The Mistletoe Agreement: A Clean & Wholesome Small-Town Romance of Second Chances and a Fake-Date Pact

She swore off holiday romance. He swore off letting anyone close.

But small towns have a way of rewriting the best-laid plans.

Ivy Callahan came to Evergreen Hollow to hide - from the professional disaster that destroyed her reputation, from the pitying looks, from the exhausting performance of pretending she had it all together. She just needed a quiet place to regroup. What she didn't need was to get roped into coordinating the town's biggest event of the year.

Or to fake-date the infuriatingly handsome woodworker who barely speaks in full sentences.

Nate Weston has spent two years building walls as sturdy as his furniture. Between his family's relentless matchmaking and the weight of his father's legacy, the last thing he wants is a relationship - real or otherwise. But when the sharp-witted event planner with the guarded eyes proposes an arrangement, he can't quite say no.

One month. A handful of holiday events. Simple rules.

And the Mistletoe Clause: any time they're caught under the mistletoe, a compliment instead of a kiss.

It should be easy. Transactional. Safe.

But every shared glance, every whispered confession, every time she makes him almost smile - it stops feeling like pretend. And Ivy is starting to wonder if the most dangerous thing about their agreement isn't the fake part.

It's how real it's becoming.

A swoony, heartwarming holiday romance about second chances, small-town magic, and the courage to let yourself be chosen.