Book picks similar to
Making Memories by Vivian Arend


romance
vivian-arend
contemporary-romance
short-story

Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas


Randi Alexander - 2012
    They spend the day together as VIP guests of the casino, and an intense attraction develops. When they share the bed of their comped suite, it’s hot, sensual, wild, and unforgettable.When Gigi overhears Boone talking about her, she’s shocked to realize he considers her a one-night buckle bunny. She confronts him, and Boone convinces himself it’s best for both of them if she goes on believing his only interest in her is sexual. He lets her walk out of his life, but when he realizes his mistake and then sees the sacrifice Gigi made for him, will it be too late to win her back?

Driven


Lori Sjoberg - 2016
    But time is money, and when the owner of a farm refuses to sell the land crucial to making his latest project a success, he’ll do what it takes to convince the sultry, stubborn woman to sign on the dotted line. Kayla Phillips is holding on by a thread, on the verge of losing the farm she inherited from her grandfather. It’s only a matter of time before she’s forced into foreclosure, but there’s no way she’s selling to Falco. His good looks and sex appeal might work on some women—okay, it works on her too—but she’s not about to sell to a man intent on bulldozing her family’s legacy. A war of words turns into a wager—and Kayla’s only chance to save the farm. All she has to do is prove to the billionaire that he can’t handle two weeks of living the life of a farmer. She never expected the burning desire she feels whenever Mason’s around. But are his feelings for her genuine, or just a ploy to get what he wants? With her heart and the family business on the line, will she risk it all for love?

The Cowboy Inherits a Bride


Cora Seton - 2015
    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?

Her Heart for the Asking


Lisa Mondello - 2001
    But now her uncle's heart is failing and she has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she'd see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she'd never stopped loving.Beau Gentry had the fever for two things: the rodeo and Mandy Morgan. But for Beau, loving Mandy was complicated by his father's vendetta against her uncle. This led him to make the hardest decision of his life and he can still see the bitterness and hurt on Mandy's face. All these years it has killed him to think Mandy had forgotten him and moved as far away as possible from him. But now they're back in Texas, and he's going to do all he can to win back her love.

Wyatt: Return of the Cowboy


Cathy McDavid - 2012
    Except for Paige St. John, his once-loyal childhood friend. As teenagers, they had planned to leave their small town behind together. But a falling-out with his father drove him from Roundup and Paige—and she has not forgiven Wyatt for striking out on his own. Now Wyatt is back, hoping to reconcile with his family—and with Paige. She's turned into the kind of woman he's always wanted. But she's been burned by handsome cowboys before, including the one that left her to raise her son alone. Can Wyatt convince Paige, and the rest of Roundup, that he's a man she can count on? Harts of the Rodeo prequel novella.

Rugged Hearts


Amanda McIntyre - 2013
    Scarred early on by the women he’d once trusted his heart to, his sole responsibility now is the welfare of his brothers and the ranch entrusted to them by his stepdad. Forget about things as foolish as love. But that was before he met Aimee and realized a man should never say never to a determined second grade teacher. Losing her twin sister in a tragic car accident prompts vivacious, resilient Aimee Worth to live out her sister’s dream of teaching in a tiny community in End of the Line, Montana. But she never suspected she’d find her Mr. Right. He just doesn’t know it yet. Determined, her spirit shatters perceptions that have kept him isolated from life, proving that when it comes to love, the greatest risk is not taking one.

Blame it on Texas


Tori Scott - 2011
    When his father has a stroke, Logan is temporarily forced to return home and take over the family ranch. He still feels responsible for his mother's death when he was twelve, and has never gotten over the guilt. Now he's faced with having to protect his twelve year old daughter Katie and his sister and her friend Megan Flynn. It's nearly more than one man can handle. He can't wait to get back to Dallas.Megan Flynn immediately falls in love with Morris Springs, Texas, population 976, when she delivers Logan's runaway daughter to his doorstep. Raised as a city girl, Megan has a dream of a few acres, a few champion Blue Heelers, and a small-town veterinary practice. The only thing standing between her and her dream is one stubborn, reluctant cowboy with an overprotective streak as wide as the West Texas prairie. But her stubborn streak is a match for his any day. And she's determined to prove it.Blame it on Texas is a story of the power of love to overcome any adversity, the strength of family and friendship, and the joy that comes with being part of something bigger than yourself.approximately 240 pages60,000 words

A Christmas Fling


Mary Jo Putney - 2011
    Though she may not have become an international movie star, she’s well loved in England for a role on British TV and continues to work regularly. Now her hometown community center is in danger of being sold. The only hope for its salvation is if Jenny can film the Christmas Revels production she’s directing and sell it for television broadcasting. For that she needs a really good cameraman—and she just happens to know one….Greg Marino has worked hard for his success as a Hollywood cinematographer, and he has an Oscar sitting by his coffee maker to prove it. But he still has fond memories of the fling he had with Jenny Lyme ten years earlier when they worked together on a disastrous movie. When she calls and asks if he’d film her community Christmas show, he decides it would be a fun break in his dmanding life. And it would be really, really nice to see Jenny again. The show is a delight, and Jenny and Greg find the old attraction is still there. But is it possible to build a life together when both have demanding careers thousands of miles apart? Special Bonus Short Story!“Seduced by Sloth” was written for an internet experiment that failed, but the theme of finding a balance in life and work echoes that of “A Christmas Fling.”(The following reviews are for the original collection, Christmas Revels. Three of the other four novellas have been e-released as Christmas Mischief.)

Texas Wide Open


K.C. Klein - 2011
    She had her horse, the beautiful Texas prairie, and Cole Logan, the cowboy next door. But there are a lot of secrets hidden under a Texas sky…Katie always knew she’d marry Cole one day—until he broke her dreams and her heart. But now that Katie’s father is sick, she’s back home, older, wiser and nowhere near the love-sick fool she once was.Cole knows Katie doesn’t want anything to do with him. But after so many years, he can’t pretend she’s no more than a neighbor. Not when thinking about her cherry lip gloss and hell-for-leather passion is keeping him up all night. Holding his ground was hard enough when she was seventeen. Now that she’s her own woman, Cole’s heart doesn’t stand a chance…“Passionate, gritty and fast paced…with a hot blooded, honorable hero to make every woman's knees go weak.”—Diane Whiteside

A Cowboy Worth Loving


Charlene Bright - 2015
    She has dedicated her life to doing what she can for those in need. When she volunteers to help on a case involving a wealthy, callous neighbor and the state of Texas joining forces to take land away from struggling brother-sister ranchers, Kayla and Gavin Walker, she’s pushes her professional limits. Kayla is sweet and easy to work with. Gavin is suspicious and rude... and the most drop dead gorgeous cowboy Lucy has ever laid eyes on. Gavin Walker grew up on Salt Cedar Ranch. He left home at eighteen for college in the city and found out that people aren’t always what they seem. When the justice system turned its back on him, he spent five years paying for a crime that never happened. Now that he’s back home on the ranch, his neighbor and the government are joining forces to take away the only thing he truly trusts: his land. Lucy Lancaster, the sexy, beautiful, smart attorney from the city wants to help, but why? Gavin doesn’t want to trust her, but he’s inexplicably drawn to her. The attraction between these two cannot be ignored, no matter how hard they try, but will they realize it before it’s too late?

Hope For Christmas


Becky McGraw - 2015
    This novella launches The Cowboy Way series. Cord Dixon, Mr. Laramie in the world of western clothing modeling, loses his job because he refuses to sleep with his female boss. Christmas is coming, and his bills are due, so he takes the only job he can find. A mall Santa. Socialite wedding photographer, Hope Carlisle’s life disintegrates when she ruins the wedding of the year. In one fell swoop, she loses her best friend, her business partner and her fiancé. Unemployed and needing a job fast, Hope takes a job as an elf photographer at the local mall. She is not looking forward to her new job, until she meets her sexy Santa. Individually, Hope and Cord’s lives seem to be a hopeless mess. But with the magic of Christmas in the air, they work together to reclaim their lives and find love in the process.

Chasing Charlie


Kathy Carmichael - 2001
    But now Charlie's sweet ways are challenging his bachelor heart.THE TEXAS TWO-STEP, in series orderChasing CharlieCountry CourtshipCourting Trouble

Rodeo Sweethearts


Lilian Darcy - 2013
    She and Rob still hold a secret that dates from before the birth of their triplets all those years ago.Rob is such a fine man, strong and good-looking and endlessly patient. He’s wise, too, but is he right to insist that it’s time to tell people what happened? Does he really understand how she feels?

Taming His Princess


Mari Carr - 2012
    Seems she and Dylan crossed wires, and he's on his way to New York. His twin, Hunter, saves the day and whisks her back to the family cattle station. Hunter's as easy on the eyes as Dylan, and even easier to talk to. Annie might have flown to Oz to meet one brother, but sparks are flying with the other. And while Hunter's not one to poach his brother's women, he can't keep his hands, lips, tongue, and other body parts off the sexy city girl. When lust leads to attachment, where does that leave Annie and Hunter when her vacation comes to an end—or when Dylan finds out?

Taming the Texas Cowboy


Charlene Sands - 2013
    A veterinarian, Maddie was smart, sexy, and good with animals… Impossible to resist, yet Trey is convinced he is cursed when it comes to women. The temporary arrangement Maddie made with Trey was supposed to be strictly business. Easy since Maddie had tried and failed to catch the handsome cowboy’s eye for a year. She thought she was so over him...until he kissed her. Forever Texan series Book 1: Taming the Texas Cowboy Book 2: Loving the Texas Lawman Book 3: Redeeming the Texas Rancher