Fake fiancé. Real feelings. Total Christmas chaos.
Mia My boss is grumpy, gorgeous, and way out of my league. Ford McCall barely tolerates me—or so I thought—until he asks me to be his fake fiancée for Christmas. I should say no. I should protect my heart. But when a billionaire brewer offers you a deal you can’t refuse… you pack your bags for his small-town family holiday and hope you don’t wind up under the mistletoe.
Ford
She thinks I don’t want her. She’s wrong.
Mia Morales has owned me from day one, but she’s my assistant—and off-limits. Now I’ve got one shot to show her it’s always been her, even if it means snuggled-in nights, meddling relatives, and enough forced proximity to melt the North Pole. This Christmas, I don’t just want her as my fake fiancée. I want her forever.
***
Coming for Christmas: Four towns. Four Christmases. Four unforgettable romances. With small-town charm, age-gap sparks, forbidden brother’s best friend tension, and second chances worth fighting for—these holiday love stories prove that sometimes the best gift of all is coming home.
❤️Review Ford is a successful businessman who has been trying to hide his attraction to his assistant ever since she was hired. Instead, he goes along with the changes she suggests to keep the office in line and he tries to make things easier for her without her realizing why. When he needs a pretend girlfriend to dissuade his ex he decides to use this opportunity to show Mia how he really feels.
Mia has had feelings for her grumpy and difficult boss since she started but she also knows that nothing can happen between them. When he asks her to be his pretend girlfriend and in exchange he will help her sister with her business it seems like a win-win. The one thing she hadn’t counted on was this pretend relationship was nothing like she expected.
This is a heartwarming holiday story about two people who have been denying their feelings for each other. I enjoyed seeing them give in to what they truly mean to each other and show that they are perfect for each other in every way.
The lines between our personal and professional relationship were a blur. Did Anthony just come to the same realization?
I was about to text him back when the man himself strolled into my office. He closed the door behind him too.
“What did you do that for?”
He tilted his head. “Because I plan to show you exactly what I think about you doing research for private things during work hours.”
I swallowed hard. “And it’s not for others to see?”
“It’s not PG-rated, that’s for sure.”
I laughed. I liked how playfully he was addressing this. In fact, he made it seem like a non-issue at all.
Oh, screw it. Why should I be worried about anything? This was a temporary job, after all. And I just wanted to enjoy this man for however long this lasted. So, as he walked closer, I wiggled my eyebrows too. He stopped in his tracks. Ha! I love surprising him.
“I bet you were expecting me to play coy.”
“Yeah.” He sounded stunned.
“Well, I’m not. So, what kind of dirty thoughts do you have for me?”
He came over, leaning his ass against my desk. “Want to know all the details?”
“You’ve given this some thought already?”
“Every f*cking day, Daisy. I come in here and think about all the things I’d do to you”—he patted the wood—“right here on this desk.” Then he jutted his chin toward me. “And on the chair.” He leaned over slightly. “And against that window.”
“Holy sh*t. You’ve been holding out on me. Why didn’t you tell me any of those things?”
“Because saying them out loud only makes me want them more.”
Blurb:
In New Orleans, I’m known as the fun and laid-back LeBlanc brother. The Rebel CEO.
I’m successful and determined, but I don’t play by the rules. Heck, I don’t even have rules except one. I never ever get involved with my assistants. After a very bad experience years ago, I know better than to mix business and pleasure.
I’ve had no problems sticking to my rule until I hired Daisy.
When I first meet her, I have no idea she’s my new temp assistant. I just set eyes on this gorgeous woman at my favorite coffee shop, and do what I do best: flirt with her like there’s no tomorrow. When I realize my mistake, I change the tune. I’m cold and distant but my plan is not working. Not one bit.
Whenever she steps into my office, all I think about is bending her over my desk. When she gives me sass, all I want is to cover her mouth with mine until she begs for more. Daisy is fun and unlike anyone I’ve met, and I gravitate toward her whether I want it or not.
When she suddenly gets a call from home that her family needs help, I immediately take over. All lines blur, but one thing I know for sure, I won’t let Daisy go. I just have to convince her that I’m the one.
She writes thrillers for a living, but nothing could prepare her for the one she’s living now.
By day, Michelle Holdcraft is the quiet woman-next-door in small-town Indiana. But by night, she’s D. Valentine, a bestselling thriller author with a mind for murder and secrets.
Her real life?
Completely ordinary. Until one unplanned trip to visit her estranged father in Iron Falls, Massachusetts, flips everything upside down.
She wakes to a gunshot only to find her father’s body in a pool of blood on the first floor and flames engulfing the walls. She barely escapes the burning house. Fleeing barefoot into the snow, Michelle becomes the only witness to a crime that no one in Iron Falls wants solved. Especially the sheriff.
Hiding in the snowy pines as she watches her father’s home burn, Michelle doesn’t know what to do, until a mysterious man appears, offering to help her—to save her life.
Michelle has never met Fletch—surely, she would remember this handsome and dangerous man if she had. However, Fletch knew her father and knows a lot about her, including her alter ego and her mother’s mysterious death.
With limited options, Michelle accepts Fletch’s help. It isn’t until she sees the large tattoo across his wide shoulder blades that she is shaken to the core. Michelle has seen that exact tattoo before—on her father.
Fletch might be her only ally… but he is hiding something. Her life has become one of her thrillers. But this time, the story’s out of her hands—and the ending might just kill her.
This time, the heroine doesn’t get to write the final page.
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years, they’ve raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns or her new lighter side, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
I am the best quarterback in the league with an iron will and unshakable discipline.
Nothing can change that. Or so I thought.
Then Lilly crashes back into my life.
She’s all I think of.
Staying away is impossible.
Being just friends is agonizing.
A relationship with her is forbidden. Something I’m reminded of every time I go to practice and see my head coach.
But damn if she doesn’t make me want to risk it all to have her.
Lilly
Coming face-to-face with the only man I had a one-night stand with was not in my plan. I never inquired as to who’d be my neighbor when I moved into my new apartment.
But I should have. Especially after all I have done to avoid Ian.
But avoiding him now seems impossible. He’s everywhere, tempting me to the point of exhaustion.
I won’t give in. Not only because I refuse to date a player, but my father is his head coach.
So instead, we’ll be friends. Which might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever agreed to.
Because being just friends with the man I can’t stop thinking about has trouble written all over it.
As a professional matchmaker, my biggest job this holiday season should be simple: find a date for the sexy single dad hockey player—aka my brother’s best friend—for his team’s fancy Christmas Eve gala.
Sure Rowan’s hot as a crackling fire and spicier than a gingerbread man, but he hasn’t just sworn off romance. The Christmas hater has made a bet that I can’t find him a holidate.
What’s a matchmaker to do?
Win, of course. Even if it means fake dating the grinch myself to get him ready for the real thing.
Only…these fake dates at Christmas tree farms and hot cocoa competitions in the snowy small town of Evergreen Falls start to feel a little too real as I get to know the man behind the scowl. Somewhere between kisses under the mistletoe and a snowed-in night in his cabin curled up by the fire (where the stockings aren’t the only thing hung), I realize I’m in over my elf-loving head.
And when Rowan opens up to me at last about his painful past, I’m determined to give my brother’s best friend the holiday he deserves.
But what if the only gift I want him to unwrap this season is… me?
“So you were trying to get me in the mood,” he says, shooting me a flirty glance that makes my pulse kick up.
“Yes, you figured me out,” I retort.
“You and your love of trees. I had a feeling you were trying to lure me to the forest. Have your way with me.”
Images flash before my eyes. Rowan tugging me against him, a Christmas tree behind us, crisp air around us. Then, a new thought lands—him chasing me through the woods before he kisses me. Playfully, like a game, at twilight. Catching me, then having his way with me. Right here in the snow. Outside.
A gasp threatens to escape my lips.
“Or maybe I’m trying to kill you out here,” I say, but my teasing sounds too breathy to be believable.
“Nah. You’d lose the bet then,” he says with that lopsided smirk that wreaks havoc to my common sense. “You definitely wanted to date me in the trees.”
I swallow roughly. He’s playing me. Of course he is. It’s our game. But something about the way he’s teasing today feels different than at the café. Or even in my car earlier. Dirtier. And a part of me doesn’t mind. Well, lots of parts of me don’t. I feel a little glowy, a little fuzzy.
Yeah, I definitely need to send myself to time-out very, very soon.
ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
All bets are off when a single-minded photographer and a professional hockey player are forced to spend a week together on his sister’s Christmas tree farm, perfect for fans of Jenny Holiday and Maggie Knox.
Maisie Smart doesn’t look back. Not on the choice she made to be a photographer, and not on the one-night stand she had six months ago. But sleeping with a professional hockey player who bolted the morning after is a whole new level of embarrassing. Now she’s about to spend the week at Tickle Tree Farms with her family this Christmas—and then the universe throws a Grinch in her festive plans.
Nick King is a mess. After a significant injury benches him, he has more time to dwell on his anxieties and the one-night stand he can’t get out of his head. With the holidays around the corner, he figures visiting his sister and nephew at their Christmas tree farm will be a good way to sort himself out. That’s impossible when he learns Maisie is there, still beautiful and justifiably angry about the way he left. But Christmas is the time for second chances, and the forced proximity may help Nick and Maisie unwrap feelings neither of them can walk away from twice.
When Maisie agreed to spend the holidays with her family at a tree farm the last person she expected to see was the man she spent an unforgettable night with months earlier who then disappeared from her life. She thought that what she shared was a beginning so seeing him again brings up all the hurt she has never been able to fully move past.
Nick is a professional hockey player who is going through a tumultuous time both personally and professionally. He is looking forward to spending some time with his family however he now finds himself facing the woman who is looking for answers and who has never been far from his thoughts even if he walked away.
The journey of Nick and Maisie includes turmoil, family, and healing that is centered around hockey and the holiday season,
Kaitlyn loves her father but her relationship with her stepmother and stepsister is beyond strained and she left her hometown at her first opportunity. Even though she hasn’t been back for years she agrees to return for her friends wedding which also brings her face to face with Grayson, her first love.
Grayson has always had feelings for Kaitlyn however what they could have had was derailed by outside forces. Now that she is back in town he wants a second chance and he will do whatever is necessary to protect her and he isn’t about to let anyone come between them again.
The feelings between Grayson and Kaitlyn haven’t diminished over time but they also find themselves facing a threat from the past who doesn’t want them to be together. Even though there was some turmoil along the way love prevails in a way that is sure to touch your heart.
Rowan Anderson was always my fantasy, until suddenly . . . he was intimately real.
My relationship with the Anderson boys would always be doomed by complications.
They were rich, and their father…was my mother’s boss. Her hard work for them paid for my private school education, yet we barely got by.
Caleb, the youngest brother, was my first everything.
But it was Rowan, the older brother, who I saw first.
Last.
Always.
It was one slip in judgement, one night of giving in to temptation, and suddenly I was buried in the Anderson family’s bitterness, secrets and lies. The more I learned, the more I fell. And soon, I was in too deep.
Getting hurt is inevitable, but when Rowan looks at me, I just don’t care.
The question is, does he see Saylor Kelly, his little brother’s ex, or does he see the woman I’m becoming? Or maybe this is all just pretend.
In New Orleans, I’m known as the fun and laid-back LeBlanc brother. The Rebel CEO.
I’m successful and determined, but I don’t play by the rules. Heck, I don’t even have rules except one. I never ever get involved with my assistants. After a very bad experience years ago, I know better than to mix business and pleasure.
I’ve had no problems sticking to my rule until I hired Daisy.
When I first meet her, I have no idea she’s my new temp assistant. I just set eyes on this gorgeous woman at my favorite coffee shop, and do what I do best: flirt with her like there’s no tomorrow. When I realize my mistake, I change the tune. I’m cold and distant but my plan is not working. Not one bit.
Whenever she steps into my office, all I think about is bending her over my desk. When she gives me sass, all I want is to cover her mouth with mine until she begs for more. Daisy is fun and unlike anyone I’ve met, and I gravitate toward her whether I want it or not.
When she suddenly gets a call from home that her family needs help, I immediately take over. All lines blur, but one thing I know for sure, I won’t let Daisy go. I just have to convince her that I’m the one.
Matteo “Lucky” Branson has it all—an elite hockey career, a massive fanbase, and the kind of charm that trends effortlessly on TikTok. As the fun-loving left winger for the Pittsburgh Titans, he’s built a brand on superstition and swagger. But when a viral dating challenge puts him opposite a woman who couldn’t care less about his fame, Lucky’s about to learn the hard way that some games don’t follow the playbook.
They call me Lucky for a reason. My grandmother swears I was cursed at birth—yet somehow, I’ve been kissed by fate every day since. I’ve got my rabbit’s foot, a shamrock tattoo, and quirky rituals by the dozen—and it’s all worked so far. Life’s been smooth. Hockey, clout, fun… I’m skating through.
Until I meet Winifred Shaw. Winnie. She’s smart, bold, and laugh-out-loud funny, with a TikTok following that rivals mine and a dating challenge that’s going viral. The premise? Thirty days of dating to prove an average woman can still land a decent guy. I’m the first to accept the challenge—one night, one chance, and then she moves on. But the moment she rolls her eyes at me, I’m hooked.
She thinks I’m just another overhyped athlete with a pretty face and a lucky streak. But I see her—confident, curvy, electric—and I don’t just want a second date. I want every single one after that.
I’ve always trusted luck to get me where I need to be. But this time? I’m ready to fight for it.
She has money, power, influence, and a family that loves and supports her no matter how impulsive or improper her choices. Winnie has longed to step out of the shadow cast by the Halliday name, but even gilded cages are hard to break. After several years chasing the one who got away, her childhood crush turned infamous footballer, Kyser Kent, Winnie’s about to return home. It’s time for her to take on the role she was born to play: the first female CEO of her family’s multi-billion-dollar business. It’s a massive challenge, but nowhere near as difficult as explaining to Ky and the relentless press that the reason she wasn’t alone upon her return could be traced back to a heated one-night stand in Portugal—an encounter her now downtrodden fling can hardly recall.
Kyser Kent is the world’s biggest loser…
He has no money, no friends, and a reputation tarnished beyond repair. His dream career of playing professional football overseas was sidelined by bad luck and some seriously questionable decisions. From the moment he returned home, the familiar cage of poverty and disgrace trapped him behind familiar rust-covered bars he longed to escape. The thought of starting over makes him want to give up before he even begins digging himself out of suffocating debt and overwhelming disappointment.
Winnie saved Ky from himself when he hit rock bottom once before. Little did he know that night would tie him to the heiress for a lifetime and give him an undeniable reason to fight for himself—and for the family he never thought he’d have.
This is a spinoff of The Monsters Duet. Mental health and mental heath disorders, suicide, domestic violence and loss of a child.
In the storm of life, some passions can’t be tamed.
Mila has spent her life working on Stormy Weather Farm, alongside her fiercely loyal, slightly eccentric family. The Storms believe in hard work, the importance of tradition, and—most of all—love at first touch. It’s a family legend, passed down like a vintage bottle of truth: when you touch the one meant for you, you’ll just know.
Mila always thought it was just a romantic notion… until Boone.
A rugged, brooding single father with a past that still smolders, Boone has one priority: giving his twelve-year-old daughter a stable, quiet life. Love? He’s been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Or so he thinks…until Mila.
She’s all sunshine and cinnamon, and she makes Boone ache with cravings he thought were long dead. Every time she blushes, every time she touches him by accident, the tension coils tighter.
Soon, late-night harvests turn into stolen glances, and shared glasses of wine become heated whispers in the dark. But love is risky business, and Boone’s heart isn’t the only thing on the line—his daughter’s trust, and Mila’s future, hang in the balance.
I need a husband. Jensen needs a business makeover. A marriage of convenience should solve both our problems.
Moving back to Coal Haven should have been simple—start my tutoring business, settle into the historic house my grandmother left me, and move on from my past. But there’s a catch: I can’t claim the house unless I’m married.
Jensen Hollis. My childhood rival. The guy I spent years trying to outdo. The one who married our mutual friend while I watched from the sidelines. Now he’s divorced, a single dad, and—somehow—my only option.
It’s a perfect arrangement. A temporary marriage. One year with no feelings involved. At least, that was the plan… until playing house starts to feel a little too real.
One drunken night. One fake marriage. One very real problem: I fell in love.
Resisting You, an all-new he falls first, fake relationship, small town, family saga romance and the fifth book in the interconnected Maple Grove Series from USA Today bestselling author Katana Collins is now available!
One wild night in Atlantic City, I woke up with a hangover, a rescue dog… and a brand-new wife sleeping at my side.
Though it started out rocky enough, we quickly realized that this marriage just may fix all of our problems. A few fake vows. Some real paperwork. And a quick fix to rehab my bad boy image and launch her therapy practice. After a couple of years, we’d get an annulment. The plan was clean-cut, brilliant, and easy.
But I should have known… nothing about Rosa is easy. Especially not the way she looks at me when no one’s watching… or the way her voice softens when she says my name, like I’m more than just a mistake.
Now we’re back in my small hometown, pretending to be the perfect couple for a wedding we never planned. The press is circling, secrets are surfacing, and someone’s hellbent on breaking us up. And for the first time in my life, I want something real.
“A Bachelor Auction for charity will look good, Noah. You have to trust me on this. Every other single guy on your show is participating. Even your friend, the tattoo artist, is doing it! It won’t look good if you don’t.”
West was participating in this bullshit? That didn’t sound like him. Then again, after some of his tattoos went viral, he basically became as big of a celebrity as me and I was the one who referred Kristen to him to help manage his career.
I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a mistake. “I don’t care that it won’t look fucking good, I’m not a piece of meat that can be bid on,” I snapped at her. My voice echoed, bouncing off the walls in the small Atlantic City chapel and I winced, looking around where a few couples were waiting to get impromptu married.
Across the room, I caught Rosa’s eye… Rosa Alvarez. The most gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on. And the only woman I’d ever asked out who had turned me down.
Multiple times.
“What’s going on?” she mouthed to me from across the room.
I tried to wave off my anger, but even as I did that, my damn shaky hands gave me away. Her eyes fell to the tremor in my fingers and she dropped her cheek to her shoulder as if to say, Come off of it.
“Sir,” a woman’s voice said behind me. “This may not be a traditional church, but we’re still a chapel. And there are still people trying to get married here.”
“Shit,” I hissed and dragged a hand down my face. “I have to go, Kristen. My best friend is getting married any minute now. Just don’t… don’t sign me up for anything yet. Got it?”
She sighed. “Fine. You have until tomorrow to decide. But Noah, I’m telling you… not participating will be a mistake. You’re single and easily the show’s hottest eligible bachelor. It will go a long way in your contract negotiations for them to see how desired you are by the fans.
For more information about Katana Collins and her books, visit her website:
When Noah decided to attend his friend’s wedding in Vegas the last thing he expected was to return home married as well. He has always had feelings for Rosa however due to the notoriety of his career he didn’t believe they were destined to have a future together however now that she is his wife the one thing he does know is that he plans to keep her.
Even though Rosa has feelings for Noah she wants nothing to do with the attention that being with him would garner. That decision is no longer hers to make especially as they find themselves dealing with several outside forces that will make it even more challenging to handle the situation they find themselves in.
This heartwarming story finds the perfect balance between humor, family and a love that only becomes stronger when they face obstacles together.
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