One Christmas Disaster — Sandra Sookoo

Missing pearls, maudlin memories, childlike hopes, and unexpected new perspectives will make this Christmastide a holiday no one will forget. Mr. Cornelius Harding—Lord Timelbury—is a widower and a former military man who has lost the magic Christmastide used to possess. When a priceless pearl and diamond bracelet he procured as a gift for his aunt goes missing, the number one suspect is a woman who dropped by for donations. Tracking down the potential criminal might provide a distraction from the memories that plague him, and help him avoid the holiday. Miss Samantha Marchington is a woman at her wit's end, trying to make the Christmastide holidays special for her father, as well as the children at one of London's orphanages. It's her favorite time of the year, but she's been run ragged and needs a break. When a handsome man with a commanding presence demands she return a stolen bracelet, she loses her temper, which puts everything into jeopardy. That first meeting pits them as enemies, and as Lord Timelbury refuses to let her out of his sight until the jewelry is found, they are forced to spend the days leading up to Christmastide together with a fake engagement to cover the potential scandal. Heated attraction crackles between them and brings with it a budding romance, but when the pair is bedeviled by a recurring evil scourge, danger threatens everything they are building. Perhaps all they need is a reminder of what is truly important in the season of love and miracles.