The pain from this silent longing has settled within her like a faithful companion and she's loathe to let it go. Two nights before the wedding, she agrees to an impromptu outing to a hip night club with a friend. There she meets wise-cracking Valerie Skye who unloosens some of those painful ties. But Valerie has some secrets of her own to overcome. Can Alix and Valerie untangle their pasts and hope the fate that brought them together isn't fickle?

    While she loved weddings and everything involved in them, she knew marriage wasn’t the path for her. She was happy casually dating. At least that’s what she thought until she met the beautiful, flirtatious Jenny Hanson at a wedding and her whole world was turned upside down. Jenny didn’t have any plans of getting married either. It was the perfect formula for a lasting friendship, except for the fact that the two girls were highly attracted to each other and lived at opposite ends of the country. As the two girls navigate through this friendship filled with plane rides, weddings, and lots of flirting, Rory begins to question if the life she always planned on is really what she wants.

    She muddles through daily routines, her only respite coming in the form of a harmless crush on Rebecca Greenway. Claire believes that the sexy restaurant manager is safely unavailable. But when Rebecca shows signs of interest, Claire's past unravels, revealing an immeasurable love and a dark secret. .an outstanding contribution to lesbian fiction. Author Margaret A. Helms deftly alternates past and present events in the life of Claire Blevins to build an enthralling and intriguing story. Her rich prose, compelling plot, lively pace, and strongly-drawn characters make The Fifth Stage an outstanding contribution to lesbian fiction. -- Nann Dunne, editor and publisher of Just About Write (www.justaboutwrite.com), author of The War Between the Hearts, and other stories.

    Over one long night at a bar in Las Vegas, two powerful hotel executives meet, flirt, and challenge each other—having no clue they’re rivals after the same dream deal.Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency. She’s in no mood for love or the mess it brings. All she wants is to buy the coveted Mayfair Palace—a massive deal that could finally help her land the CEO job in her family’s hotel empire.Fiery Kai Fisher is charming and chaotic and renowned for closing ambitious deals. Her sights are set on snatching the Mayfair Palace out from under the nose of her hated arch rivals, the Duxton family.But when secrets emerge and everything starts to fall apart, how can either of the warring women win—especially when they’ve just met their match?Tags: fire queen, hotel executives, ice queen romance, Las Vegas, opposites-attract romance104,000 words