by C.R. Jane
Part of The Wrong Player
First published 2025
Natalie Bennett has a plan for her sister's Christmas Eve wedding: stay composed, dodge her estranged father, and keep her distance from Easton Maddox, the high school boyfriend she walked away from years ago. Then Easton walks in wearing a Santa suit, and the plan falls apart. A broken-down car strands them together. A meddling grandmother keeps pushing them into the same room. A compromising duet in front of everyone strips away what little armor Natalie had left. The wedding is set at a cozy mountain lodge, and there is nowhere to hide. Easton went on to Hollywood after she left. Natalie told herself the breakup was the right call. She has believed that for years. Now she has to sit across from him at dinner and pretend she still believes it. Natalie wants logic to win. Easton wants her back. The harder she tries to keep things simple, the clearer it becomes that she never fully let go of him either. This standalone second-chance romance is funny, warm, and built around two people who never quite finished their story.
Genres: romance, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: cozy, emotional, funny, intimate, warm
Tropes: exes-to-lovers, forced-proximity, second-chance-romance, small-town-reunion
Setting: mountain lodge
Period: Christmas Eve
328 pages · Paperback · Podium Publishing