From USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell comes a romantic holiday short-novel—warm, aching, and just dark enough to hint at what lies ahead...

This Christmas, she believes she belongs to one man—until she falls for the one who sees her clearly.

Lucy LeBeau has spent her life keeping The Spotted Elk alive by sheer will, its empty rooms echoing with the laughter she’s lost and a future she no longer dares imagine.

When a beloved patron suffers an accident outside her door, Lucy’s quiet act of kindness draws her into his family’s glittering, noisy Christmas—one she never dreamed of belonging to.

Only Captain Arran McQuoid, the family’s guarded eldest son, doubts her story.

Snowbound together, glances linger too long. Words cut too close. And what begins as mistrust sharpens into something far more dangerous—because falling for Arran means wanting what Lucy was never meant to claim.

A deeply emotional Regency Christmas short-novel (50k words) featuring slow-burn tension, aching longing, and a guaranteed HEA.

This holiday prequel introduces the McQuoid family and leads into a darker, more dangerous saga to come.

Perfect for readers who love:
• forbidden attraction
• emotionally guarded heroes
• mistaken identity / misplaced devotion
• hurt-comfort romance

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