All I Want For Christmas Is You

Lucas Bennington Earl of Moncrief approached the week of Christmas with dread. To the handsome and aloof Lucas, it was merely a prelude to another year tacked on his already advanced age. At thirty and six Lucas never really had his chance in the race for hands of ton beauties, he'd been too busy working, trying to save the family fortune. Now, when everything was secure, he certainly saw all that he had missed. And, as there were 10 young bucks to every beauty, he was feeling as if all his chances had passed him by. But Lucas had a secret, a fantasy, and a fascination for one woman--Though he considered that she'd find him too old, it did not stop his gaze from finding her at every ball, nor keep his mind from imaging she could be his. Would the man known for his cold demeanor and intimidating rep, dare to take this chance to sweep the woman of his dreams off her feet? Verena (Rena) Shyer had been on the social scene since her debut at sixteen. She was twenty and five and unlike her aunt, the Duchess, who despaired and fretted that Rena was still unwed--Rena had long since noticed only one man, one aloof and intimidating earl whom it was rumored was a confirmed bachelor, not to mention a near icon amid the aristocracy. However at Christmas ball, Rena finally sees an opportunity to gain Moncrief's notice In a season of miracles, can two uncertain hearts find the daring and confidence to meet across a crowded room and at last reveal the longing they'd held secret from each other for so many years?? fictionwise