A lushly festive Christmas Eve ball is the setting for newfound love inNew York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomass novella.
 
At twenty-one, future heiress Jacqueline Hartman needs a husband, or so her father claims. And at tonights ball, she must choose one, even though what she longs for is independence and adventure far from the Texas ranch where she was born. Gruff, honorable former Army captain Cody Lamar is just one of the local ranchers who plans to ask for her hand, even if his primary attraction is to the land she will inherit.
 
A down-and-out actor mistaken for a bank robber (and currently impersonating a marshal) and an Irish hotel maid with dreams of her own are only two of the people who will complicate the evening. When it comes to love, this Christmas promises to deliver the most unexpected gifts . . .
 
Previously published in the anthologyA Texas Kind of Christmas