Book picks similar to
Starting Over by Kathy Clark


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
baby

Beautifully Wounded


Susan Griscom - 2014
    is to take a leap of faith.What would you do if you had no place to go and no one you could trust?"The lyrics are about you, Lena," he confessed, and I watched his mouth as the tip of his tongue moistened his lips before he leaned his head down. Then those beautiful lips were on mine, soft, tender at first, then his tongue glided over my lips, breaking the seal. My pulse throbbed and quickened as his tongue swirled around mine. Taking and controlling, and... and I wanted this, needed his touch. I went limp in his embrace, and the heat rose under my skin, my body vibrated against his strong powerful one. Was this really happening?" Jackson Beaumont prides himself on being a nature-loving, guitar-strumming, carefree sort of guy. When the mysterious Lena Benton walks into his bar looking scared and defeated, it's not something he can ignore. He's immediately consumed by concern for her and driven by his desire to help. She's just so beautiful. So wounded. After being shuffled from one foster home to another growing up, Lena Benton dreamt of finding her prince charming. When the captivating Troy Harington sweeps her off her feet shortly after high school graduation, she's certain she's found her happiness. Unfortunately, Troy's true colors surface shortly after their marriage and things turn ugly. Lena only has one choice. She has to leave him. She has to run... Lena's escape has brought her to Jackson, and he clearly wants to be there for her, but can she trust anyone again after what she's gone through? And will Jackson be able to help her heal without losing his heart?18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

Have My Baby


Taryn Quinn - 2017
    But Seth is a workaholic millionaire and doesn't have time to meet someone. Someone who won't screw him over, like his kid's mother.  Only problem is this someone has secretly been in love with him since high school. I've been hiding it forever, not wanting to risk our friendship. Sleeping with him is my biggest fantasy. And I've fantasized plenty, being a virgin. Another thing he doesn't know.Now I have to make the biggest decision of my life.Is having a no strings attached affair just to make a baby better than never having him at all?Author’s note: this case of insta-love and insta-naked-time has been brewing for over a decade. Babymaking has never been so hot…or so funny…or so complicated.Author’s Note part deux: Have My Baby is a standalone rom com with a romantic HEA ending and no cliffhanger.

Someone to Believe In


Kathryn Shay - 2005
    He put her in jail for harboring a teen offender and never looked back. Eleven years later, she’s a thorn in his side as an anti-gang specialist trying to get kids out of gangs. While Clay wants to put them in jail, Bailey is determined to help these troubled teenagers make good lives for themselves. But when Bailey and Clay are thrown together on the mayor’s task force, the impossible happens—they’re attracted to each other. Their passion erupts early on, and only grows stronger the further they get into a relationship. When they fall deeply in love, their conflicting views drive a wedge between them. Both the Street Angel and the Senator must find a way to deal with their differences in order to make a life together.

Hide Your Heart


Tracey Alvarez - 2015
    Distrust will tear them apart…Alexandra Lauren Knight has reinvented herself in the safety of her rural New Zealand hometown to become Lauren Taylor. She’s cut all ties with her past as a former model whose ex-husband turned out to be ruthless in both the boardroom and the bedroom. While Alexandra allowed other’s expectations to propel her into the spotlight, Lauren prefers the safety of anonymity; restoring classic cars with her brother, and snuggling with her four-year-old son. Nate Fraser, a burned-out photojournalist, plans to fix up the property next door to Lauren and sell it as a celebrity retreat. Always on the move, Nate is only comfortable with short-term assignments and even shorter-term relationships. But it’s not just his buyer’s tight deadline or that the restoration is far beyond his expertise which turns a short-term project into an ordeal. Nate’s plan of travelling the globe is in jeopardy — created by the intensity of his growing feelings for Lauren and her little boy.As the sparks of passion ignite between them it reawakens Nate’s long forgotten dream of having a home and family. Lauren must find a way to trust Nate not only with her secrets, but with her heart — before her safe haven is exposed and she can no longer hide in the shadows.

Our Finest Hour


Jennifer Millikin - 2017
    Sometimes they need music. Other times, only a night with a stranger will soothe the pain. On the night Isaac and I met, we tried all three. When it was over, we went our separate ways. We planned to never see each other again, but I should really know by now that plans don’t work out the way they're supposed to. It has been four years since that night, and it’s a bizarre twist of fate that lands me in need of help only Isaac can give. I don’t want to be attracted to him, but I am. I don’t want my heart to skip a beat when it sees him, but it does. And I really don’t want him to look at me that way, but he won’t stop. Because things aren't like they were four years ago. And this time? We don’t have the option of parting ways when the sun comes up.

Baby Daddy


Kendall Ryan - 2018
    Awkward, right?At thirty-five, my life hadn’t taken the path I thought it would and I was tired of waiting—I wanted a baby. And I was ready to take matters into my own hands to make it happen.After our ill-fated elevator encounter, Emmett insisted on taking me to dinner—he also insisted on something else—that I ditch my plan involving a turkey baster and let him do the job. He would be my baby daddy. He was a wealthy and powerful CEO with little interest in diapers or playdates. And since he didn’t want kids, I’d be on my own once his bun was in my oven, free to go my own way.But once his baby was inside me, it was like a switch had been flipped, and I got a whole lot more than I ever bargained for. This full-length standalone contains a hot, swoonworthy hero, lots of playful banter and some hot baby-making s-e-x! Enjoy.

Always & Forever


Chantel Rhondeau - 2012
    Desperate to escape public scrutiny following accusations that she hired a hit man to kill her fiancé, Lilly hopes to rebuild her life in a new town.Widowed Zach Woodbridge is in no hurry to find another bride. He longs for a peaceful summer, writing at his lakeside cottage. Things change after an introduction to his grandmother’s intriguing new assistant, Lilly.When Lilly’s secrets are revealed, can their fragile relationship weather the storm? And when a man from her past wishes to reclaim Lilly, using any force necessary, can she and Zach protect the people they love? CONTENT WARNING: Violence, mild language, sizzling love scenes.

Reckless Nights in Rome


C.C. MacKenzie - 2012
    THE ONE! Though the name of her celebration and wedding cake business is up in lights, Bronte Ludlow doesn't care for the trappings of success. All that matters to her is her company, her independence and her heritage,The Dower House. Home to her ancestors since the seventeenth century, no way will she part with it to ‘a man with too much money and no soul’. Nico Ferranti’s only passions are money and power... He's a man who stopped believing in romance long ago and Bronte's a romantic, yet the attraction sparking between them like fireworks over the Piazza del Popolo stuns Nico. When Bronte's brother is badly hurt in a car accident in Rome, Nico whisks Bronte to the Eternal City. He wants her and he wants The Dower House and Nico Ferranti always gets what he wants. But Bronte’s heart has already been broken by one ruthless charmer and although tempted she isn’t about to give up either her heart or her home to the charismatic Italian without a fight!

Bound to Love


Sally Clements - 2011
    Tempest finds stubborn Jake attractive, compelling and infuriating, his logic the complete antithesis of her reliance on her instincts. And Jake is fascinated and attracted to the feisty redhead.As they spend time together trying to thwart a heist at the British Museum, the attraction between them flares out of control. The thief has a grudge against Jake, and danger stalks their every move. Will Jake learn to trust Tempest’s intuition, before it’s too late?

Finding Pride


Jill Sanders - 2012
    Now she can finally start a new life and figure out just who she really is. When her brother Matt dies suddenly, she takes a big risk and moves cross country to live in his house and take over his new business. This could be the chance she’s needed. There’s only one problem now. She can’t seem to escape the irresistible charm of her departed brother’s best friend. Todd Jordan just lost his best friend and business partner. Watching Matt’s sister move into town, his attraction to her is instant. Can he prove to her that all men are not the same, and resist his own desires as she learns to trust again? Overcoming the odds is just part of their journey. The two must first survive a fateful visit from Megan’s ex to have any chance at happiness.

Pressing Adalyn


Jenn Hype - 2015
    Yeah, I ‘survived’ something horrific and still managed to graduate college, but it did me little good. Here I am three years later with no life plan, no money and no goals, moving to a big city to live with my best friend in hopes of putting my self-destructive behavior behind me and getting my life back on track.Stacy and I met in college. She’s the quintessential good-time girl, which means she just barely has her crap together herself. If I manage to survive living with her without getting arrested or seriously embarrassing myself, then I’ll consider that a step in the right direction.No steps in any direction have even been made before Ian enters the picture, throwing me even further off course with all his sexy charm and annoying persistence. I’ve never had a guy so incapable of taking a hint. I don’t care if he’s Stacy’s best friend and one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. Doesn’t make a difference to me that he’s a walking contradiction; his gorgeous face and unrelenting kindness won’t do him any good when it comes to me.Even if I wanted Ian - which I don’t - I’m nowhere near ready for a serious relationship, and I swore off casual sex when I moved in with Stacy. So no matter how deliciously tempting he is, I’m not going to give in to Ian.Really I’m not.Due to the use of strong language and explicit adult situations, it is recommended readers be 18 or older before reading this book.

Pregnant in Pennsylvania


Jasinda Wilder - 2019
    We can’t even say we’re a one-stoplight town, because we don’t have a stoplight, just a traffic circle on a minor local highway. Here in Clayton, everyone knows everyone, and gossip and rumors are a way of life.So, when my high school sweetheart leaves our son and me for a woman in another state, it’s the talk of the town for months, if not years. Even my motor-mouthed, wild child of a best friend, Cora, can’t rustle up enough trouble to keep my name off their lips for more than a week or two. So, when I meet a handsome, single man not from Clayton, I assume he’s just passing through. It was just supposed to be a night of fun with my BFF before school starts—one last hurrah before lesson plans and homework and packing lunches and school pickup lines take over everything. It wasn’t supposed to lead to an intense, sizzling connection—an attraction which despite my most vehement denials goes far beyond the physical.The real question now is…will it end in another heartbreak for me and my son, or could it become a Happily Ever After?

Taxi Delivery


Brooke Williams - 2013
    He picks up a lot of interesting people and drives them to locations all over New York. But when pregnant Sadie Walker jumps into his cab one morning, he instantly feels a connection with her as he looks into her eyes through the rear view mirror.After a few moments of their drive, however, Sadie goes into labor and has her baby right there in the back of his cab. When Sadie is carted off to the hospital without Jed ever catching her name, he figures that is the end of their story, but he simply can’t let go. Once they re-connect, their feelings begin to grow but then, the baby’s father enters the picture. Can they overcome past secrets and find the love that God meant for them to have with one another?

Flowers for Mama (Lakeside #1)


Serafina Lyndon - 2015
    Working for low pay as an aide in a special needs classroom, she is flattered when the handsome guardian of a student asks her out on a date. The chemistry between them is intense. But she can’t be fully honest with Chalton, scared that he’ll back off fast once he knows how out of control her brother is becoming. And what she doesn’t know is that Chalton isn’t being fully honest with her either . . . and the truth is worse than anything she could imagine.

Raining in My Heart


Rita Hestand - 2013
    Going home isn't easy for Julie McKay since she hadn't seen her father in a long time and she's had a daughter he never got to see. But in her father's will she is shocked to find out that the father that adopted her, is her real father, and that if she agrees to stay on the ranch for a year she'll be a very rich woman. Can she up end her life and go home?