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“Don’t work too hard,” I said, following my sister outside.
“And you come back in one piece,” Redmond’s voice was serious now.
“Always.”
As I turned to glance back at Redmond, I saw him pick up something that looked suspiciously like Christmas lights. Hurrying after my sister I couldn’t contain my grin. Wait until that vampire saw what I got him for Christmas.
I linked my arm through Becca’s as we raced through the streets looking for monsters. When we got home my favorite pink top was no longer pink, but stained a deep red and there were guts in my hair.
But that didn’t matter. What mattered was seeing my sister’s eyes light up as she sliced her way through monsters and then later again when she saw the opulent Christmas tree waiting for us and the mountain of gifts.
It was the best Christmas I ever had.
About the Author
Anika is a Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy author from Germany. Her first book, Light and Shadows, was published in 2017. She has since written numerous novels in the same universe, the Nightcursed Chronicles.
After spending her childhood with her loving grandparents in South Africa, she moved to Germany at age eleven to be a big sister to her newly born little sister. Growing up she was fortunate to be surrounded by books and TV shows that ignited her love for all things supernatural. Among her favorites was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (five-year old Anika was extremely disappointed when the beast turned back into a prince and still hasn’t gotten over it), and an old, now obscure show called Dracula – The Series (1990) staring actress Mia Kirshner.
Currently residing in Oldenburg with her favorite person, aka her husband Chris, and a very loud, very obnoxious cat named Mandy, she’s juggling her many projects and trying to decide what to work on next.
Websites:
https://ravenborncovers.wixsite.com/anikawillmanns
https://www.facebook.com/AnikaWillmannsAuthor/
Mistletoe and Macarons
An Island Academy Novella
Mia Williams
Spicy Contemporary MMF
Returning home to Edinburgh for Christmas, Jocelyn overhears a woman talking about having recently lost her husband and regretting that her last words to him were stupid and meaningless. Jocelyn’s “I love you” to the group chat with her two lovers sets in motion a passionate, if angst ridden, evening that challenges the foundations of their unconventional romance. Amidst the bustling streets of Edinburgh and the warmth of Matt’s cosy macaron shop, the three of them experience the exhilaration and complexities of true love and are forced to consider how much they are willing to change and how much they need to hold onto their own heart’s desires when pursuing a love that surpasses boundaries.
This story features the characters we met in Macarons at Midnight in Eat Your Heart Out 3 but is complete in itself.
Mistletoe and Macarons
Matt
Ben: Be back late. Heading to pub after show. You can punish me however you want when I get home.
I grin despite my annoyance that Ben’s going to be late home. Again. Our jobs don’t complement one another's very well. Ben’s an actor – currently appearing in some kind of allegedly experimental theatre piece that, according to Ben, explores festive themes. He is mostly naked and covered in green body paint for this, and I remain unconvinced about its artistic merits despite seeing it several times. Why should others get the chance to ogle Ben when I don’t?
My macaron shop, Amuse-Bouche, opens at seven every morning except Sunday, and I’m in the kitchen by five every day. Sometimes earlier. The shop’s right across the road from a couple of Edinburgh’s better known theatres, but Ben is currently performing in a smaller venue near the bottom of the Royal Mile. It’s within walking distance, but definitely not handy for catching a quick coffee when either of us have a break like we did over the summer.
Still, we don’t need to actually sleep together to have fun, right? Our sex life currently exists in what I’m sure both Ben and Jocelyn would describe as a liminal space between our two lives. When one of us is getting into bed, the other is about to get up, but it’s actually not worked out too badly. I grin at the memories, particularly those where I have to help Ben remove the last of his body paint… I can’t imagine Jocelyn is going to love ending up covered in green make-up, but you never know. She’s open to most things.
As if she realised I was thinking about her, my phone pings and her picture shows up on my screen.
Joss: On my last train. Finally. Getting an Uber from Waverley. Cannot wait to see you.
Jocelyn’s in her final year of drama school on a remote Scottish Island on the west coast. Island Academy has its own helicopter to transport students on and off the island, but it’s only supposed to be used when slow travel isn’t an option and the college doesn’t seem to understand the urgency I’m feeling to see her. Funny that. It’s been four whole weeks, and even though we talk regularly online, I miss her. Although apart from the time we spend in bed, I could swear I spend more time talking to Jocelyn online than I do talking to Ben, with whom I allegedly share a flat.
Officially, Jocelyn lives with us, too, but this is the first time she’ll be returning from college directly to the flat for the holidays. It seems like a big step and one I wasn’t sure we’d reach, given Ben’s initial opinions about Joss. I can’t wait. Maybe I should be a little less excited about this, after all, I’m the oldest and the only one who has lived with another person in the past in addition to having lived with Ben for the past two years, but I can’t help it. Things are different now that Joss is with us, too. We feel… complete somehow. I sigh, then feel my lips curve into a wide smile as my phone chirps with another message.
