Every romantic hero and heroine will be finding something special in their Christmas stockings from their lovers. Here’s what the Jaunties’ characters are doing for each other this year! If you can take a few minutes out of your busy day, please tell the Jaunties what your favorite part of this day has been.

Cindy Kirk’s Merry Christmas Cowboy: Seth would be most likely to jam a cabbage patch doll in Lauren’s stocking.  This is because that particular type of doll was a gift she’d desperately wanted as a child but never received.

Kristan Higgins’ The Next Best Thing: I think Ethan would give Lucy a really cool retro apron, since she’s a baker. And Lucy would give Ethan a Chia head, because wo wouldn’t love a Chia head?

Margo Maguire’s Taken by the Laird: Hugh is going to compose a new set of marriage vows and write them on an expensive piece of vellum, then put his beside Brianna’s in a gilded frame. Because the vows he said when he was forced to marry her were nothing special. Not at all. 

Dawn, the half-Nightmare heroine from Kathryn Smith’s Dark Side of Dawn, would probably buy her hero, Noah a bunch of organic grooming products for men from Sephora, her favorite store. She would then buy a bunch of stuff for herself as well. Then she’d go to an upscale dept store and buy him some new jeans because his are all torn. She’d probably buy him a shirt she’d like to see him in also. Then, she’d go to their makeup dept and spend more money on herself. Oh, and she’d buy a new pair of shoes — for herself. She would then go to the jewelry dept and buy Noah a nice stainless steel bracelet — nothing too fussy because he wouldn’t like that. And she’d probably get a big pair of funky costume jewelry earrings for herself. And finally she go into Noah’s dreams and do all she could do to make the good ones come true, because she’s literally the woman of his dreams, and he’s the man of hers.

Julien, in Shana Galen’s The Making of a Duchess, would give Sarah a tonic that cures the ailing stomach and intestines. The government of England thinks the duc is a spy for the French, and she, a simple governess, has been sent in to secretly uncover his treachery. The task gives poor Sarah more than a few twinges in her belly.

In Emily McKay’s  January book, Affair with a Rebel Heiress, the heroine Kitty Biedermann has sold off her family home and several family heirlooms to funnel money into her company, Biedermann’s Jewelry. I think the hero, Ford Langley, would hunt down her great-grandmother’s Victorian necklace and buy it back for her. It would make the perfect stocking stuffer and the gesture would mean the world to her.

Reid Barclay, the hero in Janette Kenny’s A Cowboy Christmas, would surely buy Ellie Jo a cookbook or two, and a newfangled stove that cooked evenly, because she surely burns everything on that old woodstove. Not that he complains overmuch, for he wouldn’t mnind a repeat of sharing a burned pie and more than a few kisses with her in the pie pantry.

In Katherine Garbera’s The Moretti Heir, Marco will be putting a brand new charm bracelet in Virginia’s stocking this Christmas with charms from he collected as they travelled on the Grand Prix circuit.   They are both giving their son Lorenzo a tiny version of the Moretti Motors Vallerio roadster and Marco can tell that his son has the same love for racing and speed as both he and his legendary grandfather did.

Aldwin Treynarde, hero of Catherine Kean’s medieval A Knight’s Temptation (Knights Series Book 3), would buy Lady Leona Ransley a gold pendant.  This is sure to bring a smile to Leona’s face.  Their love was sparked by Aldwin’s quest to retrieve an exquisite ruby pendant Leona had in her possession and return it to his lord, a mission that prompted Aldwin to kidnap her.  Keeping the pendant safe led them on a dangerous, exciting, sexy adventure together that caused them to fall in love.  While they snuggle by the crackling fire, sharing a goblet of mulled wine, Leona will no doubt find a suitable way to thank Aldwin for his gift.

Nancy Robards Thompson: A portion of my book, An Angel in Provence, takes place during the holidays. So I guess you’ll just have to read it and see what they put in each other’s stockings. But without giving anything away, the hero Philippe would put lavender bath salts and red nail polish (for her toes) in Rita’s stocking, and Rita would give Philippe an antique Provencal “Welcome Home” sign. All very significant to the story.

If the characters of Terri Brisbin’s book, A Storm of Passion, were to celebrate Christmas (year-end festivities did happen in medieval Scotland and among the Norse, but nothing like what we think of as ‘Christmas’), Connor and Moira would give each other a celebration filled with family and friends — something they were both lacking during most of their lives and something that is the most important thing to them now.  Happy Christmas to you all!