5th Of December Novel

He watched her grow up. Now he can't stop watching her. Ayana Marcus came home for Christmas expecting family dinners and small-town boredom. What she didn't expect was Nelson Ward looking at her like she was something he'd been starving himself of for twenty years. He's forty-five. She's twenty-four. He's her father's best friend, the town's moral compass, a man who hasn't touched a woman since his fiancée died and took every good thing in him with her. She's the pastor's daughter. The good girl. The one who was never supposed to want something this dangerous. One kiss changes everything. Now she's sleeping in his bed, her father won't speak to her, the whole town is watching — and Nelson Ward, who spent two decades convincing himself he didn't deserve happiness, is learning what it costs to finally take it. Some men are worth the scandal. Some Decembers are worth burning everything down. UNHOLY DECEMBER — because the most sacred thing she ever did was love a man everyone told her was forbidden.

Three years ago, Maya felt something she shouldn't have for Derek Hayes. He's her best friend's father. Eighteen years older. Completely forbidden. She's avoided him ever since. But when Sophie invites Maya to spend Christmas at Derek's Colorado estate, two weeks of forced proximity ignite everything they've both been fighting. Secret glances become stolen kisses. Innocent touches turn into something neither can resist. They tell themselves they'll end it before Sophie finds out. But some loves refuse to stay hidden. When their secret is exposed, Derek loses his daughter. Maya loses her best friend. And both face an impossible question: is love worth the destruction it causes? A forbidden Christmas romance about the space between right and wrong, where the heart wants what it shouldn't have and family is both the greatest gift and the highest cost.

I woke up in a penthouse dressed up for Christmas, having no memory of how I got here. With a stranger sitted beside my hospital bed, his dark eyes watching me like I was something precious he was afraid to lose. He says his name is Damien Cross, my husband. He says we were in an accident two weeks before Christmas, and that I've forgotten everything about our perfect life together. But nothing felt right. The staff won't meet my eyes. My phone had no history. And when I found a journal hidden behind wrapped gifts in my dressing room, the handwriting is mine, but the words were a warning: Do not trust him. Leave before Christmas. You know what he did. Damien surrounded me with holiday magic, kisses under the mistletoe, and planned romantic surprises beneath twinkling lights. He's everything a husband should be: protective, tender, devoted. Yet his love felt like a cage decorated with ribbons and bows. The closer we got to Christmas Eve, the more I remember fragments of another life. Arguments,Fear,Betrayal. One night I tried to run from him in the snow and never made it out. Now I have until Christmas Day to uncover the truth about my past before Damien's version of our love story becomes the only one that matters. Because the man who saved me might be the same man I was trying to escape.

Jace Steadman. My best friend’s father. Older. Controlled. Quiet in a way that makes my pulse stutter. A man who never looks twice at anyone… Except this time, he looked at me. One glance at my ruined makeup and shaking breath, and suddenly he felt too close. Too warm. Too dangerous. His voice was gentle when everyone else had been cruel. And when he sat beside me beneath the glow of the fire, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years: Wanted. Not sweetly. Not politely. But with a quiet, restrained hunger that made my heart slam against my ribs. To distract me from the pain—and to stop himself from touching me—we made a game of it: Twelve days. Twelve dares. No rules… except the ones we couldn’t stop breaking. A whispered challenge in the dark became a dare. A dare became a touch that lingered too long. A touch became a pull neither of us knew how to resist. He shouldn’t crave me. I shouldn’t crave him back. But the more we tried to stay respectable, the more our restraint fell apart. The lodge turned into a minefield of temptation—Christmas lights, stolen glances, near-kisses that burned hotter than the fire. Jace wasn’t just a man I wanted. He became the man I couldn’t stop fighting—and falling—for. If anyone finds out, my life falls apart. His reputation shatters. Everything explodes. But desire doesn’t care about consequences. And this Christmas, I’m done being careful. Done being quiet. Done pretending I don’t want the man who looks at me like I’m the first real taste of life he’s had in years. Twelve days. Twelve dares. One forbidden man I can’t walk away from… even if he ruins me.

Molly absolutely loves Christmas. Candy canes, egg nog, mistletoe, the works. She can't get enough of it. And so it's only natural that she works at the local Christmas store, Christmas Wishes. But when the Scrooge-like Nicholas comes to town, looking to sell his father's business out from under him, it looks like Molly's dream job is disappearing. Worse yet, she's starting to fall for Nicholas, despite everything telling her not to. With one last chance to save the store, Molly appeals to the power of Christmas itself, attempting to convert Nicholas to seeing the beauty of the holiday. Can Christmas magic really make Christmas Wishes come true? Fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will be swept away by Christmas Wishes, a small-town standalone holiday romance with mistletoe and magic. Grab a glass of eggnog, sit by a warm fire, and enjoy!

"Fall in love with THE THORNTONS, a family filled with sexy alpha males, passionate women, and lots of heart, all set in a delightful small town in the Pacific Northwest. It’s Christmas time, and the entire Thornton clan is spending the holidays in a cabin deep in the Washington woods. What could go wrong with twelve adults, four kids, and a dog all staying together in one big cabin? Only the most chaotic—and memorable—Christmas ever! Expect kisses under the mistletoe, lots of (spiked) eggnog, and even a surprise wedding as the Thornton clan celebrates the most romantic holiday of all. Author’s Note: I’ll Be Home for Christmas is set six months after the last book, Till There Was You, ends. It’s recommended that you read the other books first, as this book is an epilogue to the entire series. Merry Christmas and happy reading! ** This book is a part of the LOVE EVERLASTING series, which is one large series following multiple families and friends. Each book can be read as a standalone (unless otherwise noted), or they can be read in order of publication as one long series. Each book is interconnected, with many of the same characters showing up in multiple books. LOVE EVERLASTING THE THORNTONS The Nearness of You The Very Thought of You If I Can’t Have You Dream a Little Dream of Me Someone to Watch Over Me Till There Was You I’ll Be Home for Christmas (A Thorntons Christmas)