The premise is that Elise and her husband Harry are at odds after 5 years of marriage. Elise has abandoned her husband for the arms of her old fiance, Nicholas Tremaine. Even though their engagement ended due to an indiscretion on his part, the two have been friendly. As Christmas approaches, Harry invites Nicholas to his house for Christmas with a wager that will leave the victor with Elise. Drama unfolds as both Nicholas and Elise descend on the house party.

The drama of this story comes from the misunderstandings between Harry and Elise. For 5 years, the two have barely talked about anything of importance and it takes them a while to finally figure out how to communicate. The subplot between Nicholas and Harry's sister Rosalind kept the story from being bogged down by too much high drama. All in all, this was a very fun read. ( )

This was a standard length Harlequin Historical, but it had two couples, and four points of view crowded it. The married pair, separated through mutual stubbornness didn't catch my sympathy at all, but the two who had accidentally ruined each other we more amusing. ( )