It’s the Christmas season in the tiny Kingdom of Maatkare, and the royal family needs a chef. Desperate to prove herself after her first restaurant failed, Ana Rizzo jumps at this chance for redemption and nabs the high-paying, short-term job. The opportunity couldn’t be more perfect. Ana will be able to stretch her culinary skills, earn enough money to open another restaurant, and still be able to give her adopted daughter the attention she needs. Her biggest challenge will be winning over the family’s elderly cook and getting Noel Yared, the middle son, to give her food his stamp of approval. She only cares about Noel’s palate, not his soulful brown eyes, his gorgeous runner’s body, and his amazing kisses. An avid runner herself, Ana pushes herself to keep up with Noel during their daily runs. But she’s finding the biggest challenge is resisting Noel’s charm. Noel finds Ana endlessly fascinating and incredibly sexy. With a bit of charming persuasion from him, the two begin what they both know is a short-term affair. No rules, no heartache, just great sex and a bit of fun. So when he believes Ana has betrayed his family’s trust, he’s glad his heart wasn’t involved. Glad she’s gone. Glad he’ll never see her again. Until he realizes a couple terrible truths too late: Ana was actually the one who was betrayed, and somehow he’s fallen hard for her. Now he needs a bit of Christmas magic to prove he’s worthy of her love.

Who would have thought one little kiss would throw Maia Kurtz’s orderly world into complete chaos? It’s Christmas time in Maatkare, and it’s Maia’s job to make sure the Sheikh’s palace is decorated for all the holiday festivities in this tiny, Orthodox Christian kingdom. The decorating is the easy part. Yonas Yared, the youngest son of the family, is a bit more of a challenge. Maia knows she’s in trouble when she sees how wonderful Yonas is with her young son, and how his seductive smiles cause her to go warm all over. Protecting her heart from the one man who makes her think naughty thoughts she shouldn’t is proving more difficult than she thought. Yonas will go crazy if he’s forced to spend the entire, endless, holiday season with his family. He’d much rather be partying the nights away than stuck in the palace helping their new razor-tongued decorator. Still, Maia’s got something irresistible about her, and he certainly hadn’t planned on getting his socks knocked off by one simple kiss. As events transpire to keep him in the palace, he’s surprised to realize he’s glad to be home—and equally surprised to find that getting his serious little decorator into his bed is becoming more and more important. The problem is, once she’s there, he doesn’t want her to leave. And nothing in his life has ever scared him more.