Book picks similar to
Playing House by Laura Chapman


ebook
contemporary
stand-alone
top-ten-male-characters

Blame It on the Bet


L.E. Rico - 2017
    When her family’s pub is threatened with foreclosure, Hennessy O’Halloran, along with her three sisters, is determined to raise enough money to keep it out of the hands of the L.A. real-estate developer trying to raze it and replace it with a—god forbid!—multiplex theater.Bryan Truitt always gets what he wants. And what he wants is the sweet corner property on Mayhem’s Main Street where O’Halloran’s Pub sits. But his “quick business” turns into more than he bargains for when he meets the feisty Hennessy. Next thing he knows, he’s betting her he can outlast Mayhem’s punishing winter in time to make the pub his—or he’ll gift it to her for free. Hennessy knows better than to flirt with the enemy. But suddenly Bryan’s not sure which he wants more…the property or the woman who owns it.

A Letter To Delilah


Jaxson Kidman - 2020
    The letter was not meant for me to read.
It was for Delilah.
She’s beautiful.She’s perfect.She’s loved.
She’s everything I want to be.
And I need to know who wrote the letter.
Why?
You might think I’m crazy… but I’m in love with the person who wrote it.
Even if I’ve never met him.

Perfectly Impossible


Elizabeth Topp - 2020
    An artist at heart, Anna works a day job as a private assistant for Bambi Von Bizmark, a megarich Upper East Side matriarch who’s about to be honored at the illustrious Opera Ball.Caught between the staid world of great wealth and her unconventional life as an artist, Anna struggles with her true calling. If she’s supposed to be a painter, why is she so much more successful as a personal assistant? When her boyfriend lands a fancy new job, it throws their future as a couple into doubt and intensifies Anna’s identity crisis. All she has to do is ensure everything runs smoothly and hold herself together until the Opera Ball is over. How hard could that be?Featuring a vibrant array of characters from the powerful to the proletarian, Perfectly Impossible offers a glimpse into a world you’ll never want to leave.

Jack Off


K.B. Cinder - 2020
    Prepare for inappropriate humor, dad jokes, and maybe a woodland creature or two.

Never Say Never


Taylor Holloway - 2018
    Never hesitate. Never get emotionally involved.Words I've lived by. Until her.I'm a fixer.I fix bad, embarrassing, illegal problems, for the right price.My clients are rich, famous, powerful, and very dangerous.Now I’ve got a problem of my very own: Eva Martin. She just happens to be both my best friend’s little sister, and at the center of the most explosive problem I’ve ever faced. As the body count rises around us, I’m falling for the one woman that’s totally out of bounds. Her wide innocent eyes, perfect curves, and sexy, smoky voice—she’s a liability and a weakness, but I'm unable to resist.Eva’s a risky distraction for a man like me. I'm going to make her mine, and I'll use everything in my arsenal to keep her safe.Even if it means everyone else—including me—becomes collateral damage.

It's a Work Thing


Michelle Karise - 2020
    Half the company loves me, the other can’t stand me—when you’ve got your sights set on bigger things, it comes with the territory. Bonus: My ice-cold reputation hides my broken heart.If Dynex pulls off its upcoming public offering, my best friend and I will be swimming in corporate stock, free to launch our own company. Now more than ever, I need to be focused. I don’t need a distraction like Jasmine Carmichael, a gorgeous consultant with honey-almond skin and a killer smile.JasmineEver had any luck with dating apps? No? Girl, same. I don’t play games. One, my travel schedule as a consultant doesn’t allow it. And two, at the first hint I’m an old-fashioned girl in search of romance, I’m ghosted.I shouldn’t be attracted to six-three of citrine-eyed, muscular, urban sophistication like Garrett Hamilton. He’s a client, and clients are definitely out of my dating pool. But something about him makes me want to ignore the rules and roll the dice.I should have remembered corporate games never end well—especially when you gamble with your heart.

My Escort


Kia Carrington-Russell - 2015
    Mine is that I hired a male escort to end my boss’s taunts regarding my love life. Problem is, I actually like him.Clover is determined to become the next big travel columnist. The only problem is her merciless boss, Debra Coorman, who refuses to let her step up the corporate ladder. When an opportunity presents itself, Clover will do anything to make the most of it- including dialing the number on a simple black business card, she swore she’d never need.Hiring male escort, Damon, to play the role of “doting boyfriend” was meant to be easy. A simple transaction that would begin and end in one evening—until an unsigned check has him on her doorstep the very same night.What started as a business deal is flipped on its head as Clover finds there's more to Damon than meets the eye. Hearts are involved, and emotions are running deep. Clover needs to determine if feelings are real or if Da

A New Chapter


Susan Coventry - 2016
    Five years later, they meet again, both newly divorced, and in the process of rebuilding their lives. Emma finds comfort in the bookstore that she owns, while Zack is busy caring for his four-year-old daughter Gracie.Despite their attraction, Emma and Zack decide to be “just friends,” but soon discover that staying in the friend zone is easier said than done! Sometimes love comes along when you least expect it, but when will Emma be ready to trust her heart again? How will she know when the time is right to begin…A New Chapter?

Friends ForNever


Melissa Baldwin - 2016
    She’s focused on her career and determined to leave her tiny cubicle behind for a fabulous corner office! But when a new co-worker, a friendship drama, and a hot workplace crush collide, Erin finds it harder and harder to focus. Especially when that crush on the oh-so-yummy Aiden Thomas starts to materialize into what feels like a magical relationship. Erin's life seems to finally be heading in the right direction...until suddenly friends aren't such great friends after all, her magical relationship hits a bumpy road, and her career could be derailed by it all. Erin learns a lesson the hard way: Sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be. With her happiness on the line, can Erin rise above her disappointments and create the life she's always dreamed of or will she be stuck being Friends ForNever? "Packed with love, laughter, and deliciously devious frenemies, Friends ForNever is an entertaining romantic comedy for the keeper shelf!" ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author

Let Her Go


M.R. Pritchard - 2015
    She’s left picking up the pieces of her shattered world while the tabloids, pesky neighbors, and an eight-point buck seem to haunt her. The only thing keeping Morgan grounded is her recently discovered love for running. But everything changes when Morgan learns her husband was keeping secrets and he left her to run his successful gym with her newly acquired business partner, stoic MMA fighter Nick “The Strangler” Stacks. Will Morgan's second chance at love be a fight to the end?

Johnny Be Good


Paige Toon - 2008
    This is my leaving party. And that song we're making a mockery of? That's written by one of the biggest rock stars in the world. And I'm moving in with him tomorrow. Seriously! I am not even joking. Well, maybe I'm misleading you a little bit. You see, I haven't actually met him yet... No, I'm not a stalker. I'm his new PA. His Personal Assistant. And I am off to La-La Land. Los Angeles. The City of Angels—whatever you want to call it—and I can't bloody believe it! Celebrity PA to wild boy of rock Johnny Jefferson, Meg's glam new life in sun-drenched LA is a whirlwind of showbiz parties and backstage passes. Cool, calm Christian, in town to write his famous friend's biography, helps keep Meg's feet firmly on the ground. But with Johnny's piercing green eyes and a body Brad Pitt would kill for, how long will it be before she's swept right off them again?

My Bossy Protector: A Best Friend’s Brother Romance (My Hungry Boss Book 3)


Charlize Starr - 2018
     Ivy My life wasn’t supposed to look like this. I wasn’t supposed to be stuck in this small town. So, when my best friend gets me an internship at her brother Simon’s company in California, I would be stupid to refuse. The only catch is, I’d never quite gotten over the kiss he and I shared on my nineteenth birthday. The day before he skipped town. But he’s my boss now. And even though that dimpled smile still gets to me, I’m not going to let him break my heart again. Simon Ivy Soleman, with her strawberry blond curls, delicious pouty red lips and legs that make every man drool themselves dry. I should have forgotten her by now. She was nothing but a distant memory from a past I’d left behind in our godforsaken town. But now she’s in my office. And as much as I try to deny it, the truth is that I like having her around. Watching the way her body moves in those pencil skirts. The thing is that I’m not the only one looking. I don’t like the idea of other guys fighting over her. My need to protect her and her perfect shapely hips kicks in. But I’d left her once – had I lost my chance forever? This is a 30,000 words standalone story with a HEA. 18+ readers only.

Agnes and the Hitman


Jennifer Crusie - 2007
    Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love…Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on.  Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window.  His name is Shane, no last name, just Shane, and he has his own problems:  he's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes.  When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes's house, and his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either.  Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hit men show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with intent to throw more than rice.  Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and--most dangerous of all--each other.  Agnes and the Hitman is the perfect combination of sugar and spice, sweet and salty--a novel of delicious proportions.

Hot Water: A BBW Small Town Romance


Fern Fraser - 2021
    ETHAN LOVELOCKWhen I inherit a rundown lakeside hotel from my grandad, I know my savings from soldiering won’t go far. I’m determined to build a new life by the lake and heal.The good news is, I have an investor, my best friend Baxter Burns. The bad news is, he wants me to hire his baby sister. Baxter says she’s off limits, but one look at Lexi and I know I can’t keep my hands to myself.She soothes my war battered soul and I’ll give up everything to make her mine.LEXI BURNSMy big brother wants to help my career, so he sends me to the country to help his friend restore a hotel. One look at Ethan and I know I can’t do what my brother wants.Living and working at Eden Lake with the hot as sin ex-Army Ranger will only lead to one thing. Hot Water!Safe, sweet, extra steamy instalove short romance with a guaranteed HEA. It's summer, which means sunshine, sand and awkward tan lines.What our heroes aren't expecting? Love.Sometimes hot days turn into steamier nights as these men find love by the lake... Brought to you by nine of your favorite instalove authors, this series is the summer romance you've been waiting for.

Mr. Mayfair


Louise Bay - 2021
    Two months ago he decided he wanted a break. I still thought he was my happily ever after.On any other day, knowing he was gone for good would be the worst thing that could possibly happen. But not today. Because not only is my boyfriend getting married—his bride is my best friend.And they’ve sent me an invitation.There’s no way I’m going to attend. I don’t care if it’s in beautiful Scotland.Nothing and no one could convince me.Not even when a deliciously handsome stranger tells me he needs to go as my plus one.Not even when he shoots me a wickedly, sexy smile.But then he offers me the opportunity of a lifetime—a dream come true. How can I say no?But I have one condition. He has to be my new boyfriend. I mean, my pretend new boyfriend.I'm about to find out that faking it can be a whole lot of fun.