New Hope Series by Lucy Darling

This Christmas we're all getting exactly what we didn’t know we needed… But maybe Santa knew better than us all.CandyI should have known better, but I was naïve. He was supposed to be my best friend, the person there for me whenever the rug was pulled out from under me. The one doing all the right things to help me. If only I’d known he was the one ripping that rug out from under me all along... moreThis Christmas we're all getting exactly what we didn’t know we needed… But maybe Santa knew better than us all.CandyI should have known better, but I was naïve. He was supposed to be my best friend, the person there for me whenever the rug was pulled out from under me. The one doing all the right things to help me. If only I’d known he was the one ripping that rug out from under me all along. Before I could see I was trapped in a game of revenge between powerful families, I was already carrying his baby, or so I thought.Finding out the baby I agreed to surrogate is not only mine, but also not his at all, I do the only thing I can think of. I run straight to the man who is now my baby daddy… little does he know.HollisWhen I left the city life behind after an accident, I wouldn’t have guessed that the small town of New Hope could give even the grumpiest man some Christmas spirit. This town has a mind of its own and some say Christmas magic. I growled and pushed the townspeople away; they in turn made me their mayor. Now my mother insists on me throwing a holiday party for the whole town in celebration.I should’ve known my mother had an ulterior motive. It’s not shocking that she tried to hook me up with the party planner. But this time I was prepared and came up with a plan of my own. I tell them all I'm engaged to my assistant, thinking that should do the trick, but what the town and my mother want, they get.When the sweetest Christmas treat of a girl ends up on my doorstep, it's already too late. She thinks I'm engaged, and I think she's the party planner carrying another man's baby.Either way, by Christmas morning, I’ll be making sure both are mine.This small-town holiday romance features a grumpy fake-engaged billionaire, a pregnant virgin with a case of mistaken identity, and a secret baby. Get all the tropes you love for Christmas tied up with one little bow. less

I don’t care if she’s my best friend’s little sister or if this will put me on the naughty list… Come Christmas, I’ll have her tied up with a bow under my Christmas tree.Sheriff HudsonMundane—that's what my life was before Kindred Cane came bursting into it, full of sweetness and a whole lot of glitter. I'd taken the job as sheriff of New Hope, retiring from being a ranger to be near her. I needed her warmth in ways I couldn't begin to fathom... moreI don’t care if she’s my best friend’s little sister or if this will put me on the naughty list… Come Christmas, I’ll have her tied up with a bow under my Christmas tree.Sheriff HudsonMundane—that's what my life was before Kindred Cane came bursting into it, full of sweetness and a whole lot of glitter. I'd taken the job as sheriff of New Hope, retiring from being a ranger to be near her. I needed her warmth in ways I couldn't begin to fathom.I lived in a world full of darkness for so long; now it’s like seeing light every time I lay eyes on her. I wake up and go to bed thinking about a future with her. She drives me nuts but in the best possible way.Too bad I don't know anything about the opposite sex. I went from military school straight into the Army. Now I'm the sheriff of a small town she all but runs. My words come out in grunts and growls, always ticking her off in one way or another. But I find that I rather enjoy riling her up.Kindred may think her antics deter me, but I only see it as foreplay.KindredGrowing up in a town full of love, I've been waiting for the day when I'd find mine. Lucky for me, my big brother brought him right to my doorstep. As soon as I saw him, all of me lit up like a Christmas tree, and I knew the giant, surly man was mine. But when he opened his mouth, only grunts and growls tumbled out. I seem to be the only one on the receiving end of them.He chats up the librarians and all the ladies in the knitting club just fine. Women almost slip on the ice turning to check him out when he walks by. Trust me, I’ve seen it with my own eyes; how could I not when every time I turn around, he’s always there?If I didn’t know better, I would think he was stalking me. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I know he’s only looking out for me out of duty.But when a real stalker or maybe two show up, Hudson turns into more than my shadow. He’s demanding I sleep in his bed, and those grunts and growls have turned into dirty talk. This man's filthy mouth is the best hidden treasure I have ever found in my life.Now I’m not sure which one of us is going to end up on the naughty list, but I’m going to enjoy finding out. less