Neva Prevette swore she'd never come back to Holly Creek, NC-until an ailing aunt and a career setback sends her home for Christmas with more regrets than luggage. What she doesn't expect is to find her hometown transformed and its annual festival in the hands of her first love and newly minted fire captain, Lane Tyree. Lane has spent years rebuilding both the town's traditions and his own life after losing Neva once before. Now she's standing in the town square again-organized, determined, and just as unforgettable as the girl who left. When a holiday storm threatens the festival's future, Neva and Lane are thrown together to save what matters most. Between strings of lanterns, a covered bridge dusted in frost, and the warmth of the community that never forgot her, old sparks reignite into something neither can ignore. Because in the small town of Holly Creek, a broken plan can lead you right where you belong.