It should’ve been me. Instead, I'll be standing next to his bride, whom I can’t stand, as an honorary bridesmaid as a favor to him. I’m a bundle of nerves on the plane, and the hot stranger sitting next to me is about to regret asking me what my problem is. I’m about to give him an earful; beginning with the first time I knew I loved Derek Saunders. I didn’t mean to start crying. I didn’t mean to make the guy feel bad for me. But for some strange reason, he takes pity on me. So he offers a solution. A proposal, if you will. He’ll be my fake husband. I’ll be his temporary wife. It’s the only way I’m going to get through this weekend, and so I say hell yes. But I wasn’t prepared for what came next. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is episode one of a new mini series! Approx. 40 pages with a cliffhanger. EXCERPT: “So what’s your answer, Odessa?” The way he said my name sent instant heat between my thighs. My name oozed like melted butter off his tongue before rounding itself out with a hint of distant thunder. “You want to have fun this weekend or what?” “I don’t know.” I hemmed and hawed. As enticing as the idea was, I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. Then again, it might be the only way to get through my best friend's wedding. A distraction in the shape of a handsome stranger calling himself my husband for a few days would definitely help keep the tears at bay. “I’m only in town until Sunday,” Lincoln said. “Look, Blue Eyes, I’ll give you my number. You call me if you want to do this. I’ll be there. As your temporary husband. No one will be able to tell the difference. Maybe not even you.”

    Start over. Easy words for everyone else, but not me. My wife died on my operating table, and moving on just isn’t going to happen. Not until I decided to go back to the small town where I grew up. My boy and I needed different scenery to try to reboot life. And we did. Until one day, a beautiful woman walked into my office and everything changed. She was from one of the oldest families in Tennessee and needed my help. With the way she made me and my son feel, I was more than happy to offer it. Love wasn’t supposed to show up again, and certainly not this soon. But it did. It has. I just hope she knows that she has to love us both. Forever.

    A woman who thinks her husband pretended to be dead and never cared enough to return home… Maj. Tejveer Singh is an ex-serviceman from the Indian Army, decorated for his exemplary courage. After resigning from service with near-fatal wounds, he returns home to the life-altering news that his wife, Megha, has disappeared. A devastated Tej comes to the painful conclusion that she has deserted him for good. Megha has a different story to tell. The news about Tej’s ‘death’ at the hands of the enemy breaks down her emotional equilibrium. She escapes to London, far away from everything that would remind her of Tej. Three years later, Megha, now a gourmet writer, returns to India. Life grinds to a halt again, when she comes face-to-face with Tej at a party in Mussourie. Fired by rage and betrayal they confront each other even as unresolved issues, an unequal power equation, buried suspicions and angst from their troubled marriage hover like phantoms once more. Both want to know the truth about the other. Pride and mistrust prevents both of them from revealing it first! Cut off from the world for a week, they become engrossed in a utopia where neither of them talks about the past or the future. However, time is ticking by…and the potent secret between them is waiting to explode. Will they be able to resolve the deadlock without tearing away from each other?

    Feeling like he’s been bucked off before the eight second buzzer, Clay’s betting he can score if she’ll give him a second chance. But qualifying may call for more than he’s prepared to give. Dusty Morgan is determined not to fall for the cowboy staking out her station. She’s vowed never to get tangled up with someone who makes their living through rodeo, and she’s not interested in a hit and run. Though he may be what she desires, Dusty knows from experience he isn’t what she needs—or is he?This novella was previously published as Re-ride at the Rodeo.

    

     Book 1: As Deep as the Ocean When Mac asks Fred to marry him, he tells her it’s strictly business, just a way to access her father’s inheritance so they can save the vineyard. But what happens when they fall in love? Book 2: As Beautiful as the Bay Sam has come home to Blue Penguin Bay to help his father in the family bakery. He longs to escape, and when a freak storm hits the bay, it gives him the perfect opportunity. If only he hadn’t fallen in love with sexy chef Ginger… Book 3: As Timeless as the Sea Sandi is certain that lawyer Jace is hiding something. The only way to keep her heart safe is to end their fling now. But when you share a love as timeless as the sea, there’s always hope for a happy ending.

    As he struggles to make a dent in the icy exterior of the townspeople he wonders if his efforts will be wasted--then he meets Matilda, and everything changes.From the moment they meet Danny finds himself entranced by her ambition, and Matilda is captured by his passion and determination. But life in Bear Creek is difficult for outsiders and despite the attraction, their blossoming romance could end in tragedy.How can Danny choose between the chance at love and his life's dream? Will Matilda lose her independence if she admits how she feels?Grace Cranfield dreams of freedom from high-society and the suitors her parents push onto her. When all seems lost, she finds a chance at hope when she spots an ad in the church from a Montana rancher looking for a wife.Left alone after the sudden deaths of his brothers, Malcolm Wilson longs for someone to help build a new life from the rubble of his old one. Grace is charming and kind, and as sparks fly she finds herself on a train speeding towards a new home, but also a world like nothing she's ever known.Will Grace be able to find a place in this new world and discover who she truly is? More importantly, will she survive long enough to get the chance?All Mayme Ruble wants is to feel like she belongs. When she comes across an ad from a farmer looking for a wife, she feels a glimmer of hope--a chance to start over and maybe even find love.Thomas Harris has spent most of his life running his farm, and now it's time for him to marry. Mayme's kind, honest response strikes a chord with him and there is instant chemistry. She leaves her hometown with tentative optimism that a new chapter in her life is about to begin.Despite Thomas' warmth and the welcoming townspeople, Mayme struggles to shed her self-consciousness. All seems well, until disaster strikes in Bear Creek and Mayme is forced to make a decision: will she step up and be the woman she hopes to become? Or will she lose this chance at happiness once and for all?When Rachel Maxwell discovers that her home - and her hand in marriage - have been sold to notorious poker player, Salis Dangerfield, her world is thrown into turmoil. Despite the stories swirling around town, Rachel has no plans to give in easily.Salis is a ruthless businessman and highroller. But right now, he's just a man in search of a safe haven. Faced with distrust from both his wife and the locals, it seems as though he and his young sister will never find their footing in Bear Creek.Rachel soon discovers the kind man behind the facade and Salis thinks he may have finally found the peace he's been looking for.Will Salis be able to overcome his demons? Can he and Rachel find a way to be together even when the whole world is against them?In Bear Creek Brides: Books 9-12, you will discover four captivating stories of vulnerability, danger, and determination as these four brides navigate peril and heartache to hold onto the chance for true love.