Free Mission of Christmas by Candice Gilmer Page A

godmother.
    What makes this case interesting? She must use as little magic as possible to bring Roark his much-desired Happily Ever After.
    Roark’s perfect match is his best friend Stephanie Bowers. It should be simple to bring two people together who have been best friends since kindergarten, and let their free will take its course. It probably would have been, too, if Cupid hadn’t started shooting arrows into Roark, forcing the mortal to fall in love.
    Now Christy must use every skill at her command—just not her magic—to thwart Cupid’s meddling and get Roark and Stephanie together without changing their free will or ruining her perfect record. Or she’ll never get her own Happily Ever After.
    Warning: Magic, fairy godmothers, a rambunctious god, and two stubborn people who need a kick in the butt to see what’s obviously meant to be.
     
    Enjoy the following excerpt for Under His Nose:
    “I have been doing this a long time. My husband is ready to retire,” Christy said, her wings flapping softly behind the chair. The little blue sparkles floated around the room toward the other two.
    “And?” Ava prompted.
    Christy smiled. “And I want one last challenge.”
    “Another case?” Lilly asked, her wings fluttering.
    “More than that.” Christy had been thinking about this for a while. “I want to truly push our talents. We all have strengths as Fairy Godmothers.”
    Ava leaned toward Lilly. “She’s got another trio to take.”
    Lilly nodded in agreement.
    “Yes, I have another trio.” Periodically, they would take on a trio of charges who were connected to one another. It made the ripples of happiness bigger when three found their HEA at once, instead of just a single person. And ripples always affected more.
    “And what makes this challenge special?” Lilly asked.
    “To see who can get the best Happily Ever After with the least amount of magic.” Christy leaned back and waited for the resistance to explode. Because it always did, at first.
    “No magic? How can we do anything without magic?” Ava asked, hands on her hips.
    “I can’t get a fairy to go out with me with magic,” Lilly said. “How can I get a mortal to her HEA without it?” Lilly’s wings were beginning to take on a fan-like quality.
    “Least amount of magic. Not none,” Christy said. “We can still use magic, just not as much.”
    “Why not?” Ava asked.
    “Because this trio is not the usual case.”
    Ava rubbed her head. “Oh goddess, are they Cupid Cases?”
    “No,” Christy replied. “Not exactly.” Cupid Cases were people who’d been hit by one of his horrible arrows and were trying to recover their life after the collapse of the disastrous relationship.
    There were a lot of Cupid Cases.
    Christy waved her wand and created a swirl of blue fog that slowly turned white before revealing a scene. Everyone clustered around the images spreading out before them.
    A dark, rustic sports bar, with men sitting around a table.
     
    “Well, the reason you’re still single, Roark my boy, is because you spend all day making perfumes.” William said, proudly displaying his white T-shirt, with Last Free Night on it. He sipped on his beer, grinning.
    Lucky bastard , Roark thought. He was getting married tomorrow. Roark had always looked forward to the institution of marriage—he came from parents who actually loved each other, and were still married after thirty-eight years. And they were as much in love now as they were then.
    Sadly, even Roark’s parents were starting to wonder which side he was playing for. Roark didn’t know why he just couldn’t get a date.
    William might be on to something…
    Bruce and Jason laughed at the barb. They had been friends as long as William—they all went to the same high school, wrestled on the same team, and had known each other for eternity.
    “Every girl you meet thinks you’re gay,” Jason added, grinning over his bourbon.
    Roark smirked. “But then they want to change me