A heartwarming holiday romance full of cozy banter, twinkle lights, and love where you least expect it.

Nora Bennett has stopped believing in perfect love stories. At thirty-two, she's poured her heart into Holly & Pine, the Christmas shop she runs on Happily Ever After Lane. Between her twinkle-light window displays and her parents always off on cruises, Nora has convinced herself she's fine—romance can wait.

Jake Lawson knows better than to trust Christmas. His ex-wife left him on Christmas Eve ten years ago, trading snow for seashells and leaving him to raise their dinosaur-loving son alone. Since then, Jake's kept life simple: work, family, and absolutely no matchmaking.

But when the local school ropes Nora and Jake into The Twelve Dates of Christmas—a fundraiser to spread holiday cheer and raise money for kids in need—they're forced together again and again. From flour fights to snowball ambushes, cocoa contests to mistletoe mischief, each date blurs the line between pretend and something very real.

And when the Christmas Eve gala at the lakeside inn arrives, Nora and Jake must decide: will they risk their hearts for a love that isn't perfect...but just might be true?