After two years deployed, Captain Mark Saunders returns home just in time for the holidays and finds out his fling with Essence Monroe left him with more than memories—a baby boy. Mark has never planned on marriage, but he can't walk away from his kid. Now he's thinking it's time to settle down for Tyler's sake. Only problem? Essence isn't saying "I do" without love.

Essence has built her life around her son, Tyler, and she's not about to dive into a loveless marriage, no matter how much Mark's return stirs old feelings. With Christmas magic in the air, Mark wants a family, Essence needs love—and they're both about to learn that sometimes the heart has a plan of its own.