When the beloved Chicago Christmas Market faces demolition, city project director Clara Bennett is determined to save it even if it means working with a quiet, stubborn architect who believes good design can fix almost anything.
Ethan Walker doesn't do chaos, but there's something about Clara's passion -- and her habit of lighting candles in the cold that keeps drawing him back. Together, they rebuild more than wooden stalls and lantern lines; they rebuild hope, one small light at a time. But when politics threaten to turn their creation into a spectacle, Clara must decide what she's really fighting for -- a project, a city, or the man who's quietly become her home.
Set against the glow of a Chicago winter, Small Lights Forward is a cozy, Christmas romance about finding love, community, and courage in the places you rebuild together.