Hope Buchanan only had two people she’s loved her entire life, her two best friends from college, Faith and Grace. Despite graduating years ago and moving across the country from one another, they continue to keep monthly group video chats to stay close. But it’s not the same as spending time together. So, during one drunken New Year’s Eve video call, they make a pact that as long as the three of them are all single they would no longer spend the holidays alone and book their first girl’s vacation for the following Christmas in Scotland.
Fast forward a year and Hope is the only one that makes her flight to Scotland arriving on Christmas Eve and finds herself without transportation to the cottage they had rented. Or so she thinks until she runs into the only other person left in Glasgow Airport and discovers by eavesdropping on his phone call that he is also looking for a ride to Fenwick, the same town where her vacation rental is located.
Malcolm MacTavish is returning home for the holiday season to see his family but finds himself stranded at the airport. While waiting for his brother to come get him, he runs into a fascinating and beautiful American who seems to also be deserted at the airport. When he discovers she’s not only heading to the same town as him but has rented his aunt’s old cottage, which happens to be next door to his parents’ home, he offers her a ride.
As they wait for Malcolm’s brother to arrive, they talk and both feel the instant chemistry between them. But Hope is only here for a weeklong holiday and her friends are due to arrive in a few days so it would be ridiculous to act on these feelings. As Malcolm and Hope learn, sometimes the pull that leads us to our soulmate is too strong to ignore and it’s better to let fate lead us into keeping Hope.
College was the turning point in Faith’s life. It’s where she met her best friends, Hope and Grace. When she learned to stop following her parents’ agenda for her life and start making her own decisions, it was also the first time she gave her whole heart to another, her boyfriend, Luke. During those four years, she discovered just how fragile the heart was and that the only love she could depend upon was her bond with her best friends.
Years later, during one drunken New Year’s Eve video call with her besties, they made a pact that as long as the three of them were single, they would spend the holidays together and booked their first girls’ vacation for the following Christmas in Scotland. Fast forward a year, and both Hope and Grace miss their flights on Christmas Eve, leaving Hope alone in Scotland. While Faith is at the airport trying to figure out her next steps on how to get to Scotland, fate steps in and turns her entire world on its axis.
Luke felt awful when he missed his flight to his sister’s for the holiday, but he couldn’t believe his eyes as he walked back through the airport to head home. He swore he just saw his ex-girlfriend, from college, Faith, but the last he heard, she moved to New York after college, so what was she doing in London on Christmas Eve? Curiosity got the best of him as he approached her, and his entire world changed in the blink of an eye.
Luke’s one greatest regret in his life was ending their relationship when he graduated. He had referred to her as “the one that got away” ever since, and it felt like too much of a coincidence that they were meeting once more. As they spend the next few days together, they discover that the chemistry and love they once shared were still alive, and they both want a second chance.
But is desire enough to keep a long-distance relationship going, or does it require sacrifice? Can two high-powered career-oriented individuals give up their professional aspirations for the chance at the happy-ever-after ending? As Faith and Luke discover, relationships don’t come without costs; sometimes you have to surrender to faith and fate, trusting that it will lead you to fulfillment and purpose in your life. Sometimes, second chances aren’t about reviving the embers of a past love; it’s about renewing Faith.
J.C. Poole 