title: Merry Mocha
author: Fischer, Rusty
description: Mona Madison is stuck, stranded with her future ex-boyfriend at his family estate in tiny Noel, North Carolina. From her choice of attire to his mother’s judgmental scorn, everything has gone wrong, it’s clear the relationship is over and now she’s merely going through the motions before she can break up before the New Year. Restless on Christmas Eve, she escapes to the all-night convenience store up the street, desperate for her favorite holiday treat: Merry Mocha ice cream!
  
  Alas, someone has bought the last pint in town. Toby Jenner sits, lazily rocking the porch swing in front of Marvin’s Country Market, about to dig into his favorite seasonal sin: Merry Mocha. When Mona stumbles out of the store, disappointed, a kindly store owner senses romance in the air and offers them two plastic spoons to solve their holiday dilemma.
  
  Over ice cream and conversation, the night, and Christmas Eve, passes in a swirl of giggling mocha bliss. High on sugar, dark chocolate chunks and romance, the two make a silly pact: if they’re single next Christmas, they’ll meet on this very same porch and enjoy another pint of Merry Mocha… and possibly more.
  
  Now a year has passed and, incredibly, Mona finds herself racing to Noel in a last-minute effort to rekindle last year’s romance. Will it work? Will Toby even show? As Christmas Eve winds down and Noel comes into view, she can only hope…