Have Yourself a Merry Little Romance

She's not feeling the holiday spirit. Maybe all she needs is to rent herself an elf. It's Christmas, and I should be full of cheer, but I'm having a hard time mustering the holiday spirit. That was always Grams' role. She loved Christmas so much that she talked my parents into naming me Noelle. Yeah, Noelle Furst. Picture the boys in elementary school having a heyday with my name. But I didn't care. I knew Gram picked it for me, and I wore it proudly. When Grams passed two years ago, she left me this house. I'm a lot of things, but a handywoman isn't one of them. And there's a ton of work to be done. My big plan? Ignore Christmas this year. In only one month, I can move into a new year and put my painful memories back in a box along with all the decorations. But my friends have other ideas. When I open my front door and look up, there's a very muscular, very not-an-elf looking man in a Santa hat smiling a stocking-curling smile at me. He's holding a toolbox. He says, "Hi, I'm your elf," and with those four short words, I'm rethinking my whole stance on this holiday. Rent Yourself an Elf is a closed-door, fake-dating romcom novella. It's just the quick, sweet listen you need during your holidays.

Getting stuck in an old cabin is not my idea of a great winter vacation. Getting stuck with Carson makes me wonder what I did to end up on Santa's naughty list. My friend Noelle talked me into going on a group vacation with our friends. Then she sprung the news that her boyfriend is joining us... with his friends. I've met these guys. You know that ape man on the insurance commercials? Gage, Mitch, and Carson make that missing link look sophisticated. I'll be fine. I brought my Kindle, and we'll be hitting the slopes. I'll barely notice Carson and his abs-wait, he has abs? Carson's definitely a "man's man"-all grunts and banging the chest while watching sports games with his bros. He's not my type. Not at all. When Carson and I are assigned to run into town to get supplies together, I experience a whole other side of him. And now I'm completely questioning my first impression.

He's allergic to Christmas. I'm practically made of tinsel. What could go wrong? I'm not saying Gage Lockett is the actual Grinch… but if someone in town woke up tomorrow to find all the candy canes missing, my money's on him. The man glares at twinkle lights like they personally insulted his mother. So when he accidentally reads my holiday bucket list-complete with "Kiss under the mistletoe" and "Make snow angels"-I hatch a plan. I thought he'd toss it in the trash where joy goes to die. Surprisingly, he decides to tag along. Now my friends and I are dragging Waterford's grumpiest bachelor to every holly-jolly event from ugly-sweater tree lighting to the sleigh race, and I swear I catch him almost smiling once. I'm not saying drawing out another one of those smiles made it onto my holiday list-not officially, anyway. When Gage volunteers for the town's Secret Santa fundraiser, I start seeing the man beneath the scowl. Maybe the one thing missing from my holiday list is… him. Date Yourself a Grinch is a cozy, closed-door, laugh-out-loud, small-town holiday romcom full of heart, humor, and just enough mistletoe to make even a Grinch believe in love. This story is a part of the Have Yourself a Merry Little Romance holiday trilogy.