His Holiday Matchmaker

A Mommy for the Holidays

Nathan Cooper’s daughter wants only one thing for Christmas—a new mommy. Caring for six-year-old Katie is the widowed builder’s priority, and he doesn’t want to risk more heartache for either of them. Yet when interior designer Alyssa McCall comes to town on a temporary assignment, both he and Katie are charmed. Working together to finish the new recreation center, Alyssa and Nathan form a connection, though Alyssa worries that she can’t be the mother Katie deserves. But with one little girl—and her handsome daddy—determined to prove her wrong, this could be a Christmas to remember.

“You wanna spend time with me?”

His devastatingly handsome smile returned. “I’d like the opportunity. Why is it you seem so surprised by that?”

“Because…” Had a man ever taken the time to get to know her? What if Nathan found her lacking as other men had? The thought he might be disappointed in what he discovered had her faltering with her response.

“Alyssa…” he prodded gently.

She sighed deeply. “Because I’m not perfect.”

“And you think I am?” he replied with a husky chuckle. “Far from,” he admitted. “Just ask my brothers.”

“It’s not that simple,” she said.

“Nothing in life is simple,” he told her. “I’ve learned that the hard way. When my wife died, I forgot how to breathe. How to feel. I put on a brave face for my daughter, but inside I was filled with a never-ending numbness.” He glanced her way. “And then you came into our life. I can’t explain it, but when I’m around you I feel like I can breathe again.”

KAT BROOKES is an award-winning author and past Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award finalist. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and has been blessed with two beautiful daughters. She loves writing stories that can both make you smile and touch your heart. Kat is represented by Michelle Grajkowski with 3 Seas Literary Agency. Read more about Kat and her upcoming releases at katbrookes.com. Email her at [email protected]. Facebook: Kat Brookes.

His Holiday Matchmaker

Kat Brookes

www.millsandboon.co.uk

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

—2 Corinthians 9:8

In memory of my mother-in-law, who went home to the Lord this past Christmas. You were more than a mother-in-law to me. You were my second mother. I thank you for giving me the wonderful man I am married to. You will be missed more than you could ever know.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Cupcake!” Nathan Cooper replied with a grin as he swung his six-year-old daughter, Katie, up into the air.

She burst into a fit of girlish giggles. “I’m not a cupcake.”

“Sure you are,” he said as he lowered her to the ground. Reaching out, he ruffled her unruly curls. “Look at all this chocolate frosting.”

“That’s my hair,” she said with another giggle, flashing him a smile that reminded him so much of her mother it hurt. So much of Isabel lived on in their daughter. Her dark eyes. Those long brown curls. That determined chin.

Nathan tamped down the memories of his late wife that threatened to surface. Forcing his focus solely on the tiny heart-shaped face looking up at him so adoringly, he playfully pinched his daughter’s lightly freckled cheek. “And I suppose these aren’t sprinkles?”

“No, silly. They’re freckles!” She pulled away with another giggle and ran back to the porch. “Watch what I can do, Daddy.”

He smiled as she dipped a large bubble wand into the bright yellow tray that sat on the sun-warmed porch steps and then spun in a slow circle, her motion creating a long, iridescent bubble. To be so carefree, he thought with an inner sigh.

The door to the small, ranch-style house creaked open, drawing his gaze that way.

“Nathan,” Mildred Timmons greeted with a warm smile. A smiling, robust woman in her midsixties, Mildred had been a Godsend to him after losing both his wife and his parents in the storm two years before.

He’d been a couple of towns away, working on a construction project with his brothers, when the F4 tornado touched down, leaving a path of destruction across several Texas counties. The near mile-wide twister had swept across the northernmost part of Braxton, ripping down power lines, damaging buildings and taking the lives of those he loved in a few short minutes.

“You’re done early,” she said, wiping her hands on the apron she had tied about her rounded waist.

“Not really. I have a break before I have to get back to the site. Thought I’d take Katie into town for a hot dog. That is, unless she’s already eaten dinner.”

“You’re in luck. She hasn’t. We were gonna make some fish sticks and fries, but I’m sure she’d rather be having dinner with her daddy. You two haven’t gotten to share many meals together lately.”