A short story that follows Ian and Riley at Christmas.Free short story for Carly Phillips's newsletter subscribers only.

    How’d she get on his agenda?Quint Fairchild, head of Fairchild Films, learned long ago that in Hollywood everything’s make believe, including love. So why can’t he resist the small town innocence of struggling scriptwriter Chrystelle Bach? She’s entirely too fascinating, but he can convince himself he doesn’t want her⸻he wants her script.Chrystelle wishes she could spend Christmas with her beloved grandmother in her Colorado hometown. Then Quint offers her a contract to produce her TV series. She almost believes this is the best Christmas ever⸻until she reads the contract. He doesn’t just want rewrites, he wants her to change everything. The battle begins, but when Chrystelle’s grandmother takes ill, Chrystelle knows where she belongs and hops the next bus home.What she hadn’t expected was Quint on her front porch, and not to wish her a Merry Christmas. He wants her script⸻on his terms, of course. Their conflict continues, but the more time Chrystelle spends with this stubborn billionaire, the harder it is for her to remember why she can’t change her script. But sprinkle this battle with grandmotherly wisdom and holiday charm, and the season of blessings reveals love in more ways than Chrystelle and Quint ever imagined.

     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?

    But her merry facade hides a dark secret she won’t ever forget. Still, she throws herself into celebrating Christmas—and convinces her handsome, and stubborn, new neighbor to join her.Beckett Cross, however, is determined not to celebrate the holidays. He moved to Good Hope to leave behind reminders of how he’d had it all…and lost everything. But it’s hard to resist adorable Ami, the designated keeper of the small town’s holiday traditions, when she asks for help with the Twelve Nights celebrations. And Ami has a hard time resisting Beck’s soft Southern drawl and gentle eyes. Will a Christmas miracle give them a second chance at love and the hope to heal both of their hearts for good?

    It’s a job he started fifteen years ago, when Dash became Dasher, one of Santa’s reindeer, and accepted the worn leather harness now hanging on the hooks at the back of the carousel barn. The one with its beautiful, silver bells that once made the most wondrous sound in the world, and now lay quiet.That is, until Merry, a young, homeless woman wanders in looking for a place out of the cold. Unlike Dash, she can hear the sweet chimes of the bells, proving to him that it’s not the harness that’s broken. As Christmas draws near, Dash finds himself drawn to Merry and her quiet, stubborn pride. However, unable to hear the sleigh bells Dash isn’t sure what Christmas this year will bring, only that the magic in that harness is far less important than the woman he’s come to love. BONUS: Also includes the first chapter from What the Heart Haunts, a novella by Sadie Hart (around an extra 2,000 words)!

     Includes four Balogh holiday classics, The Star of Bethlehem, The Best Gift, Playing House, and No Room At the Inn, as well as A Family Christmas, which is only available in this anthology.

    But fate seems to have different plans.On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.

    As a tour guide at a beautiful historic mansion, she tells visitors about its original owner, Charles Whitley. An inventor and businessman in the early 1900s, he rose from poverty to wealth…only to disappear without a trace. Charles was always intrigued by the future. He just never expected to go there. But when he repairs a mysterious clock he bought on his travels, he’s transported to the twenty-first century, with his home decorated for Christmas and overrun by strangers. Charles is determined to find a way back to his own era, especially when he learns about what happened after he left. But as Megan introduces him to the wonders of smartphones, pizza, and modern holiday traditions, they both feel a once-in-a-lifetime connection. Could it be that, somewhere in time, they belong together?

    Three years later she’s doing the best she can for her children and moving through life on autopilot. She doesn’t believe true love can happen twice in a lifetime. As a matter of fact, she doesn’t believe in much anymore. Putting her trust in one honest man might be just what she needs to move forward.Bound by duty Jake Nicklaus never imagined he’d cross the line and fall in love with the woman he swore he’d watch over. If only he’d died on that chopper instead of her husband, she wouldn’t be hurting. The only way to heal her heart is to show her how to live again. Finding the magic in Christmas is the perfect way to start.Will one kiss under the mistletoe change their lives forever?

    So when her boyfriend of three months dumps her a week before Valentine’s Day to save her the humiliation of a fifth VD dumping, Hazel decides to take a break from life altogether by borrowing her brother’s camper van and taking off to the highlands.Life in the camper van is going great—fresh air, beautiful scenery, a deeper bond with her homeland, no work, and best of all no men!Until Valentine’s Day.Getting caught in the woods with her pants down is the last thing Hazel expected to happen to her on the dreaded romantic day. Worse still getting caught by attractive American, Liam Brody, an annoyingly sexy man the universe seems intent on throwing her way for the day.By the time this year’s Valentine’s Day is over, Hazel will have only one question on her mind:How could one day, one tiny little day, change her life so epically…

    And I’ve known, all that time, that I wasn’t her type. When we met, we were both studying computer engineering at university. She was near the top of the class, and I was in danger of flunking out. Now, she’s a CEO, and I, well… I’m wearing an inflatable T-Rex costume and dancing along to Christmas carols sung by an elderly barbershop quartet. Yes, I’m being paid to do this. And that’s how Caitlin finds me when she leaves work late in the middle of a snowstorm. She asks to stay with me because her house is farther away and her power is out. Of course, I say yes. When the heat goes out in my apartment and she asks me to join her in bed to snuggle for warmth, I say yes, too. But being so close to her is dangerous for my heart…or could a weekend of Christmas fun actually lead to the romance I desire?

    So when Mia and Ty are invited to the same Mardi Gras party, Mia decides to live out a fantasy. Donning a Mardi Gras mask and wig, Mia masquerades as the seductive Mistress Mina, the bad girl of Ty’s dreams. But what will happen if Ty discovers her true identity? Mia’s risking their friendship and her job, but for a night with Ty, it’s worth it.

    With so little time spent in one place, relationships are a no-go. Dean, a firefighter with a serious disdain for the holiday season, is sent to Mistletoe, a small town that lives and breathes Christmas. To keep his holiday exposure to a minimum, Dean avoids relationships from November through January. Will two people who are so adamant about being single be able to ignore the feelings that are heating up their Christmas season?

    As a pastry chef on the come up, when she arrives in Scotland, she has one goal in mind: win the Holiday Baking Challenge. Winning is her opportunity to prove to her family, her former boss, and most importantly herself, she can make it in the culinary world. Kiskeya will stop at nothing to win , that is, if she can keep her eyes on the prize and off her infuriating teammate's perfect lips.Sully Morales, home cooking hustler, and self-proclaimed baking brujita lands in Scotland on a quest to find her purpose after spending years as her family’s caregiver. But now, with her home life back on track, it's time for Sully to get reacquainted with her greatest love, baking. Winning the Holiday Baking Challenge is a no brainer if she can convince her grumpy AF baking partner that they make a great team both in and out of the kitchen before an unexpected betrayal ends their chance to attain culinary competition glory.

    From herself. From her wild child ways. From the screwed up life that she left behind in Los Angeles. And, most of all, from Ryan Hunter—the first man who has the potential to break through her defenses to see the dark fears and secrets she hides. Stark International Security Chief Ryan Hunter knows only one thing for sure—he wants Jamie. Wants to hold her, make love to her, possess her, and claim her. Wants to do whatever it takes to make her his. But after one night of bliss, Jamie bolts. And now it’s up to Ryan to not only bring her back, but to convince her that she’s running away from the best thing that ever happened to her--him.