Under The Mistletoe

Joy Goodman has spent years keeping her world neat, warm, and perfectly under control. At forty-one, she runs a thriving cottage business crafting candles and lotions, fills her December days with holiday markets, and waits eagerly for her grown children to come home. Her heart is steady, her routines are safe... and her loneliness is the one thing she refuses to look directly in the eye.

Then Nick Turner walks back into her life.

Nick-her son's childhood best friend, now twenty-five, tall, charming, and far too handsome for her peace of mind. He's a local carpenter with sawdust on his boots and eyes that linger a moment too long. Once a sweet kid she used to pack extra snacks for, he's become a man who knows exactly what he wants-and he's always wanted her.

Their flirtation begins quietly. A shared smile at the farmers market. A repaired cabinet he refuses to let her pay for. A moment under the mistletoe that lasts one breath longer than it should. Joy knows the rules, knows the risks, knows this can't happen.

Nick is patient. Soft where she expects him to be bold, bold where she expects him to back away. And as the month of December unfolds-with snowfall, family gatherings, and secrets no candlelight can fully hide-Joy begins to question whether she's allowed to want something for herself.

Because desire doesn't care about age difference. Or small-town gossip. Or the fact that her kids will be home for the holidays.

In the season of giving, Joy is about to discover what it means to take something back-her happiness, her hunger, and a love she never saw coming.

Under the Mistletoe is a steamy, emotional holiday romance about second chances, forbidden longing, and the one December that changes everything.