Maplewood Ridge Romance Series by Noelle Marcelline

Mira Walsh returns to Maplewood Ridge with nothing but a failing career, a battered Honda, and the keys to her grandmother's dusty bookshop. She's ready to start over, to build something that matters in the small town she once couldn't wait to escape. There's just one Cole Brennan, her first love and biggest regret, is running his maple syrup business in her back room. And he's not exactly thrilled to see her.Cole has spent ten years getting over the girl who left without looking back... moreMira Walsh returns to Maplewood Ridge with nothing but a failing career, a battered Honda, and the keys to her grandmother's dusty bookshop. She's ready to start over, to build something that matters in the small town she once couldn't wait to escape. There's just one Cole Brennan, her first love and biggest regret, is running his maple syrup business in her back room. And he's not exactly thrilled to see her.Cole has spent ten years getting over the girl who left without looking back. Now she's here, talking about renovating the bookshop into some café dream, threatening to disrupt the carefully ordered life he's built. He agrees to share the space for two weeks until the Fall Harvest Festival. Just two weeks of polite coexistence. What could possibly go wrong?Everything. Because working side by side means remembering why they fell in love in the first place. Late nights painting walls. Stolen moments in the maple grove. The taste of reserve grade syrup that feels like coming home. But Mira's still terrified of staying, and Cole's still terrified of being left again. When her past shows up offering everything she thought she wanted, they'll both have to decide if love is worth the risk of getting hurt.Sometimes the sweetest second chances come from the places we never thought we'd return.This sweet, clean small town romance features a grumpy sunshine dynamic, second chance love, forced proximity, and all the cozy autumn feels. First in the Maplewood Ridge Romance Series. less

Ethan Torres is about to lose the most important thing in his life: his seven-year-old daughter, Lily.Three years after his wife's tragic death, Ethan's former in-laws are suing for custody, claiming he's unfit. Too many work hours on his struggling maple farm. Too isolated in rural Vermont. No family support. No partner to share the load. On paper, they're right. In his heart, he knows Lily belongs with him. But the custody hearing is eight weeks away, and he's running out of options... moreEthan Torres is about to lose the most important thing in his life: his seven-year-old daughter, Lily.Three years after his wife's tragic death, Ethan's former in-laws are suing for custody, claiming he's unfit. Too many work hours on his struggling maple farm. Too isolated in rural Vermont. No family support. No partner to share the load. On paper, they're right. In his heart, he knows Lily belongs with him. But the custody hearing is eight weeks away, and he's running out of options.Enter Sienna Carter, Lily's warm and optimistic second-grade teacher who also runs The Sugarhouse Bakery on Main Street. She's escaping her own past: a failed business partnership in Chicago and an ex-fiancé who betrayed her at every turn. Starting fresh in Maplewood Ridge was supposed to be about building a life on her own terms. Proving she didn't need anyone.Then Ethan breaks down during a parent-teacher conference, and Sienna makes an impulsive offer that changes everything: a fake engagement. She'll move in, play the devoted fiancée, give him the stable family structure the courts want to see. Eight weeks of pretending, then they go their separate ways. Simple. Clean. Mutually beneficial.Except nothing about living with Ethan Torres is simple. Not the way he loves his daughter with his whole heart. Not the late-night conversations that make her forget this is supposed to be temporary. Not the way her heart races when he smiles, rare but beautiful. And definitely not the way Lily calls her "almost-mom" with such hope in her eyes.As Thanksgiving approaches and the custody hearing looms, the lines between fake and real blur dangerously. What started as an arrangement becomes morning coffee and bedtime stories. Becomes stolen glances and accidental touches. Becomes falling in love when she absolutely shouldn't.But Ethan's carrying guilt from his first marriage and terror of failing again. Sienna's afraid of wanting something and losing it. And Lily's already lost one mother. When the truth about their fake engagement threatens to destroy everything, they'll have to decide if love born from desperation can become something real. Something lasting. Something worth fighting for.Sometimes the best families are the ones you choose. And sometimes choosing means risking everything, including your heart. less

The last person Nate Callahan expected to see when he returned to Maplewood Ridge was Harper Quinn. The woman who publicly rejected him at senior prom ten years ago. The woman who called him "not serious about anything" and "going nowhere" in front of half their class. The woman he's spent a decade trying to forget.Now she's standing in his late aunt's inn, looking at him like he's ruined her life. Again... moreThe last person Nate Callahan expected to see when he returned to Maplewood Ridge was Harper Quinn. The woman who publicly rejected him at senior prom ten years ago. The woman who called him "not serious about anything" and "going nowhere" in front of half their class. The woman he's spent a decade trying to forget.Now she's standing in his late aunt's inn, looking at him like he's ruined her life. Again.Harper has been managing the Birchwood Inn for a year, rebuilding after her perfect Manhattan life imploded. Her career as a high-end wedding planner? Destroyed by a cheating ex-fiancé. Her reputation? Shattered. Coming to Vermont was supposed to be her fresh start. Aunt Judith promised her the inn. It was supposed to finally be hers.Until the will reading reveals Judith left the inn to both of them. Fifty-fifty ownership. With one impossible condition.They must co-manage the Birchwood Inn together for four weeks through the Christmas and New Year's season. If either leaves before January first, they forfeit everything. If they both stay, they maintain joint ownership and must figure out a permanent partnership.Nate doesn't want the inn. He's built a successful career as a travel photographer, never staying anywhere long enough to get attached. The last thing he needs is to be trapped in his hometown with a woman who broke his seventeen-year-old heart and confirmed his worst that he'd never be good enough.Harper doesn't want a partner. Especially not Nate Callahan, who represents every impulsive decision she's spent her life avoiding. She plans everything. Controls everything. Trusts no one. And she certainly doesn't need a commitment-phobic photographer who'll leave the second things get difficult.But the inn is fully booked. Guests are expecting a magical Christmas experience. And neither of them is willing to back down and hand the other person a victory.Four weeks of forced proximity during the most romantic season of the year. What could possibly go wrong?Everything, as it turns out. Because Harper's rigid control clashes with Nate's spontaneous creativity. Because working together means late nights by the fireplace and early mornings over coffee. Because decorating for Christmas requires standing close on ladders and sharing small spaces. Because a massive snowstorm traps them together, forcing honest conversations they've avoided for a decade.And because underneath the resentment and old wounds, there's an undeniable attraction neither can ignore.Harper is brilliant and broken, hiding vulnerability behind perfect planning. Nate is talented and terrified, running from anything that feels like home. They hurt each other once out of fear. Now they're getting a second chance to heal those wounds. If they're brave enough to try.But as Christmas Eve approaches and feelings deepen, reality intervenes. Nate receives his dream three months photographing New Zealand for National Geographic. The career opportunity he's worked toward for years. Leaving January fifth.Harper knows this was always temporary. That Nate would eventually do what everyone leave. She can protect herself by ending things first. Push him away before he can hurt her again.Except Nate's not running this time. He's choosing to stay. Choosing her. Choosing them. And Harper has to decide if she's brave enough to believe him. To trust that this man who's spent ten years leaving is finally ready to build a home.This wholesome holiday romance features enemies-to-lovers tension, forced proximity, a grumpy photographer hero, a sunshine planner heroine, Christmas magic, and a guaranteed happily ever after. less