But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He’s grim and silent. A man of little emotion—or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she’s ready to put an end to things. A Last Chance for Love But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn’t as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there’s Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What’s a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there’ll be no false formality. This time they’ll get to know each other for who they really are.

    The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration--the first of Hart and Eleanor's married life--one of Ian's Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor's baby will arrive, to whether Mac's former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.

    So what do you get a man who has everything? Innocent and comely Verity Ewing plans on giving Julian her heart—the most precious gift of all.previously published in The Gifts of Christmas AnthologyThe Season for Suitors (Tallants, #3.5) by Nicola CornickAfter some close encounters with rakes in which she was nearly compromised, heiress Clara Davenport realizes that she needs some expert advice. And who better for the job than Sebastian Fleet, the most notorious rake in town? But the tutelage doesn't go quite as planned, as both Sebastian and Clara find it difficult to remain objective when it comes to lessons of the heart!previously published in Christmas Keepsakes AnthologyThis Wicked Gift (Carhart, #0.5) by Courtney MilanLavinia Spencer has been saving her hard-earned pennies to provide her family with Christmas dinner. Days before the holiday, her brother is swindled, leaving them owing more than they can ever repay. Until a mysterious benefactor offers to settle the debt. Innocent Lavinia is stunned by what the dashing William White wants in return. Will she exchange a wicked gift for her family's fortune?

    From the ballrooms of London, to abandoned Scottish castles, to the snowy streets of Gilded Age New York, four bestselling authors whip up some unforgettable romance...with a little help from some enchanted shortbread."Meet Me in Mayfair" by Tessa DareLouisa Ward needs a Christmas miracle. Unless she catches a wealthy husband at the ball tonight, the horrid, heartless Duke of Thorndale will evict her family from their beloved Mayfair home. But when her friend begs to switch dance cards, Louisa finds herself waltzing with the enemy: the horrid, heartless--and unexpectedly handsome--Thorndale himself. Now the duke's holding her future in his hands...and he's not letting go."The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLeanRich and ruthless, Eben, Duke of Allryd, has no time for holidays. Holidays are for whimsy and charm--the only two things his money cannot buy. Lady Jacqueline Mosby is full of both, even now, twelve years after she left to see the world. When Jacqueline returns for a single Christmas, Eben can't resist the woman he never stopped loving...or the future that had once been in reach. It will take a miracle to convince her to stay...but if ever there were a time for miracles, it's Christmas..."Heiress Alone" by Sophie JordanWhen Annis Bannister's family leaves her behind in the rush to escape an impending snowstorm, she finds herself stranded in the Highlands, left to fend off brigands terrorizing the countryside, robbing homes locked up for winter. Her only hope falls on her neighbor, a surly hermit duke who unravels her with a look, then a kiss ... until she fears the danger to her heart outweighs the danger of brigands and snowstorms."Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna ShupeWomen all over America devour Mrs. Walker's weekly column for recipes and advice. No one knows Rose, the column's author, can't even boil water. When the paper's owner, Duke Havemeyer, insists she host a Christmas party, Rose must scramble to find a husband, an empty mansion, and a cook. But Duke is not a man easily fooled and she fears her perfect plan is failing--especially when Duke's attentions make her feel anything but professional. To save her career will she give up her chance at love?

    When the alluring lady he surprises under the mistletoe is not who he expected—but a long-lost love with a score to settle—it’s clear that this will be a Christmas he won’t soon forget!

    Enter Henry Ogden, mild-mannered village vicar. Hardly the stuff of heroes . . . until adversity brings out unexpected talents. A Christmas Equation – A chance meeting between a reluctant viscount and a self-effacing companion revives memories of their shared past—a time when they were very different people. With secrets to keep, Sarah Clendenin wishes Benjamin Radcliff gone . . . but he’s making calculations of his own. Crimson Snow – A trail of blood drops leads Jane Merrywether to a wounded stranger—the only person standing in the way of her wicked guardian becoming an earl. John Rexford, long-thought dead, has returned to claim his inheritance and his promised bride . . . if he can survive a murderous Christmas. A Perfectly Unregimented Christmas – After years at war, Viscount Pennyworth returns to his ancestral home to find some peace and quiet and to avoid the holiday he loathes. But four naughty boys, a bonnet-wearing goat, a one-eyed cat, a family secret, and one Annabelle Winters, governess, make this a Christmas he’ll never forget.

    Or did she? He wonders if there is more to the story. For 3 years, Min Bradshaw has remembered the handsome guardsman who courted her for her fortune. She didn't expect to see him in her workshop, and she certainly doesn't intend to let him fool her again.

    Instead, she accepts the shocking proposition. After all, what’s her other choice? To live with her cousin, caring for six children and a barnyard full of chickens?James Archer has roamed the world, determined never to settle down. He’s faced danger and disaster…he fears nothing and no one—except his mother and her matchmaking ways. So when ordered to attend a Christmastime house party filled with holiday cheer and simpering young misses, he produces—a fiancée!Sophronia and James vow to pretend to be in love for one month. But when they promise to give each other a Christmas kiss, it becomes clear that this pact made out of necessity might just be turning into love.

    But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way.Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...A Kiss for Midwinter is a novella (38,000 words) in the Brothers Sinister series. It follows The Duchess War. Each book stands on its own, but those who prefer to read in order might want to read that book first.

    Return to the beloved Sinful Suitors series from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries in this delightfully sexy winter-themed novella!Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s charming yuletide story, The Heiress and the Hothead.Can also be found in the anthology, What Happened Under the Mistletoe.

    How painful it will be, though, to be trapped in a marriage of convenience with the only man she has ever loved.Marriage to the wealthy heiress will help restore de Vere's decaying estates, but that is not why he accepts her bizarre proposal. He has grown to love her father as if he were his own, and if Mr. Pemberton selected him for his only child's husband, then Lord de Vere must honor the man's final wishes. Little does he suspect his father-in-law knows him better than he knows himself."HOME FOR CHRISTMAS"20,000 words (about 85 pages)Heat index: Sweet For six long years, Captain David St. Vincent has dreamed of returning home to Ramseyfield—and to its prettiest resident, Elizabeth Balfour. To his astonishment, though, it is not Elizabeth, but her plain younger sister, Catherine, whose company he seeks. Cathy Balfour has worshiped David for as long as she can remember. It was she who wept when he left, she who presented him with a cross to keep him safe while in service to the crown, and she who read and carefully collected the newspaper accounts of his sea battles. But how can one as plain as she ever hope to win his heart?"CHRISTMAS AT FARLEY MANOR"Best Historical Novella of 2011* (This novella was first published as an eBook in 2011.)Approximate length: 21,000 words (about 100 pages)Heat index: SweetIt wasn't to be a real marriage. . .Harry Tate is an army captain of some means who is almost certain to die when he returns to Spain on the morrow. Elizabeth Hensley is a destitute beauty he's only too happy to help.Two years later. . .When they meet again at his ancestral home, Harry is now Viscount Broxbourne, bent on showing his wife how much he wants her to be his real viscountess by Christmas.

    He can easily win the heart of any lass... but somehow, the right words to express his love for the stunning Leslie Harrison have eluded him. Yet as Christmastide approaches, Finn knows he must find a way to propose to the raven-haired beauty who has stolen his heart.A BATTLE FOR TRUE LOVE A furious Leslie Harrison could run her brothers through for promising her to another. But she will do anything to save her family from dishonor... even though in her heart she knows no other man but Finn will do. When Leslie's betrothed makes a dastardly deal, putting her family and the MacGregor clan in danger, Finn will prove that he's just as fierce in battle as he is sweet in song. Can these two lovers find a Christmas miracle that will grant them a happily-ever-after?

    Then Captain John Alistair arrives at her door—the very image of the perfect lover of her most private dreams. But can a man with a secret and a woman who's never known love find happiness when they least expect to?

    Deep in the Scottish Highlands stood a well, left behind by the Northmen who had built a longhouse upon the site. The longhouse eventually crumbled, the Norse died off, but the well remained. The well was built in the trees, high above the land, and built in dark gray stone that is native to the area. Upon the stones of the well were carved these words:May your journey be quiet and your days of joy long. May your deeds remain strong for Odin. May your love stay true to your noble heart.This well, so alone upon the hill, soon became the stuff of legends, It was said that a young Northman fell in love with a local Taevali maiden. Her parents forbid her to see him so, in desperation, she stole away on a cold December night with the intention of marrying her Norse lover in secret. They were followed by her parents but rather than be separated, the desperate lovers ran to the longhouse and hid in the well. There was a terrible storm that night and the run off from the mountains that kept the well supplied with water soon overflowed, dooming the lovers on what would be the Christian holiday of Christmas.Now, their spirits wander the trees where the well is, where they met their deaths, together in spirit as they could not be together in life. It is said that if lovers make a wish upon the well during this holiday time, the spirit of the young Northman and his lovely maiden will grant the lovers one wish for their marital happiness, one wish that will bind them together for eternity.THE LEGEND OF THE SPIRIT WATERS by Kathryn Le Veque - The legend begins with a Norseman and his native lover.THE HANDFASTING by Glynnis Campbell: A French knight betrothed to a Highland heiress falls in love with his spirited bride, until he realizes he's been tricked into wedding the wrong sister.THE THIEF'S DAUGHTER by Suzan Tisdale: Onnleigh, betrayed and abandoned, makes one simple wish: a better life for her child. Connor MacCallen, widowed and newly made chief of his clan, appeases his grandmother by making a wish for wife and children. Will fate intervene and make those wishes come true?THE WOLF OF SKYE by Hildie McQueen: Fate's wicked sense of humor strikes Highland guard Faolan Mackinnon when he ends up betrothed to Catriona Grant, a fiery lass, who he met only minutes earlier. WISH UPON A WINTER SOLSTICE by Emma Prince: To test the powers of a legendary well, Keita trespasses onto her enemy's lands. She never expects to come face to face with the man they call the Demon of Loch Moy--or succumb to the dark heat her captor stirs within her.Enjoy this special holiday collection of new material for a limited time.

    Some fear this omen, some desire it. All respect it. Follow the journey of these brand new historical romance tales from USA Today and Bestselling authors and discover the power--and the promise--of the blue rose for yourself.