A Sprig of Mistletoe — Katherine Bone

Lady Catherine “Kitty” Egerton leads a quiet life in the country entertaining one disappointing suitor after another. It isn't that she doesn't want to marry. She has plans to help those in need, and Christmas is just the time to do it. So when she's invited to London to visit Field Lane Ragged School, it's the opportunity she's been waiting for. But her father will only allow her to go if she agrees to spy on her brother and his elusive friend.

He's not who he says he is . . .

Bartholomew “Bart” Fernsby has hated Christmas ever since the untimely deaths of his parents and the family scandal that forced them to call a workhouse home. Bart is, of course, grateful to the kind man who took him in and gave him an education, lodging, food, and clothing -- not to mention an inheritance. Hiding his past from the world and locking away his heart, Bart puts his newfound wealth to good use. In an effort to save other children from a similar fate, he enlists an old friend to help raise funds for a local school. But he never expected his friend's sister to be the one who makes all the difference -- to his charitable endeavors and to his life.

Can one Christmas make their dreams come true?

Kitty's passion for Christmas both intrigues and terrifies Bart. But his past continually haunts him, threatening to take all that he's worked so hard to build, and so he pushes away the only woman who may understand and bring him peace.

Can Kitty's love free his troubled soul and mend his broken heart?