Read the first chapter of The CEO’s Christmas Surprise.
Joshua Parker pulled into his garage, the weight of what he was about to do pressing on his shoulders. This was it. He was asking Lanie for a divorce.
After nine months of marriage, he’d given up. The woman he married was nothing like the person he lived with.
The Lanie he fell for was a go-getter. She’d taken one look at him and decided they were getting married.
Josh couldn’t help but smile at the memory. It hadn’t mattered to Lanie that Josh was five years older, or that he was her father’s right-hand man.
She’d claimed him as hers and no one, including Josh, could do anything about it.
Not that he’d wanted to…at the time. He’d had visions of them running Sterling Properties together. He’d take over from Howard Sterling as CEO and Lanie would decorate the properties with her knack for interior design.
“How did we get to this place?”
They spent two weeks in Jazirat Aljana on the most blissful honeymoon a guy could ask for.
After they came home, Josh returned to work, and Lanie did—nothing. She quit her job as head interior designer for Sterling Properties and spent her days with her mother at the Hibiscus Country Club or shopping with her friends.
This was not the life he’d envisioned. Nor one he was content to endure any longer.
Lanie cracked the garage door and peeked out. “Josh? What are you doing?”
She opened the door wider, her brow creased in confusion.
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“Are you ill?” She took one step and then hesitated, flipping her wavy blond hair over one shoulder.
“Stay there.” Her phone was in her hand in a blink. “I’m calling Dr. Taylor.”
Josh dragged himself from the car with a sigh. As he approached her, sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Put the phone away, Lanie. I’m just tired.” He shuffled over and gave her the obligatory peck on the cheek.
Her expensive cologne wrapped around him and for a second Josh wondered if he was doing the right thing.
Could he try harder to reach his wife? Would counseling help them get to the root of their problems?
Lanie pouted, her bow lips drawing his attention. “You’re late. You know how my mother hates it when we don’t arrive on time.”
Josh stepped into the kitchen, nose twitching at the odor of stale food and garbage. His eyes drifted to the sink where the breakfast dishes and everything Lanie had used during the day were stacked.
How could one woman use so many dishes?
“Didn’t we talk about you washing the dishes before I came home?”
“I didn’t have time, Joshy. I saw the girls at the club when I was there with Mom. They came home with me and since Myrna wasn’t here, we ordered lunch.”
Josh rubbed his forehead, getting a vision of what happened. Since Lanie refused to eat from disposable containers, they’d transferred the food to chinaware.
“By the time they left, it was late. So, I had a bubble bath and dressed for dinner. You can’t expect me to wash dishes in this outfit.”
She gestured to her ivory sheath dress. Josh allowed his eyes to roam over his wife’s lithe figure. She had a knack for choosing clothes that complemented her frame, but he was disillusioned with the package.
Why couldn’t she be more like his mother? Patsy Drummond was the principal of an exclusive prep school and still made time to care for her family and home.
“Go without me, Lanie. I need to clean up this mess.”
He placed his laptop bag on the floor by the counter, shucked off his jacket, and rolled his sleeves above his elbows.
“But Joshy.” Lanie sidled up to him and twined her arms around his neck. “What am I supposed to tell my parents?” Her voice held the hint of a whine and Josh’s tenuous grip on his patience snapped.
“Tell them I’m cleaning up after their child, who, despite not having a job, can’t wash a few dishes.”
Lanie’s mouth pressed into a firm line. “This wouldn’t happen if you’d let me hire a replacement until Myrna returns.”
They’d given Myrna Smoak, their housekeeper-cook, an extended vacation to help with her new granddaughter.
“Why do we need temporary help when you don’t work?”
It was an argument they’d had several times in the two days of Myrna’s leave. Lanie didn’t understand why she should tidy up after herself when they could hire someone.
Since she refused to work, Josh didn’t know why they needed the additional expense. Besides, it was only a month, and she’d agreed to it.
“You know why, Joshy.”
He gritted his teeth. “I hate that nickname. It makes me sound like a child.”
Lanie’s eyes filled with tears, but she angled her chin. “Mom says that a woman of means doesn’t work. She cares for their home and family and ensures her husband is happy.”
Josh rolled his eyes. Lanie sprouted so many Brenda-isms that he wondered if she ever had an original thought.
“News flash, Lanie. You’re doing a lousy job. Our house is a mess and I’m not happy.”
Lanie flinched as his last two words came out as a shout.
“You’re not happy?” Her lips trembled. “But I’m doing everything Mom said.”
“I didn’t marry Brenda, Lanie. I married a talented interior decorator who was creating a name for herself on Saturn Island.” He gentled his tone, hoping to get through to her. “I assumed we’d take Sterling Properties to the next level together.”
“I don’t understand. Mom said—”
He cut her off with a slice of his hand. “This is not working.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to get his anger under control.
“What isn’t working?” Her tone became persuasive. “Let me hire a housekeeper, so you won’t need to wash dishes when you come home.”
She clapped, excitement stealing over her features. “I’m sure Mom knows someone who also cooks. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
“No.” Josh stiffened his spine and said the words he’d rehearsed on the drive home. “I want a divorce.”
Lanie jerked as if he’d slapped her before her face crumpled.
“But Joshy, why?”
“This is the reason.” He steeled his heart against her tears. They were probably fake. “I cannot be the man you want. I’m not content having you hang your hopes and dreams on me.”
Being the center of Lanie’s world was exhausting. She expected him to entertain and distract her, a task he was not up to after a long day at work.
“But I’m doing everything you want.”
“No, Lanie, you’re not. You’ve become a different person.”
“No, I haven’t. I’m still the same woman you fell in love with.”
Was she? Had her beauty blinded him so much that he’d failed to consider her character?
“Besides,” she jutted her chin. “You’ve changed too.” She swirled her hand in front of his face. “This is not the man I married.”
He arched a brow. “How have I changed?”
He held his breath for her to list his flaws. Perhaps if he had also broken her expectations, they could grow together.
“You didn’t wear those when we got married.” She pointed an accusing finger at his black horn-rimmed glasses.
He gaped. “Please, tell me you’re joking.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Those are an imperfection—one you didn’t have before.”
Weariness crept over him. “I can’t do this anymore.” Arguing with Lanie was like fighting with a toddler. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
He stepped around her, leaving the mess and his bride behind. But instead of heading for their bedroom, he turned left for the guest room, locking the door behind him.
Like his parents, Josh’s marriage had fallen apart, which meant that despite his best efforts, he was no better than his dad.
The CEO’s Christmas Surprise
Table of Contents
Sometimes, you have to lose everything to find what really matters.
Nine months after saying “I do,” Joshua Parker wants out. The ambitious, driven woman he married seems content to drift from brunches to boutiques, and Josh is starting to feel like a stranger in his marriage.
Lanie Parker never saw it coming. She thought they were just finding their rhythm—until Josh announces he’s ready to walk away. Determined to save their marriage, Lanie’s world takes a sudden turn after a close brush with tragedy. And when her father orders Josh to stay by her side, neither is prepared for what comes next.
As secrets surface and faith is tested, Josh and Lanie are forced to confront the ghosts they’ve been avoiding and the truth they never expected. But can two people find their way back to each other when the path forward seems impossible?
One thing is certain: if they can face their brokenness, a love they never imagined might just be waiting on the other side.
The CEO’s Christmas Surprise is a Christian contemporary romance novella with strong faith themes.