Melinda Sweet loved her husband before she learned of his wealth and she loves him still, despite the fact that itâs gone. Unfortunately, while she knows the collapse of his Chicago financial services business had nothing to do with him, he believes otherwise. His upbeat adjustment to their newâand temporaryâlife on his grandfatherâs rundown honey farm is a foil to cover the burden of failure. She wasnât expecting to throwâin five weeksâthe traditional Sweet Christmas Open House, but itâs a good earning opportunity and how hard could it be?
Austin Sweet is determined to make his wife proud of him again. But he also wants to erase the sting of shame he feels from his parents, to whom he owes a debt of gratitude for arranging for this caretaking job. Getting paid to fix up this disaster is better than living in their basement, sure. But what does he know about bees? Or fixing broken plumbing? Or cleaning a chimney?
But when Austinâs grandfather gives him the farm as a Christmas gift, thereâs only one response. Accepting the gift will secure a future that will make his wife even more unhappy than he already is. Refusing the gift will finalize the rift between him and his family, but heâd rather lose them than Melinda. Then he discovers sheâs spared him the choice. Austinâs not-so-Sweet side rears up as he determines that heâs done trying to make everyone happy. Heâll get his wife back, no matter what. And theyâll decide their future together.
Roxanne Snopek, a USA Today bestselling author, writes contemporary small-town romance, usually with strong heroines and true-to-life heroes in stories that contain complications arising from modern family dynamics. She is a former veterinary technician, wife, and mother of three grown daughters, and animals, kids, and husbands are her forte. Emotional conflict, tears, angstâthose wretched âgrowth-opportunityâ moments your friends comfort you aboutâthatâs what she writes, and readers love it.
Felicity Munroe is a prolific narrator whose readings include titles by Sandi Lyn, Marie Force, Gillian Archer, and Katie MacAlister.