Merry Ex-Mas

Hi Reader! I’m Kaye Kennedy, author of Rescued by Chance. I hope you enjoyed reading Griffin & Holly's story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I sat down for an interview with the happy couple to give you an inside look at their relationship. I know I’m happy for them, and I’m sure you are, too. So without further ado, let's see what they had to say, shall we?

We're sitting in the living room of their newly purchased Low Country style home in Savannah. There's a faint hint of fresh paint and a fire is crackling in the floor-to-ceiling white brick fireplace.

Kaye:

Thank you both for inviting me into your beautiful home. How long has it been since you've moved in?

Holly:

We've officially lived here a week now. My house sold quickly, so we stayed at Griffin's house for a few months while the contractors finished the renovations on this place.

Kaye:

How are you liking life in Savannah?

Holly:

I actually love it here.

Kaye:

You seem surprised.

Holly:

I am a little. Other than the summers I've spent at my family home in Hilton Head, and the four years when I was in college, I've only ever lived in North Carolina. I wasn't sure what to expect in Georgia.

She takes a deep breath and a peaceful expression overtakes her.

Honestly, this place feels like home. More than anywhere ever has.

She glances at Griffin and smiles.

Kaye:

I'm happy to hear that. I assume living together has gone well then?

Griffin:

Almost too well.

Holly:

We're both kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Kaye:

If I may speak candidly, you two have been through a lot. You've earned this period of bliss.

Griffin:

He puts his arm around Holly.

I couldn't agree more.

Holly places her hand on Griffin's leg and squeezes his thigh.

Kaye:

Oh my God! 

I point at the diamond on her left ring finger.

You got engaged?

Holly:

It just happened.

She holds out her hand for me to admire her sparkly pear shaped solitaire, which is modest in comparison to her previous engagement ring, but still beautiful.

Kaye:

Congratulations. I want to know everything.

Holly:

You tell it.

Griffin:

He grins broadly.

I've had the ring for a while and it's been killing me not to just ask her, but I wanted to make it special. The day we were scheduled to move into this house, Holly was finishing up a three-day stint working in Charlotte, so I arranged with her driver to take her on an adventure.

Holly:

Which, of course, was the last thing I wanted to do because I was excited to finally get into our house.

Griffin:

Yeah, I didn't exactly think that part through.

Holly:

I got over my annoyance quickly though.

Griffin:

I was kinda banking on the first stop to relax you. Holly likes being in charge. It's hard to surprise her.

Holly:

I can't help it.

Griffin:

He kisses her temple.

I know Ms. CEO. Anyway, so the first stop was the spa where she got a massage and facial, then she had her nails, hair, and makeup done.

Kaye:

Wow. That's quite the spa day.

Holly:

It was wonderful.

Griffin:

Then--

Holly:

You forgot about the card.

Griffin:

Right. I had the spa manager give Holly a card telling her to enjoy being pampered because I was going to take her out for a nice dinner. After the spa, her driver brought her to this boutique where she got to pick out a new dress.

Holly:

I may have gotten three new dresses.

Griffin:

And you look gorgeous in all of them.

Kaye:

Were you suspicious at all?

Holly:

I probably should've been, but Griffin had just returned from a week-long mission, so I thought he was being romantic because we'd been apart.

Griffin:

That was another thing I was banking on. So after she was dressed, her driver brought her to Mansion on Forsyth Park and she met me at the piano lounge for cocktails.

Holly:

He was seated at the bar looking handsome as could be all dressed up in a suit. She wiggled her shoulder against him.

Griffin:

After cocktails and music we had a private chef's dinner.

Holly:

That's when I got suspicious. We made it all the way through dinner without him proposing, so I ordered dessert, but he still didn't propose.

Griffin:

She was squirming. It was great.

Holly:

It was not great. I was super anxious.

Griffin:

Yeah, okay, but I made up for it, didn't I?

Holly:

You sure did.

Griffin:

After dinner, I drove us to our new home, and that's when I started to get nervous. I mean, I knew she'd say yes, but I was worried things would get messed up, plus Holly was clearly disappointed that I hadn't proposed during dinner, so I was feeling the pressure.

Holly:

I thought maybe he was going to ask on the way home since his truck has...sentimental value. But, no. I tried not to be upset, so I focused on the fact that we were going to see our new house all put together for the first time.

Griffin:

And I was praying that the guys hadn't decided to be funny and fuck things up.

Kaye:

What do you mean?

Griffin:

While we were at dinner, my teammates went over to our house and set up a bunch of flowers and candles. I was half-expecting to show up and find that they'd arranged the candles in the shape of a dick or something.

Kaye:

Knowing the guys, I'd say that's a realistic concern.

Holly:

That's what I said after Griff told me who had helped him.

Griffin:

Lucky for them they'd heeded my threats to castrate them if they fucked around. So we pull into the driveway, and I parked outside the garage so we could go through the front. I opened the door and carried Holly over the threshold into a room that was flooded in candlelight.

Holly:

Pretty literally. They went overboard.

Griffin:

Yeah, no kidding. We're still scraping wax off the floors.

Holly:

But it was beautiful.

Griffin:

I put Holly down right here in front of the fireplace where there was a giant present for her to unwrap.

Holly:

Which I did, only to find another box inside it, then another, and another. Until I got to a ring box.

Griffin:

Before she could open that one, I snatched it from her, got on one knee, and asked her to marry me. She said yes, and here we are.

Holly:

You're skipping over all of the sweet things you said.

Griffin:

He cups the back of his neck.

I don't really remember anything beyond my heart racing and how gorgeous you looked. The candles reflected off the gold sequins on your dress, and you were so damn cute with your hand covering your mouth, and your eyes all teary.

Holly:

Well, I remember. You said something along the lines of how you gave me your heart when we were teens, and it's been mine ever since, and will always be mine. You wanted to start off this new chapter in our new house with a happy memory, so you opened the ring box and asked me to take a chance on forever with you as your wife.

Griffin:

His face flushed. I guess that's pretty good.

Holly:

Pretty good? It was super romantic.

Kaye:

I have to agree with Holly. And you chose a beautiful ring.

Griffin:

He grazes over the diamond with his thumb.

It was my mom's.

Holly:

It's perfect.

Griffin:

I was kinda nervous she wouldn't like it--that it wouldn't be enough.

Holly:

How could I not love it? This is so much more valuable than a giant diamond. I know how much this ring means to you, and you chose to give it to me. That is worth more than any financial value.

Griffin:

My mom would've loved you. She would've wanted you to have it.

He pulled her in close.

Kaye:

That sounds like a fairytale proposal.

Holly:

She rested her head on his shoulder.

It truly was. I couldn't have dreamed up anything better.

Kaye:

Have you given any thought to when the wedding will be?

Holly:

I've already hired a wedding planner and we're going to tour a few places this weekend.

Griffin:

My fiancée wastes no time.

Holly:

I like hearing you call me that.

Griffin:

Good because I like calling you that.

They eye each other like they're ready to tear their clothes off.

Kaye:

Well, I'm thrilled for you both, and I know the readers will be, too. I'm sure your friends and family are excited.

Griffin:

Thanks. Yeah, the guys are taking all the credit. They're saying that she only said yes because they did such a good job turning our house into the scene from Serendipity.

Kaye:

Oh my gosh, I knew that proposal sounded familiar. That's a great movie.

Griffin:

It's one of Holly's favorites. I was worried it'd be cliché.

Holly:

Not at all.

Kaye:

Agreed. It was incredibly thoughtful.

Holly:

Jay freaked when I told him. He loves that movie, too. He has already started us a shared Pinterest board for the wedding, and wants us to have frozen hot chocolates on the dessert table in homage to the proposal.

Kaye:

I fully support that idea.

Holly:

I'm not ruling it out.

Kaye:

How do Elijah and your dad feel about you two getting engaged?

Griffin:

I went to Charlotte and talked to them before I proposed. Understandably, they're nervous about Holly getting married again given...last time, but they can tell that she's happy and they gave me their blessing.

Kaye:

Have you told your father, yet?

Griffin:

We did. He loves Holly more than he loves me, so he's stoked.

Holly:

That's not true.

Griffin:

It kinda is. I'm cool with it, baby. How could he not? You're incredible.

Holly:

The General joined my family for Christmas this year. It was nice to get to know him better.

Griffin:

He sent me mom's ring the week after, and said I'd be an idiot not to marry her. We finally agree on something.

Holly:

And I'd be an idiot not to marry you.

Kaye:

You two are adorable. I'm glad you reunited and worked things out. It's clear you're meant for each other.

Holly:

We really are.

Griffin:

A hundred percent.

Kaye:

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I can't wait to see where things go from here.

Thank you for reading Rescued by Chance! If you loved Griffin and Holly's story, please take a minute to write a review on Amazon, GoodReads, or BookBub.



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Merry Ex-Mas

When these roommates fake-date for Christmas, things become all too real—destroying the lines to the friend zone—but their friendship isn’t the only thing at risk.

Keith

Being a New York City fireman makes me the black sheep of the family. My father (the senator and future presidential candidate) desperately wants his son to follow in his footsteps. Politics isn't my thing, but my parents are relentless in their quest to get me to give up my dream and move to Washington D.C.. In an attempt to get them off my back for a little while, I agreed to play their game and attend their annual Christmas Soireé.

Since I couldn't take just anyone as my date to a holiday party for the members of Congress, my roommate Brielle came in clutch and agreed to be my fake girlfriend. She’s an award-winning news anchor with class and a keen intellect, so I knew everyone would love her. I never expected to leave that party thinking I might just love her, too.

Now I have to keep my parents from digging their talons into the woman who means more to me than anything. I put out fires for a living, surely I can keep my family from burning down my life, right?

This interracial love story will have you cheering for love to win over hate. All they need to do is survive Christmas…