In this heartfelt romance from the author of Always, in December and Yours for the Season, a bittersweet Christmas countdown opens the door to healing, hope . . . and maybe even love.
Ali has always loved Christmas, but this year she doesn’t think she’ll make it through. Christmas was always her and her best friend Robyn’s holiday: Every year, they exchanged Advent calendars filled with challenges. Tell the hot guy at the coffee shop you like him. Delete your ex’s number. Throw out the bathroom scales.
But this Christmas, Robyn is gone, because she didn’t get the heart transplant she needed.
There is one last calendar, though—given to Ali before Robyn died, with a promise to open it in December.
The first challenge sends Ali to the Alps, where she takes a seasonal job at the ski lodge that she and Robyn had planned to visit together. But when another challenge leads her co-workers to think she’s dating her boss—the stoic, seriously hot Leo—things get complicated.
To save her embarrassment, Leo agrees to play along. As Ali spends more time with him, she realizes that he’s grieving, too. And as he helps her complete Robyn’s challenges, she starts to wonder if their fake relationship could become something real.
But the truth behind Leo’s grief could bring them closer . . . or tear them apart for good.
Emily Stone is the author of six festive romance novels, including Always, in December and One Last Gift. Her novels have been translated into eleven languages. Emily has lived in many places over the years, including London, Wales, Cornwall, Germany and Mozambique—before finally settling down in Bristol in the UK, where she spends most of her free time with her two rescue ponies. Emily Stone is the pen name for Becky Hunter. She writes speculative romance under her own name and is also one half of co-author duo Ellis Hunter, whose debut fantasy romance Blood Bound was published in 2026
View titles by Emily Stone
In this heartfelt romance from the author of Always, in December and Yours for the Season, a bittersweet Christmas countdown opens the door to healing, hope . . . and maybe even love.
Ali has always loved Christmas, but this year she doesn’t think she’ll make it through. Christmas was always her and her best friend Robyn’s holiday: Every year, they exchanged Advent calendars filled with challenges. Tell the hot guy at the coffee shop you like him. Delete your ex’s number. Throw out the bathroom scales.
But this Christmas, Robyn is gone, because she didn’t get the heart transplant she needed.
There is one last calendar, though—given to Ali before Robyn died, with a promise to open it in December.
The first challenge sends Ali to the Alps, where she takes a seasonal job at the ski lodge that she and Robyn had planned to visit together. But when another challenge leads her co-workers to think she’s dating her boss—the stoic, seriously hot Leo—things get complicated.
To save her embarrassment, Leo agrees to play along. As Ali spends more time with him, she realizes that he’s grieving, too. And as he helps her complete Robyn’s challenges, she starts to wonder if their fake relationship could become something real.
But the truth behind Leo’s grief could bring them closer . . . or tear them apart for good.
Author
Emily Stone is the author of six festive romance novels, including Always, in December and One Last Gift. Her novels have been translated into eleven languages. Emily has lived in many places over the years, including London, Wales, Cornwall, Germany and Mozambique—before finally settling down in Bristol in the UK, where she spends most of her free time with her two rescue ponies. Emily Stone is the pen name for Becky Hunter. She writes speculative romance under her own name and is also one half of co-author duo Ellis Hunter, whose debut fantasy romance Blood Bound was published in 2026
View titles by Emily Stone
