to see if you can get a big offer?”
“Something like that,” Libby answered, determined to redirect the conversation. “I really am sorry about the Santa. Even if it wasn’t really my fault…”
“I’m sorry, too,” Adam said as he picked up one of Santa’s limp arms and then let it drop. “It’s pretty tragic.”
Libby gave him a look. “Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic. It’s just lawn art. It’s not like it’s a big deal.”
Adam frowned. “Actually, it is a big deal.” He paused then continued. “My mom is going to be heartbroken. This particular Santa was an anniversary gift from my dad. They got married on Christmas.”
“Seriously?” Libby asked. She felt a new wave of guilt wash over her.
Adam nodded. “Seriously.”
“Okay, that’s not good,” Libby said. “Now I feel bad. Let me buy her another Santa. Where did she get it?” When Libby went to grab her phone out of her sweatshirt it slipped through her fingers.
“Oh no!” Libby tried to catch it but missed. It would have crashed to the pavement if Adam hadn’t caught it in time.
Libby breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I just got this new phone set up after breaking my last one.”
“How did you do that?”
Libby gave a sheepish smile. “I ran over it.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“I know, right? I was in a hurry, and it must have slipped out of my purse. When I got in my SUV, I tried to call someone, and that’s when I realized it was gone. I was pulling out of my driveway when I heard it.”
“Heard what?”
“My phone alarm going off…outside.”
Adam cringed.
Libby nodded. “Yup, I had run over it. It was toast.”
“I bet,” Adam said. “I’m starting to sense a trend here of you demolishing things.”
Libby gave him a look. “There’s no trend. Both of these things were just accidents. So where did your mom get the Santa? I’ll order it right now.”
“Impossible,” Adam said.
“No, really, I can buy it right now. I have this new shopping app that connects with thousands of stores. I just need to know where you got it.” She had her shopping app open. She was ready.
“Weinhnachtsfreude,” Adam said.
Libby’s head jerked up from her phone. “Whosey-what’s-it…what did you say?”
“Weinhnachtsfreude. That’s the name of the store. It means ‘Christmas Joy’ in German,” Adam answered.
Libby frowned. “I don’t think my app is going to get a specialty store like that. But I can still call them and order it. How do you spell Wein Nak…whatever you just said.”
“You can’t get another one,” Adam said. “It’s from Germany.”
“Okay, so we’ll order it from Germany and get expedited shipping…”
“It was one of a kind, custom-made.” Adam stared down at the Santa with a furrowed brow. “I just don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents.”
Now Libby felt really terrible, but she wasn’t giving up. “I’ll call the store. I bet they can make you a new one. It won’t be exactly the same but…”
She was interrupted when her phone alarm went off. The alarm tone was loud and energetic as it blasted out…
“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way…”
“Sorry, that’s my phone alarm,” Libby said, embarrassed.
Adam cocked his head. “‘Jingle Bells’ is your phone alarm? I didn’t figure you for a fan.”
“Why would you say that?” Libby asked.
“Did you see Santa?”
“Again, it was an accident,” Libby said as she quickly turned off her alarm. “But you’re right, ‘Jingle Bells’ isn’t my normal alarm. A friend of mine put it on my phone as a joke. She’s always trying to get me into the Christmas spirit. I keep meaning to change it but…”
“You’ve been too busy?” Adam finished for her.
“Yes, exactly.” When Libby locked eyes with Adam, she felt her pulse quicken as his gaze drew her in making her forget everything else. That’s when a different kind of alarm went off. The alarm in her head that warned her not to get distracted by Adam and his sexy blue eyes. She didn’t have time for any detours in her life. She reminded herself of her first impression when she saw him. He was trouble with a capital T.
Libby’s phone sounded off again. This time it played “Deck the Halls.”
Adam arched an eyebrow. “Another alarm?”
“No, this one is a text message from the same friend that added all these annoying Christmas ringtones to my phone.” When Libby looked down at her phone, she frowned at the stack of email notifications waiting for her.
“What’s wrong?” Adam asked.
“Besides these texts, my emails are blowing up. I have a huge day at work with a very fussy client. Now I’m running late. I have to go. But don’t worry, I’m going to fix this Santa situation.”
“Oh, I’m not worried,” Adam said. “But my mom, on the other hand, is a force to be reckoned with when you mess with her Christmas decorations.”
Libby laughed at how serious he looked. “What, is she going to put me in candy cane jail?”
“She’s definitely going to put you on the naughty list,” Adam said solemnly, as if he couldn’t imagine a worse fate.
“A list I’m sure you’ve been on many times,” Libby shot back at him.
Adam feigned innocence. “What? Me? No. I love Christmas. I’m good. You, on the other hand…” He motioned over to her undecorated house.
