Coming home for the holidays was never part of the plan, but sometimes the sweetest path is the one you never expected to take.

Laila

You know how they say, “Follow the trail to your heart”? In my case, that trail leads straight to gingerbread cookies, enchanted snowflakes, and a lot of complicated feelings. I’m back in Enchanted Hollow. Home.

When I’m forced to work side by side with Holden on the Gingerbread Trail event for the Christmas market, there’s more than just typical town magic at play. There are sparks that could ignite a whole holiday fireworks show between us..

Every time we’re together, it’s like the world shifts and the magic of this little town pushes us a little closer together. But that’s just it—magic. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that magic always comes with its own set of rules.

I’ve felt lost for so long, I can’t help but wonder if maybe this time I should stop running away. Maybe Holden is the fairy tale trail I should have been following all along.

Holden

I’ve spent years avoiding the spotlight, keeping my distance from everything that could turn my life into a soap opera. I’ve got my family to care for, my bakery to run, and a lot of responsibility. But Laila? She’s different.

Every time she comes back here, even if it’s just for a weekend, I’m like a moth to a flame. And this time is no different. If anything, there’s something more. There’s something about the way the gingerbread houses glow in the distance, the way the wind whispers secrets, that has me questioning why I haven’t fought to keep her here–with me–where she belongs.

She may insist we can be more than friends for a weekend, but that ending hasn’t worked out so far. Maybe it’s time to choose a different path—and step into the mysterious unknownso we can truly experience some magic.

With a past she can’t escape and a love she can’t deny, this Cinderella’s story is far from over…

I was supposed to return to Enchanted Hollow under very different circumstances: free of my stepmothers clutches. But thanks to a twist of, well, cruelty–I’m in charge of a high-profile celebrity wedding there. The catch? I have to execute it to my stepmother’s extremely high standards to get my life back.

Fairytale weddings and happily ever afters are my thing, so this should be an easy slam dunk. Except that my point-of-contact at Ever After Farms is my best friend’s older brother, Luke Jackson.

The problem? He doesn’t really approve of the town’s matchmaking antics. My celebrity bride, Holly, likely fell in love thanks to a little magic. To top it all off? It’s the busiest time of year for his family’s farm.

I’ve got a solid plan in place until our meet cute causes my emotions to be more tangled than the pumpkins in his patch. Then Holly assumes we’re a couple–hello fake relationship–and things spiral out of control. The deeper I get into wedding planning, the less according to plan everything goes.

Luke is determined to prove all the things I’ve believed wrong, but in the best ways. Maybe it’s time I borrow a little courage and write my own happy ending…

Meet Me At Midnight is a closed door, romcom retelling of Cinderella with magical elements and sizzling kisses!