The Christmas Phoenix

Losing a loved one can be devastating to the point of evading life, ignoring another’s love, and waiting for something to help her go on.

Christmas Eve meant only one thing to Nadine, the death of her husband whom she was married to for only a few short weeks. For two years, the holiday has come and gone without her celebrating.

But someone comes along, who finds her so wonderful, so special that Nadine is forced to come to terms with her past. Could she love again? Would she find a sign, a message to let her go on?

Being dumped by your gorgeous fiancé is bad enough no matter when it happens, but he did it at Christmas time! Marley thinks she’ll never get over it, but Rob Travers disagrees. He sets out to win Marley’s heart, well aware that when she finds out about his past, she may turn her back on him forever.

To Cate, her job as a newspaper reporter is so much more. It’s her passion. While she understands the industry is going through tough times, Cate assumes the executive who’d signed the email announcing expected furloughs wasn’t concerned that Christmas was three weeks away. She’s certain he didn’t know her divorce had been finalized nor did he realize or care she was on her own with a two-year-old anticipating Santa Claus.

Sitting in her favorite coffee house working on a story, her assumption is about to change when that executive himself sits down at her table. Sometimes the obvious isn’t. Sometimes when we think we have the rest of our life planned, our heart takes us in a different direction and that can be a gift all in itself.

He was a duke who wanted to be a toymaker. She fell in love with a toymaker but her parents wanted her to marry a duke.

Lady Ivy Plumthorne, elder daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Wythorpe, is a worry to her parents. Desiring only that she be as happily wed as her younger sister, they've spent the past year parading prospective suitors in front of her. When she finds none of the suitors… suitable, her parents despair she will ever find the perfect husband. With Christmas approaching, they find one more prospective suitor, the Duke of Greenbriar. Only problem is, Ivy's already met the man of her dreams… and he's a toymaker.

Noel Phillip Vincent Greenstone, the Twelfth Duke of Greenbriar, wasn't cut out to be a duke. He preferred crafting toys that made children happy. So that's just what he did. And as Phillip Green, he traveled freely about, visiting shops and orphanages, and making certain no child went without a toy of his or her own. But a few chance meetings with Lady Ivy and he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. The problem is, she needs to marry a nobleman and she only knows him as Phillip the Toymaker. He needs a plan, and fast. The world needs to meet the reclusive Duke of Greenbriar, so Phillip plans his own coming out. But how will Ivy react when she learns the truth?

Christmas is supposed to be the most joyful time of year. Instead, Caylie Abrahams finds herself consumed by doubts and misgivings as her wedding date to Rick Marshall approaches. From two different walks of life, Caylie fears Rick's family, and his money, will be too much to handle. Matters don’t improve much when Rick is forced to give her a prenuptial agreement.

Knowing the marriage contract may be the last straw for Caylie, Rick has to find a way to show his bride-to-be the agreement doesn’t mean their marriage is doomed. Not only does he need to make sure her worries are addressed, but the pressure of keeping his hands to himself until their wedding night is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

A Christmas short story featuring the beloved characters Emma and Dominic from the Bella Series, come fall in love with these characters as they experience their first Christmas together!

The only thing Donovan Ellis, Seventh Duke of Gatewood, wants for Christmas is for it to be over. Too much sadness surrounds the holiday. Horrors he'd just as soon forget. Oh, there's one present he yearns for with all his heart, but he can't have her. His foolishness pushed her into the arms of another. So if he can't have the one thing he truly desires, then he just wants to be left alone to drown in his own misery. But when a ghostly apparition visits him, claiming things can be set right, can Donovan believe? Can he trust the duke of Christmas past? Or will meddling in the past bring more heartache than he already has to bear?

Greta Nole loved the old hotel more than any other place on earth. If the new owners close it down, she'd be out of a job and her beloved hotel would be gone forever. She'd do whatever she had to do to get the hotel in tiptop shape before the new owner arrived after Christmas. But first she had to survive Stormzilla, the nastiest snowstorm to hit southern Indiana in years.

Owen Levi III had no clue why his father would buy such a relic as the Jubilee--and then send Owen out there to check it out so close to Christmas. Had his dad finally lost his mind? The hotel was nothing more than an albatross around Levi Industries' neck and the only recommendation Owen could make was to tear it down! Quick. Owen's staring out the window, mentally going over what would need to be done to even get the hotel habitable when he sees an idiot woman walking through the storm. When she trips and hits her head Owen's outside to rescue her faster than he can think.

Greta and Owen have tangled over hotels before, and neither would ever admit defeat!

Ashley Torrington never cared much about Christmas before. But this year she’s having a particularly blue holiday because Marine Special Operations Team member, Nick Turner got under her skin just before he was deployed to Afghanistan. With her neighbors’ precocious daughter Bella volunteering Ashley for a special project at school, and a mysterious white-haired stranger named Estelle in town buying gifts from Ashley’s shop, not to mention the odd assortment of presents Ashley’s been receiving from an anonymous source, she shouldn’t have time to worry about her guy. But when he and his team go missing the week before Christmas, she realizes only a Christmas miracle will reunite them.

Captain Nicholas Turner never backed down from challenges—on the battlefield or in his personal life. But he’d never met a challenge like Ashley, who doesn't want to be anyone’s “girl back home.” Now he’s on the other side of the world, wanting to be anywhere but in Afghanistan for Christmas. About to embark on one of the most dangerous missions of his life, he needs Ashley to know she’s much more than the girl he’d left behind, and he does plan to come home to her. But in the meantime, a little Christmas magic would be appreciated. Little does he know, he’s about to get his wish.

Five years ago, Lord Henry left Lady Emmaline alone to face society’s scorn after the two were found in a compromising position. Now Henry has returned to London as the Duke of Salle, determined to win back the woman he never forgot.

Lady Emmaline believes herself to be happy as a resigned spinster. Though her days are no longer filled with callers and balls, she has found her place in society and has no interest in romance. Her vow to withstand Henry’s renewed advances slowly crumbles, however, under his persistent and unwavering charm.

Finally, they believe, the ghosts of their past have been banished. That is until a new scandal threatens to separate them. This time, forever.