She lost everything to escape. He gave up everything and couldn't find his way back. Until a freezing January night brought them together-and changed everything.Marie Rousseau fled her abusive marriage with nothing but the clothes on her back, leaving behind the daughter she loves more than life itself. Now homeless and broken, she's convinced she deserves to freeze to death behind a Quebec mill.François Dubois returned to his hometown a ghost-a decorated veteran destroyed by PTSD, addiction, and shame. He should be running Madeline's legendary candy factory. Instead, he's sleeping rough, hiding his identity, and waiting to disappear.When François gives Marie his only blanket on the coldest night of winter, neither expects to survive. But the Madeline Legacy Project offers them both one impossible chance: learn candy-making, rebuild their lives, and prove that broken people can create beautiful things.What they don't expect is each other.For nine months, François and Marie travel across Quebec building candy factories and training the "unemployable"-former addicts, abuse survivors, the forgotten and written-off. In Gaspésie, they teach maple candy to the desperate. In Abitibi, honey caramels become second chances. In North Ashford, they create Peppermint Promise-a Victorian confection that becomes the symbol of everything they're building together.With every factory, every life changed, every almost-kiss interrupted by crisis, the truth becomes undeniable: they're not just business partners anymore.But Marie's ex-husband is moving her daughter three provinces away. François's military past is about to be weaponized against him. And after two years of careful boundaries, admitting they're in love means risking the only stability either has ever known.Can two people who've lost everything risk their hearts one more time?Peppermint & Promise Christmas is a sweeping romance about found family, second chances, and discovering that tomorrow really can be easier than today-if you're brave enough to reach for it. Content Notes: This book contains references to past domestic violence, PTSD, addiction recovery, and homelessness. All difficult topics are handled with care and compassion. HEA guaranteed.Series: Noelville Christmas Romance, Book 3 (Can be read as a standalone)Tropes: Forced Proximity - Slow Burn - Found Family - Workplace Romance - Healing Journey - Second Chance at Life - Grumpy/Sunshine (mild) - Building Something Together "A story about the sweetness that comes from bitter ingredients-and the families we choose when the ones we're born into fail us."