A Match Made for Thanksgiving

Book 1: Holidays with the Wongs

by Jackie Lau

Genres: Holiday books; Contemporary Romance; Holiday Romance; Asian Canadian

Synopsis

A Thanksgiving rom-com with lots of food and interfering family!



Advertising executive Nick Wong enjoys living in Toronto. He loves late nights partying and taking women back to his penthouse. And so it is with great reluctance that he returns to his boring hometown of Mosquito Bay for Thanksgiving.



This year, however, is even worse than usual. His parents and grandparents, frustrated with the lack of weddings in the family, have invited blind dates for him and his three siblings. Nick's brother Greg has been set up with Lily Tseng, who just so happens to be Nick's latest one-night stand, the one he can't get out of his mind.



Although Nick has never been interested in settling down, Lily has him reconsidering. Perhaps he's good for more than a single night of sex, dumplings, and bubble tea after all. But first, he has to get through this painful weekend with his family and convince her that she should be with him, not Greg . . .



Contains mature themes.

Release date: October 8, 2019

Publisher: Jackie Lau Books

Print pages: 106

Sample

Chapter 1

“When will you be home for Thanksgiving?” Nick’s mother asked. “We’re doing dinner on Saturday this year, remember?”

As he held the phone to his ear, Nick Wong looked out at the spectacular view of Toronto from his penthouse. This was his home now. He did not want to go to Mosquito Bay. He’d left the small town on Lake Huron as soon as he’d finished high school and hadn’t looked back.

Seriously, it was called Mosquito Bay. Why would anyone want to go there?

“Nick?” his mother prompted.

He sighed. “I’ll be there by four on Saturday.”

“Don’t be late. Not like last time.”

“I’ll do my best.”

To be honest, he was sort of looking forward to seeing his family, but he was dreading it at the same time. His family was a bit...much, that was all.

Nick liked to do his own thing. Be his own man. Be in charge.

But in Mosquito Bay, his control seemed to slip away. There were his parents, his white mother and Asian father, who had been high school sweethearts and were confused as to why, at the age of thirty-two, Nick had yet to settle down and have four kids, like they had. Then his father’s parents, Ah Ma and Ah Yeh, who were pushing ninety but still surprisingly good at interfering in his life. Well, that was mostly Ah Ma. Ah Yeh, Nick’s grandfather, was more interested in ordering things on Amazon—he thought online shopping was the pinnacle of human achievement. He would also make his famous noodles for Thanksgiving.

Nick was already salivating at the thought of those noodles.

“Do you want me to bring the usual char siu?” he asked.

“Yes, please,” Mom said.

“Will do. See you next weekend.”

“Nick, are you getting off the phone already? I haven’t had a chance to ask you any questions.”

“You asked when I’d be coming back for Thanksgiving.”

“You know what I mean! How’s life in Toronto? How’s your job?”

They talked for fifteen minutes, and then Nick said, “Sorry, I have to go.”

“Hmph. Sure, get drunk and pick up women, then nurse your hangover with dumplings and bubble tea.”

“Thanks for your insightful description of my life.”

“See you next weekend, Nicky. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” he said before ending the call.

Alright, time to get his Friday night started. It was six thirty—still very early, but he needed to get out. He’d have a drink or two at Lychee before he met up with Trystan.

Work hard, party hard. Enjoy all the delicious food and women the city had to offer.

Why would he live in Mosquito Bay when he could live in Toronto?

* * *

Lily Tseng was boring. It was just a fact.

She’d always known it. It shouldn’t have been a shock when her ex broke up with her because she was dull and bland.

Yet when he’d said those words, it was a shock.

They’d been together for a year. Surely he hadn’t been bored the whole time?

Anyway, she’d turned thirty last month, and it was time to make a change. Next weekend, she’d attempt skydiving and bungee jumping.

Ha! No. She never even dreamed of doing such things.

But tonight, maybe she’d have her first one-night stand.

In the past few weeks, she’d spent a lot of time scoping out possible venues to meet men. She had no interest in going to a club. Not her scene, and she wouldn’t venture that far out of her comfort zone. Instead, she’d focused on stylish downtown bars and had settled on Lychee. It was a restaurant owned by some up-and-coming Chinese-Canadian chef who’d won a cooking show last year, and it was located on Elizabeth Street, near the former location of Lichee Garden, a well-known Chinese restaurant in decades past—hence the name.

In addition to the main dining area, Lychee had a bar and lounge with eight-dollar cocktails before eight. Lily had peeked in a couple times, and

it looked like it had a decent crowd of young, attractive men in suits.

She really did like men in suits.

But maybe all this preparing for her one-night stand defeated the purpose. She was planning it the way she planned everything else in her life. Wasn’t part of her goal to be more spontaneous?

Lily sighed and stirred her drink with the straw. She wasn’t very good at this.

She was sitting at the bar in Lychee now, waiting for her friends Tara Kim and Sam Rubenstein to show up, but she didn’t expect them for another half hour.

That was Lily. Always early.

It was a lovely space, she had to admit. Wood, chrome, and exposed brick that somehow went together just right. ...