The Great Christmas Contest — Lucy McConnell

Three French Hens Department Store is an icon for Christmas in New York. When the owner wants to retire, she decides to do it in French Hens style and opens a MyHeartChannel Christmas Contest. Five of her prized employees will compete in a Christmas Giving Contest like none before; giving away her $25,000 before Christmas Eve. The winner of the contest will take ownership of Three French Hens and become an overnight millionaire.Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Noel works in the Women's Department at Three French Hens. Her life hasn't turned out exactly like she'd planned; but, whose has? When she's chosen to be one of the five contestants in the Great Christmas Contest, she is thrilled for a chance to make her life what she always wanted it to be. When she crosses paths with a military wife who makes a wish too big for her to fulfill on her own, she seeks the help of fellow contestant, and mysterious and handsome coworker, Christian Malone. Together, they try to make the holiday bright for one sweet military family and a whole military base in Poland. If they succeed, one of them will win for sure.Christian has his own reasons for wanting to win the contest; but he's not about to air his family's dirty laundry in front of his beautiful co-worker. 'Tis the season of giving but he's paying a debt his father left behind. With freedom dangling in front of him, he must make a decision: spend the money on others, or spend it on himself. The deeper these two get into bringing about a Christmas miracle, the bigger the temptation to solve his own problems-even if it means a few wishes go unanswered.Samantha will have to let give everything and Christian may have to pay the ultimate price for a pinch of holiday magic; but if they can pull this off, they'll be the miracle a military mom prayed for with all her heart.