All I Want for Christmas by Jennifer Gracen

She took another sip of the hot chocolate to keep warm.

The temperature hadn’t gotten above forty degrees that day, and sure felt like it was dropping into the low thirties now. She shivered, glad she’d chosen to wear her fuzzy wool hat, thickest scarf, and heavier wool coat. She should have been here by now.Ī cold gust of wind blew, lifting the ends of Cassandra’s shoulder length hair. The only thing ruffling her at the moment was wondering where Sabrina was. Noise didn’t register and crowded sidewalks didn’t make her claustrophobic. She’d spent her undergrad years at NYU and done her graduate program at Columbia, and now she had a tiny apartment in Chelsea and taught English Lit at NYU. She was a lifelong New Yorker, born and raised on Long Island, less than ninety minutes away from Manhattan. A group of teenage girls hustled by, all of them talking simultaneously.Ĭassandra wasn’t fazed by the chaos.

Cars and taxis bulleted down the street, horns blaring, the exhaust fumes mixing with the smoky smell of pretzels and chestnuts in the cold air. So many people-hustling into Penn to make their trains, coming out of Penn eager to roam the city, or just trying to get through the crowds to wherever they were headed. The familiar smells and sounds of Manhattan barraged her from all sides as she stood in the midst of frenetic activity.

She’d placed herself at the center of the top step so when Bree came up the escalator, out of Penn Station, she’d be right there and easy to spot. Standing on the crowded, bustling sidewalk of Seventh Avenue, Cassandra Baines sipped her peppermint hot cocoa as she waited for her best friend. It was such a pleasure to take this ride with you, and I hope one day we get to do something like it again. Writing the Christmas in New York stories together was challenging, exciting, and mostly, just plain fun. This one’s for my three closest writing sisters: Jeannie Moon, Patty Blount, and Jolyse Barnett. You two were so cheerfully helpful your assistance was invaluable. If anything’s amiss with Sean’s Irishness or Cassandra’s academic world, that falls squarely on my shoulders. Thank you to Maitiú Ó Raġallaiġ and Donna Lutz for your willingness to answer all my questions. And thanks to you both for your enthusiasm and your kindness. Thank you, Lilian Darcy, for being an editor and brainstormer extraordinaire. Thank you, Jane Porter, for giving me the opportunity to write this story.

What a wonderful group! Thanks for welcoming me into it. I love the vibrant Tule Publishing family. Keep Up with your Favorite Authors and their New Releasesįor the latest news from Tule Publishing authors, sign up for our newsletter here or check out our website at

All I Want for Christmas by Jennifer Gracen