Or romance, for that matter. She is weeks away from opening her own catering business, the most important part of her plan to provide her certified genius daughter Patty with all the wonderful things she deserves.Except Patty doesn't want to go to a fancy boarding school. She wants a father and when she meets bartender Murphy O'Rourke at her fourth grade Career Day presentation, she knows she's met the man of her mother's dreams!But can she convince her Mrs. Scrooge of a mom that it was time to give Christmas -- and love -- a second chance?Acclaim for the novels of Barbara Bretton“Bretton’s characters are always real and their conflicts believable.”— Chicago Sun-Times“Soul warming... A powerful relationship drama [for] anyone who enjoys a passionate look inside the hearts and souls of the prime players.”— Midwest Book Review“[Bretton] excels in her portrayal of the sometimes sweet, sometimes stifling ties of a small community. The town’s tight network of loving, eccentric friends and family infuses the tale with a gently comic note that perfectly balances the darker dramas of the romance.”— Publishers Weekly“A tender love story about two people who, when they find something special, will go to any length to keep it.”— Booklist“Honest, witty... absolutely unforgettable.”— Rendezvous“A classic adult fairy tale.”— Affaire de Coeur“Dialogue flows easily and characters spring quickly to life.”— Rocky Mountain News

    But there is a unique and underlying charm to this small town that has other plans for those looking to slip into the silence of a solitary life.With nothing but a desire to fade into the background, this close-knit community guides Claire along a different path, in a direction that encourages her deep-seated need to connect with others.Hank Charles is a produce shop owner full of quirky facts. Lizzie Perkins is the niece Claire hasn't seen in years because of a falling out with her brother. Jack Burgess is a sketch artist whose troubled past intersects with Claire's in serendipitous ways. If only she gives herself the chance to discover it. Can this small mountain town help Claire connect the dots to create a life she's always imagined?Will Pigeon Grove's beloved message answer her soulful call for guidance before the opportunity escapes her? It's never too late to come home.

    He's her best friend's brother. Falling for him could ruin his future. Keighly Kaye is on her way to LA for the audition of a lifetime. When her BFF Bertie asks her to stop by home and help out at the Headley Family Campground, what are friends for? A week at home with friends and family might also help Keighly heal from a past wrong. Peter Headley has a decision to make: attend his father's choice of college or go after the dream job. One will help his family not lose their camp, and the other gets Pete kicked out of the house in a week. When Keighly sees the nerd she remembers is now an easy-on-the-eyes man, she finds the childhood pact to never fall for your best friend's brother needs a revision. The more time they spend together, the harder it is for Keighly to keep her promise, especially when a secret she knows could break his heart. Can Keighly risk her friendship for a chance at love? And will Pete finally get a kiss from his childhood crush? My Best Friend's Brother is a standalone novel in the Best Friend's series, a trio of sweet, clean romances. If you enjoy slow-burning chemistry, simmering kisses, and a touch of humor, then you'll fall in love with romances by Eliza Ellis.

     Least of all Zeke. Billionaire Zeke would do anything for his beloved grandmother, including faking a romance just to make the holidays perfect for her. Not that he’s interested in romance. He has no time for that. He’s too busy with his investments company and besides, his heart is incapable of love – his first love left him a broken man. Isla Gordon has a short term plan. Work for the summer while healing a broken heart. Her long term plan is to save up, leave New York and run a quiet café in the small town where she grew up. That is until her new boss makes a preposterous proposition. If only he wasn’t so handsome…If only he did not make her heart do somersaults in her chest. Get this sweet romance now!

    She’s in a serious relationship, her real-estate career is soaring, and she has a family who loved her. When she realizes her relationship was less than she wants, she isn’t sure how to handle things. After the death of her parents, she and her sisters decide to convert the lake house—a place filled with so many cherished childhood memories—into a bed and breakfast. As she becomes reacquainted with the town and all the people there, her dreams shift. With her sisters at her side, she forges her way into a new enterprise, rediscovering the woman she’d lost all those years ago—and finds love in the most unexpected place. Come and visit the Romriell sisters at Bear Lake and see how their beautiful B&B becomes the heart of their family.

    It contains some dark themes that may be triggering for some readers.

    Broken and wounded after the devastating loss of her parents, she’s tried to navigate her way alone. Earning a lucrative contract in the modeling industry, she puts her past behind her. Until everything comes crashing down. Now she lives a quiet life out of the spotlight. When her best friend Hazel pulls her back, she tries to fight the attraction she feels for Gabe, a charming bachelor who wants more than friendship. Gabe has been relegated to the friend zone when he so clearly wants more. But he has secrets of his own—their past that links them together has the power to force them apart. Other titles in the series: The Billionaire's Conflict Excerpt from this book: "The moon shone bright still, highlighting the silk of his black hair. They moved to the ship’s rail again. Paige, leaning her arms to peer at the water, Gabe standing behind, not touching her. But she could still feel his electric pull. The air buzzed with static that begged contact. She ignored its call and thought of the inevitable. She would need to leave Tino’s. A clean break would be best. She knew from experience, those wounds healed the fastest. She started her sentence before the words would be too hard to speak. “I’m recognizable. I’m taking a big risk working at Tino’s. The paparazzi would have a field day if they knew. I left that life for a reason. I need to stay out of the spotlight.” The words sat heavy in her throat. He closed the gap, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. The connection sent instant sparks shooting through her veins, just as she knew it would. As it had countless times tonight. “I hope you know you can always trust me.” His breath was hot on her skin and it made her insides do too many things she wasn’t prepared for."

    Player. My Husband? My boss is known for two things: 1. He’s the heir to a billionaire dollar family fortune 2. Dumping women the second they turn 25 Yep. He’s an a@#hole. Now, he’s being forced to get married or lose it all. The only person he trusts in this world is his assistant – me. When he offers me millions to pretend to be his wife, how can I say no? The catch? It has to look real and I’m twelve years OLDER than him. Yeah. Will people buy it, or will this blow up in our faces? When Sadie and Liam are forced to fake an engagement will sparks fly, or will they rip each other apart? The Titan Billionaire Brothers is a duet, each book featuring a Titan brother. Book 1 is Liam's story and can be read as a standalone or as part 1 of the duet.

    Dubbed Billionaire Bachelor Cove because of the resident's single status and income portfolios, The Cove is the perfect place to hide away from the world. But, as the residents soon find out, they can't hide from love. A Princess and Her Billionaire Scoundrel at Sea Paris James is a high-seas playboy.  He throws lavish parties on his yacht to entertain clients for a multi-billion-dollar business that specializes in luxury water toys. He’s as free as a pirate … until he wins the royal Tyndarian bracelet in a game of chance—with that bracelet, comes a very special girl. Laney Moon is a first grade teacher who lives a fairly normal life--that is, until her cousin loses her heirloom bracelet in a rigged poker game. The grandmother who raised her will lose her house if Laney can't cash in on the bracelet. Desperate, Laney stows aboard Paris’s yacht, determined to take what’s hers from the scoundrel, and she is shocked to find a gentleman with stormy blue eyes and a mischievous grin. In one last outrageous wager, Paris agrees to return the bracelet if Laney can convince the other yacht guests that she is the princess who once owned it. Paris is in way over his head–he’d gladly return the bracelet if black market assassins weren’t after it, but now he must act like the uncaring pirate to keep her safe. As his feelings for Laney build, so do the threats against her. Paris must decide between rescuing Laney from her past or making her a part of his future. Because, princess or not, Laney Moon has already sailed away with his heart.

    He's focused on raising his daughter alone. After losing his wife in an accident, he's barely getting by after two years without her. Finding himself in a situation he can't get out of, he reluctantly goes with his friends on a Mediterranean cruise to the very place he'd run from more than a decade ago. Zoe Ross has just made a drastic change in her life. Divorced and in a new career, she's excited about the next steps. Being a makeup artist for the performers on a cruise ship should be a fun change and hopefully she'll get the chance to see places she's only read about. She has to pinch herself to make sure she's not dreaming as she boards the huge ocean liner the first time. When Zoe and Adam run into each other on the ship, there's an immediate connection. Adam is shocked by it and Zoe is more than intrigued by him. When a determined ex-girlfriend shows up to scoop Adam up since he's single again, he knows he has to come up with a plan to get rid of her. His crazy scheme will shock Zoe, yet draw her in for an adventure she'd never expected. Will becoming Adam's fake girlfriend be her ruin? Or will he end up with the new life he so needed for him and his daughter?

     That’s all this was supposed to be. I came to Sin City with my best friend to celebrate my much-needed divorce. For once, I want to be the one with no care about tomorrow. That’s when he catches my eye. I watch as he works the room, and the women in it. He’s everything I hate in a man, but the epitome of what we all want. Sexy. Confident to a fault, and a smirk that will melt your panties. He’s everything my ex-husband is. As our eyes meet, I decide to give him a dose of his own medicine, show him how it feels to be used. Tonight, I’ll be the woman everyone stares at when she enters the room. The one I am in the boardroom, who takes no prisoners. I’ll be the one to bring him to his knees and leave him just as fast. I’ll be that woman. For One Night

    Veteran teacher Shay returns to one of her favorite settings and vividly portrays the teachers, administrators and students of Crystal Corners High School. As is her trademark, sizzling romances are back-dropped by controversial, complicated and sometimes dangerous situations. “As always Kathryn Shay tackles what most see as unthinkable material for a romance novel and ends up with a winner of a book. Her characters are just so human! Another one I couldn't put down…such a good read.” A reader In STILL THE ONE, Annie Jacobs has made something of herself after a rough adolescence. A single parent, she’s now the mother of twin boys, a respected and well-liked English teacher and has good friends. But when her former high school teacher, Dylan Kane, comes back to town, Annie’s carefully created world starts to crumble. She and Dylan have a past, one which almost destroyed her. Now, he wants to be the next principal of her school. Annie’s afraid their previous relationship will endanger the job she loves. She’s even more fearful that her feelings for Dylan will rekindle, or worse, never died. Dylan doesn’t know he almost destroyed Annie all those years ago, but he feels guilty about developing feelings for her, a student! He did the honorable thing by leaving town, but now he’s back, unaware that she teaches in the school where he’s applying for a principalship. But Dylan is sure of one thing—this time, he can never leave the wonderful woman she’s become. If you like books about teacher romance, high school romance, reunion romance and teacher student relationships, look for the other two stories in the Educators series: SOMEONE LIKE YOU and MAYBE THIS TIME Reader Praise for STILL THE ONE: "Kathryn Shay never shies away from tough or controversial subject matter. I thought all the issues in this book were handled with care, and ably so. She made both characters immensely appealing, so I was really rooting for them to make it work. It was as difficult for the reader to find a way out of their predicament as it was for Annie and Dylan. But Shay comes up with the perfect (and only, IMO) solution available to them." Lori Sherden, Goodreads “I love this series by Kathryn Shay. She writes such passionate stories that take you into heart and lives of the story.” “I am a retired librarian from a middle school where I worked for 25 years. Ms. Shay's books make me feel like I am right there again.”

    When “Diamond” Jim McCall gambles on a fixer-upper for sentimental reasons, his house of cards implodes – along with his health. Ruby’s ready for a job change but agreeing to become her first crush’s apprentice might be her biggest mistake. She doesn’t doubt they can “flip” the derelict ranch house and save Summit Construction, but at what cost to her heart? After all, Boone Fielding became the son her father never had when she left for college.  Man up. Helping Ruby McCall and her sisters flip Diamond Jim’s “money pit” makes sense financially, but he can’t partner with someone he doesn’t trust – and Boone hasn’t forgotten his last close encounter with Ruby. But every day on the job reminds him of why he fell in love with her in the first place.  How is he ever going to let her go when the job is done?

     I don’t care if all of the people I work with call me Elly-nezer Scrooge behind my back. I don’t care if my family judges me because I haven’t been to a Christmas dinner in years. I don’t even care that I spend every single holiday alone. I’m happy. I’ve said that so many times that I think I finally believe it... Then my cousin signed me up for the Secret Santa Romance dating app. And I got matched with Ian... Sure, he’s hot, charming, and checks every single box I can come up with on the perfect guy list but there’s no way he’s going to convince me to go on a date with him or change my perspective of Christmas with his corny jokes. So why can’t I convince myself to stop talking to him, delete this stupid app, and get on with my life? This is a full-length standalone Romantic Comedy.

    Spending time in jail with his teammates a week for Christmas wasn’t on his to do list. But after fellow player and good friend, Will Kent bets him that he can’t find, date, and kiss the woman who got away, he accepts the challenge. The beautiful and talented, Lydia Landon is newly relocated to the quaint town of Port St. Austen. The fact that it happens to be her ex boyfriend, Dalton’s, hometown doesn’t bother her at all, until she runs smack into his naked chest on the beach and then finds herself at his brother’s house having dinner with his family. When Dalton asks her to go out with him again, she tells him no because there’s NO way they could ever work out. But when he shows up to help out with the Christmas program she’s in charge of…she remembers how determined he is. After exploring a cave of sea creatures together, unexpectedly discovering the secret acts of service Dalton was doing for a family down on their luck, and finding herself being comforted in Dalton’s arms when she’s attacked by a dangerous stalker, Lydia can’t help but find herself falling for him all over again. Now they have to make a choice, let the problems of the past keep them apart or give the ultimate sacrifice and get everything they ever wanted.