In this lighthearted holiday novella, Sophie Gift is spending her first Christmas alone after a broken marriage left her with nothing. And working in a department store this time of year, as one of Santa's elves, no less, isn't exactly putting any cheer into the holiday. Mitchell Lauderdale has never been big on Christmas to begin with. He comes from a long line of retailers and doesn't see much to celebrate, other than the piles of cash that find their way into the registers of Lauderdale's Department Store. It's going to take a special kind of spirit to bring together these two souls who have lost (or never known) the meaning of Christmas. But then, everyone in Chicago knows that Lauderdale's is haunted by the ghost of one of its long ago Santas. And that ghost has a thing for matchmaking...