All I Want for Christmas Is a Duke

by Vivienne Lorret

The holidays are fast approaching. It’s the perfect time to load your e-reader (and maybe a friend’s) with a Christmas anthology. And guess what? It just so happens that there is a fabulous anthology coming out on December 1st!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A DUKE is a four-novella anthology set in the Regency era. And, as you might have guessed, each story revolves around a duke. You could call it a Regency heroine’s handy-dandy guide to marrying a duke.

The holidays are a time for dining, dancing, and of course—dukes! Celebrate the Christmas season with this enchanting collection of historical romances featuring the most eligible bachelors of the ton…

A childish prank may have reunited the Duke of Hollingsworth with his estranged wife, but only the magic of Christmas will show this couple ’tis the season of second chances…

Sophie Kinsley planned to remain a wallflower at the Duke of Hollyshire’s ball. Yet when a dance with him leads to a stolen kiss, will the duke be willing to let her go? Or will Sophie’s Christmas wish be granted at last?

To the Duke of Vale, science solves everything—even marriage. When the impulsive Ivy Sutherland makes him question all of his data, he realizes that he’s overlooked a vital component in his search for the perfect match: love.

Patience Markham never forgot the fateful dance she had with the future Duke of Kingsbury. But when a twist of fate brings them together for Christmas Eve, will the stars finally align in their favor?

In my novella, THE DUKE’S CHRISTMAS WISH, the Duke of Vale suddenly finds his perfectly catalogued world in disarray when an unexpected guest arrives at his Christmas party.

North is a man of science, precision, and patience. He has created a mathematical formula to aid men, like him, who don't want all the fuss of courting. According to him, finding a wife should be as simple as analyzing numbers. Then he meets Ivy... and nothing about her fits into his equation.

“I’m somewhat impulsive and you are rather persuasive. It is a dreadful combination.” ~ Ivy Sutherland, The Duke’s Christmas Wish.

Yet there’s something about her that he can’t resist.

By the time he cleared his head, Miss Sutherland was taking a few hurried backward steps. When she turned around, she ran headlong into him with a surprised Oh! and then an oof!

North stumbled back into the ascending room. He did everything he could to remain upright. Planting his feet wide, he was forced to hold her against the sturdy column of his body. Forced to grasp her arms. Which, incidentally, were bare between her velvet-trimmed cap sleeves and elbow-length gloves. Bare beneath his hands. Bare, warm, and softer than goose down.

A shudder—that was more about untamed desire than preoccupation—quaked through him to his very core. Staring down into her almond-shaped eyes, he watched as they widened and swept over his features, from brow to chin. Her gaze lingered a fraction longer on his mouth, as if she was waiting for him to speak or, perhaps, waiting for him to kiss her.

He took a moment to speculate whether it was the former or the latter. In the seconds that passed, he catalogued how her hands were resting against his chest, not pressing as if she wanted to gain her freedom but curled slightly as if trying to capture the beat of his heart in the cup of her palms. Also, she made no movement to separate from him. Her breathing was rapid—though perhaps that was the result of running down the hall. When she wet her lips, however, she provided an irrefutable answer.

THE DUKE'S CHRISTMAS WISH is a lighthearted romp and I hope it brings some cheer to your holidays.

I’ll post more about the process of coming up with this story and the inspiration behind it on my next RTG blog post, November 30th. I’ll share some interesting pics and another sneak peek into the story.

In the meantime, I’m wishing you all the joy and laughter of this Season and always.

Viv

_{~USA TODAY bestselling author Vivienne Lorret loves romance novels, her pink laptop, her husband, and her two sons (not necessarily in that order ... but there are days). Transforming copious amounts of tea into words, she is an Avon Impulse author of works including: Tempting Mr. Weatherstone, The Wallflower Wedding Series, The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series, The Duke's Christmas Wish, and the Season's Original Series. For more on her upcoming novels, visit her at www.vivlorret.net}