Candy Cane Commander

A grumpy Marine. A Christmas-obsessed baker. A town that remembers everything.

Former Marine Commander Luke Taylor never planned to come home again. Holly Ridge still blames him for the mission that went wrong—one that left their local golden boy dead and Luke carrying the weight of "acceptable losses." He's here for one reason only: sign the papers, sell the house, disappear.

But the town needs a hero… and he's the only one who qualifies on the grant application.

Abby Shaw has spent six years holding Christmas together with sugar, lights, and sheer willpower. The annual festival is the heart of the town—and her lifeline after losing her brother to the very mission Luke commanded. 

When crucial funding falls through, the only way to save the celebration is partnering with the last man she ever wanted near her.

Public smiles. Shared events. Forced proximity.

All for the sake of Christmas.

But the more time Abby spends with Luke, the harder it becomes to cling to the story she's repeated since the funeral—that he's the villain. 

Because the gruff, closed-off Marine with the haunted eyes? 

He's nothing like she expected. 

And the town's most hated man might be the only one who truly sees her.

When past wounds collide with present desire, Abby and Luke must decide whether forgiveness is impossible… or the only way forward.

A heartfelt, emotionally charged, small-town Christmas romance filled with enemies-to-lovers tension, grief, redemption, and slow-burning heat.