Monday, December 29, 2014

AP Christmas Story: Mya O'Malley "If You Believe"


Blurb:

Melody considers herself lucky that she has already found love once in a lifetime. Her love story, however, abruptly came to an end; all hope of finding love again disappeared the day she lost Jack.

Jack knows that Melody’s heart is big enough to give love a second chance, the challenge lies in helping her meet just the right man. Not sure if he’s an angel or a ghost, Jack finds himself searching for a man to make Melody feel alive once more. He had no idea how difficult it would be to face his conflicting emotions while finding this man. To top it off, he only has until Christmas Eve at midnight to help Melody fall in love. 


Author:

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. 

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 fifth novel.  


 

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Excerpt:

Prologue

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?

 
Chapter One

Melody stacked the last book on the shelf and glanced around, feeling a sense of accomplishment for a hard day’s work. Gazing around her cozy bookstore, she took in the twinkling lights and decorations that were set up to help her customers get in the mood for the festive holiday season. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Melody knew there was nothing she could do to escape the holidays. If only she could put her heart into the joyous season. Christmas had always been her favorite time of year. Well, that was when she had Jack by her side. It seemed like her life was now neatly compartmentalized—before Jack, during Jack and after Jack. Each and every one of the Christmases she had shared with Jack had been amazing. He always said that it was the time for miracles. But Melody wasn’t one to believe in magic or miracles, especially now.

“Earth to Melody!” Cassie’s green eyes shined with warmth.

“Oh. Sorry. What was it that you were saying?” Plastering a smile on her face, Melody did her best to brush her melancholy feelings aside, at least for the moment.

“I was asking if I could leave, everything seems in order.” Cassie’s eyes scanned the store.

Taking in the tiny café area, Melody noted that there were some desserts that still needed to be put away in the back room fridge. “Go ahead, I’ll get the rest.”

“Are you sure? I can stick around if you want.”

Who was she kidding? Knowing that her best friend was going out on a hot date tonight with a guy that she recently met, she figured that Cassie wanted to leap out the door.

“Nah, I got it. Go, and have a great time.” Melody knew that when she hired Cassie to be her right-hand gal, it would not be the typical employer/employee relationship. At least she could trust Cassie, though, and that was the most important thing. Besides, Melody was truly happy for Cassie. Her friend finally seemed happy after her recent breakup with Harry the Horrible, as the two women so fondly called her ex.

Approaching her friend slowly, Cassie cleared her throat. “What are your plans for the night?”

“I thought I’d just stay in, maybe catch up on some reading.” Knowing just how pathetic it sounded, Melody realized how good it was to have a friend in Cassie; she didn’t need to pretend with her.

“Mel, it’s Friday night. Are you sure you don’t want me to cancel with Trent? I mean I could…”

Brushing her long auburn hair to the side with a swipe of her hand, Melody exhaled. “Don’t you even think about it. Get out there and have a great time.”

“Love you!” Cassie winked at her friend and practically ran behind the counter to grab her bag. “Oh, and don’t wait up.” With that she was gone. Melody followed her friend’s path to the door and locked it behind her.

Not only was Cassie an employee of Melody’s, but she was also her roommate. Since Jack had passed away, Melody couldn’t stand being alone. At first, she had needed time to heal, but when time didn’t heal all wounds, Cassie had offered to help out her friend—keep her company, help with the bills. Melody couldn’t deny the fact that it wasn’t healthy to spend so much time alone, and she figured she could certainly use the extra money that her friend contributed in rent each month. Having a best friend close by was exactly what she needed, but there was that nagging feeling of guilt that had started to creep up on Melody lately. She hoped that Cassie wouldn’t feel bad when the time came to get on with her own life.

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