Gift for the Mountain Man: A Small Town Instalove First Time Grumpy/Sunshine Recluse OTT Short Romance (Willowbrook Ridge Holdiday Special) by Julia Stone

Snowed in with an older, grumpy recluse—and suddenly Christmas Eve is anything but cold. Archer: Christmas Eve was supposed to be quiet. My cabin, the fire, and no one demanding more of me than silence. But my sister has other plans. She shows up, drops a stranger into my world, and disappears before I can tell her no. Then Iris looks at me, but she doesn’t grimace like the others. One look—that’s all it takes. Soft eyes, flushed cheeks, a shy little smile—and something in my chest snaps. I’ve lived half my life convinced I wasn’t built for wanting, not like other men. But the pull I feel toward her is impossible to ignore. She’s supposed to be a guest. Temporary. Untouchable. Except every instinct I’ve ever buried surges to the surface the moment she steps close, smelling like winter and warmth. Then the storm hits, trapping her with me. Now she’s snowed in, in my space, wearing that innocence like a dare—and keeping my hands off her feels less like discipline and more like torture. Iris: I agreed to a harmless favor for my coworker—keep her brother company for a day and make sure he isn’t lonely. She should’ve warned me her brother is a grumpy, devastatingly handsome mountain hermit who looks at me like I’m something worth starving for. I haven’t had the best luck dating. Never made it past the first night. This isn’t like that, but I want it to be. Then the snow traps us together, and suddenly I’m spending Christmas Eve in his cabin, wrapped in the warmth of a man who keeps fighting his desire—and losing ground by the minute. I should be cautious. But with the storm raging outside and Archer’s restraint wearing thin, falling for him feels inevitable.

Adult • Romance/Contemporary • Romance