Colby Winston -- an unlikely romanceValerie rushes home to Orchard Valley, Oregon, when her father suffers a heart attack. She and her two younger sisters gather at his side, praying he'll live, fearing he'll die ....The last thing Valerie expects at a time like this is to fall in love-and with a man like Colby Winston, yet. She's a take-charge, big-city businesswoman; he's a renowned heart surgeon who loves small-town living and wants a stay-at-home wife. Valerie can't understand why she's so attracted to him-or why her father keeps insisting that she and Colby make a perfect couple!

    Josh January is no hero, but he'll fake it for Maggie Gladstone. His last case almost killed him, and she's offering a much-needed vacation in return for investigating strange goings-on at her inn. The job should be a cinch. Seducing Maggie — a bonus. But when the accidents turn deadly serious, playing the hero could cost Josh a very high price . . .Plus two tales of romantic suspenseKeegan's Bluff by Dani SinclairWhen Gillian's car broke down, she thought she was having a bad day. Then a half-naked man tackled her, and she knew she was having a bad day. Now there's a storm rolling in, hit men on her trail, and — worst of all — she may be falling in love . . .Cop Next Door by Julie MillerLoner Ethan Cross doesn't trust anyone — it's all part of the job for an undercover cop. So is his suspicious mind just working overtime . . . or is his pretty new neighbor really hiding something?

    And there was only one place left for Jesse to go -- the Double M ranch, the only safe haven she had left. But it had been a long time since she'd returned to the rugged terrain where she'd been raised -- the place where she had first fallen in love with King McCandless.... King offered her the shelter of his home, gave her the promise of his protection. But now that Jesse was a grown woman and in desperate danger -- she needed much more from him. She needed to know that this time, King would be hers forever....

    When Chandra Hill is awakened by a cry in the night, she is shocked to discover an abandoned newborn in her barn. She takes him to the hospital, but as a former pediatrician her instincts have already kicked in. Before she knows it, she's discussing options for the baby with the emergency room doctor, Dallas O'Rourke. Dallas finds himself bonding instantly with the baby—and with the intriguing woman who brought him in. And when the baby's adoption becomes national news, Dallas realizes that what he really wants is a life with them both.

    When a mesmerizing and troubled drifter washed up on her porch, she has no choice but to take him in. As the river rises, the pair retreat to the attic to ride out the storm—and discover a compelling attraction. The daughter of two artists who were besotted with each other, Celia has always felt the odd woman out. She yearns to find a place she can call her own, a family of her own, a life that has some stability and meaning. Her grandmother’s farmhouse in Gideon has always represented that. Eric fled his grim childhood in Gideon to find a life as an acclaimed blues guitarist, but that life has been taken from him, too, and he’s back in Gideon with a chip on his shoulder that hides the vast, hunger he, too, feels to find his place, his home, his life. Waiting out the storm with sunny, optimistic Celia, he wonders if maybe there’s a place in Gideon for him after all, in the arms of a woman who might know more than she thinks about acceptance.

    He hadn't expected to meet a woman whose very soul touched him, warmed him-- a woman he could grow old with.And now that he'd found her, he was about to lose her to an unknown assassin. Someone who wanted Ransom dead. Someone who was willing to kill Mandy to get to him...Writer Mandy Grant saw Ransom as a wounded warrior seeking shelter within her fortress walls and herself as the lonely princess, too frightened to love. Because for Mandy, loving mean losing. And unless the stopped the killer first, they were both going to lose...

    in 1993. All he had to do was fall madly in love within forty-eight hours. But could a real Chicago gangster with a chip on his shoulder - and a down-and-dirty twenties style even Bogart would envy - fall truly in love? It hardly helped that the day of hearts and flowers fell on Friday the 13th. Helen Emerson complicated matters, since the good-hearted gangster didn't have time to save damsels in distress. No doubt Helen would make a fabulous lover, but she was no gun moll. Still, with time running out, she was Rafferty's only hope.

    Now Pete is a famous cable news anchor who earned his stripes in war zones, and Brooke watches Pete on the same old TV in the same small town. Then Aunt Mamie passes away, and everything changes. When Pete and Brooke set out on a road trip to fulfill Mamie's last wishes, they discover more than tornadoes, Hell's Angels, New Orleans Jazz Funerals, and one unique antebellum mansion. They find they might just be falling in love.

    M.C., knew that war was hell. But how could he convince beautiful, stubborn Dany Villard that her beloved plantation seesawed on a time bomb? The lush land and its gentle people had given Dany the only love she'd ever known--losing them would crush her. Long a warrior, Gib now battled an unfamiliar urge: to blanket a woman in tenderness and promise her more than a fleeting moment of glory....

    . . Years ago, an adolescent crush and an unplanned pregnancy sent Carlie straight into the arms of Derek Pearson, the steady schoolmate who'd always loved her. Forgiving, dependable, it was Derek who picked up the pieces of her broken dreams - marrying her and accepting responsibility for both Carlie and her unborn child. Now, with her husband and five rambunctious children, Carlie had all she ever wanted. Her life was secure - until a class reunion brought back the father of her first-born child, a stranger whose very presence threatened to tear down her carefully constructed wall of silence. If he should discover the truth, she might lose not only her daughter, but the love of the husband she had come to depend on - to love - more than life itself.

    JULYHeartbreaker: Lean, rugged Dan Blaylock. Part Apache, part Spaniard and all dangerous, rough-around-the-edges man.Hellraiser: Sassy, smart-mouthed Hannah Jordan--a tough, hardworking woman ... except when Blaylock shoots a smoldering glance her way.History: Hannah rode out of town years ago, cussing up a storm about secrets and that darn Dan Blaylock.Well, well, thought Dan, that stubborn redhead had finally come home to claim her birthright. The Camelot ranch was Hannah's--if she stayed for a year and accepted Dan as overseer. She was stuck with him whether she liked it or not. And if the slow, sensual way her gray eyes traveled up and down the length of him was any indication, Dan knew she liked it plenty....

    Now the Admiral needs him to bring Hallie home. Hallie has no intention of cooperating. Quade has no intention of losing his pardon or his life. He's already lost his heart to Hallie.

    But Alexander Stone brought out much more than just Esther's maternal instincts. And she knew that loving the tall, dark loner would make her need a fix-it person of her own ....Alexander Stone didn't know if he agreed with that old saying about having loved and lost--he just knew he'd never love again. But how could he resist a warm, sexy woman who always had a minute to smile and two little boys who made him remember what it was like to laugh... or to long for a family to call his own?

    . . — They were Regan Thorne's legacy--and the key to the dark mystery swirling around her. It looked more and more as if those five glorious jewels might just cost her her sanity--and maybe her life. — Regan was used to handling problems on her own, but this time she had to have help. She found what she needed--and a whole lot more--in the unwilling person of Cole Shepherd. But the cynical, hard-bitten man made a practice of never, ever, getting involved.He wanted her to believe she'd be better off without the likes of him in her life. But Regan Thorne wasn't in the jewel business for nothing. She knew a diamond in the rough when she saw one...

    The next thing she knew, she was lying on a strange bed with a headache and a bum leg, being gruffly tended to by a tight-lipped cowboy who didn't take kindly to trespassers....When Ryder McCall found the strawberry-blonde unconscious on his land, he knew she was after either his hide or the secret he was hiding. On the run from the law and way of strangers, Ryder wasn't used to visitors -- especially not outspoken, lost ladies. And he wasn't letting Miss Southern go until he rustled the truth out of her.…

    He didn't even have enough heart left to hate Caitlin Fielding, the beautiful woman who'd made his name synonymous with evil and helped convict him of an unspeakable crime that he hadn't committed. What little emotion Tyler had left was for a traumatized little girl--his motherless daughter, who Caitlin had adopted while he'd rotted in jail... . Caitlin knew Tyler would never forget what she'd unintentionally done to him, and the past wouldn't be easily put to rest. Once a handsome, brilliant surgeon, Tyler was now hardened and cynical, a man who thought he had nothing to offer. But Caitlin and young Kelsey needed him desperately . . . and to forge a family, they would need not only his forgiveness, but also his love.

    She'd faced the hardest time of her life, comforting their children and rebuilding their lives - without him.Miraculously, Reid returned from a hellish undercover mission. To survive, he'd clung to memories of his wife and family. Now he was home, expecting everything to be the same. He had no idea how much he himself had changed.Becoming an independent woman had been the only way Christine could survive Reid's "death." Now her marriage was being offered another chance - with an embittered stranger who seemed to resent what she'd become. She and Reid had once been in love. To keep this precious second chance, they would have to fall in love all over again....

    She’s had a rough year. After what Ellie has been through, the last thing she needs is a man, especially a bad boy who happens to be both the sheriff and tavern owner. Sheriff Cutter Beaumont can't take his eyes off Ellie Parks, his usual charm and suggestive banter are falling flat. Cutter knows there is more to Ellie, if he can figure out how to get past the wall she is putting up. Could this be more than a spring fling?

    She also enjoyed a challenge, which was why she'd come from England to New Orleans to broaden her work experience.However, she didn't need the experience she'd gain from the kind of assignments her boss, Christian McCoid, was handing her. In Jocasta's eyes, they were designed to keep her down.Well, she'd show Christian he didn't need to hold her hand every step of the way. Not that she could ever imagine such an aloof, arrogant man truly holding anyone's hand....

    When Val Santisi, the handsome bad boy from her childhood, appears in her darkened apartment, Nicki Sharman is certain that he is an intruder, until the lights go on and Nicki's heart is revealed.

    Held hostage by terrorists, British industrialist James Wyndham had to become as hard and as cold as his captors. Now, four years later, his belief in tenderness and mercy was nonexistent...and his aching heart was as deeply buried as the legendary Wyndham jewels. But with sweet freedom, he discovered, came bitter betrayal: his business empire usurped; his bride-to-be engaged to his brother; and Innishfarrin, his rocky Scottish castle, invaded by a flaxen-haired wench. True, enchanting Kristina McGinnis offered him gentle, sensual homage, but he couldn't believe she wanted him and not the jewels Innishfarrin held hidden. But even if he was her treasure, her gossamer dreams, spun of sunshine and smiles, would never survive the darkness in his soul...

    Ali Charbonneau took one look at the brooding but oh-so-sexy Nicholas Knight and she was hooked! Nicholas declared he wasn't interested--even though the fire in his eyes told another story. He tried to run her out of town, but Ali knew he would like nothing better than to keep her in his bed.The seductive spell between them raged, but Nicholas attempted to ignore his desires. Ali resembled his dead fiancee and stirred up painful memories. He didn't want a repeat of bad history. The townspeople thought he'd murdered the woman he'd loved.And, sometimes, Nicholas did, too....

    He knew his dad wasn't around much anymore, and sometimes Mommy looked so sad. Thank goodness for his new friend, the dragon, who lived next door in the garden. Mommy said dragons were only make-believe, but Petey knew better.Hannah Randall wasn't too sure about the scaly, fire-breathing variety, but she knew a dragon of a man lived next door. Sam Dennehy was distant at the best of times, crabby at the worst. But every time Hannah looked deep into his eyes, she knew Sam was no dragon . . . he was a man in need of love, a man who could steal her heart.

    Her only lead-a man as mysterious as the brutal crime she was struggling to understand.Quinn Danaker knew that the answers to Daphne's questions lay at the heart of the dirtiest business there was--the international arms trade. And he knew that this fragile and strangely compelling woman was in a world of danger. She needed his protection, whether she knew it or not--and she was going to get it.This enigmatic, disturbing man asked--no, demanded--that Daphne place her trust in him. But how could she trust a man who seemed to live his life in the shadows?

    SEPTEMBERName: Navarrone SanteeType of Man: Rugged. Fearless. All male. A man's man--and a woman's lover.Occupation: Chief of Police--and champion of lost causes.Obsession: first, settling a score with an old enemy. Last, Erin Hayes. A brave, beautiful woman with a painful past.Navarrone Santee was a man of great passion. Those he loved, he protected fiercely. Those he hated, beware. But Dr. Erin Hayes refused to be neatly slotted into any category. Navarrone had never known a woman so responsive-or one sc afraid. He tried to resist her, yet one look from her clear, honest eyes threw his whole body into turmoil. Navarrone knew he had to have Erin no matter what-but he also knew that in his search for justice, Erin would pay the price....

    Now the ghosts of her past were resurrected as a serial rapist stalked the city. To feel safe, to be safe, she needed to trust again. And the one man she wanted to trust was police detective Dugan Magee....Heat. Crackling and heavy. Dugan had felt it when they first met, and he tried to deny its intensity. Though he was sure Sarah sensed it, too, he knew what such intimacy would cost her. Still, his need to help her, to heal her, pulsed with a life of its own. But could he protect her from a madman?

    Then she found out their cover was that of a married couple, and her heart trembled. This tough but sexy man was the kind she'd once dreamed of - the kind that past experience had taught her didn't exist...Sloan cursed inwardly upon seeing his new "wife." How could he concentrate on keeping her and the boy safe when one look from Katherine's soft brown eyes had the power to short-circuit his senses? Worse yet, although he'd learned the hard way that "happily ever after" didn't exist, Katherine made Sloan feel that love was possible. Which made pretending to be her husband almost as dangerous as guarding her...

    ...but his Cinderella had vanished! The nearly naked stranger who'd fled from his stateroom bath -- leaving only her slipper behind -- now haunted his erotic dreams. Aboard the luxury cruise ship American Dreamer, a regular bevy of beauties circled the powerful tycoon. Jackson "the Shark" Sherrod knew he was considered the finest catch in the sea. But after one glimpse of his elusive enchantress's enticing flesh, he knew just the woman he wanted. Jackson wasn't called Sherrod the Shark for nothing. What he wanted, he usually got. Only this time, when it came to this woman, he had to find her first. And Sherrod the Shark was no Prince Charming.

    For a woman who'd always felt safe in the wild, Fiona found herself defenseless against the feral gleam in Rogan's eyes. And she didn't need him or his noisy tour groups to distract her from protecting her elephants ... or herself.Rogan McCullough was used to ugliness--it had ruined his family and taken away whatever heart he'd had. Yet now, all he saw was untouched beauty--from Fiona's untamed sensuality to the birth of a baby elephant. Suddenly this world--and this woman--had captured him, and he hoped he'd never be set free.. . .

    Six weeks after her brother is named the Eighth Marquis of Parminter, Rachel finds her life transformed when Guy, the cousin whom she has always secretly loved, returns to town a hunted man.

    O’Neill is in the fight of his life. A legendary agent with the DEA, he’s uncovered a conspiracy in his own agency. The only problem is he’s been arrested for the murder of his partner. If he goes to jail, he dies. There’s only one solution—escape. The only way to do that is to kidnap his defense attorney. Lauren Taylor is a high-priced attorney doing a favor for a friend. Suddenly she finds herself on the run with the most dangerous man she’s ever met. Will she survive with her heart intact?

    Wyatt Archer, however, wasn't convinced the eccentric weaver practiced black magic, but from the moment they met, he felt a compelling need to see Lavender again...and again. Maybe the town was right, for Lavender had certainly cast a spell on him.A sense of belonging, that was all Lavender had ever hoped for, but everyone in town felt she was something best avoided. Everyone except Wyatt Archer. Lavender knew fate had brought Wyatt to her, but just as easily, that same fate could rip them apart...forever.

    She'd spent her whole life giving, but no more. Her current mission in life was to become footloose and fancy-free, and her plans certainly didn't include a man--especially one radiating as much masculine appeal as Judd Jordan.From the moment Judd saw Katie, he knew she was his woman--but convincing Katie was another matter. With persistence and Chinese takeout, he embarked on teaching her that caring was a mutual arrangement . . . and he had a lot to offer.It hadn't occurred to Katie that a man could give as well as take, but Judd was a pillar of strength in her harried life. Could she believe him when he claimed his mission was to love, honor and cherish her?

    — Gray McCall remembered the pretty high school student who'd had such a crush on him, she'd nearly flunked his biology class -- but now Elissa Emory was a knockout, all delectable curves and irresistibly tempting! He hadn't felt like teasing or flirting with a woman in... more » ages, but she was bewitching, a sizzling challenge whose lips made him hunger to kiss her until she melted in his arms.He Dared to Stake a ClaimElissa adored the intimate, sexy promises Gray made with his body, responded to his seductive embraces with all her heart; but he fought against sharing the sorrow that haunted him, and insisted he couldn't give her what she needed... what she deserved. Could she teach a man who refused to believe in forever that the healing power of her love could make him happy?

    For, mysteriously, only Ruben could coax his fellow chile pickers to reap the precious, fiery fruits that would ransom her family's endangered farm. But what reward would this macho man demand?Marriage -- a marriage of convenience that promised both heaven and hell. For while Ruben's soulful blue eyes spoke of lofty intentions, his bronzed skin and rippling muscles inspired earthy, fevered yearnings...There were dangerous contradictions in the man, and the fires his touch ignited threatened to bum away Rachel's common sense, blind her to the darkness surrounding her pleasure where she could lose her way forever.

    But what was she to do? She simply refused to marry a man who wasn't dashing and mysterious. And no man in her sleepy village so far from London fit the bill, until handsome and very mysterious Jared Prescott moved into the neighboring estate. Jared had come to the country seeking privacy. He hadn't counted on meeting pretty, persistent Rachel, much less wanting to court her! Suddenly, his reputation as a hermit was a damned nuisance, but he couldn't risk coming clean with his suspicious neighbors especially when there was a killer on the loose.

    And the only woman he wanted help from was the same woman who'd walked out on him without an explanation. Teresa Sandoval worked with the hearing impaired, and she wouldn't turn away a helpless child. And this time, Miles wouldn't let her turn him away, either.Teresa had come a long way from the East L.A. barrio, but she knew that a fancy job and an education still didn't make a Hispanic woman acceptable for more than a few nights of passion with a man like Miles Richards, so she'd left him before he could hurt her. And now she'd fallen in love again--twice!--with a little boy and a handsome man she could never have ....

    Yet here she was, scared to death as Michael Seger spoke of nasty thugs and necessary hideouts. And if Caitlin was his only hope, the man was really in trouble.Hunted by criminals desperate for the evidence he had against them, Michael had to stay alive long enough to meet his contact. But then the bad guys spotted Caitlin, and Michael had to take her into hiding. Suddenly, strangers on the run had become lovers in seclusion, and Michael learned what dangerous really meant....

    But a lifetime spent confronting the unexpected made it quite natural for Shiloh Reese. However, her control was almost shattered the night she found a nearly naked stranger--obviously in need of her help--sprawled across her bed. For Shiloh knew he was from a world she'd long since left behind ...Connor McQuade used people. Got them talking. Exploited them. And left. In the world of espionage, there were no attachments, no regrets. Until now. Now there was Shiloh. Cool, unflappable Shy, who helped him without question because there was need. Daring, courageous Shy, who stared unblinkingly into the face of danger. Because of him.But with his life of uncertain tomorrows, how could Connor promise her forever in return?

    And with a brutal killer stalking the city, her work had never been more important.She found the help she so desperately needed in Lieutenant Thomas Lain. And he brought her something more than his strength. He showed her, for the first time, that the touch of a man's hand could bring a woman more than pain, more than fear.But bitter experience had robbed Sabrina of all illusions. She could never hope for a life with any man who knew the secrets of her shadowed past. When this nightmare was over, she would have to forget him--somehow.