Her sophisticated, comfortable life in San Francisco is light years away from the poverty of her family’s dairy farm, and Sam will do whatever it takes to keep her business strong. A dedicated urban career woman focused on her work, she doesn’t have time or energy for a family or distracting romantic entanglements.Jay Vermillion recently inherited Vermillion Sky, a working ranch near Wyoming’s breathtaking Grand Teton Mountains—and the estates of the rich and restless. While he was fighting in two wars, his father tried to keep the homestead running, until illness stole his fight and then his life. Jay’s determined to restore Vermillion Sky, but first he’s got to settle a vicious battle with his former stepmother over some of his late father’s paintings. The last thing on his mind is a finding a wife and creating a sixth generation of Vermillions. When Jay hires Sam to handle his father’s artwork, it’s love at first sight—a mutually inconvenient attraction that is soon complicated by a double murder at the edge of the ranch and a potential betrayal even closer to home. Working together to unmask a murderer, Sam and Jay try to fight the intense heat between them. Then the killer targets Sam. And suddenly, Jay, the war-weary soldier, finds something he’s once again willing to die for . . .

     In the wake of her husband's tragic death, Lee is pregnant and one million dollars in debt to a dangerous loan shark willing to do anything to collect. Out of money and options, Lee seeks refuge in the small Oregon town where her mother's dilapidated home sits vacant, as desperate for a fresh start as Lee herself.With a baby on the way and a living to make, Lee opens a restaurant and begins to rebuild her life. But just as she catches her breath, and the eye of a local musician offering a second chance at love, she finds herself right back in the clutches of the debt collector with more to lose than ever.

    Each story was specifically written for this anthology.The goal of the Cocktales Anthology is to raise funds to fight against obstruction of creative expression. Specifically, what we believe are obstruction attempts through the trademarking of common (single) words for titicular use in books / or as a book series (eBooks, print, and audio).*ALL* net profits will be donated to:1) Authors already impacted by creative-obstruction (10%), and2) Romance Writers of America (RWA) (90%) as a general donation intended for their Advocacy Fund.Disclaimer: This anthology is not being conducted on behalf of RWA, nor does RWA endorse this anthology or effort. They have, however, graciously agreed to accept the funds.Authors with material included (as they appear in the anthology):Nana Malone, USA Today Bestselling author – ForewordDylan Allen – 'Cocked and Loaded'Jana Aston, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Double Cocked'Whitney Barbetti – 'Cocksure Grin'Author Sawyer Bennett, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'A Wicked, Cocky Plan'K.f. Breene, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Magical Cock and Bull'Ruth Clampett, Amazon top 20 Bestselling Author – 'Don’t Get Cocky'L.H. Cosway, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Illusionist Seeks Neanderthal'Mariah Dietz – 'Landmines'Amy Daws, Amazon Top 25 Bestselling author – 'Cock and Balls'BB Easton, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Cocky BB: Two Boys, One Prom.'Jaymin Eve, USA Today Bestselling author – 'The Cockier the Dragon, the Harder They Fall'Emma Hart, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Tricky Bond'Staci Hart, Amazon Top 10 Bestselling author – 'Cockamamie'Jessica Hawkins, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Couture'Julie Johnson Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Culinary Cock-Up'Karpov Kinrade, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Crimson Cocktail'Adriana Locke, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Swag'Lex Martin, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Love & Hate at the Stallion Station'Aly Martinez, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Going Down'Katyi McGee - USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocksure Co-Star'Corinne Michaels, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cockblocked'Liv Morris, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Getting It Up'Red Phoenix, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Her Cocky Russian'Daisy Prescott, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Confessions of a Cockblocked Wingman'Jessica Prince – ‘A Cocky Corruption Engagement’Meghan Quinn, Amazon Top 20 Bestselling Author – 'Fight or Flight'CD Reiss, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Capo'Penny Reid, WSJ and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Beard and Hen'Julie Richman, USA Today Bestselling author – 'The Color of Love'Aleatha Romig, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Aligned'Kennedy Ryan, Top 40 Amazon Bestselling author – 'All'Kylie Scott, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Short Story with Mal and Anne from The Stage Dive Series'Sierra Simone, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Until the Cock Crows'Tara Sivec, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Chocolate and Cockup'Kate Stewart, Amazon Top 30 Bestselling author – 'The Golden Sombrero'Leia Stone, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Alpha'Karla Sorensen – 'Tristan & Anna: A Bachelors of the Ridge short story'Rachel Van Dyken, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Mafia'April White, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Code of Conduct'

    To celebrate their accomplishments, bestselling authors have honored the winners by writing short stories inspired by their lives and work.This special eBook is yours at no charge because Harlequin is committed to celebrating women's efforts and supporting the causes that are meaningful to them. By sharing Rhonda Clemons' story, we hope to turn awareness into action and mobilize others to make a difference.To find out more or to nominate a woman you know, please visit HarlequinMoreThanWords.com.

    The Playboy’s Second Chance This story was formerly titled Kismet. Since the title was confusing to readers, I changed the name and now bring you The Playboy’s Second Chance. I hope you enjoy my sexy, stand-alone novella. Trevor Dane, Wall Street Hot Shot and billionaire, has everything — money, power and any woman he could possibly want yet he isn’t happy. When his latest interviewer turns out to be the one woman he’s never forgotten, Trevor sees a second chance and he won’t let Lissa Gardelli’s wariness or old hurts stop him from getting back into her bed… and her heart. Midnight Angel Hollywood superstar, Dylan North, revisits his home town with the express intent of seeing his first love once more, to see if they can reignite the love he stupidly threw away ten years before. The last thing Dr. Holly Evans needs in her life is her high school sweetheart returning and stirring up old feelings. But Dylan is determined to convince Holly that happily ever doesn't only happen in the movies.

    John has endured all the romantic disasters she thinks she can in a lifetime. That is, until her fiancé jilts her the weekend of her bridal shower. Carrie can't show up unaccompanied again and admit to her family she's a failure. When Carrie meets Mike Davis at an historic country inn, the recently ditched hottie offers to help fill the bill. But, at what price?Mike Davis was finally going to prove his old high school buddies wrong. Voted "most likely to remain a bachelor" in his prestigious prep school's class, he was looking forward to ushering in his fiancée at his upcoming reunion. Suddenly empty-handed, he's got a new ploy in mind involving the ultra sexy and accomplished Carrie. But Mike doesn't bank on giving up his heart in the bargain. Neither does Carrie, who is soon to learn there are things that even money can't buy...

    With both Sarah and her cartoon heroine undergoing fertility treatments, her fiction often reflects her reality. However, she hadn't scripted her husband's infidelity. In the wake of her shattered marriage, Sarah flees to the coastal town in Northern California where she grew up. There, she revisits her troubling past: an emotionally distant father, the loss of her mother and an unexpected connection with Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob skewered mercilessly in her comics. But he's been through some changes himself. And just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah makes a most startling discovery. She's pregnant. The winds of change have led Sarah to this surprising new beginning. All she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe.

    When her biggest client insists she join him on a Colorado ski trip, she has little choice - but what she finds on her arrival could melt the coldest heart. In "White Hot Christmas" by Nancy Bush, aspiring PI Jane Kelly likes to pretend she's a bah-humbug kind of girl, but she's had mistletoe on the brain ever since she shared a kiss with her boss, Dwayne. Before she can hope for a repeat performance, Jane must solve a kidnapping that's as twisted as a candy cane - and not nearly as sweet. Rosanna Chiofalo's "Seven Days of Christmas" introduces Bianca Simone, who received a wonderful early Christmas gift from her boyfriend, Mark, five years ago - a week amid the stunning Alpine scenery of Innsbruck, Austria. Now she's back under very different circumstances, but Mark has one more special gift in mind. In "A Smoky Mountain Christmas" by Lin Stepp, Veda Trent is back in Townsend to fill in as temporary manager of the Crafts Co-op, but she's not planning to stay. Though the mountain town is small, it holds lots of unsettling memories. Yet the wind can change, bringing with it new opportunities - and the chance to create the kind of Christmas for which Veda always has longed.

    Luckily her Aunt Cecily has provided her with the perfect combination living and restaurant space to start over. Even though the building is located in small town Chance Creek, Montana, Sunshine is certain it’s only a matter of time before she’s back to take the big city by storm. When she arrives in Chance Creek, however, she gets a surprise. Her restaurant space—and apartment—are occupied by a rival to her inheritance: the incredibly sexy, incredibly wrong for her, Cole Linden. Cole’s been struggling to save his family’s holdings for far too long. The indoor rifle range he inherited from his father barely pays its rent, but it’s all that’s keeping his other concerns—two apartment houses—afloat. If he was smart, he’d walk away from all of it and start over, but if he does, several dozen of Chance Creek’s inhabitants will find themselves without a home. He thought Cecily meant to leave him the range building in her will. Instead she’s set him up in a four-month-long competition with her big-city niece to see who will win the place. A niece whose knockout looks are making it damn hard for him to concentrate on the job at hand. Sunshine can’t believe she’ll have to open a vegan restaurant in a rifle-range waiting room, and she can’t believe she’ll have to share her apartment with Cole, either. Cole can’t believe his friends are falling over themselves to help Sunshine succeed—and get a date with her. Now the competition is getting hot, but the sparks flying between them are even hotter. Can Cole and Sunshine find a way they both can win?

    First she got engaged, then she was jilted, and now she’s pregnant—via a sperm bank! She was so sure love had passed her by, she decided to have a baby on her own. Before Lily’s due date, Jake will have to woo her, win her, marry her, and convince her that he wants to be a dad to the baby she’s carrying…and maybe a few more. Originally published in 2004 in Mothers by Design.

    Ben Richardson is trying to make yet another new start, this time in the emergency department at a Melbourne hospital. It's been nearly four years since he lost his wife and unborn child--and he still hasn't let go. So it comes as quite a surprise to him when his eye is drawn to a beautiful pregnant woman on the beach.When Ben realizes Celeste is a nurse at the hospital, he wants to keep his distance. She reminds him too much of all he's lost. But Celeste is clearly facing this challenging pregnancy alone, and Ben can't help coming to her rescue. Being with her to deliver her premature baby girl finally makes him realize there's a future for him right here after all--if he's prepared to risk enough to claim it....

    But he knows there are some things money can’t buy, like Kendra Shepherd’s heart. Can a rough-and-tumble cowboy and a ladylike divorcée find lasting love? Crazier dreams have come true under the vast Montana sky. Bad News Cowboy by Maisey Yates If Kate Garrett could choose her dream man, he wouldn’t be her older brother’s best friend, Jack Monaghan. Sexy and shameless, Jack is the kind of trouble you don’t tangle with unless you want your heart broken. But when Kate lassoes him into giving her some flirting tips, the two of them get caught up in the kind of trouble he’s spent his life avoiding. Can Kate convince Jack that love is the best risk of all?

    But now he's back in her life, and ready to steal a heritage protection contract that could make or break her career--if he doesn't steal her heart first. Samantha's vowed to hate him, but it's more than anger heating the competition between them. With sparks flying across the conference table and sizzling in every touch, Dean proposes a weekend liaison. Anything to have Sam again; anything to get her out of his system. But the unresolved feelings between them complicate both their personal and professional lives, and one wild weekend could turn into a disaster that would destroy the one job that means more to Samantha than anything. For a shot at love...is it worth the risk?

    Hear the purr of his zipper as he lowers it, then reaches for the shiny metal hanging from his black leather belt. It's futile to resist arrest. Give yourself up to the fantasy. Besides, he thinks you're so hot in handcuffs...Arresting Desire - Shayla BlackFBI Agent Jon Bocelli never stopped wanting beautiful professor Lucia DiStefano. She's interested in taking her first lover, and he intends to be that man. When her past puts her life in danger, Jon risks everything to save her and prove this fling is forever. On Fire - Sylvia DayWhen Deputy Marshal Jared Cameron investigates a series of arson attacks in a seaside town, the biggest blast of heat comes from sexy fire inspector Darcy Michaels—until their scorching after-hours affair is compromised by a secret from Darcy’s past.The Unwilling - Shiloh WalkerMica Greer and her former lover, ex-FBI agent Colby Mathis, once shared an intimate past and a powerful psychic gift. Now, they’ve been reunited by a bizarre series of murders—and an electrifying passion that could put them both in jeopardy.

    Holly Collier vows not to let anyone mess up her sacrosanct schedule. Especially not the drop-dead gorgeous Dr. Marc Suarez who broke her heart seven years ago. When a tragic accident transforms the carefree playboy into a dedicated but novice father to his nephew, Holly gives in to her maternal instincts and turns her structured life upside down for the orphaned preemie. But can she learn to trust Marc again and believe in true love?