A Fool%E2%80%99s Gold Christmas

Bestseller Mallery%E2%80%99s 10th romance set in the Sierra Nevada town of Fool%E2%80%99s Gold, Calif. (after All Summer Long) brings together two people who aren%E2%80%99t exactly thrilled to be in town for the holidays. Dancer Evie Stryker feels like an outcast, and only returns to Fool%E2%80%99s Gold after a leg injury sidelines her performing career. Lawyer Dante Jefferson ends up in the tiny hamlet after his law partner, Rafe Stryker%E2%80%94Evie%E2%80%99s older brother%E2%80%94relocates their practice from San Francisco. Neither is looking for romance: Evie can%E2%80%99t wait to heal and get back to work, and Dante, whose mother was shot and killed as a %E2%80%9Clesson%E2%80%9D after Dante dated a gang leader%E2%80%99s girlfriend, is terrified of loving anyone. As Evie tries to forgive her family for a tough childhood and Dante wonders whether he can risk his heart, both experience the closeness and camaraderie of a small town where everyone pulls together. This sweet Christmas treat is a pleasant introduction to Mallery%E2%80%99s popular series. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.) %E2%80%A8