Is the bride he left behind ready to be his wife? Life at sea sharpened Captain Phillip Dalton into a shrewd and strategic military man...yet none of those skills prepared him for the intricacies of planning his daughter’s upcoming Christmas wedding. His family, most especially his wife, are all but strangers to him thanks to his service to the Crown. But if Phillip finds himself bewitched by his practical, charming, and guileless wife, he does his best to hide his struggles. Annalise Dalton raised two children and built a comfortable life for herself while her husband of convenience provided for them from afar. But now Phillip's home to stay, and she finds it impossible to ignore his gruff manner, brilliant blue eyes, or the gentle way he looks after her needs. And if Annalise is unnerved by the budding feelings her husband inspires in her, she does her best to hide how they unsettle her. When past secrets and misunderstandings threaten the tenuous steps they've taken to create a real and loving marriage, can Phillip and Annalise overcome the years they spent apart to forge a happy future together, and for every Christmas to come?

He broke her heart once. She cannot allow him to do so again… Beth Dalton has made a lovely life for herself, and found fulfillment and a fortune creating holiday cards that charm Victorian high society. Now, she’s ready for an adventure. So, when she’s invited to spend the social season in London, she agrees. But she never thought the gentleman courting her cousin would be her brother’s best friend—the man who once shattered her heart... Henry Ramsgate isn’t an idealist anymore. His father’s deathbed confession took care of that. Now, he’s ruthlessly determined to secure his career and future success—even if it means trading his hand in marriage for a promotion. All was going according to plan, too, until he encountered his first love. The woman he once hoped to marry… He thinks love is a luxury he can’t afford. She thought she’d never love again. Can Beth and Henry overcome their past and Henry’s dark secret? Or will their second chance at happily ever after end as painfully as their first? CW: Death of a parent