Celebrating the end-of-year holidays doesn't always mean sleighs, snow, and snuggling to ward off the cold. How about making merry when it's just as warm (or hot) outside as inside romantic hearts? Twinkle lights in palm trees, unity cups on the sideboard, bonfires in the backyard, eggnog by the pool, and no chimneys to be found... just the warmest wishes of the holidays bringing lovers together around the world.

A huge part of the world celebrates end-of-the-year holidays that aren't anything like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." In the southern hemisphere, it's not even winter!

31 stories of romantic fiction.