Christmas arrives early when a fateful encounter leads two strangers to unexpected love in this holiday romance from  New York Times  bestselling author Jessica Clare. Christmas may be coming, but it's just another day at the ranch as far as Eli Pickett is concerned. Someone has to take care of the herd and that means no holiday vacation for him. But that's just the way he likes it--it’s not like he has a woman to spend time with anyways. Most women don't want the ranch life, or the surly, silent cowboy that comes with it. Fine with him. He'd rather have the quiet of a roaring fire and the company of his dogs. Cassandra Horn is trying to make it to her parents' winter cabin in Wyoming before the blizzard hits. She desperately needs a vacation from the chaos of Manhattan...and her boss’s boyfriend, who is making her life miserable. But Cass never makes it to the cabin. A raging snowstorm causes her car to crash, where she's found unconscious by Eli. When Cass wakes, she has no memories of who she is. Eli takes one look at Cass's big blue eyes and dark curls, and like a Christmas miracle, falls head over heels in love. But while the attraction is mutual, can she give her heart to this cowboy if she’s not sure it’s hers to give? Praise for Jessica Clare “[A] steamy holiday confection that equally delivers heartwarming laughs and heart-melting sighs.”— Booklist “This Christmas contemporary is a glorious treat. There’s enough chemistry to melt snow, the story’s flow is as smooth as ice, and readers will have a jolly good time taking the journey with this adorable couple.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Great storytelling...delightful reading...It’s fun and oh-so-hot.”— Kirkus Reviews “[Clare is] a romance writing prodigy.”—Heroes and Heartbreakers “Blazing hot.”— USA Today New York Times  and  USA Today  bestselling author  Jessica Clare  writes under three pen names. As Jessica Clare, she writes erotic contemporary romances, including the Billionaire Boys Club novels and the Hitman novels with Jen Frederick. As Jessica Sims, she writes fun, sexy shifter paranormals, and as Jill Myles, she writes a little bit of everything, from sexy, comedic urban fantasy to fairy tales gone wrong. ***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof*** Copyright © 2018 Jessica Clare   Chapter One Eli Pickett wasn’t a big fan of holidays. It wasn’t that he had something against Christmas in particular. As holidays went, it was a perfectly nice one. The songs were catchy. The decorations were festive, if gaudy. The food was all right. What he liked least about holidays was that no one worked. Having grown up in foster care and now making a living as a rancher, he found the concept foreign to him. Cattle didn’t care about holidays or spending time with family. They wanted to be fed. They wanted their hay freshened. They wanted to go out to pasture even when it was deep with snow outside. Holidays didn’t account for ranch animals. As he sat down in the main room of the lodge, oiling his boots, he watched the others get ready to leave, rushing back and forth to pack last-minute items. Maria, the housekeeper and cook, had three entire suitcases full of presents for her grandbabies and fussed over how to get a box of cookies into her purse. Eli watched with amusement as she packed and repacked things. “You know you’re only going for two weeks, right?” “No lip from you, mijo,” she told him, pulling things out of her oversized purse and trying to squeeze the box into it. “I feel bad enough that you’re going to be staying here by yourself over Christmas.” He shrugged. Things had been different around the ranch since the new owners bought it. The cattle herds had been downsized from thousands to four hundred. The Texas oil tycoon who’d bought the land had plans to build a ski lodge on some of the rolling hills. The ranch itself was used for a tax break, thus the downsizing. Eli had kept his job, but the ranch itself had gone from a dozen employees to five. It was just him, Maria, Old Clyde, Jordy, and Dustin. Once upon a time, he’d have spent the holidays here with a few other ranch hands who opted to care for the animals over Christmas instead of going home. Now it was just him. But he had a job, and he loved this ranch, and that was all that was important. “It’ll be fine. I don’t mind being on my own.” She clucked at him, shaking her head before pulling out even more stuff from her purse and trying to push the cookie box in there. “I don’t like it. Young man like you should go home for Christmas. Spend the holidays with family. You could come with me. My older daughter Alma makes a lovely spread and you know she’s single now.” Maria gave him a knowing glance. “She’s very pretty. I showed you pictures, remember?” Yikes. He remembered. Maria’s daughter was pretty, but he was also sure that she wasn’t right for him. For one, she lived in Los Angeles, which might as well be hell as far as he was concerned. And