Sadie believes in three things: a well-structured Google Calendar, white twinkle lights over colored ones, and never going back to an ex. Too bad she’s stuck planning the biggest Christmas event of the year with Danny, the only person who’s ever made her feel seen. Can holiday magic make sparks fly between them again? Readers who enjoy found family and holiday fun will will fall for Mr. Merry Ex-Mas by Carolina Jax, a steamy, small town, enemies to lovers, second chance romance.
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I believe in three things: a well-structured Google Calendar, twinkle lights over colored ones, and never going back to an ex. But when the Starlight Bay Town Board pairs me with that ex, the one with charm for days and a smirk to match, to plan the biggest Christmas event of the year, my plan to avoid him begins to unravel.
Danny Love is chaos in a hoodie, yet he’s somehow the only person who ever made me feel seen, when he wasn’t teasing me or driving me absolutely insane. Now we're stuck together planning a Christmas Gala and dodging mistletoe balls, and it turns out, the spark between us never actually fizzled. It just waited for the moment we both might be brave enough to try, again.
Can holiday magic help his ‘winging it’ personality and my ‘google calendar is my bible’ attitude make it work a second time?
Excerpt
Copyright 2025 Carolina Jax
“How about a shot?ˮ
He raises a brow and puts his hands on his hips. “How bad we talking?ˮ
“You know the Christmas Gala youʼre sponsoring and your in-house event rep is handling?ˮ He nods. “The Starlight Bay Town Board picked a teacher to assist. And Iʼm that teacher.ˮ
He whistles but has a shit-eating grin. “So, itʼs bad.ˮ He grabs four shot glasses and lines them up, then grabs the bottle of Jameson, filling all four. He pushes two forward, then grabs one. We tap glasses and down it, the burn making me feel slightly better.
“Does she know?ˮ
“Oh, she knows.ˮ I slam the second shot. “I just came from seeing her at the school auditorium.ˮ
“Howʼd that go?ˮ
I shake my head. “Sheʼs still Sadie. Color-coded, clipboard-carrying, and convinced Iʼm here to sabotage her centerpiece arrangements.ˮ
“Seems to be a specialty of yours.ˮ
“Causing chaos is my love language.ˮ
Matt laughs and pours one more shot. “You mean your ‘desperately trying not to be in loveʼ
language?ˮ
“Excuse me. Iʼll have you know I am very successfully not in love with her.ˮ
“You're so full of shit.ˮ
I shrug, then do the third shot, the fire sitting low in my stomach. “I canʼt help it if I remember
everything she says, and still think about how good she looks when sheʼs mad.ˮ I smile. “I pushed her buttons on purpose today to see what would happen.ˮ
He scoffs. “Still trying to get a blow job after a fight, huh?ˮ
I snicker. “I should have never told you that.ˮ I spin the empty shot glass, and my mind reverts to every fight I picked on purpose just so she would show me some passion.
“Mhmm. Totally not in love. You sound like a movie side character who dies of unresolved tension.ˮ
I roll my eyes. “Youʼre no help.ˮ
“Listen, Iʼm the guy who watched his high-school sweetheart waltz back into his winery with her fiancé to plan their wedding and still managed to marry her, so if anyone gets being the side character at first, I do.ˮ
“Yeah, well, Sadieʼs not exactly giving me the green light. In fact, her words were ‘weʼre not
anything.ʼ So, pretty sure sheʼs over me.ˮ
“Maybe. Or maybe sheʼs scared youʼre not joking this time.ˮ
I pause, letting out a breath. “I wasnʼt joking then.ˮ
“I know you werenʼt, but she didn't, and that was the problem. Youʼre not a kid, Danny. You donʼt have to pull her ponytail to get her attention.ˮ
“I did if I wanted a blow job.ˮ I laugh, then sober. “Sheʼs got this whole world mapped out—timelines, goals, perfect damn centerpieces. And Iʼm just… me.ˮ
“Yeah, youʼre you. The guy whoʼs funny, loyal, great with kids, and probably the only person on earth who could balance her out when she finally lets go.ˮ
“You really think that?ˮ
“Only because my fiancé tells me I have to be nice to you.ˮ I flip him off, and he laughs. “But Sadie thinks that, too. She just doesnʼt want to admit it, even if you're holding a lighter to her perfectly timed schedule.ˮ
I huff a laugh and stand. “Thanks for the drink. And for the talk. I'll catch ya tomorrow.ˮ
I walk out, remembering how it felt to have her hand pushed against my chest, kissing me like she didnʼt want to want me but couldn't resist me either.
That was the night I realized I might actually love Sadie Johnson.
And today showed me I never stopped. Now, I just have to figure out how to get her to see what Iʼve always known. We werenʼt perfect on paper, and we definitely didnʼt make sense together, but when it was just me and her with no schedule between us, we were something worth fighting for.
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About Carolina Jax
Hailing from a tiny town in New York, Carolina spends her free time with her military husband, their three sons and new daughter-in-law (welcome to this crazy family!) and her chocolate lab, Lincoln. Her avid love for reading slowly morphed into an “I want to do that, too!ˮ attitude and a dream was born with a pen and paper. Carolina Jax writes contemporary romances about her favorite things – football, small towns and big hearts. Her stories are based on an everyday life with amazing people finding amazing love. They have the perfect combination of love, lust and laughs, and always with a Happily Ever After. When sheʼs not on the field watching her boys play football and lacrosse, she loves to drink wine with friends, watch the Philadelphia Eagles (hopefully) win, read about alpha heroes, and dream about everything Christmas.
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