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Today’s new releases are a present from Santa to those who love the enemies-to-lovers trope. Whether you prefer the fast-paced police procedural novella or sophisticated office romance, these stories will tickle your taste buds and warm your heart. The Nutcracker Nibble Case and Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles are the two latest releases in the Christmas Cookie series by The Wild Rose Press.

First, Santa’s Crumbs celebrates the release of The Nutcracker Nibble Case by Jeanne Kern. Police Chief Julia Dunnigan tries to crack a locked room murder—the toughest case of her career—and the closed heart of Lieutenant Phil Riley who resents that she took the job he wanted.

Here’s a look inside the case!

“It can’t be suicide because—no weapon. It can’t be murder because—locked room. So somebody or everybody knows something he’s not telling.”
“It’s always the wife. Like I said.” Riley glared around the room, demanding confirmation.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Riley. But we do have to have some proof.”
Chilling, right? Once your heart stops pounding, you can enter the sophisticated world of Maria Imbalzano’s Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas.

Competitive, work-obsessed Bella Simonetti has just been fired from her high-paying job at a Manhattan law firm. At an all-time low, she returns home and helps her parents at their small-town gift shop, but the business is failing and may not make it past the Christmas holidays.
Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella’s parents. But he’s a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.
When Bella transforms her parents’ gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean’s generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?
Here’s a look inside her classy work:

 She ignored the little voice in her head encouraging her to come clean. Especially since she planned to live in her parents’ house until she could find a job. Maybe she’d share at dinner tonight. After a bottle of wine.

The back door squeaked open and a gust of air blew in before the door was firmly closed. “Good morning, Barb. Clive.”

The guest came in and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek before slapping her dad on the back. Bella’s mouth flew open as she watched the scene, a tiny gasp escaping.

Dean Jackson! What is he doing here?

“Honey, you remember Dean don’t you?” Her mom’s smile grew much bigger than it had been all morning. “Your brother’s friend from high school?”

“Of…of course I do.” Bella buttoned the top button of her pajamas before her hand flew up to assure her messy bun was still on top of her head. Fire flamed her face as she puzzled out the reason for his presence at seven-thirty a.m. on a Wednesday morning.  Or any time, for that matter.

“Dean’s been like another son to us,” her dad beamed. “Ever since your brother took that job in Boston, he’s helped us do whatever needs to be done around here or at the store. And he’s my golf buddy.”

Dean’s gaze zeroed in on her, and her thoughts fuzzed. She would have loved to slink upstairs, but no way was she going to get out of this chair sporting flannel pajamas and bunny slippers. Was nothing sacred around here?

Sprinkles