The Christmas Market Coordinator
Emma Winters had organized the Millbrook Christmas Market for five years running, but she'd never been more stressed about the event than she was right now, standing in the town square at 6 AM on December 1st, watching the vendor booths go up around her. The weather forecast called for snow, half her vendors were running late, and the new hot chocolate supplier had just canceled.
"This is a disaster," she muttered to herself, checking items off her clipboard with increasingly frantic movements.
"Excuse me, are you Emma Winters?"
Emma looked up to find a man about her age standing beside a truck loaded with what appeared to be the most beautiful Christmas trees she'd ever seen. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair dusted with snowflakes and the kind of warm brown eyes that reminded her of hot cocoa on a winter night.
"Yes, that's me," Emma said, trying to smooth down her wind-blown hair. "Are you the tree vendor? Because if you're here to tell me you're canceling too, I might actually cry."
The man's face broke into a grin that was like sunshine breaking through storm clouds. "I'm not canceling. I'm Jake Morrison, and I'm here to save your Christmas market."
"Save it how?" Emma asked skeptically.
"Well, I've got the best Christmas trees in three counties, I make a mean hot chocolate that could replace your canceled vendor, and I've been setting up at holiday markets since I was twelve. Plus," he added with a wink, "I've been told I have a certain Christmas magic about me."
Despite her stress, Emma felt herself smiling. "Christmas magic?"
"Stick around and find out," Jake said, already unloading his truck with the efficiency of someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
The Magic of Christmas Romance
Over the next few hours, Emma watched in amazement as Jake transformed the chaotic market setup into something that looke... for more on this, see our post on small town romance.