Ring in the Holidays

Lane’s sparkling second McPherson family contemporary (after Hunk for the Holidays) opens with sex therapist and abstinence advocate Ellie Simpson being unceremoniously dumped by her unfaithful fiancé. Ellie’s best friend drags her to Las Vegas, where she winds up in the arms and bed of a gorgeous stranger for her first-ever night of passion. The lovers deliberately don’t exchange names to demonstrate that they aren’t interested in a long-term relationship, but they can’t stop thinking about each other in the following months. When Ellie’s book on abstinence becomes a bestselling sensation, Matthew McPherson recognizes his one-night stand from her jacket photo. Indignant that she doesn’t practice what she preaches, he makes an appointment for a one-on-one consultation. After an initial round of blackmail, their relationship takes off, but the message of her book causes complications with family and friends that threaten to derail their relationship before it can develop. Fans will enjoy this sexy and humorous story. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Oct.)