The Holiday Swap

CHAPTER 1


Charlie


Monday: 12 Days to Christmas . . .


Los Angeles



Charlie Goodwin drew a shaky breath and tapped furiously on her phone, the screen illuminating her face in the otherwise dark storeroom. She opened an app and searched for the emergency two-minute stress-release meditation. Once the soothing voice began, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to slow her frantic heartbeat. But all that did was bring the sharp scent of peppermint extract further up her nose and into her throat. Normally she loved the smell of peppermint and all Christmas-related things. But this had been sabotage. She smelled like a giant candy cane-and she wasn't feeling very festive about it.



Her phone buzzed in her hand and she cracked an eye, glancing at the screen. Priya Basu, her friend and on-set makeup artist.


Don't let him get to you.

He's a jerk and you're YOU.


Priya was right. Sighing with frustration, Charlie leaned her head back against the wall. She whispered the mantra in time with her exhales and peppermint-scented inhales: Don't let him get to you.


Austin Nash. Someone she had a sour history with and her co-host on the network reality baking show Sweet & Salty, which had run for two seasons but was slated to be replaced by a new show, called Bake My Day, after the holidays. The current Sweet & Salty special they were co-hosting-a twelve-days-to-Christmas countdown, featuring twelve amateur bakers vying for the top spot and twenty-five thousand dollars-was meant to be festive and fun. However, Austin Nash left Charlie feeling more bah-humbug than merry and bright. This holiday special was also Charlie's last chance to impress the network executives and secure the Bake My Day hosting job, which would mean the end of having to share a stage with Austin Nash.



The two had known each other back in culinary school, where she'd discovered Austin was more

Maggie Knox is the pen name for bestselling Canadian writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. Brown is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of five novels, including the #1 national bestseller Recipe for a Perfect Wife, as well as the non-fiction bestseller The 4% Fix: How one hour can change your life. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Self, Redbook, Today s Parent, and Chatelaine. She lives just outside Toronto with her family and a labradoodle named Fred. Stapley is a former magazine editor and New York Times bestselling author of Reese s Book Club Pick Lucky, as well as international bestsellers Mating for Life, Things to Do When It s Raining, and The Last Resort. Many of her novels have been optioned for television and her journalism has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Elle, Today s Parent, and Reader s Digest. She lives in Toronto with her family and a pre­cocious black cat named Oscar. The Holiday Swap was their first novel writing together as Maggie Knox and is a Canadian bestseller.
 

An utterly adorable, pitch-perfect romance with just the right amount of Christmas cheer. The Holiday Swap is a pure delight, I couldn t stop from smiling. Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six
 
Every bit as warm and cozy as a Hallmark Christmas movie." PopSugar

"Excuse us while we devour [The Holiday Swap] faster than a package of peppermint bark. E! Online

Holiday romance fun, times two!...This adorable romance is the perfect countdown to Christmas. Full of sisterly love, big city and small-town hijinks, two love stories, and descriptions so delicious you ll practically smell the gingerbread. The Holiday Swap is the perfect addition to your holiday romance shelf. Christina Lauren, author of The Unhoneymooners and In a Holidaze

It s double the treats and double the trouble as twins swap holidays and dramas in this delightful yuletide romance from Knox There s both tenderness and comedy as the sisters rediscover their priorities and sibling bond while hilariously struggling to draw the line between their roles and reality. This light romantic romp is delicious fun, perfect for rom-com fans in need of some Christmas cheer.   Publishers Weekly

Knox assembles a memorable cast and whips up inventive switched-lives scenarios filled with a host of mishaps that double the fun. Delightfully romantic plot twists further sweeten this lighthearted, feel-good story with a message that is sure to make rom-com readers hunger for whatever Knox decides to dish up next.  Shelf Awareness

I love this book! It is deliciously fun and wildly romantic, and the dual settings of a baking show set in LA and a family-run bakery in a small snowy town feels like Great British Bakeoff meets Gilmore Girls. I wanted to befriend the twins, throttle the villains, fall in love with the heroes and bake up some sourdough. Jennifer Robson, author of The Gown

The Holiday Swap dishes up a double dose of