“Aren’t there electric sanders that can make jobs like this go a lot faster?”
He placed the paper against the wood and started rubbing. “Yeah, but it’s not nearly as relaxing.”
“Relaxing, huh? You might need to prove it.”
He shrugged, tore his own piece of sandpaper in half and handed it to her. She held it up to the wood and Drew scooted closer. “You want to go in a back and forth patterns with the grain of the wood. If you go against the grain, any kind of scratch or unevenness will show up more after I stain it.”
He placed his hand over hers on the headboards, nudging it into movement.
“And don’t press too hard. You shouldn’t feel any heat.”
“No heat, got it.”
Except with the space heater in the corner humming its warmth, the hot meal and hot cocoa in his stomach, he might not be able to follow his own advice. He shed his hoodie as Maren went to work.
“I didn’t realise there were so many rules to sanding.”
“It’s serious business, Grant.” The tease in his voice faded into amicable quiet as they worked side by side.
Somehow Melissa Tagg’s novellas don’t feel like novellas. Even though it would have taken me an hour and half tops to read this novella, I came away feeling like I had read a full length novel. A very satisfying full-length novel.
I think one of the secrets is that Melissa Tagg fills her books with meaningful conversation and interactions – and not just between the hero and heroine. She also completely eschews the multitude of dried up clichés that litter many romance novels, and instead shows her characters developing an emotional closeness that builds naturally into something more. Yes, that’s right folks. She SHOWS, not tells. She lets you read between the lines and sense what’s there rather than hitting you over the head with it.
Here’s the summary from Amazon:
Last December, mystery author Maren Grant had the most perfect night of her life. On a glimmering winter evening, she got to watch the photo shoot for her very first book and ended up on a magical date with the cover model himself—Colin Renwycke.
Fast forward one year. This December, with a looming deadline, restless spirit and her creative spark long since gone, Maren is desperate to get unstuck. And she can’t get Colin out of her head…or his year-old open invitation to spend a couple weeks writing at his family’s farm.
Drew Renwycke never planned to come home and take over the Renwycke family farm. But he’s spent too many years watching his siblings unravel, including his brother, Colin, after one terrible family mistake. If moving to Maple Valley, Iowa, renovating an old farmhouse and switching careers is what it takes to put the Renwycke family back together, he’ll do it.
But his simple plan upends when a scrappy author lands on his doorstep. And she just might be the key to coaxing his brother home. But what if he wants her all to himself? Drew will have to choose between his Christmas wish and the enchantment of a holiday romance that just might be the happy ending they all long for.
I really can’t recommend this novella enough. If you want a contemporary romance that makes you feel all cozy and warm on the inside, you really can’t go past this one. It’s simply enchanting!
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