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A Mommy for the Holidays
Nathan Cooper’s daughter wants only one thing for Christmas—a new mommy. Caring for six-year-old Katie is the widowed builder’s priority, and he doesn’t want to risk more heartache for either of them. Yet when interior designer Alyssa McCall comes to town on a temporary assignment, both he and Katie are charmed. Working together to finish the new recreation center, Alyssa and Nathan form a connection, though Alyssa worries that she can’t be the mother Katie deserves. But with one little girl—and her handsome daddy—determined to prove her wrong, this could be a Christmas to remember.
“You wanna spend time with me?”
His devastatingly handsome smile returned. “I’d like the opportunity. Why is it you seem so surprised by that?”
“Because…” Had a man ever taken the time to get to know her? What if Nathan found her lacking as other men had? The thought he might be disappointed in what he discovered had her faltering with her response.
“Alyssa…” he prodded gently.
She sighed deeply. “Because I’m not perfect.”
“And you think I am?” he replied with a husky chuckle. “Far from,” he admitted. “Just ask my brothers.”
“It’s not that simple,” she said.
“Nothing in life is simple,” he told her. “I’ve learned that the hard way. When my wife died, I forgot how to breathe. How to feel. I put on a brave face for my daughter, but inside I was filled with a never-ending numbness.” He glanced her way. “And then you came into our life. I can’t explain it, but when I’m around you I feel like I can breathe again.”
KAT BROOKES is an award-winning author and past Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award finalist. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and has been blessed with two beautiful daughters. She loves writing stories that can both make you smile and touch your heart. Kat is represented by Michelle Grajkowski with 3 Seas Literary Agency. Read more about Kat and her upcoming releases at katbrookes.com. Email her at [email protected]. Facebook: Kat Brookes.
His Holiday Matchmaker
Kat Brookes
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
—2 Corinthians 9:8
In memory of my mother-in-law, who went home to the Lord this past Christmas. You were more than a mother-in-law to me. You were my second mother. I thank you for giving me the wonderful man I am married to. You will be missed more than you could ever know.
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“Daddy! Daddy!”
“Cupcake!” Nathan Cooper replied with a grin as he swung his six-year-old daughter, Katie, up into the air.
She burst into a fit of girlish giggles. “I’m not a cupcake.”
“Sure you are,” he said as he lowered her to the ground. Reaching out, he ruffled her unruly curls. “Look at all this chocolate frosting.”
“That’s my hair,” she said with another giggle, flashing him a smile that reminded him so much of her mother it hurt. So much of Isabel lived on in their daughter. Her dark eyes. Those long brown curls. That determined chin.
Nathan tamped down the memories of his late wife that threatened to surface. Forcing his focus solely on the tiny heart-shaped face looking up at him so adoringly, he playfully pinched his daughter’s lightly freckled cheek. “And I suppose these aren’t sprinkles?”
“No, silly. They’re freckles!” She pulled away with another giggle and ran back to the porch. “Watch what I can do, Daddy.”
He smiled as she dipped a large bubble wand into the bright yellow tray that sat on the sun-warmed porch steps and then spun in a slow circle, her motion creating a long, iridescent bubble. To be so carefree, he thought with an inner sigh.
The door to the small, ranch-style house creaked open, drawing his gaze that way.
“Nathan,”