For Poppy Holiday, only one thing matters, rebuilding the bakery she inherited from her grandmother. But that's going to be difficult with her primary oven out of commission. She needs money and needs it fast. The best way to get it is to win Cranberry Cove's annual Christmas gingerbread house competition. There's only one thing standing in the way certain victory and the cash prize she so desperately needs; Darius Badeaux, the one man she swore she'd never love again. More than a decade ago, Darius left his hometown in shame. Caught up in his reputation as a bad boy, he did the most unforgivable thing a teenage boy could do. He'd stood up his prom date. Now, he needs her help to prove he in no longer the renegade they'd known. It was too much to ask, but he needs Poppy to allow him to be part of her gingerbread team. She has every right to refuse him after what he'd done, but he's counting on her generous nature and the spirit of Christmas. Will the season of giving bring them together to build the perfect gingerbread house and salvage their careers, or will the past crush their dreams and their hearts? Alberta romance author Katie O'Connor can't live without her computer and ereader, but she wants to use them in the woods while watching the deer frolic on her summer property, Sanctuary. Her passion, aside from romance and her grandbabies, is giving back to the writing community. She's fueled by coffee and steak, and is fluent in sarcasm, cussing, dad jokes, and romantic jargon. If you need her, she'll be cozied up by the coffee pot eyeing the cookies.
