An early morning hotel fire turns out to be anything but routine, and firefighter Reid Webb's best friend and partner, Jimmy Grant, dies. Guilt-ridden and grieving, Reid feels responsible for her partner's young son, Chase. She would do anything for him, even if that means spending far too much time in the company of the woman she's harbored feelings for since high school. Isabel Grant doesn't know anything about raising children. But when she returns to her hometown to assume custody of her orphaned nephew, she gets a crash course. Isabel's struggle to keep her footing in the midst of chaos is further complicated by her growing attraction to Reid, a woman whom Isabel blames for her brother's death.

    It soon becomes obvious - though not to Jean - that she has a major crush on the candidate, Rosie Monroe.Thrilled by the excitement of politics and strangely flustered every time Rosie calls on her for help, Jean has never felt more alive. Rising to every challenge with newfound passion, she surprises everyone, including her husband, by flourishing under the stress of the hard-fought campaign.When dirty tricks by the other side damage Rosie's reputation at the worst possible moment, Jean finally realizes that her feelings are not entirely about the thrill of the job. Two decades of doing what was expected of her are abruptly turned upside down, and she realizes she may just be in love - for the first time in her life.Newcomer Robbi McCoy tells a passionate coming-of-age story about a mature woman whose life is only beginning. Full of surprises and difficult choices, Waltzing at Midnight is a heartfelt, endearing story about a woman we all know and the love that transforms her life.

    Jordan has vowed never to give her heart to anyone ever again, and has been successful until Kirsten comes into her life.Kirsten Murphy’s marriage is falling apart, but her budding friendship with Jordan is easing her heartache. Kirsten is also discovering her tamped-down attraction to women is resurfacing, and it has everything to do with Jordan.Can Jordan release her self-imposed exile on relationships? Does Kirsten have what it takes for Jordan to finally give her heart to another?

    But when she comes face to face with her first lover, she is overcome by the rush of desire that threatens to ignite the dangerous flames of rekindled passion.

    She’s rich, beautiful, intelligent, and successful. None of this matters to her mom. Les-Bi-An. That’s all her mom sees.Even though Lizzie insists her mom’s antagonism does not bother her, Lizzie distances herself from her entire family. When her brother, Peter, calls her out of the blue to announce he’s getting married, Lizzie’s entire life changes drastically. Peter’s fiancée wants to bring the lesbian outcast back into the family. Will this desire cause Lizzie to lose everything dear to her?Sarah, Lizzie’s girlfriend, is ecstatic about this change in Lizzie’s personal life. Sarah, the hopeless romantic, wants it all, including settling down with the fiercely independent Lizzie.Can Lizzie be tamed? And can she survive her family and all of their secrets?

    Sometimes, these lessons are learned on the job. A successful New York architect, Thomas Elkin almost has it all. Coming out as gay and ending his marriage before his fortieth birthday, he needed to start living his life. Now, four years later, with his relationship with his son back on track, and after a few short-lived romances, this esteemed traditional draftsman thought he knew everything about architecture, about life.Cooper Jones, twenty-two years old, is about to take the architect world by storm. Talented, professional, driven, and completely infuriating, Cooper is the definition of Generation Y.Starting an internship working with Thomas, Cooper is about to knock Tom’s world off its axis. Tom can teach Cooper about the industry, but Cooper is about to teach Tom a few things about life.

    She lost her rural accent, got a PhD and made something of herself, promising she’d never go back to her roots. But when your Nanny needs you and your heart has been smashed to pieces, promises are easily dismissed.The loud, affectionate family welcome and simple Appalachian life—cookouts and church, chickens and dogs in the yard—are just what Chrys needs. Family is what matters. She doesn’t mind caring for Nanny...just for the summer.What she doesn’t expect are unsettling family secrets—and being hit between the eyes with an intense attraction to Nanny’s physical therapist.Hilarious and poignant new love story by Lambda Literary Award winner Julia Watts.

    Leland isn’t just his boss, though. He’s the son of the company’s CEO. And Brian has fallen in love. Hurt by too many stolen kisses and nooners at seedy hotels, Brian finally broke off their secret affair two weeks ago. Leland isn’t ready to let Brian go and he isn’t above seducing Brian — again — to give them both what they really want for Christmas: each other.This free short story was originally written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2010 holiday event and appears in the event's Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and… Naughty anthology.

    Congress. However, Bijal's first unforeseen obstacle is her profound and unexpected attraction to their opponent—incumbent Congresswoman Colleen O'Bannon—who is outspoken, charismatic, and openly lesbian.An even greater hurdle is the subterfuge and pretense that pervades the climate in Washington, D.C., where small missteps are readily painted as major gaffes, and lies are explained away as "in the public's best interest." During the heated campaign, both Bijal and Colleen struggle not to cross the lines of propriety—and perhaps more importantly, their party lines.

    A daughter of affluent parents, Chase is expected to go to college at the University of Arizona and prove herself as equally successful as her big sister. How can she do that when she doesn't even know herself? Dagny Robertson is everything that the Marin's would want in a daughter - too bad Dagney's own parents don't even know their only child, borne from their intense love, exists. Now, Dagny works on her graduate degree while acting as a TA in Psych 101. Can this older woman, once the worshipped babysitter of a lost eight year-old girl, help Chase find herself?

    She is stunned when she sees Mary in the lesbian leather bar known for sexual promiscuity.Mary gets cornered by three predatory women in the bar and Jackie comes to her rescue, which leads to an erotic encounter between the two of them.Mary and Jackie try to ignore each other after the encounter but their attraction to each other is too strong. As their sexual relationship starts becoming romantic, will the two women be able to conquer their fears to have something more.

    Upon the distant shore prowls an ancient sea god kept captive by a generations-old spell, a spell that Meriel alone must protect.Meriel's life has been lonely and unchanging--until the arrival of Nor. Nor's shape is that of a woman, but her heart belongs to the sea. Even though Nor is also held captive by Meriel's spell, she shows kindness to the isolated witch. Nor sparks a passion within Meriel, defying every law that binds them both.This award-winning short story ("The Witch Sea" won first place in the "Kissed by Venus" Fresh Voices short story competition) is a dark fantasy tale of love, loss and the price of freedom.

    “Oh my God!” To the outside world, Lauren’s marriage is picture perfect, but she is hiding a secret. Beneath the smile lies an unquenchable yearning: Lauren craves intimacy with a woman. Until now, these desires have been mere fantasy, harmless daydreams. What Lauren could never have known was that a chance encounter on a train would change her life forever. She also had no reason to suspect that money missing from her family business would cause her to question her sexuality, or unravel her father’s deepest, darkest secret… Likewise, Gillian a former model, turned forensic accountant, had no way of knowing that her life was going to be turned upside down when she agreed to help Lauren’s mother unearth the mystery behind the missing money. While Lauren begins a journey of self-discovery that will have far-reaching consequences. Gillian must learn to lay the ghosts of her troubled and traumatic past to rest. Will Lauren and Gillian get the happily-ever-after that they both desperately crave, or will their personal histories prove too difficult to overcome? A secret can be exciting ... it can also be a prison.

    At fifteen, Jamie Maxwell’s main goals in life are to make the United States youth national soccer pool, move past the Incident-That-Shall-Not-Be- Named, and maybe—someday—kiss a girl. When she meets Emma Blakeley at a tournament in Southern California, something about the older girl draws her in. And it isn’t that she expects to ever get the chance to kiss Emma. Really. When Jamie invites her to sneak out on the last night of Surf Cup, Emma doesn’t go because she likes Jamie’s smile. She goes because, as the daughter of a surgeon and a nurse, she has a genetic predisposition to try to heal people. And Jamie, she can tell, is wounded.Neither girl suspects that this first last night together will form the basis of a bond that will last across years and miles, from SoCal soccer fields and New York hotels to Portuguese beaches and the streets of Vancouver. But that’s how most friendships begin, isn’t it? With a smile and a nod and the courage to ask, “Do you maybe, possibly, want to come with me?”

    It’s a dream job... and a certain colleague is the cherry on top. Marie is kind and supportive, as well as drop-dead gorgeous, and Tabby’s heart does a little dance whenever she’s around.Given half a chance, Marie could fall for her smart, witty coworker - but Tabby is straight, so they can only be friends. When the two run into the last jerk Tabby dated, Marie pretends to be her girlfriend as revenge. It's just a silly game to put the ex in his place... until he gets hired at their company.Now Tabby and Marie can fess up to the truth - or double down and fake a whole relationship. Choosing to continue is a dangerous game. But what if the prize could be greater than either of them imagine?