Mya O'Malley returns with a heartwarming Christmas novella.
Welcome Mya!
Blurb
Sometimes
love only comes once in a lifetime. For some lucky people, it is possible to
love again.
Melody and Jack
had shared an unforgettable love story that abruptly came to an end. Melody,
left picking up the pieces, finds herself alone years later, with no hope or
desire to date again. With the holiday
season approaching, Melody finds it particularly difficult to get Jack out of
her thoughts.
Jack isn’t sure if
he’s an angel or a ghost, but his mind is set on one thing only, finding a new
love for Melody by Christmas Eve at midnight.
Easier said than done, with many obstacles to tackle, Jack underestimates
how difficult the task is. With conflicting emotions, Jack takes it upon
himself to find a man for a woman he still loves.
With the clock
ticking as the holidays approach, this charming story of finding love the
second time around will have you laughing and crying, but ultimately, it will
have you believing in true love.
Excerpt from If
You Believe- Mya O’Malley
He stood, watching her, feeling every ounce of her
pain, her anguish. He was probably the only one who understood what it was like
to lose the person you loved, the person who was everything in the world to
you.
If only he could just touch her, reach out to her,
make her feel happy again. But that was just selfish on his part, wasn’t it? It
wouldn’t be fair to Melody. Anybody could see that even three years later, she
was still struggling. Hadn’t he always told her that if something happened to
him, he would want her to fall in love again? It saddened him to think that if
she continued down this cold and lonely path, she would be alone forever.
Melody had wanted it all, a home filled with
children, a loving marriage. Thinking back to how happy they had once been, it
broke his heart to see her this way, and it was always saddest to see her like
this around the holidays, which were quickly approaching.
Jack’s mind was whirling with ideas, if only...He
wished that he could talk to her just one more time, but alas, that was against
the rules. If only there was some way, if only he could help her see the light.
The corners of Jack’s mouth crept up as his mind took hold of an impossible
thought. Would he be able to pull this off? If he did, could he ever be the
same again? …
The electricity was undeniable. It was something
that he should have considered, knowing how powerful their attraction and love
had been in life. The look on Melody’s face was shock, confusion and curiosity
all rolled into one. He would have to remember not to touch her again, it was
simply too much of a risk to take. He knew that if his cover was revealed, the
rules stated that he could never make contact with her again.
“What was...did you feel?” Poor Melody peered at
him with those gorgeous light brown eyes of hers. There was something different
about her eyes now; once they had been filled with spark and mischief, but now
they were sadder, as if the light had somehow gone out. The same eyes that had looked
at him with varying degrees of emotions for all those precious years they had
shared together. The same eyes that held him spellbound right now. Jack didn’t
know what to expect; he had no way of knowing how hard it would be to not reach
out and touch this woman who was his wife, the love of his life. She evoked so
much emotion in him that he had to turn his head before she saw the tears that
sprang from his eyes. He had known this would be hard, but Melody took his
breath away. Melody was always beautiful, but now she also appeared slightly
sad and fragile. Looking down at her so many times before, he knew of her
sadness, of course, but standing right here beside her, Jack could practically
feel her strong emotions within his own heart.
Since he had gone to great lengths to disguise his
true identity, Jack would have to do better than this. There was no way that
she could recognize him by his appearance. He was once tall,
standing six foot three inches tall, maintaining a
trim physique with messy light brown hair. He now stood barely five foot seven
with wavy dark hair and a stocky build. The only thing about his appearance
that Jack wasn’t able to change was his eyes. Nobody could change their eyes,
because it was a fact that eyes were the windows to the soul.
Melody stood before him, her mouth gaping open as
if she were caught in a spell. Think of something, quick, he told
himself.
“Melody. I heard great things about your store. You
see, I’m new to this area and I was just walking around and I figured I’d come
check out your store.”
Melody appeared as if she had composed herself
slightly. Clearing her throat, she finally spoke.
“Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking.”
He really should have been more prepared, how could
he have forgotten how inquisitive Melody was?
“Um, I’m from down south, Florida.”
“Whereabouts? I have a friend from the Orlando
area.” He should have also remembered her old college roommate from Orlando.
Was Miami far enough away to field off further questions?
“Miami.”
“Miami? What brings you all the way up north to the
New York area?”
Wow, she should have been a lawyer instead of
owning a business. “My job. I work in the city now and live here in the
suburbs.”
“What do you do for work?”
Thinking quickly on his feet, Jack steered away
from his real occupation in life, working for an insurance company.
“I work for a pharmaceutical company. I’m in
sales.” That ought to do it. He was reminded of a time when Melody had quizzed
him nonstop when they had first met, he had felt like he
was interviewing for a job. They had laughed many
times together over that memory.
“Oh. Well, who is it that recommended you to my
store?” Her eyes peered cautiously through her striking auburn hair. The long
hair that was always slightly out of place, always in her eyes. Wishing that he
could reach out and touch her beautiful hair just once more, he reeled himself
back in.
“Just some guy at a diner recently. He raved about
the selection of books and the coffee. Hmm, if I recall, he also said that you
have the best cheesecake in town.” That should do it. Melody loved to bake and
could go on and on about her desserts.
And that she did, thank goodness for the
distraction of a good cheesecake. When Melody had stopped gushing about how she
prepared her cheesecake, she caught herself and chuckled.
“You must think I’m something, rambling on like
this. I’m sorry, I just realized that I didn’t catch your name.”
My name, my name. Something unusual perhaps, but
fitting for a friend. “Oliver.” Where did that come from?
“Oliver. Well, Oliver, I don’t usually do this
because we are closed, but would you like to try some of the cheesecake? We
happen to have some left over.”
“Oliver” could tell that he had gotten on Melody’s
good side. She wasn’t a particularly outgoing person. As a matter of fact, she
was usually pretty shy, but he was delighted to see that he had made an
impression on her. Or perhaps it was just good business sense. Either way,
Oliver had succeeded in completing the first step of his mission: meeting
Melody.
****
Melody couldn’t recall the last time that she had
felt so comfortable with a total stranger. It wasn’t like she was even
physically attracted to him, Oliver wasn’t her type at all. He was
the complete opposite of Jack in every way. Well,
in every way except for those captivating blue eyes. It was uncanny how much
Oliver’s eyes reminded Melody of Jack’s eyes. It wasn’t just the color or the
shape, but it was the intensity of his gaze. That was probably why Melody had
felt so comfortable with him from the start.
“I know that you’re going to think this is forward,
but would you mind showing me around town sometime?”
Melody sucked in a breath and inwardly panicked.
“My girlfriend is coming up in a few weeks and I
wanted to show her around a bit.” He finished.
Melody’s shoulders visibly dropped as she let out a
sigh. “Sure, yes, Oliver, I think that would be fine.”
Two finished slices of chocolate cheesecake and
decaf coffees later, Melody realized this was the best evening she’d had in,
well, just about three years.
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About Mya
Mya O’Malley was born and raised in
the suburbs of New York City, where she currently lives with her husband,
daughter and three step-daughters. The
family also consists of two boxers; Destiny and Dolce and a ragdoll cat named
Colby. Mya earned an undergraduate
degree in special education and a graduate degree in reading and literacy. She works as a special education teacher and
enjoys making a difference in the lives of her students.
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| Also by Mya O'Malley |
Mya
currently has two new releases: At First
Sight, a contemporary romance about dating in the modern world, published
by Astraea Press, and Where There is Love,
a contemporary romance in which a woman struggles with past obstacles,
ultimately faced with whether or not she will open her heart to love. Where There is Love is published with
Solstice Publishing. Mya is excited to say that Astraea Press will be releasing
her contemporary holiday paranormal romance titled If You Believe on November 18, 2014. Due to be released late
January is The Calm After the Storm,
published by TouchPoint Press. This novel is a contemporary romance taking
place in the setting of Hurricane Sandy. The story revolves around the idea of
a utility worker from Georgia falling in love with a woman in New York.
Mya’s passion is writing; she has been creating
stories and poetry since she was a child.
Mya spends her free time reading just about anything she can get her
hands on. She is a romantic at heart and
loves to create stories with unforgettable characters. Mya likes to travel; she has visited several
Caribbean Islands, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Mya is currently working on her sixth novel.
