Their first date ended that. Ten years later, can their second date make them more than friends? Juliet’s life is in a holding pattern of dating wrong guy after wrong guy. When childhood friend Taggart messages to ask for second date—after a ten-year wait—she gets a holiday shakeup. Their first Christmas date a decade ago was an unmitigated disaster, ending with Pepto-Bismol and the police. They both probably needed the full ten years to recover. Now that he’s back in touch, Juliet must decide whether she will say yes. If this is just a one-time thing, she risks carrying a torch for him for another decade. This could be their last Christmas date. First & Last Christmas Date: A Legally in Love Christmas Novella is book 8 in the Legally in Love series. All are clean romantic comedies with swoony kisses and legal entanglements. This madcap adventure date follows in the hilarious tradition of It Happened One Night, Blind Date, and all other tales of wacky dates gone wrong. Set in balmy Los Angeles, this holiday novella is a madcap comedy of swoony kisses and second chances at love, with a side of peppermint hot cocoa. Perfect for fans of the Hallmark Channel romance movies. "Juliet and Taggart’s second-chance holiday date puts the antic in romantic." *** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Originally published in the TIMELESS ROMANCE: UNDER THE MISTELTOE Anthology. Minor updates to the story have been added for this edition. ***

    I was on a publishing deadline for my latest book and was really looking forward to a cozy week by the fire, cuddled up in flannel pajamas with my laptop and hot chocolate. Alone. So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the cabin during a blizzard, and found it already occupied. By an all too familiar face and a fine pack of chiseled abs. Even though it had been ten years since I’d last seen Chase, he had no problem picking up exactly where we left off. I had a big problem with it.It didn’t matter what he threw at me—the old nickname, the teasing, his charming grin, or even those chiseled abs (did I already mention those?), I refused to let him get to me after…the incident. Nope, not me. I was made of stone.Unfortunately, I’m beginning to understand that when you strike Chase against stone…you get sparks.Lots of them.

    It was bad enough I was on my way to court for the gift of eviction.Although maybe today wouldn't turn out so bad after all.The Sexy Scrooge and I started to connect as we trudged our way through a storm. Our ride was about to end. But would I ever see him again?"THE MERRY MISTAKE"Note to self: Ask Santa for glasses this year. When I accidentally mistook a gorgeous man resting outside my building for a homeless person in need of a lunch, we got into it. I'd only been trying to do a good deed around the holidays, but he called me righteous. I called him something far worse. If only I didn't have to see him again. But fate had other plans."KISSMAS IN NEW YORK"It was just supposed to be a simple kiss with a stranger. I'd done it to prove a point - that I hadn't lost my sense of adventure. But you know what they about the best laid plans. Maybe I'd get something in my stocking after all this holiday season. . .

    When she was eight, she secretly blew kisses to him. When she was twelve, she sat on the stairs unnoticed and watched him escort another girl to prom. When she was a senior in high school, she walked into math class and found out he was her new math teacher.With that much emotion fueling her, things were bound to go wrong. And they did. Elsie not only spent the last two weeks of school avoiding him, she turned avoiding-Kye-at-all-costs into her life-long philosophy.Now three years have passed and Elsie has come home for her brother’s wedding. She’s got to face Kye-–hopefully without getting crushed again.

    So, when she accidentally bids too high and wins her best friend’s brother, she’s a little freaked out. Mostly because of that one time they kissed and never spoke of it again.Justin Riggs was expecting to chaperone an old lady around town, not worry about hurting Cara when he leaves after Christmas. Of course, that’s not exactly how their conversation goes after the auction. He may have called her out on her crush on him … and added some other accusations that will live to haunt him forever. Now, Cara never wants to talk to him again, and he’s realizing too late that he’d like a lot more than her forgiveness.Cara’s stuck. By winning a date with Justin, she’s also won the marketing headache that goes with it. As much as she’d like to Photoshop their heads together and call it good, the town expects to see them out together having fun. So, Cara has a plan. She'll friendzone the heck out of him, hide her heart where he can’t reach it, and conquer this crush by the time he leaves town.Curl up with this sweet and sassy Christmas tale about mistaken motives and secrets revealed.

    Living one is the hard part.Georgia Cole—known in Hollywood as the “Holiday Goddess”—has made a name for herself writing heartwarming screenplays chock-full of Christmas clichés, but she has yet to experience the true magic of the season. So, when her eccentric grandmother volunteers her to direct a pageant at Georgia’s hometown community theater, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, she’ll be working alongside Weston James, her childhood crush and the one man she has tried desperately to forget.Now, facing memories of a lonely childhood and the humiliation of her last onstage performance, seven years earlier, Georgia is on the verge of a complete mistletoe meltdown. As Weston attempts to thaw the frozen walls around her heart, Georgia endeavors to let go of her fears and give love a second chance. If she does, will she finally believe that Christmas can be more than a cliché?

    But the locals can’t seem to stop trying to help her, and their obsession with Christmas cheer makes her want things she never thought she’d have. Home. A family. Maybe even a chance at love with a certain handsome sheriff’s deputy…Deputy Cale Matthews was planning to skip Christmas, until a quiet newcomer makes him rethink everything. Willow is clearly hiding something, but she’s also beautiful, courageous, and in desperate need of hope. It doesn’t take long for Cale to decide he wants more than just friendship, but Willow’s been hurt too often to trust easily.With the help of a meddling matchmaker and a little mistletoe, will Cale be able to convince Willow to take a chance on love, or will the shadows of her past tear them apart forever?

    Problem is, her only ride to Lake Tahoe comes in the form of the annoyingly handsome Max Stranton, and his big, goofy, lovable dog Carl.Hours stuck in a truck with the dead sexy Max sounds like a fate worse than death (not), but Rory’s out of options. She’s had a crush on Max since high school and she knows he’s attracted to her, too. But they have history… and Max is the only one who knows why it went south.They’ve done a good job of ignoring their chemistry so far, but a long road trip in a massive blizzard might be just what they need to face their past… and one steamy, snowy night is all it takes to bring Max and Rory together at last.

    Mine is the worst. The worst, hidden in a six foot tall package of male perfection. It’d be easier if he looked like an old Scrooge, wouldn’t it? Nick Saint-Croix doesn’t look like an old scrooge. He’s hot as-Um, never mind. Just bring me a new boss. Please. Sincerely,Holly Winter

    Last minute. Who doesn't already have plans on the busiest date night of the year.But, so far the best part of the search for a great date has been the cute café I found and the geeky-hot owner who keeps rescuing me from these crazy eLove.com dates. This should be easy-peasy. The internet is the home of all your hopes and needs, right?Spoiler Alert: it isn't.Between the bromance date and the crazed single dad who needs to hire a nanny and housekeeper, not get a date, I'm running out of options. If only a certain cutey didn't have a phone call with "sweetheart" every day.The weirder things get, the more I think just going solo is very I Am Woman, blah blah blah. Forget about the fact that my heart keeps bringing me back to a certain café even when I don't need to be there...I mean, my heart doesn't always get what it wants, does it?

    Not since the Christmas he planned to propose to Natalie... before she dumped him. This year's Christmas gift? Having to see her again. Surprise!Natalie is finally settling into a new town. Her bed and breakfast is up and running, she's in charge of the Christmas parade, and she has absolutely zero plans of cozying up to someone special this holiday season. They wouldn't want her anyway. Not with her baggage.But when Cade shows up at Natalie's B&B, needing a place to stay, the pain of their past begs to be dealt with. Can her secret stay secret? And, more importantly, can her heart stay under lock and key?Probably not.

    But no, the lot of them had to ruin it by inviting my childhood crush, Oliver Moore, and throwing us together at every possible moment. Heaven, help me. Now, instead of sipping hot cocoa by the fire, I’m dodging matchmaking attempts and trying to pretend I’m not attracted to Oliver’s adorably perfect smile. I will not become another one of my family’s projects.Oliver:I mean, am I upset Elle’s family swindled us into this Christmas vacation together? No. Will I ever admit that aloud? Also, no. I’ve long ago come to terms with the friend zone Elle placed me in back around ninth grade. But there’s something different about her this week. Something that’s bringing up feelings I really should ignore.Too bad ignoring has never been my strong suit.

    Joining single father Ben Hanson and his children for the holidays seems an easy enough task until Santa informs her that Ben is the man behind the disturbing new book 'Beyond Bah Humbug: Why Lying to Your Children about Santa Claus is a Bad Idea'.Posing as Miss Kane, the children's new nanny, Carol pulls out all the stops to show Ben how fun Christmas can be, all the while struggling to understand how one man could hate the holidays so much. How could she, Santa's only daughter, be so attracted to a man who refuses to believe her father exists?**Please note - this book was originally titled Carol's Christmas**

    
Morning television show darling Emma Sutton has just been fired. The only way to get her job back is to find a holiday story to warm the coldest heart. So when her hometown of Sugar Creek, Arkansas, needs a Christmas event planner, Emma moves back, sure her story lies in the town’s desire to become a tourist’s holiday wonderland. The plan is perfect—until Emma meets her new boss. Charming, handsome Noah Kincaid isn’t just Sugar Creek’s newest mayor. He’s also Emma’s ex-fiancé. Ten years ago Emma left Noah her ring and a goodbye note, but it’s haunted her ever since. The last thing Noah wants to do is work with the woman who broke his heart, but Emma’s desperate to prove to him that her bah-humbug ways won’t interfere with her work. Emma finds it’s more than the mistletoe drawing her back to Noah. Whatever they had is clearly not over, but Noah’s kisses can’t protect Emma from a past that won’t leave her alone. As the snow falls and the trees glisten, love will come to Sugar Creek. But will it come in time to make all of Emma’s Christmas dreams come true?

    What she doesn’t have time for is falling in love with Clay Jett, the incredibly handsome bass player who sweeps into town. She’s been burned by a tourist romance before and, with everything going on, Paisley will have to work overtime to protect her heart from Clay and his swoon-worthy ballads.