Dashing through the Snow — Sandra Sookoo

When two disillusioned people accidentally meet, finding a common bond in scandal will give them back hope. The Honorable Laurence Bannerman lingers in London to avoid joining his family at his father's country estate in Surrey to celebrate Christmastide. As the third son and a fourth sibling, nothing was ever expected of him, so his behavior has been quite scandalous. That is until he meets a woman who makes him long for a wife and wish for a change… but dogs don't change their spots, do they? Miss Eleanor Comerford hasn't exactly been a darling of the beau monde. Though Christmastide brings with it naught but guilt and regret, there is the glimmering hope her family might forgive her past transgressions and take her back into their fold. Pretending to be someone she's not is tiring, but when her path crosses that of a stranger, a plan begins to form… for she still dreams of belonging. Forced to share the same traveling coach, when Eleanor asks Laurence to enter into a fake engagement with her to lend legitimacy, he agrees merely to protect her and see her safely home. Perhaps a friendship would stave off loneliness during the journey north. As they come to know each other, hurts and secrets from their pasts bubble to the surface, and with acceptance comes a budding romance. Only with a holiday miracle will they have the chance to realize they never needed lies or proper images to grasp love… for they were worthy of it all along.