Sydney quirked her lips, then said softly, “It’s Louise, after my great-grandmother.”
“That’s a good start. Maybe once you find out my middle name, maybe a few other personal nuggets get shared over the summer, we can put a ring on that finger that isn’t just a placeholder.”
“I’ll drink to that.” They clinked glasses, huddled in a tight semicircle at the window, as in front of them, a promise of forever love was made.
And the Three Oaks Inn was up and running.
Alex had his hotel and his woman and his family. Life was pretty great.
The End
Want more? Check out Christi Barth’s Christmas story, The Magic of Christmas!
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If you enjoyed The Accidental Fiancé, you’ll love the next books in the….
Love Lottery series
Book 1: The Accidental Fiancé
View the series here!
Book 2: Definitely Not Dating
Coming May 2021!
Book 3: Coming October 2021!
Enjoy an excerpt from
Definitely Not Dating
Christi Barth
Book 2 in the Love Lottery series
Keep reading below or pre-order now!
December 26
Alex Kirkland paced around the room, his energy all compressed like the rubber bands inside a golf ball. It could be assumed it was due to the massive—or massively weird—lottery the four of them had just won, but Everleigh Girard knew better.
She’d known Alex her whole life. Considered him an almost brother, since he was the brother to her BFF Amelia. And thus she knew that Alex carried that level of intensity every single day. But she loved him to pieces anyway.
Alex pulled at his navy turtleneck. Like he was sweating. Even though, hello, December + Pittsburgh equaled brrr-ific temps on a good day. “Okay. We won. We somehow won this freaking lottery. What do we do now?”
Yep. That was Alex.
Plans and to-do lists up the wazoo, whether it was to take sandwiches and beer on a picnic at Point State Park, or planning the elaborate, multi-site scavenger hunt for Amelia’s twenty-first birthday that culminated in a massive party at the rooftop Biergarten overlooking all of Pittsburgh. Everleigh loved him for doing it, but the endless emails and itineraries and spreadsheets he’d sent in the weeks before almost pushed her to take Amelia to Philly without telling him.
“Why does that sound like a trick question?” Amelia frowned at her brother, red braids falling over her shoulders as she shook her head. “I gave you the best Christmas present ever with that lottery ticket.”
“Best potential present,” Teague corrected. He was Alex’s bestie (not that either of them would dream of using that term), and thus another pseudo-brother to Everleigh. In general, he’d be the least likely of all of them to pick on a technicality, but he was probably cranky from rocking a brutal hangover.
Once they got the call—on Christmas!—that they’d won the lottery gifting them not with cash, but a freaking historic inn, they’d, well, celebrated. Because they’d only bought the tickets on Christmas Eve. And because, for various stupid or pathetic or just plain wrong reasons, they were all in need of a life preserver for, well, life. So then they’d run out to buy champagne.
Since Teague had spent the last decade as member of the Army’s Special Forces, champagne was not his, ah, go-to drink. Everleigh had no doubt the sugary bubbles had done a number on him.
Sleeping on Amelia’s couch probably hadn’t helped, either. But since he’d just gotten out of the Army a few weeks ago, he didn’t have his own place.
So instead of calling him annoying, she’d pivot the conversation away from him. And refill his coffee. And hand him the green afghan the Kirklands’ grandmother had knitted a lifetime ago.
Squeezing his sister’s arm, Alex said, “It was a great potential present, especially once we all chipped in and bought more lottery tickets. But now that we won, it is the best actual present of all time. Amelia, I can’t wait to see how you top this for my birthday.”
Amelia rolled her holly-green eyes. “No. No way. That’s why I think an engagement ring for a Christmas present is stupid. You can’t ever come close to replicating that special a gift.”
Alex slammed his palm down on the mantel, making the pine-tree shaped candles jump. “No one’s getting engaged. Talk about a nightmare complication.”
“That is a messed up way to talk about love,” Ever scolded.
Even fresh off of getting dumped, she still firmly believed that a walk down the aisle should be in everyone’s future. Why wouldn’t you yearn to share your