Or… When the code breaks down, fate just might take over. Eleven of your favorite gay romance authors have joined forces to light up your Valentine’s Day with a collection of sweet, sexy, silly, and hot short stories, featuring a wacky cast of characters chosen from your reader suggestions! Morticians and magicians, superheroes and spies, lawyers and lobstermen, will all learn that love has nothing to do with algorithms… and sometimes you find it in the least-likely places. And the best part? All proceeds from this collection will go to the authors’ favorite LGBTQ charities, to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year! Titles included in the collection:The Magician and the Mortician by E.A. Wasp The Professional Gamer and the Paranormal Photographer by Alison Hendricks The Assassin and the Dog Walker by Charlie Cochet The Criminal and the Sommelier by Chris Owen The Superhero and the NSA Agent by Hailey Turner The Tattoo Artist and the Writer by Lily Morton The Uber Driver and the Phone Sex Operator by Lucy Lennox The Baker and the SEAL by May Archer The Event Planner and the Electrician by Poppy Dennison The Lawyer and the Lobsterman by Ruthie Luhnow The Florist and the Lawyer by Sloane Kennedy

    If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both…if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise : all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!This book is approximately 94,000 words

    Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story that will have readers rooting for these two teens to share their hearts with the world--and with each other.

    With his dog by his side, Travis raises his three children, manages his business, and works as a ranch hand. But every day, every minute, is an aching emptiness. Wesley Ryan has fond memories of the small Ozark town of El Dorado. Seeing it as a safe place to put his failed relationships behind him, Wesley moves into his grandparents’ old home and takes over the local veterinary clinic. An early morning visit from Travis and his dog stirs feelings that Wesley seeks to push away—the last thing he needs is to fall for a man with baggage and three kids as part of the package. Life, it seems, has other plans.

    They’re both hard-working tradesmen, both love weekends away fishing, both gay, but have never been single at the same time. Until now.What is supposed to be a weekend away fishing with a group of mates, changes at the last minute when friends bail out in an attempt to give Cal and Troy some alone time.With more than just hooks on the line, can these two see what’s been right in front of them the whole time?The Perfect Catch is a short story about falling for your best friend hook, line, and sinker.A 20K short story which was part of the It Was Always You anthology.

    All it takes to crush his dreams is one missed step . . . and a broken foot.Jordan is the gorgeous rowing star and school captain of Luca's new school. Everyone says he's straight - but Luca’s not so sure . . .As their unlikely bond grows stronger, Luca starts to wonder: who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak?

    And when they find a map that might lead to gold on the mountain, the adventure of their lives begins. Claire Dunlap looked forward to focusing on herself. She had decided to sell her successful boutique in fast-paced San Francisco and move out to manage her great uncle’s general store in small town Wyoming. But the quiet life wasn’t quiet for long. As Claire faces up to stubborn locals, a disorganized store, and her family’s century-old property feud with the Havertys, her plate is full once again. And then there’s Riley and Chance. Both are so attentive to her, and both are so bonded to each other. But Chance is a Haverty and Riley is her best friend. On paper, these boundaries shouldn’t be crossed, but her heart and her body keep telling her otherwise. Riley Wells, Claire’s best friend from childhood, sports a well-groomed, thick, dark brown mustache over his defined jawline. Recently divorced, he is looking to start over and begins working on his first novel, whose main character is a beautiful female detective secretly inspired by his new housemate, Claire. In the midst of their growing sexual tension, Riley did not expect to meet the sensitive and handsome Chance Haverty. Suddenly, Claire isn’t the only source of inspiration in his life. Chance Haverty is handsome, tall and muscular, with auburn hair and deep, green eyes. He runs the family farm and supports his alcoholic mother, Lara and drug-addict younger brother, Jonny. Protective of the Haverty name and property lines, Chance can be hotblooded at times, but underneath it all he longs to know and be known. But when he meets Riley and Claire, Chance’s walls come crashing down. Riley is cute and funny, clever and unique, unlike anyone else in Little Bend. And Claire is unforgettable, but with her Dunlap name his family would never approve. Chance must face his family once and for all if he is going to have a shot at true happiness. Past and present responsibilities constantly threaten to break the blossoming intimacy of Claire, Riley, and Chance. Can their love break through the long-standing feud? Could it be the treasure they were seeking all along? Hearts of Gold is a Bisexual / Menage MMF standalone romance set in an idyllic, country setting with a HEA ending and scene after scene of detailed passion and humor. MMF Bisexual Romance.

    They enjoyed only a few months of happiness until Ben chose closeted popularity over true love… and he's regretted it ever since.Eight years later, Ben is out and proud and teaching art at the same high school he graduated from. When he learns the chemistry teacher is retiring, he's excited to meet her replacement until he finds out the brand new teacher is none other than Rory Newton—the first love he's never quite gotten over. Despite a painfully awkward start, it doesn't take Ben long to realize he'll do whatever it takes to win Rory back. But it's starting to look like even his best might not be enough.

    

    Bumbling drug dealers. A kidnapped cat. Starting a romance among all this chaos might be the death of them.Michael Fleishman is excited to meet his favorite mystery writer, Russell Withingham, at Lacetown’s Literary Fest. He is not expecting to cross paths with sexy hairdresser Jasper “Jazz” Dilworth—or become embroiled in a real-life mystery. As Lacetown’s only mortician and the county coroner, Michael is called to his first murder scene and is shocked to recognize the victim—Russell’s young lover.Jazz only wanted to confront his ex, Russell, over his cheating. Instead, he meets the adorably awkward Michael and becomes a murder suspect. Soon Jazz is teaming up with Michael to clear his name. Along the way, they are helped and hindered by Michael’s sassy assistant, Kitty, the grumpy Sheriff Musgrave, Russell’s creepy PR rep, Norbert, and Michael’s lothario grandfather, who likes his manhattans strong and his women saucy. And of course, Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third….

    This book will stay with me the rest of my life. ...I wish this book could be distributed to every church and made required reading." Amazon Reviewer AndreamsCan a gay person change--with the help of Hugh Hefner and Jesus Christ? Few social issues ignite such passion from all sides. For those who see homosexuality as immoral and a sin, the notion of "gay marriage" is intolerable. For those who are gay, being demonized and shamed is simply intolerant. Bryan Christopher's life has been spent straddling this great divide.As a boy raised under the blinding Friday Night Lights of the Bible belt of Texas--from the playground to the pulpit--one message was clear: "queers" deserved to be smeared. And at the dawn of puberty, Bryan knew he was in trouble: he was staring limply at the pages of his dad's Playboy. That's when the hiding began. And in his neck of the woods, it left him with one option: change! "Hiding from Myself: A Memoir" chronicles the author's zealous crusade: from ringing doorbells for Jesus in the Castro of San Francisco to sorting through Hugh Hefner's dirty laundry as a butler at the Playboy Mansion; from the beer-soaked trenches of his UCLA fraternity house to wholehearted immersion into "ex-gay" conversion therapy.With this raw and moving testimony, the author offers healing and a fresh perspective on perhaps the most divisive cultural issue of our time. Bryan's story is not a "gay" story or even an "ex-gay" story; his is a human story--a testament to the innate universal need for love. And the things that can sometimes get in the way...

    He knows what he wants and expects everyone to obey.When we met, I felt a wicked tingle in my belly that made it hard to think.That's the only reason I did something stupid like hook up with a man as intimidating and off limits as him...Ever since that night, work has become a game of cat and mouse between us. But just when I think I'm getting close to my new boss, I get a surprise.The biggest opportunity of my life.Should I chase my one shot at fame? Or should I run back into the arms of a man who might ruin my future?

    A brush of thigh against thigh and a sideways, then a downward, glance. Nineteen-year-olds Tom and Mick could hardly have guessed the epic nature of the journey they were setting out on. A journey that would take them into business partnership together. A journey that would bring them little by little to the deepest reaches of the human heart. An adventure that would catapult them into the sweet and sometimes painful mysteries of of life and sex and love.

    But when a hurricane of events forces him into the spotlight, he starts to realize that the only thing he’s truly afraid of is himself. With the help of his costume changing friend Cher, a famous gay uncle with a mysterious past of his own, two aging punk rocker parents and Rusty, the boy who will become his something to live for, Danny begins to realize that the music of the heart is truly the soundtrack for living.

    As a twenty-eight-year-old single father with a fourteen-year-old son, Connor, he knows his appeal to the average gay man is limited, and when you factor in his low self-esteem and tendencies towards rudeness and sarcasm, it might as well be nonexistent. But that’s okay. A man is the last thing Spencer needs or wants.Tim Ellis’s life is falling apart around him. After four years of hard work at college, he finds himself blacklisted from the career of his dreams by the professor he refused to sleep with and abandoned by the boyfriend he thought he was going to marry. Even though he was lucky enough to land a job at a bakery, he still feels like a failure.Tim and Spencer’s first meeting is filled with turbulent misunderstanding, but Tim makes a connection with Connor through a Big Brother/Big Sister program, and both men put aside their mutual dislike for his sake. By letting go, they may help each other find their way into a life they never could have imagined.Warning: References to attempted sexual coercion by a male professor towards a male college student, references to a female high school teacher having sexual relations with unnamed underage male students.Word Count: 108800.