Mistletoe, Mayhem, & Mr. Grump

When a fake boyfriend plan meets one very real Christmas crush... sparks fly under the mistletoe.

My grandmother’s vintage toy shop is three weeks from foreclosure, and the town gossips of Snowfall Creek have already declared my single status the final nail in the coffin. What I need is a Christmas miracle.

What I get is Holden Clark, brooding, quiet, infuriatingly handsome, and very much not from around here. He appreciates vintage music boxes, fixes things that aren’t his problem, and somehow makes my little shop feel alive again.

When I offer him the spare room above The Jolly Trunk in exchange for handyman help, it seems like the perfect solution. Then inspiration, or maybe desperation, strikes: a fake relationship. He gets to blend in with the locals. I get a respectable “boyfriend” who might just convince the bank I’ve got stability.

It’s supposed to be business. Temporary. Harmless.

Until his touch isn’t.
Until every look feels like a promise.
Until I realize nothing about Holden Clark, or this Christmas, is fake.

A steamy small-town holiday romance where fake dating meets real feelings, and a grumpy stranger discovers that some things can't be faked.