Book picks similar to
Always Us by Stephanie Rose


novella
contemporary
holiday
contemporary-romance

Secret Santa


Kati Wilde - 2016
    That is, if she lasts that long. Because Logan Crenshaw, the creative force behind the company, doesn’t seem to want her there.Not being wanted is nothing new for Emma…but she doesn’t know what she’s done to make Logan stalk around the office, growling every command as if her very presence infuriates him. She can’t afford to lose this job, so her plan is to keep her head down and try to avoid any contact with him—no matter how big and sexy and unavoidable he is.But a Santa hat full of names, an office gift exchange, and one unexpected knock at her door are about to shake up all of her plans…Warning: This super-hot holiday romance contains Santa hats, red satin blindfolds, and an obsessed alpha male who talks dirty and knows exactly what to do with his big hands. Lots of swearing. No cheating, no cliffhangers.

If I Return


Sawyer Bennett - 2013
    At least, that’s what her sister tells her when she drags her off for an impromptu Christmas getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hope’s plans to keep her nose in a book the entire vacation are thwarted when she meets Jack Freeman, the gorgeous and enigmatic Army helicopter pilot staying at the same resort. What was supposed to be a quiet Christmas holiday turns into a life changing event for Hope and Jack. The only problem? Jack is headed off to war, and there is no guarantee he will come back.

Gingerbread Kisses


Kat Baxter - 2019
    But the obnoxious monstrosity does nothing to hide her generous curves. One thing becomes perfectly clear: I’ve never wanted a woman more. …and the curvy bookwormBrock Daniels might be ridiculously hot, but he’s also my high school nemesis. I’m prepared to hate him and find him annoying with his washboard abs and toothpaste commercial smile. What I’m not prepared for is how he’s looking at me…like he wants me. …just might find their forevers underneath the mistletoeOur parents are jointly hosting a 12 Days of Christmas party and we’re stuck together. Pretending to be civil isn’t that hard and one spontaneous kiss might change everything.

Temporary Dad


Dev Bentham - 2019
    Nick Compton owns a small but mighty fashion magazine. He already has enough on his plate, between work and, well, work. There’s no room for a kid in his life but when his sister drops her seven-year-old daughter for an extended stay, he has to figure it out. Just before his niece arrives, Nick meets a blazing hot firefighter. They get on like a house a fire and the sex—scorching. Too bad the he disappeared in the morning. Like smoke. Now Nick’s stuck with a kid he doesn’t know how to manage and without the man he’d love to get his hands on again. Dylan Gil wishes like hell he hadn’t taken his roommates advice and lied about who he was. He’s finally met someone he really likes and can’t stop thinking about. But now he’s too embarrassed to confess that he’s just a second-grade teacher, not a manly firefighter. Good thing that work gets distracting, particularly when one of his brightest students goes to stay with her uncle and all hell breaks loose. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. If the term “dad pants” means anything it’s that taking care of children and fashion aren’t compatible. Does that mean these two doomed? Or is this the beginning of forever? A contemporary gay romantic comedy by Dev Bentham, Temporary Dad features mistaken identity, opposites attracting, a one night stand and some steamy mm romance. Temporary Dad is part of the Bad Valentine collection, along with Hidden Hearts by Clare London, Quill Me Now by Jordan Castillo Price and Love Magic by Jesi Lea Ryan

Red Dirt Christmas


N.R. Walker - 2015
    We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely.Life at Sutton Station had never been better. Business was strong, Trudy and Bacon’s little baby, Gracie, was a few weeks old now and as cute as a button, Ma’s health was good, and my relationship with Laura and Sam was in a pretty good place. And Travis? Well, life with him was still all kinds of perfect.But, to Travis’s dismay, Christmas at the Station was just another day. Another day of getting up before the sun, feeding animals, fixin’ what needed fixin’, and checking water troughs all while tryin’ to keep out of the blistering heat.And this year weren’t much different. Only that it was Travis’s first Sutton Station Christmas. The fact we didn’t go all out with decorations and celebrations baffled him, and if I was bein’ truthful, it disappointed him too.Which was why I had to make it a special kind of Christmas…NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:This book uses Australian English spelling and grammar. There will be words like brumbies (wild horses) Macca’s (McDonald’s) and a serious lack of g’s on most ing words. There are also run-on hyphenated sentences. It’s just how Charlie speaks.TIMELINE ACKNOWLEDGMENT:(beware of spoilers for book 4 below!)Anyone familiar with the Red Dirt Heart series, will know it spans the seasons. In RDH1 when Travis arrives, it’s summer, RDH2 is autumn/winter, RDH3 is spring and RDH4, being Trav’s pov, is back to summer and spans another year. Christmas in Australia is in summer, so according to the actual timeline of the series, Travis’ first Christmas falls between RDH3 and RDH4, though it is not mentioned.So, like a small snippet of something that didn’t technically happen, this Christmas story is of Travis’ first Christmas at Sutton Station, therefore falls between books 3 and 4. They’re not married, there’s no Milly.A small reminder of where the storyline was up to… Travis has asked Charlie to marry him, but they’ve not told anyone yet. Trudy and Bacon have just had their first baby, Gracie, and Nugget still steals every scene he’s in.

Winter Waites


Lucy Lennox - 2021
    And now he's my patient.When Winter Waites knocks on the door to the snowy cabin where his next physical therapy patient awaits him, he has no idea his dream celebrity is on the other side. Gentry Kane is everything Winter has always fantasized about. But it was only a fantasy. What happens when Winter is faced with the flesh and blood man who wants more than physical therapy? Can one night in a cozy cabin lead to more? And how will that affect Winter's growing career in the tiny, charming town of Aster Valley?

The Guardian Groom


Lucy McConnell - 2018
     Bree Phelts is shy, enjoys reading, and spends her free time helping her mom. Her biggest worry is figuring out a grand prize for the summer reading program. Her black and white life is splashed with color when Owen Mattox, a professional football player, asks her to step out from behind the refreshment table and dance. He’s wrong for her on so many levels but just what her heart needed to wake up. Devastated when he’s dumped by the only woman he ever imagined marrying, Owen Mattox pulls his heart in tight and doesn’t let go. He’s worked so hard to isolate himself from love—and the pain that comes when it’s lost—that he practically a recluse. He doesn’t even hang with the other Texas Titans players and builds his home outside of Dallas for privacy. The fewer people in his life, the fewer chances of getting hurt. But he can’t deny his interest in the quiet librarian and once they dance, he’s hooked. But Owen doesn’t open his heart easily which means Bree will have to overcome her shyness and be her own hero—instead of reading about one—in order to save the love that’s budding between them.

The Hazards of Mistletoe


Alyssa Rose Ivy - 2014
    It looks innocent enough, but a single branch has the potential to change your life. One mistletoe kiss led to the most embarrassing night of my life, but thankfully by the next Christmas I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be.

A Very Blizzard Christmas


Kat Mizera - 2020
     right? But when Danielle Petrov welcomes her new bundle of joy just in time for the holidays, everything isn’t as magical as it should have been. She’s trying to plan a surprise for their first Christmas as a family of four while dealing with a touch of postpartum depression and a six-year-old who wants nothing to do with his new sibling.Sergei is completely smitten with his wife, his son, and the new baby, but he knows something is bothering Dani. Between being on the road with the Blizzard and trying to spend time with the kids, he’s not there for her the way he wants to be.As the holiday barrels down on them, nothing is going according to plan. Sergei is determined to salvage what he can of a complicated holiday season. Will an unexpected storm be what brings everyone together?

Charm School Christmas Karma


Lynn Garcia Carmer - 2019
    One bad decision, years ago, and fate has made her pay ever since.Sebastian Jacobs never believed in destiny--until he met Ai.She's talented and guarded, with a soft streak a mile wide. He plans to wear down her defenses using wicked words and a little holiday magic.If she agrees to a date, his plans go beyond one night--his plans last a lifetime.

Cruising Speed


Donna McDonald - 2014
    The big bike in her garage hasn’t been ridden for a couple years now. It is no more than a symbol of her loss and reminds her of her own lack of usefulness.When the very large, very excited Mikkel Gunnarsen arrives to buy it, his pleasure in the bike makes the decision to sell to the younger man much easier than she imagined it would be. The same is also true for the decision that ends with Mikkel spending the night in her bed.Kia knows the blissful moments with Mikkel are only momentary relief, but being with the younger man is certainly inspiring.

A Christmas Spark


Ciara Knight - 2015
    On Christmas Eve, she hides away in the family cabin, the same place her father abandoned her twenty years ago. Dalton Scot is unable to face the family holiday after his divorce and discovering he can never have children of his own, so he chooses Christmas Eve to fix his buddy’s cabin. Both search for a secluded spot to mourn their Christmas pasts, but instead are snowed in at the cabin for the holiday where they discover the power of the Christmas spark.

Worth the Wait


Rachael Tonks - 2017
    Charisma. Charm. Success. To the outside world, Josh Larson has it all. With a thriving business and more than enough attention from the ladies, what more could a guy want? Depth. Colliding with Quinn Tate was never part of his plans, but when he meets the sexy as sin stripper, Josh realizes there is more to her than meets the eye. On a mission to fill the void in his life, the mystery surrounding Quinn’s secrets, leaves him craving the truth behind her guarded exterior. When he wants more than she’s willing to give, the decision lies with Josh. Give up on something special, or fight for the only woman who could be worth the wait?

A Christmas to Remember


Jill Shalvis - 2013
    But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance . . .Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time. . .Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?Plus: Excerpts from upcoming novels!(40,000 words)

Merry and Bright


Kristen Ashley - 2015
    The story of how Elvira met Malik.