Daniel Lee was only meant to stop in Havenwood for the night.

He's tired, between jobs, on his way to visit his parents for the holiday's, and absolutely not looking for a reason to stay anywhere longer than necessary.

Until he meets Matt Wright, Havenwood's charming, overly helpful junior mayor, who seems to know everyone, fix everything, and somehow make small town Christmas chaos look fun.

One night turns into another.

Then another.

There's mischievous kittens, a disastrous Santa chair, a town that keeps pulling Daniel in, and Matt, who is becoming harder to walk away from than Daniel expected.

Matt Wright has spent his whole life being the person Havenwood calls when something needs fixing. He loves his town, loves being useful, and never thinks twice about showing up for everyone else.

But Daniel is different. For once, Matt doesn't want to be needed.

He wants to be chosen.

And as Christmas gets closer and Daniel's reasons for leaving start to fall apart, Matt has to decide whether he's brave enough to ask for the one thing he actually wants.

Because staying is one thing.

Asking someone to stay is another.

The Holi-Delay is a spicy M/M small-town holiday romance with strangers-to-lovers, forced proximity, found home, plenty of Christmas chaos and loads of laughs.

The Holi-Delay is a prequel novella that is a part of an interconnected standalone, The Havenwood Series, coming in 2027 that will follow different characters in a town that can't keep their noses out of everyone else's business.