It’s hard to escape your ex when you’re working together over Christmas in the Scottish Highlands, but being stuck together might be the best possible present in this sparkling new contemporary romance.   Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she's just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so a brief detour to her friend’s festive party doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Until Maya walks in to find the last person she wants to see. Sam, the boy who broke her heart eight years ago. And he’s serving drinks. Naked.   Sam Holland is working an extra job on the sly to help his friend get by. But little did he expect Maya Bashir to come barrelling back into his life, learning about his secret side-hustle and taking back her old job alongside him at his daytime role as a ski instructor on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands.   As both Sam and Maya realize that their reason for heartbreak so many years ago wasn’t entirely as it seemed, they must learn to stand up for what they want the most…or else miss their second chance at love. “The Ex-Mas Holidays has all the Christmas trimmings: snowy ski slopes, sparkling lights, and family drama, not to mention all the hot cocoa you can drink!”— Amy E. Reichert, author of Once Upon a December " The Ex-Mas Holidays is a burst of sunshine for the season. Zoe Allison captures the magic of second chance romance with characters whose chemistry is undeniable and whose growth is endearing. Do yourself a favor and snuggle up with this book as the weather turns chilly."— Denise Williams, author of Do You Take This Man "The Ex-Mas Holidays is the perfect winter read—warm and cosy and packed with feels and festive fun. I’m completely in love with Glenavie, and with its residents! I can’t wait to read more from Zoe in the future."— Katherine Dyson, author of Lily Bennett's Bucket List "Zoe Allison has written a truly gorgeous Christmasy nearly lovers-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story that will remind you just what happiness is."— Lucy Keeling, author of Just Friends in Vegas "Fans of this genre, and Christmas novels, will love this one."— RedCarpetCrash Zoe Allison is a graduate of the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme. Alongside her day jobs as a doctor and a writer, she started a TikTok account in 2021 where she regularly shares comedic sketches based on writing, and the romance genre in particular. One Where the hell are you, you foot-crippling little devils?" Maya rummaged in the passenger-side footwell among various bags in order to find her heels, kicking off her trainers in favor of the more fitting party footwear. Upon opening the car door to a blast of ice-cold air, she paused to put on her jacket before climbing out. How is it possible for the temperature to drop about fifty bloody degrees when I've only traveled forty miles north? Goodness knows how much colder it'd be when she continued on up the road later that evening. As she strode out along the gentle incline of the driveway, she was distracted by the imposing size of the massive mansions on the cul-de-sac. Her feet went out from under her, and she only just managed to grab hold of a railing, narrowly preventing a fall onto her backside. "Shit!" Looking up, she checked that none of Kirsty's posh neighbors were around to hear her yelling that expletive. A glance back down confirmed the subtle shimmer of ice on the paving. "Bloody hell. Stupid winter weather." A thought crossed her mind-was it a good idea to leave all her worldly possessions in the boot, outside, in the dark? It's a nice area. Should be okay. There was something sad about the fact that her whole life fit in the back of her car. Sacrificing all the big items of furniture to Rich had seemed sensible when they divided it up-he was going to a new flat after all. No point wasting money on storage when I'm going to be a sad twentysomething living in my childhood bedroom for the foreseeable future. It's not as if there had been loads of stuff anyway. Their flat and ultimately their mortgage had been modest with her having chosen to work at a small accountancy firm and Rich opting to take on a finance role for a charity. Though there had been a couple of items that had sentimental value, and were smaller. Such as the vintage Royal Albert afternoon tea plate that she would have loved to bring home in order for her and Liv to place scones upon it and pretend to take tea with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. But it had been a gift from Rich's mum, therefore Maya had relinquished it to him. Rich didn't even like afternoon tea, or scones. And he certainly wasn't partial to either Darcy or Bingley. But still, it was the right thing to do and, in any case, she was getting too old to be pretending that she was a character in a Jane Austen novel. Maya picked her way to the front door, arms outstretched and legs akimbo, like the most inept trapeze artist in existence. There were a couple mor