Summary:
A hidden Prince in a small town.
An event planner overwhelmed with the Christmas Ball.
Will love overcome? Most definitely!
Dylan: The owners of The Point Pleasant Chalet dropped the Christmas Ball in my lap with only two weeks to plan the big event. I’m totally overwhelmed. Then he ran into me, this stranger from Europe with his large shoulders and smoldering eyes. It was love at first sight! When his situation changes and he may have to cut his vacation short, I hire him to play The Nutcracker Prince for the Chalet’s Christmas season. It’s a win-win for everyone. He can stay through the holiday as he had planned, and I get to know him better. I don’t know why I’m doing this. He’ll leave back for Europe and I’ll still be here nursing a broken heart.
Liam: Running away from my family and country is not one of my proudest moments, but I was at my wit’s end over my upcoming coronation. Being the Crown Prince of Allyria is my duty and one I will happily fulfill, but sometimes I just wish to be Liam, without all the trappings of Royalty. So, I escaped to America and the beautiful small town of Point Pleasant. It was supposed to be an escape, but it has turned into so much more. Dylan haunts my every waking thought and I don’t see how I can go back home and leave my heart here with him. When the press gets word of me being at the Chalet, the Royal House of Magaldi sweeps in and turns my vacation upside down. How can I get my Mother to understand that Dylan might be the one? Will I have to choose between the crown and love?
Summary:
A sequel to A Very Merry Princemas!
A Royal Christmas Wedding
Mystery and Intrigue
True love conquers all!
Dylan- I had no idea that moving to Allyria to marry a prince would cause such a ruckus. The wedding has gotten completely out of hand, and I should know- I'm an event planner. As more and more is added to my agenda, and to the wedding festivities by Her Royal Highness, I can feel the enormity of what is about to happen to me. Dylan, from Point Pleasant, USA, has to disappear so Dylan- Prince of Allyria can step into the spotlight. The tension is high- not to mention, my life is supposedly in danger. Just another day in Allyria!
Liam- As soon as the threatening letter arrived to the palace, Queen Abigail (my mother) and I have done our best to lock Dylan down. I know he hates having a bodyguard, but now that he will become a prince, and the royal consort, so he will have to get used to not living his life as freely as he used to. I know he's stressed, but so am I. I am getting married and becoming a king all on the same day. And so help me, God- I will get to the bottom of the person threatening my love, if it's the last thing I do.
Summary:
The Princemas books from Point Pleasant Holiday Series tells the story of small-town boy Dylan and his romance with the Crown Prince of Allyria, Liam.
A Very Merry Princemas (Point Pleasant Holiday Series Book 2)
A hidden Prince in a small town.
An event planner overwhelmed with the Christmas Ball.
Will love overcome? Most definitely!
A Very Married Princemas (Point Pleasant Holiday Series Book 7)
A sequel to A Very Merry Princemas!
A Royal Christmas Wedding
Mystery and Intrigue
True love conquers all!
A Very Merry Princemas #2
Chapter One
Dylan
The phone rang, and I picked it up on the first ring.
“Dylan?” my boss’ frantic voice was about an octave higher than normal. Never a good sign. “Can you please come down to the Gold Room? The owners are here, and they have… ideas… about this year’s holiday spectacular.”
I sighed. “Seriously? Alright, I am on my way.” I hung up the phone and pushed back my chair. Before I walked out of my office, I checked myself out in the mirror. My hair was perfect, thank you Crew products, and there was no food in my teeth. I smiled into the mirror, trying to put on my best game face.
The owners left this place alone for the most part. They lived in Point Pleasant for a few months out of every year and then went back to wherever else they owned properties for the remainder. If they were here and wanted to talk about the holiday events we had planned, that could only mean one thing. They wanted to go in another direction. We’ve done the same thing for the last few years, and that made dealing with everything much easier. But it could use a little spiffing up. Maybe make it a little shinier this year.
The chalet is always extremely busy from November to April. The rooms are all booked, and there is way too much to do already for my very small staff and me. The chalet is a vibrant part of Point Pleasant throughout the year. Tourists flock here for winter adventures, and our Christmas season is especially busy. The Pleasant, as us locals call it, goes all out for the holidays. Our population skyrockets with out of towners coming to enjoy our winter offerings. It’s a little crazy. But the town depends on the winter and summer tourists, and we do everything we can to keep them coming back.
I glide out of my office and head over to the elevator banks. I press down and wait.
The happiest time of the year, my ass. More like the busiest. As the Chalet’s event planner, I stay busy year-round, but the winter keeps me running around like a madman. I always breathe a sigh of relief when we start having to put down man-made powder on the slopes. We’re still busy, but my job relaxes, at least a little.
The elevator arrives, and I get on and push the main floor. It’s only two stories down and doesn’t take long. I clutch my notebook to my chest and walk through the lobby, waving at a guest that is here for her wedding. My staff oversees all the private events too. How I manage to keep my sanity has always been a mystery to me. Okay, that’s a lie. I thrive on work. Always have.
I take a deep breath before I opened the door to the Gold Room and walked inside. Mr. Devine, the Chalet’s manager, waved me over. I unhappily took a seat across from him. I smiled at the owners. Patti and Margaret Stern bought the hotel a decade ago. Whenever they come back to town, the staff goes manic. They weren’t assholes or anything, quite the opposite, in fact, but they like things to be run a certain way, and the staff was always on their toes during their tenure here.
“We’re waiting for Marcus. He’s on his way down,” Mr. Devine whispered. He looked pallid. Whatever this was, it wasn’t going to be a light sprucing of our plans. It was going to be chaotic. My stomach flipped while we waited. I really didn’t need this right now.
“Good afternoon, Dylan,” Patti smiled at me. “The photos from the Halloween carnival were delightful. It looked like you had an amazing turnout.”
“I wished we could have been there,” Margaret echoed. “I love to see the children all dressed up in their Halloween costumes. And the Thanksgiving party you threw looked gorgeous. Very classy.”
“Thank you,” I smiled proudly. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I thought the event went smoothly. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Our attendance went up twenty percent from last year. Almost half of the registered guests attended.”
“We are incredibly proud of that number,” Mr. Devine chimed in. I usually called him Dennis, but not at work. We had gotten quite friendly over the last couple of years, once he decided I was not leaving any time soon. I loved The Pleasant and had no desire to leave it. It was my home.
“Sorry,” Marcus rushed in. “You called in the middle of a very busy lunch. Hello ladies. Good to see you again.” He smiled at the owners.
“Dinner last night was fantastic. Please give our best to Chef Tomlinson. She is top-notch,” Margaret smiled back.
“So, now that we are all here,” Mr. Devine placed his hands upon the table, signaling an end to polite conversation. “Margaret and Patti have some marvelous ideas about our holiday celebrations. Take it away, ladies.”
“We love what you all accomplish every year. It’s magical and exciting, and all of the families and children adore it,” Margaret said, leaning in and placing her elbows on the table. “But this year we want to do more.”
Patti reached over and touched Margaret on the arm. “It’s the Point Pleasant Chalet’s seventy-fifth anniversary in January, and we took ownership of the property in February, ten years ago. So, we thought we could kill a few birds with one stone.”
“Oh God, I hate that analogy,” Margaret laughed. “Anyway, we have been going over a ton of historical documents and records from the Chalet’s past that we had delivered from storage. You should see our dining room! But we found the most marvelous nugget from the Chalet’s past. This place used to have a giant Christmas ball every year until sometime in the early nineties. We can’t find any information as to why the previous owners canceled it. There was a major recession going on at the time, so that could have had something to do with it. We would like to bring it back. It really was a tradition here in Point Pleasant. We reached out to the mayor and a few of the older locals, and they remember coming to it every year. They are very excited.”
I sat on my hands for fear of reaching across the table and strangling them. Were they fucking crazy?
“When would you like for this… this Christmas ball to be thrown?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Christmas Eve!” Margaret said, gushing at the idea. “Won’t it be marvelous?”
“That’s in two weeks,” I said seriously. “That’s not near enough time to put together something that large.” I could feel my face reddening. “It would have to be truncated in some way. We have three weddings, and the ongoing Christmas festivities that have already started.”
“Dylan, this is a done deal. We understand that you are understaffed for a project this large, so you can hire an assistant to help you coordinate with your team. And you will need it, because the Christmas Ball is not the only event you will have to handle,” Dennis… I mean, Mr. Devine looked over at me, understanding my frustration and fear.
“There’s more?” Marcus laughed. “Ladies, the ball itself will be a huge endeavor. Even my staff will be pulled thin enough to snap. Do you have an idea of how many guests you are expecting?”
Patti took off her glasses and laid them on the table. “Look, fellas, I know this is a huge ask. But I am positive that you can pull all this together, Dylan. Two weeks is a short turnaround for an event of this… ah… size, but we have seen what you can accomplish, and we have every confidence in you.” She looked over at Marcus. “I would plan for around… about five hundred people. This year for the anniversary, we will open the ball to everyone, Pleasant citizens and our guests here at the Chalet.”
“Where are we going to hold this event? Our ballroom is not that large, so I assume you would want us to use the conference rooms and open all of the bays? The number of decorations alone… I… Wait! Did you say there are more events?” I snapped my head over at Mr. Devine and back to the owners as if I were watching an extremely fast tennis game.
“We are also sponsoring Point Pleasant’s Christmas Festival.” Margaret sighed. “Don’t blame me for this one.” She pointed over at Mr. Devine. “That was his idea.”
“How am I to… I mean, what does that even mean?” I snippily asked. I had lost control of my filter and was getting dangerously close to insubordination in front of the owners.
Mr. Devine looked at me, compassionately. It didn’t help. “Well, it means for that night, you will have to decorate and arrange for entertainment at the gazebo and garden. I was thinking about the children’s choir and maybe our madrigal singers as well as the entertainers. The gazebo will have Santa, who we will also provide from the Chalet. It doesn’t have to be anything over the top…”
“Well, that’s good. So… let me get this straight. I have to throw the largest party this Chalet has seen in over twenty-five years, and I assume it needs to be as opulent as possible, as well as plan a one-night event at the park, and still keep the wheels rolling on all of the events that we have happening daily here at the Chalet. Can I just say that this is crazy?” I looked over at the owners. “It’s an incredible idea, but I don’t see how feasible this is to accomplish the way it needs to be done.”
“We have complete faith in you,” Margaret smiled.
“How about you hire two assistants?” Patti shrugged, offering an olive branch.
“We are going to have to go over staff and numbers. But, if it’s what you want,” Marcus shook his head at the insanity. “We will do our best.”
I took a breath so deep I thought my lungs might explode. “I will do my best.”
The happiest time of the year, my ass. Ho fucking ho!
A Very Married Princemas #7
Prologue
(An excerpt from Crown and Gown Magazine)
Runaway Prince Finds Christmas Love in America
Liam
Running away from home, family, and my kingdom was not one of the proudest moments of my life. But upon hearing that I couldn’t succeed my father as king of Allyria unless I married a woman of noble birth within the year, due to some ancient decree from over a century ago, I was at my breaking point. So I ran. I googled American Christmas small-town getaways, and this lovely little mountain town popped up. Point Pleasant looked beautiful and remote.
Dylan
It is remote during the winter. There is only one mountain road that gets you into town, and during the winter, it is usually snowed in. You have to fly to Denver and then drive to a small town that sits across the lake. You have to take a helicopter to town, and it’s a three-mile flight across the frozen water. It’s gorgeous.
Liam
It is very beautiful. I had booked a room at the Point Pleasant Chalet, which sits up the mountain a few miles from town. That road stays clear, of course. It’s a resort town, and during the winter, the chalet is very busy with skiing and winter activities. I suggest everyone should go there. The Christmas decorations are beautiful. Dylan bought most of them and designed their décor. So, I went into town and somehow dropped my wallet. I know… It was horrible. I was telling people I was British, and everyone believed me. What amazed me was no one knew who I was. It was intoxicating.
Dylan
We met when I literally ran into him, and I bounced off his chest. He was getting off an elevator, and I was looking at my Christmas plan for the chalet and was getting on the elevator, and we ran into each other. My nose still hurts when I think about it. We talked, and I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I mean, Liam is very handsome.
Liam
Same with me. Who was this cute ginger boy? I needed to know and… Do you want to tell it?
Dylan
No, you. You tell it better.
Liam
Ok… So, I went into this coffee shop I had visited to see if I had left my wallet there, and I didn’t. But I did strike up this conversation with a beautiful red-headed girl named Crystal. She took me under her wing, and to take my mind off what had happened, she decided I needed a night out at the local gay club. Lo’ and behold, one of her best friends walked in to join us, and it was the adorable ginger I had bumped into. Dylan and I had our first dance that night. Our first kiss, too, if I remember correctly. Oh… He’s blushing…
Dylan
We have a small show at the chalet that happens on the hour during the daytime for the families and kids. You know, we have Santa, and on stage, we have part of the Nutcracker ballet. Well, my Nutcracker Prince had just quit that day. He was horrible, so we were all glad to see him leave, but it did leave me in a lurch. Here was this sexy man telling me about his problems. He had no money, no ID, and was staying at the chalet, which he couldn’t pay for unless he told everyone his identity. I didn’t know about it at the time. So, I offered him the job. All he had to do was stand there and look regal and handsome while Clara danced around him. I wonder why he was so good at it.
Liam
Then as you know, the picture of me was posted on Instagram, and of course, it got out that the Prince of Allyria was working at The Point Pleasant Chalet. My mother and the royal entourage descended n the small town, and, as they say, the cat was out of the bag. My identity was revealed, and Dylan was the one who ran away this time.
Dylan
Jesus. He was a prince. No matter how wonderful our time together was, I knew we couldn’t be together, and I was falling for him, hard. It was easier to run away than be let down.
Liam
But I wouldn’t let him. I chased after him, and eventually, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I didn’t want to live without him. He was the one who… completed me, made me a better person, and I couldn’t let his fear stand between us. Or my mother…
Dylan
The Queen can be very scary when she wants to be. I’m so glad we get along now. I’ve grown to love her deeply. But she was not a fan of me when we first met.
Liam
No. All she thought about was the duty I had to my country, and she worried what our relationship might mean if the decree wasn't overturned. It was, of course. So the night of the big event that he planned for Christmas… It was a Christmas Ball, and it was lovely… I asked him to be mine, and he said yes.
Dylan
And now, here we are. Planning a wedding and looking forward to the future together.
Liam
Life has never looked more promising than it is with him by my side. Allyria is lucky to have a man like Dylan as the future Prince Consort of Allyria.
Dylan
You’re making me blush again.
Liam
Thank you, Marlowe, for giving us this chance to share our story with your readers.
Authors Note: The Royal Wedding of Prince Liam and Dylan Keller of America will take place this year on Christmas. Most of Allyria is happy that their favorite son has found someone to love, even if he isn’t of noble blood and an American.
Shane Morton has performed in all 48 continental United States as well as Canada, Mexico and Germany. He lives in California with his husband and their sweet pup. Shane's series include Point Pleasant Holiday Series, Drag Queen Detective Cozy Mysteries, and The Bluegrass Boys. He has written quite a few standalones and even ventured into the world of YA. He likes writing stories of the LGBT experience.
When not writing, he can be found in a dark dive bar performing cabaret or at a film festival.
Sean Azinsalt/Shane K Morton
A Very Merry Princemas #2
A Very Married Princemas #7
The Point Pleasant Christmas Collection
Series
No comments:
Post a Comment