This Christmas, Isla Greene’s festive cheer is buried under six feet of snow.

Unemployed, evicted, and back in a hometown that no longer feels like home, the twenty-five-year-old faces a not-so-merry life reset.

The one bright spot in an otherwise bleak winter? Spending the holidays with her childhood friend and his loud, loving family. Their charming chaos provides the perfect distraction, but December isn’t done playing dirty.

An unwelcome chill sweeps into Sugarpine Springs, arriving just in time to crash her vacation.

Theo Thorne.

Her best friend’s older brother. Former mentor. The mistake she swore never to repeat.

For the last half-decade, Theo’s pointed boycott of eggnog and emotions has spared Isla from his grinchy glower. Now, they’re stuck under the same mistletoe-covered roof, flirting with tension thick enough to qualify as foreplay.

As the spirit of the season pulls strings for second chances, Isla must stay focused on her New Year’s goals: establish a freelance graphic design career, find an apartment, and—no matter what—keep Theo out of her heart.

Her crush of Christmas past has no place in her future.

For fans of:
✨Holiday romcoms with heart and heat.
✨Forbidden friction (best friend’s older brother).
✨Big small-town vibes.
✨Second-chance(ish) chemistry plus soft angst.
✨Forced proximity/trapped under-one-roof tension.
✨Low drama and high spice.
✨Fun, fluffy storylines that deliver serious, sincere feelings.
✨Career-driven characters (Graphic Designer x Marketing Master).
✨Grumpy, protective heroes and guarded, sunshiny heroines.
✨Found family chaos featuring positive platonic relationships.
✨A truly fake fake-relationship (that brings out real jealousy in the actual love interest).
✨Christmas Hallmark movies—but keep that door wide open, please!
✨Dual first-person POVs (M/F).