In truth, it probably didn’t help that I showed up dressed like an elf but that’s a story for another time. Our start was rocky at best which is why it’s so frustrating that I can’t stop thinking about his sexy British accent. Or the way his chest and arms fill out his suit. Or his perfect hair with that single streak of grey at the front.

I kept smiling when I caught my fiancé coming down my sister’s chimney on Christmas Eve. I gave polite congratulations when they got engaged. And I even offered to help decorate for their Christmas wedding despite the fact that was supposed to be my dream wedding. But when my sister cuts up my great-grandmother’s one-hundred-year-old wedding dress and turns it into a skank show, even though that was the dress I was going to wear on my wedding day? Well, this elf is torching down the North Pole.

Rule number one for having a one-night stand: Don’t fall for the girl. After a lengthy dating slump, I finally met someone who sparked my interest. Well, first the sparks flew when we argued. Later in the evening those sparks ignited into something more. I was drawn to Devyn, in a way I hadn’t felt in a really long time. Needless to say, I was disappointed when she abruptly left after our amazing night together. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But she hadn’t even given me her number. In a city with eight-million people, I figured I’d never see Devyn again.

Five hockey players, a cabin in the woods...and little old me, Winnie Berlin. Sounds like the start of a fantasy, right? But it's not. It's my reality. It all started when I got lost in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. A wicked thunderstorm sent my car mud sliding into a ditch, and for a girl whose survival skills involve finding the nearest Starbucks, I was in deep trouble. Forced to abandon my car in search of help, I stumbled upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

After the year I’ve had, the last thing I need is a hot, tattooed, rugged stranger distracting me from my job. But when the irresistible man I meet in a dive bar devastates me with a knee-weakening kiss, I throw caution to the wind and spend a scorching night in his arms on the beach.

Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight. As the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own.

With the name Holliday, you’d think I’d be all about the Christmas season. Most years, I am, but this one not so much. Between my ex being a real Scrooge-in-the-backside, re-entering the workforce, wrangling my two children, and evading my eight-year-old’s questions about Santa’s existence, I’m struggling to believe in the magic myself.

After my ex crushed my dreams in the music industry, I’m done with getting my heart broken. Working as an assistant for an NHL player was supposed to be a breeze, but nothing about Jamie Streicher is easy. He’s an intimidatingly hot, grouchy jerk who can't stand me. The guy has a massive ego. Keeping things professional will be no problem, even when he demands I move in with him.

Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

I’ve sworn off men to focus on my dream job that starts on Monday. But my best friend talks me into a final night of fun—a blind date. I only agree because the guy is going to work as a doctor in Africa. It’s the best date of my life. Dr. Africa makes me laugh and swoon, and I want to give him a thorough physical examination. He turns into Dr. One Night Stand, and I’m not sad about it. Monday morning, I’m enthusiastic and excited, until I bump into...you guessed it.

As a divorced single father, I live by three rules: Make sure every day my daughter, Paisley, knows she’s number one in my life. No matter what, keep contact with my cheating ex-wife to a minimum, and turn Maxwell Wineries into a legacy that keeps Paisley set for life. When I hire Lexi to look after my daughter, I realize I need another rule: Don’t pursue Paisley’s nanny. But even if I had that rule it wouldn’t matter. Because I'm breaking it already.

Miles Cavanaugh is moving into “The Den”—a notorious four-flat apartment complex in Chicago with two of his new teammates from the Chicago Grizzlies. The Den is known for the number of women who come and go, but as the three bachelors start their new season, they get their first inkling that things are starting to change.

I can’t borrow him. He’s not a sweater or a skirt. He’s not even her favorite dress - the lucky one she wears on first dates. The one she probably wore on her first date with him. In my defense, I didn’t know who he was. To me, he was a cool, calm, confident stranger. He was perfection for the entire hour-and-a-half train ride, while the concrete jungle turned into a rolling green landscape.

I also managed to get into the kind of coed naked trouble with him that involved a nurse, a shotgun, a feral turkey, and a pair of pliers. But all's well that ends well, and we already have plans to meet up again. It's early days, but I'm already thinking Drew might be the one.

It’s not a new story. Wife finds out husband’s been cheating on her, and she packs up her four kids and heads back to her hometown of Sunrise Bay, Alaska. Yeah, not a fresh start, but thousands of miles away from my ex will do just fine. I’m prepared for the cold weather, the early snowfalls, and dark days and nights. What I’m not prepared for is coming face-to-face with my ex’s cousin, and for the same feelings from 20 years ago to ignite like the flame never went out.

I thought I was over him. That his good looks and British accent couldn’t affect me anymore. But the minute our eyes lock across the elevator, all those feelings come roaring back to life. Then I find out we’re competing for the same job. Next comes the realization that we have to spend a week together on a ski vacation because of some six-degree-of-separation nonsense. The real kicker is when I find out the two of us have to share a villa. A very small, very cozy villa.

In truth, it probably didn’t help that I showed up dressed like an elf but that’s a story for another time. Our start was rocky at best which is why it’s so frustrating that I can’t stop thinking about his sexy British accent. Or the way his chest and arms fill out his suit. Or his perfect hair with that single streak of grey at the front.

My to do list: Revive my crashed PR career. Turn around the Kringle family business by Christmas. Convince my ex-boyfriend, NHL legend Matt “the Mountain” Kringle, to help me, even though I broke his heart when we were seventeen. Easy, right? Matt is huge, he’s hot, and he’s the grumpiest player in the league. I’ll have to brave his bad attitude and his sexy beard if I want him to help bail out the family business and put my career back on track.

With the name Holliday, you’d think I’d be all about the Christmas season. Most years, I am, but this one not so much. Between my ex being a real Scrooge-in-the-backside, re-entering the workforce, wrangling my two children, and evading my eight-year-old’s questions about Santa’s existence, I’m struggling to believe in the magic myself.

I made a deal with my brother a long time ago to never date his teammates. Technically, Rowan Landry, the hot as hell center for the Chicago Falcons, is no longer my brother’s teammate. Or his best friend. Their college days are long behind them, and they barely talk now. Also, I’m not dating him—we’re just sleeping together. There’s a difference.

New York Times best-selling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward bring you three sexy short stories to heat up your holidays: "Sexy Scrooge", "The Merry Mistake", and "Kissmas in New York".

What happens when you attend a first responder's bachelor auction with your best friends? Well, if your name is Madison Kelly like mine is, your friends end up bidding on a date for you with your high school crush. One date. That's all I'm committed to. A few hours and I can tuck him back into that tattered old shoebox in my closet. As always, the universe has other plans. I never would've predicted that in a matter of days, he'd turn from my dream guy into my business partner - and that's when things got interesting.

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

Playing the part of my sister’s maid of honor is easy even if she’s marrying my ex. But playing nice with the best man? An impossible task given our history. Sure, Luke Darling may be suspiciously kind, incredibly handsome, and stubborn to a fault, but regardless of how hard he tries to make me see otherwise, I’m not interested. It’s on me to remind him that he’s my ex-boyfriend’s best friend. And the one I’m secretly starting to wish I met first.

New York Times best-selling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward bring you three sexy short stories to heat up your holidays: "Get Sleighed", "Lights Out Love", and "Hot Item".

That should be a good thing, right? Eggnog and Christmas carols. Mistletoe and family. Except my dad broke his leg hanging the family wreath. My brothers are at war over taking proper care of Dad. Oh, and I just found out our family business, the Kringle Inn, is failing!

In my perfect world, it would always be winter and never Christmas. I despise the holiday. I hate carols, shopping, and pretending to be a perfect family. I walked away from my family, or rather, they walked away from me. My heart is like ice. See it creeping up the walls. Oh, wait, no, that’s royal icing.

My name is Caroline "Candy" Cane, I own a country inn, date a man who runs a Christmas tree farm, and my mom's peppermint fudge wins first place at the Reindeer Corners' festival every year. Basically, I'm living every romance-loving girlie's small town dream. Until a last minute trip to New York City leads to catching my boyfriend banging a Rockette (in full elf costume). So, when I'm offered a chance to star in a hospitality-themed reality show, I jump at the chance to serve hot cocoa in roller skates on national television.

He's my first love. My high school sweetheart. And he's leaving tomorrow for a bigger and better life. I've loved Ben almost my entire life, and we have one night left before he heads miles away to college on a football scholarship. I'm bound and determined to make sure this day goes perfectly so he remembers me as the girl he loves. But I cant help worrying that Ill end up as the girl he loved.

Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life…and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.