He wouldn't. Until he does. We can't. Until we do. I have always been in love with Mr. Pine. What's not to crush on? He's built like a god, could cut glass with his chiseled jawline, and has a low, growly voice that makes me weak in the knees. I swear the silver in his hair makes him even hotter. (Nice.) He's also my dad's best friend. (Naughty.) But this year, when I'm home for the holidays, he's looking at me with a new hunger in his eyes, and before I know it, we're kissing in front of my parents' Christmas tree and putting the X in Xmas. Everything about us is wrong, from our age gap to his friendship with my dad. But it's beginning to feel a lot like none of that matters. This nice girl is enjoying being on the naughty list for a change. And if the fates allow, the man who was my first will also be my last. Author Confession: Mr. Pine is getting coal in his stocking this year for his foul mouth...but that's not what he's stuffing in Holly's stocking for sure. I know that the timeline of this story is ludicrous, but just let it happen. It's not even the least believable part.

Angel Harper gets that devastating phone call on that cold, gloomy, early March morning, from her mom, informing her that her dad had a heart attack and was at the hospital in the ICU. Angel instantaneously jumps out of bed and rushes to the hospital to see her dad. The doctor walks into the room, shortly after Angel arrives, and he informs Angel and her mom that there was nothing that they could do to save her dad. I grab my cell phone out of my purse. Do I call someone? Who do I call? Do I want to even talk to anyone? If I do call someone, what do I say? Hey, by the way, my dad just died today...how's your day going? As Angel adjust to the loss of her mentor, her employer, her business partner, her best friend, her forever hero...her dad, she tries to get through the first year of holidays without her dad, without breaking down, while trying to help her mom get through them also...in the meantime...Angel begins to build a strong friendship with her new bartender, Noah, who is hoping for something more than just a friendship with Angel. "I had a dream I saw my dad. I've had a couple of dreams where I saw my dad. It always starts off at our bar. I see him walking out of our bar. I run after him, but he's gone. With every dream, I get a little farther, where I see him again...but it's like he's trying to get away from me. I scream his name, but he keeps walking further from me."

Merry Christmas! The internet phenomenon #DrawWithRob is now a fantastically festive art activity book for you to draw with Rob at home... The second book based on the viral videos seen everywhere on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, TV, and more, from the creative genius and bestselling author Rob Biddulph! Christmas is different this year, with more families at home and wondering what to do! Pick up your pencils and join thousands of children around the world and #DrawWithRob - celebrating Christmas has never been so much fun! The first DRAW WITH ROB activity book went to Number One in the charts and was named 'Book of the Year' at the 2020 Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards! Now every family can share this fantastically festive new art activity book for Christmas. Join Rob and learn to draw your favourite Christmas characters - from Polar Bears to Elves and from Father Christmas to a Snowman, this perfect present is packed with arts, crafts and festive fun. The bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator Rob Biddulph is the genius behind the phenomenal, viral sensation that is DRAW WITH ROB and the accompanying activity book, and now the sensational DRAW WITH ROB AT CHRISTMAS - bringing joy to families everywhere with his easy to follow instructions and warm-hearted humour. So whether you're in home education, home-schooling, learning to draw or just having fun, let Rob show you that anyone can learn to #DrawWithRob! *WITH PERFORATED PAGES SO YOU CAN EASILY TEAR OUT AND DISPLAY YOUR ART!* Rob's original hit videos are also available at www.robbiddulph.com, and on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, with Rob appearing on TV to talk about them too. Perfect stay-at-home fun for boys, girls, and everyone aged three to one hundred and three, and a wonderful introduction to Rob Biddulph's bestselling picture book range - including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize-winning Blown Away, Odd Dog Out, and many more! Available in all good bookstores and online retailers, and perfect for children who are learning to read - or just love to!

Will Christmas be the only thing Jess finds herself falling in love with this festive season? After a devastating loss tore her family apart, Jess Harrison left the lakeside village she calls home and hasn’t looked back. Three years on, she returns to help Holly Richards, her best friend and business partner, through her own rough patch and quickly finds herself falling back into village life as if she never left. But a chance meeting with a handsome stranger soon has Jess confronting her own ghosts of Christmases past and she finds herself accepting his offer to help her rediscover her Christmas spirit. Can friendships, both old and new, help restore Jess’ faith in Christmas and can she find love along the way? Discover the wonder of Christmas with this endearing romance, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Debbie Macomber, Trisha Ashley and, of course, all things Christmas! This is Book One of the Romance in the Lakes series and can be read as a standalone with its own guaranteed HEA - no cliffhangers here, folks!

Her children are grown, her ex betrayed her in the worst way, and it's her first Christmas alone. What better way to spend it than with the hottest man she's ever seen? She deserves a little fun after losing everything she's worked so hard for. Margot Rhodes is glad to wake up in her hotel room to an empty bed. Her one and only hookup was phenomenal, but she doesn't need to say goodbye to a man she'll never see again. Except when she comes downstairs...she finds him in the lobby. A snowstorm shut down the airport, and now she's stuck with him for three days. She needs to rebuild her life--not fall for some guy who lives two thousand miles away--so she does her best to avoid him, but the infuriating man keeps teaming up with her in the holiday events the hotel owner's arranged to keep her guests happy. And then, when it's time to go their separate ways, he makes an offer she can't refuse. It requires a move to his hometown...but what does she have to lose? She's starting from the bottom which means the only way forward is up. She's got a second chance at life...is she willing to risk it all for a dirty-talking stranger?

Author Sean Casey first conceived the story in 2004. The central premise—a dad who loses it on Christmas Eve and cancels the holiday—had his own three children in stitches so they put pen to paper. The story is narrated by the oldest of the children, a little girl who tells how her dad had a bad day that grew worse when he arrived home to a house in shambles. After rejecting their pleas and providing a stern lecture on the true state of the world, Dad banishes the two girls and boy to bed without them leaving out cookies and milk.The children huddle in bed, worrying what will happen when Santa shows up and Dad chases him away. Luckily, Mom drops in to say good night and provides sage advice as well as some much-needed lighthearted humor. Mom explains the true meaning of Christmas and lets the kids know she will put in a good word with Dad. In the morning, the kids wake to uncertainty. What if Mom failed? When they sneak downstairs, they see Dad sleeping on the couch by the tree, surrounded by presents. When the kids holler and wake him, Dad sits them down and recalls his meeting the night before, when Santa explained how lucky they all are to have each other.

A sweet Christmas romance about a girl with one wish: to kiss someone under the mistletoe. The holiday escape you need! Bailey Briggs is counting down the days to Christmas: she lives for holiday music, baking cookies, going on snowy sleigh rides, and wearing her light-up reindeer ears to work at Winslow's bookstore. But all she really wants this year is the one thing she doesn't have: someone special to kiss under the mistletoe. And she's 100 percent certain that that someone isn't Jacob Marley--athlete, player, and of questionable taste in girlfriends--and that Charlie, the mysterious stranger with the British accent, is the romantic lead of her dreams. Is she right? This will be a December to remember, filled with real-life Christmas magic . . . and, if she stays on Santa's nice list, a wish that just might come true. "It's all very adorable." --Buzzfeed Want more holiday romance? Pick up New Year's Kiss by Lee Matthews, an Underlined romance set at a snowy Vermont lodge about two sisters, one cute boy, and an epic bucket list!