Opposites attract in this fun prequel novella set during an unexpected Tennessee snowstorm. Enjoy forced-proximity and enemies-to-lovers tropes as this brand new couple finds love among the zany, meddling residents of our beloved Licking Thicket.

Charlie Yates is desperate. It's almost Christmas and his flight home from college has been delayed. For days. Charlie promised his little sister Ava he'd be home for her first holiday season since going into remission from leukemia. Now he's stuck on the opposite coast and someone else grabbed the last rental car. Someone he hasn't even spoken to in four years. Someone who broke his heart.

After tearing his Achilles tendon, recuperating by the sea sounds like a fantastic idea, and Dylan happily accepts his best mate's offer to stay with him and his uncle for a few weeks. But he hadn't counted on the uncle being smoking hot, or the fierce attraction that blossoms between them. Swapping the busy streets of London for the easy pace of Cornish life is exactly what Gareth needs to move on with his own life. His new home requires a little TLC, but he'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was the ghostly resident already living there.

A nice boy gets naughty...Redheaded freshman Jeremy "Cherry" Rourke is certainly living up to his childhood nickname, although still being inexperienced is the least of his concerns. After coming out, his parents barely talk to him. He hasn't made any friends at university. Worst of all, he's about to spend Christmas completely alone in an empty dorm. Jeremy clearly needs a fairy godfather, so football captain Max Pimenta takes him under his wing to help him find his dating groove. But Jeremy's wound way too tight. He's too vulnerable. Max can't trust some random guy with him.

Ever since we met two years ago, Eden Burkehammer has made everything better. The big defenseman sets me at ease. He’s a beast on the ice—brutal and physical—but when it’s the two of us, he turns to me with these unexpectedly soft brown eyes. This gravelly laugh that makes my whole body smile. And yeah, I might have thrown a glance his way a time or two in the steamed-up locker room showers—you know, just curious. But he’s my best friend. My teammate. Roommate. I don’t want to mess with that. Just the thought of losing him sends a cold zap the full length of my spine.

This year is my last chance to take the Titans to victory. I cost us the cup last year, but I'm not making the same mistake again. And I'm determined to get drafted by the end of this season. The success I anticipate is built on three years of razor-sharp focus and hard-earned respect. Not to mention how much of my personal life I sacrificed for hockey. The Titans trust me to lead them and I won't betray that. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Until the former love of my life and current arch nemesis, Cameron Martinez, skates back into my life.

When Casey Stevens went away to college four years ago, he ghosted on his straight best friend, Joel Vreeland. He hoped time and distance would lessen the unrequited affection he felt, but he only missed Joel more. Home for the holidays, Casey hopes they might find a way to be friends again. But Joel’s frosty reception reminds Casey of just how hard he had to fight to be Joel’s friend in the first place. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to get past his cool façade again. Joel isn’t as straight as Casey believes, and years of pining for Casey have left him hurting.

As a 42-year-old single father, the last thing I expected before Christmas was for my daughter to sign me up for a community matchmaking event. The Christmas Buddies program becomes a challenge I can't wait to overcome when I realize the man that has been assigned as my buddy for the holiday season is none other than Paxton Montgomery. He's massive, grumpy, incredibly gorgeous (in a lumberjack kinda way), and also—weirdly enough—the only person in town who doesn't like me.

A long time ago, in a suburban high school not so far away, a closeted nerd (me) and a closeted soccer star (Hutch) fell in love and planned to make their public debut at prom. Until Hutch bailed at the last minute, leaving me with a broken heart and unworn tuxedo. Tale as old as time, right? I spent the past ten years working to forget Hutch, returning to our old high school to teach and make new memories that could erase ones of him. I thought Hutch was ancient history, off living his professional athlete life.

The Dean of Admissions at the girls’ dream school says only families with two parents need apply, and in desperation, Grant makes me a different offer: to be his on-paper husband. With things heating up between us and my heart hanging in the balance, how can I convince Grant to make me the proposal I really want: to turn this marriage of convenience into a real-life happily-ever-after?

Conor: It starts with a drunken text pic. The kind I would normally never send. Only, instead of it going to the flirty hotel bartender, it goes to some random stranger who actually responds. Wells: The first thing I notice about Conor Newell when he sits down in my high-rise conference room is how delightfully nervous he is. Then I see his tie. The same geeky tie that’s held hostage on my phone. The one that belongs to my anonymous late-night texter. And it changes everything.

The job at Sunday Orchard was supposed to be temporary. A chance to gain some work experience, to have some fun. I had not expected to be welcomed into a family of gorgeous and weirdly efficient lumberjack-types, or to find purpose in the tiny Vermont town whose claim to fame seemed to be apple-based products and copious amounts of charm. And I most definitely hadn’t expected to fall for Knox Sunday, my grumpy, burly, fifteen-years-older, reluctant roommate, with his infuriating lectures, his hot-as-fire body, his superior attitude - I’ve never been one to put down roots.

Four steamy and sweet M/M holiday romances in one sizzling bundle! This gay romance collection from Keira Andrews includes four of her best-selling holiday novellas.

Paul Morgan has been running his luxury camping tour business in Kakadu National Park for the last five years, taking small groups glamping, hiking, climbing, and swimming. It’s been a busy five years—a hard five years—as he tried to forget the man he left behind.

Valor on the Move: Growing up gay in the White House hasn't been easy for Rafael Castillo. But once his family's out of the spotlight, he can be honest with his conservative parents about his sexuality and his dream of being a chef. It's definitely not part of Rafa's plan to get a new Secret Service agent who's a walking wet dream. Test of Valor: With his father no longer president, Rafa Castillo can finally be with ex-Secret Service agent Shane Kendrick. Eager to get away from the questions and judgement, Rafa and Shane are building a new life together in Australia.

Will fake boyfriends become the real deal this holiday? It’s the most wonderful time of the year - except ex-Marine Logan is jobless and getting evicted. Worse, he’s a new single dad with a stepson who hates him. A kid needs stability - not to mention presents under the tree - and Logan’s desperate. Then he meets lonely Seth and makes a deal. Can Logan temporarily pretend to be live-in boyfriends to increase Seth’s chances at a promotion?

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad choices: live as another man's possession, subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love. Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier's wage. Nikola's nothing but a job to do. But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola's potion running out, Andreas has to… improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard's respectful protection.

Four steamy and sweet M/M holiday romances in one sizzling bundle! This gay romance collection from Keira Andrews includes four of her best-selling holiday novellas.

Help! I've inherited my aunt's historic house in small-town Oregon, and I need to fix it up and sell it fast before I move on to my big-city dreams. I'm one of the navy's best investigators, but twenty years of living in base housing means DIY isn't part of my extensive skill set.

Rory is an omega prince, heir to the throne of the magical kingdom of Igella. His country's laws dictate that omegas must have a Regent to rule in their stead-and that the Regent must be an Alpha. Rory's wicked stepmother, Queen Berenda, needs to find an unscrupulous Alpha, because she has nefarious plans for her stepson.

Charlie Yates is desperate. It's almost Christmas and his flight home from college has been delayed. For days. Charlie promised his little sister Ava he'd be home for her first holiday season since going into remission from leukemia. Now he's stuck on the opposite coast and someone else grabbed the last rental car. Someone he hasn't even spoken to in four years. Someone who broke his heart.

It’s really hard to pretend like life is normal when you’re staring a monster in the eyes, though he’s both tempting and irritating in his human form. I put my days as a hunter behind me, unable to cope with the death and pain anymore, to become an upstanding citizen and for what? To assist Lake, a man who claims he’s not a monster but keeps talking about me like I’m edible and–even worse–wants to woo me?

Initially, the only thing Marshall and Marshall had in common was a name. Marshall (aka Data) lived his life around spreadsheets, while Marshall (aka Marsh) was an F5 tornado of chaos. Yet for eight years, they were madly in love. Until Marsh abruptly ended things with a half-baked excuse. Six months later, Data gets a text from Marsh out of the blue: They need to clean out their cabin in Maine and sell it ASAP. He can make it through one more weekend with the man who broke his heart.

Eli hasn't been home since he left at 18 with a heart aching from his best friend's rejection and his father's intolerance. But when his father reaches out, Eli figures it's time to make peace with his family. He doesn't expect to come face-to-face with Turner too - or to learn that the straight friend he'd foolishly loved is actually bisexual - but once the shock wears off, he knows exactly what he wants for Christmas.

College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn't made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He's going to drop Adam Hawkins' film class and start fresh tomorrow after he's had a good sulk. But Parker's about to find out what a bad day really looks like - if he can survive the night. A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombielike killers.

The Next Competitor: To win gold, figure skater Alex Grady must train harder than the competition. As for a boyfriend, forget it. The Olympics are only every four years—everything else can wait. So it's ridiculous when Alex finds himself checking out his new training mate Matt Savelli. Cold War: American figure skater Dev despises his Russian rival. Arrogant, aloof Mikhail is like a machine on the ice—barely ever making a mistake. He's also sexy as hell, which makes him even more infuriating.

At 34, veteran catcher Jake just wants to finish out his contract and retire. His team doesn't have a prayer of making the playoffs, but who needs the stress anyway? Jake lost his passion for the game - and life - after driving away the man he loved. He swore he'll never risk his heart again. Then he's traded to a team that wants a vet behind the plate to tame their new star pitcher. Jake is shocked to find the gangly kid he once knew has grown into a gorgeous young man.

Ever since Cambridge-bound Colin Lancaster spied on stable master Patrick Callahan mastering another man, he's longed for Patrick to do the same to him. When Patrick is caught with his pants down and threatened with death for his crime, Colin speaks up in his defense and confesses his own sinful nature. They're soon banished to the faraway prison colony of Australia. Patrick never asked for Colin's help, and now he's stuck with the pampered fool.

These 12 stories - published over the last five years in Harper's, The Best American Short Stories, McSweeney's, Playboy, and other publications - veer from comic tales of love to social satire to suspenseful crime fiction, from hip Portland to once-hip Seattle to never-hip Spokane, from a condemned casino in Las Vegas to a bottomless lake in the dark woods of Idaho. This is a world of lost fathers and redemptive conmen, of meth tweakers on desperate odysseys and men committing suicide by fishing.

Coming this holiday season from the beloved author of The Geek Who Saved Christmas. A yummy buffet of fan-favorite tropes: older brother's best friend, military, fish out of water, coworkers, found family, first times, and of course, a big serving of grumpy/sunshine. All wrapped up in a big, fluffy HEA for a holiday romance you'll want under your tree!