She deserved the world. I thought leaving was the only way to give her that. So I left... Allowing her to finish college, having faith in her talents and that her dreams would come true. Breaking both our hearts in the process. Seven years I lived without her. Putting my own talents to work in New York, making my own success. But, never forgetting her. My faith reassuring me I'd made the right decision. But how wrong can one man be! She never even left her hometown. No big cities. No career. No husband. No kids. It was all for nothing. Now I'm back! I'm not going anywhere. I'm not living without her anymore. ***Hometown Virgin is a stand-alone novella with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.***
I've met the greatest guy ever.Noah Walsh is handsome as sin. He's sweet and smart and successful and sexy--all the best adjectives beginning with "S." My six-year-old daughter worships the ground he walks on ever since he fashioned her smiley face pancakes out of bananas and blueberries. Oh yeah, and he can cook.The only problem?I dumped this great guy a decade ago, right after I wrecked his life.And boy, this man holds a grudge.
WHEN A NIGHTMARE BECOMES A DREAM COME TRUE... Jilted by one future duke, Lila has no choice but to wed another. She will marry the man, escape from her father's clutches and free her sister as well. Her groom is simply the means to an end, that is, until he becomes so much more. Forced to honor his dead brother's debts, Vincent Saint-Pierre, the Duke of Pemberth, travels to Lord Quimbly's estate to shackle himself to the Earl's oldest daughter. Taking a wife is the last thing he wants or needs, and yet, his unlikely bride threatens to capture his heart. Friendship and pleasure sow seeds of affection, but weeds of the past threaten to strangle the newlywed's love. Can Vincent and Lila avoid deadly thorns, or will their love be poisoned before joy can blossom? Originally published in the 2019 anthology, Once Upon a Christmas Wedding, Hell's Wedding Bells, a novella, is loosely tied to Book 3, Hell's Belle, a finalist in RWA's Distinguished 2019 Rita (c) Awards. With an epilogue that features all of the Devilish Debutantes, Lila and Vincent's story delightfully rounds out this wildly popular series.
A USA Today Bestseller "Immersive, satisfying, tense--and timely: This is probably happening for real right now."--Lee Child "First-rate...Slick, heart-hammering entertainment."--The New York Times Book Review On an early morning in November, a couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, flying into a storm. Soon after, it simply drops off the radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the Alps. Among the disappeared is Matthew Werner, a banking insider at Swiss United, a powerful offshore bank. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind, including an encrypted laptop and a shady client list. As she begins a desperate search for answers, she determines that Matthew's death was no accident, and that she is now in the crosshairs of his powerful enemies. Meanwhile, ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau has finally landed at the top. Now that she's engaged to Grant Ellis, she will stop writing about powerful families and finally be a part of one. Her entry into the upper echelons of New York's social scene is more appealing than any article could ever be, but, after the death of her mentor, she agrees to dig into one more story. While looking into Swiss United, Marina uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world, including a few who are too close to home. The story could also be the answer to Annabel's heartbreaking search--if Marina chooses to publish it. The Banker's Wife is both a high-stakes thriller and an inside look at the personal lives in the intriguing world of finance, introducing Cristina Alger as a powerful new voice in the genre.
A memoir in essays that expands on the viral sensation “The Crane Wife” with a frank and funny look at love, intimacy, and self in the twenty-first century. From friends and lovers to blood family and chosen family, this “elegant masterpiece” (Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger) asks what more expansive definitions of love might offer us all. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME, THE GUARDIAN, GARDEN & GUN "Hauser builds their life's inventory out of deconstructed personal narratives, resulting in a reading experience that's rich like a complicated dessert—not for wolfing down but for savoring in small bites." —The New York Times “Clever, heartfelt, and wrenching.” —Time “Brilliant.” —Oprah Daily Ten days after calling off their wedding, CJ Hauser went on an expedition to Texas to study the whooping crane. After a week wading through the gulf, they realized they'd almost signed up to live someone else's life. What if you released yourself from traditional narratives of happiness? What if you looked for ways to leave room for the unexpected? In Hauser’s case, this meant dissecting pop culture touchstone, from The Philadelphia Story to The X Files, to learn how not to lose yourself in a relationship. They attended a robot convention, contemplated grief at John Belushi’s gravesite, and officiated a wedding. Most importantly, they mapped the difference between the stories we’re asked to hold versus those we choose to carry. Told with the late-night barstool directness of your wisest, most bighearted friend, The Crane Wife is a book for everyone whose path doesn't look the way they thought it would; for everyone learning to find joy in the not-knowing and to build a new sort of life story, a new sort of family, a new sort of home to live in.
An inconvenient proposal. Ian MacKay, Laird of Graenfrae, has no use for love or marriage. However, his stepfather’’s will mandates that marriage is what he must have…to an Englishwoman. A sensible man, Ian develops a list of requirements in a wife: Plain, moderately dowered, older and practical. He thinks he has found the perfect candidate in Lady Annabelle. Labeled The Ordinary her first season, Annabelle longs for a man who will see her as beautiful and love her as her father loved her mother. When she meets Ian, she thinks she has at last found that man. Until his proposal, in which he has the audacity to list his “requirements.” She refuses his proposal. He informs her that she will marry him at the end of the season. The battle of wills is on.
Poachers, mysterious strangers, and murderers converge at Fellsworth Academy, forcing one young woman to a test of fortitude and bravery to stop the shadow of the past from ruining her hopes for the future in this sweet Regency Romance. In the fallout of her deceased father’s financial ruin, Annabelle’s prospects are looking bleak. Her fiancé has called off their betrothal, and now she remains at the mercy of her controlling and often cruel brother. Annabelle soon faces the fact that her only hope for a better life is to do the unthinkable and run away to Fellsworth, where her estranged uncle serves as the school’s superintendent. Upon arrival, Annabelle learns that she must shed her life of high society and work for her wages for the first time. Owen Locke is unswerving in his commitments. As a widower and father, he is fiercely protective of his only daughter. As an industrious gamekeeper, he is intent on keeping poachers at bay even though his ambition has always been to purchase land he can call his own. When a chance encounter introduces him to Annabelle Thorley, his steady life is shaken. For the first time since his wife’s death, Owen begins to consider a second chance at love. As Owen and Annabelle grow closer, ominous forces threaten the peace they thought they’d found. The third and final book in the Treasures of Surrey series (The Curiosity Keeper is first and Dawn at Emberwilde is second) Books can be read out of order A full-length novel at 90,000 words A happily-ever-after, clean romance
They call her Crazy Anna.Anna Flint won't shake your hand. She collects tin cans. She cleans her cubicle at work with Lysol several times a day. But Anna doesn't care that they call her crazy. She's absolutely satisfied with her life of perfect organization, cleanliness, and most of all, solitude.Matt Harper likes Anna Flint. He likes that she's the smartest person he knows and he likes her big blue eyes. He doesn't even mind her can collection. In fact, he pretty much likes everything about Anna. As his body and his world are falling apart, she still manages to make him happy.Matt is the only person Anna has ever wanted to be close to. But how can she go on a date with him if the thought of dinner at a restaurant fills her with terror? How can she ever kiss the man she loves if she can't even touch him?Maybe it's time to stop being Crazy Anna. If only she could.
""Readers hearts will melt as love rolls in with this one-of-a-kind story that is both hilarious and romantic. Costa's voice is bold, refreshing and the narrative is delivered with such spunk, fans of chick-lit will squeal with delight. With characters this vivid and animated, you almost expect them to stroll off the page in this book your friends will be begging to borrow." -Jaime A. Geraldi, The Romantic Times" Through middle school, high school, bad dates, and an ill-advised punk phase, Tasha has always been able to count on Jason. Since the day he moved in next door, he's gone from the weird kid in a wheelchair to Tasha's most trusted friend. But lives change and the friends are going in different directions. When Jason and Tasha rekindle their friendship, sparks fly. After years of being a wild soul, now the ex-lead of a band turned music teacher is just looking for a relationship to last. When none other than Jason introduces her to a man who can give her what she wants, Tasha is on the verge of throwing passion and love away just so she can forget her troubled past and settle down. But Jason isn't ready to give her up just yet.
From the USA TODAY bestselling author. "I consider Elizabeth Thornton a major find." —Mary Balogh, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of ONLY ENCHANTING Ignoring the dangers still lingering in the aftermath of Waterloo, Annabella Jocelyn arrives in Paris on a mission—to purchase the publishing rights to a scandalous dairy written by a notorious femme fatale. An astute businesswoman, Annabella knows that securing this diary will certainly bring both fame and fortune to her fledgling press. All that stands in her way is a cadre of dangerous gentlemen determined to bury their indiscretions, and a brave war hero (and incorrigible rogue) determined to keep her safe, preferably in his bed. David Falconer, the Earl of Dalmar, knows how to fight and win, be it for his country or any woman who takes his fancy. His need to possess the cool, composed Annabella is unrelenting and deliriously consuming, yet his duty as a gentleman to keep her safe from the hands of merciless men is growing even stronger. Both desires are proving treacherous at best, for fearless Annabella is a formidable match for his skills for both soldiering—and for seduction...
