After her sister's heroic death, Meg had given up her career as a photographer and opened up a limousine service, but a camera was never very far from her hands.Now Meg stood on the threshold of a new adventure. She'd been left an estate in the remote hills of New Hampshire where she must complete one last job for a former friend and mentor. A job she shared with novelist Joe Alessio.Meg should have been worried about the weeks she'd spend alone with Joe. She should have dreaded his writer's curiosity and imagination, for both would challenge her talent, her determination and her heart.

    Her business is blooming, and she's dumped her controlling ex-husband. An island fling is just what she needs to start living again.He wants forever...Joe Stephens escaped his stifling corporate lifestyle, preferring to spend his days as a dive instructor. He thinks the sun, senoritas and cervezas will fill the emptiness inside him, but even they fail to inspire the passion he's searching for. Will his love send her running for the border?Then Elena blows in like a sultry island breeze, and their time together rivals the sizzling Cabo sunsets. By the end of her vacation, Joe realizes he wants more. The only problem is he has fallen for a woman who wants less. If Joe can't earn her trust and prove his love, he will lose her forever.

    So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail... But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money. To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.Excerpt:His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely."Mr. Buxton, I need your help.""Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else." He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts."Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious. And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone."You'll do no such thing." Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."

    I’m Lorna Doone. Yep, spelled just like the cookie and I own the Peaches ‘N Cream Café here in Weston. You might think nothing much happens in a small mid-western town, but as my friend Harriett says, things aren’t always what they appear. Take our girl Emma for example…”Emma Lewis has a lot on her plate. The single mother of two precocious twin boys and an aging mother who is having trouble getting through each day, the last thing Emma needs is a man in her life, especially a doctor. So when the town’s doctor goes on vacation and his handsome nephew takes over, Emma is shocked to not only find him standing in her bedroom, but accusing her of being a neglectful parent.Clint Preston came to Westen for the year to fill in as the town doc while his uncle took a long needed vacation. Clint also needed a sense of peace and calm to try to find his passion for medicine burned out by long shifts in an urban hospital’s ER. Angered to find two boys in his clinic with broken wrists and no accompanying parent, he is determined to confront their mother. The feisty redhead he meets quickly dispels his belief that she’s a neglectful mother, but he can see her situation is more critical than she wishes to face and finds himself volunteering to help care for her sons and the remodeling of her home.As Emma and Clint forge a relationship among the slightly off-beat characters that inhabit Weston a menace from Emma’s past threatens her and her sons. Clint and Emma join forces to prevent the loss of either boy and the love they’ve discovered in each other’s’ arms.

    Ruth's private investigator is all but certain that ranch owner, Matt Kincaid's, adopted daughter is Ruth's child. But even though Ruth lands the job as nanny to Matt's six-year-old daughter, she must tread carefully. Matt's the maverick in a powerful family of lawyers and politicians and she can't predict what Matt or his family might do if the adoption's challenged. However, Ruth's carefully laid plans go awry when she finds herself falling in love with the man who might have stolen her child.

    Buckle up for a wild ride. Like any Southern girls worth their salt, the sweet-talking, sharp-tongued Montgomery sisters can take men to their knees with one seductive glance or a single sugarcoated sentence.A second chance at their first love…Leaving New York City and returning to her hometown to teach a screenplay writing class seems like just the break Grace Montgomery needs. Until her sisters wake her at four thirty in the morning to watch the hottest guys in town train wild horses and she realizes that escaping her sisters’ drama-filled lives was a lot easier from hundreds of miles away. To make matters worse, she spots the one man she never wanted to see again—ruggedly handsome Reed Cross.Reed was one of Michigan’s leading historical preservation experts, but on the heels of catching his girlfriend in bed with his business partner, his uncle suffers a heart attack. Reed cuts all ties and returns home to Oak Falls to run his uncle’s business. A chance encounter with Grace, his first love, brings back memories he’s spent years trying to escape. Grace is bound and determined not to fall under Reed’s spell again—and Reed wants more than another taste of the woman he’s never forgotten. When a midnight party brings them together, passion ignites and old wounds are opened. Grace sets down the ground rules for the next three weeks. No touching, no kissing, and if she has it her way, no breathing, because every breath he takes steals her ability to think. But Reed has other ideas…~The Bradens & Montgomerys are part of Melissa's Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. All Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone and may also be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive right into this fun, sexy romance.THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS (Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls). Order of future books is subject to change Embracing Her HeartAnything For LoveTrails of LoveWild Crazy HeartsMaking You MineSearching for LoveHot for LoveSweet Sexy HeartOur Wicked HeartsClaiming Her HeartRocked by Love**Please note that future books in the original Montgomery series are crossing over to the Bradens at Pleasant Hill, and for this reason I have combined the series into THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS (Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls).~Love in Bloom features alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They're flawed, funny, passionate, and relatable to readers who enjoy contemporary romance and women's fiction. Characters from each sub-series appear in future books. All Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone without any unresolved issues or cliffhangers.

    She meets Trent Williams, a Ridge City police detective, and something else definitely sparks. Not only does he know her, Trent takes on her case and promises to do everything he can to solve it. He wants to know why she left town, with her parents, but without a word to anyone. She doesn’t remember that life. She can only tell him she knew her parents briefly before they died . . . or were murdered, she’s not sure. She hopes regaining her memory will help answer that question. Trent has his own secrets, but they have a mystery to solve. As they work together, and Molly meets their old friends, she realizes her relationship with Trent went deeper than memories. In fact, she grew up in Ridge City, even though her parents had said they lived there just a few years. How could she have forgotten her lifelong friend and love? Has he really been looking for her—waiting for her—for the last four years? Can she love him again if she doesn’t remember him? There’s also the possibility that she did something awful –and maybe that’s why she’s afraid to remember her old life. Molly knows she wants Trent now, but the truth might destroy their love.

    He's providing refuge. Together, they'll fight for new love and survival...Laura Kensington is desperate to give her unborn child a fresh start. On the run from her late husband's ruthless family, she takes refuge on a Texas ranch. As her twisted mother-in-law hunts her down, she has one reason to be hopeful: a loving man who believes in second chances.Cade Bishop has dedicated his life to protecting injured and neglected animals. He didn't hesitate to protect the strong, beautiful Laura when she showed up on his doorstep, but he never expected the passion he feels for her. As the truth comes out, Cade dedicates himself to guarding the woman he's falling for.When the powerful family draws near, Laura and Cade will need more than a refuge to preserve their love and their lives. Love and Protect is the first standalone book in the Heroes of Evers, TX romantic suspense series.Love and Protect was previously published as Ever Hopeful.

    When an enigmatic new neighbor, Alec Brunell, moves into an apartment above from Claire's, Claire is surprised to find herself wondering whether the choices she has made in her life are worth following through.In order to secure his place as his father's successor, David Lawson must settle down with a wife befitting the future head of Lawson Enterprises - and who could fit the prerequisite better than lovely Claire Chatfield? There is just one glitch - David Lawson is in love with another woman.Alec Brunell has never lacked for women's attention, but he finds himself at a loss when faced with his downstairs neighbor, Claire Chatfield. Still, her iciness only adds fuel to his fire, as Alec is determined to change Claire's view of him.This Tangled Thing Called Love follows a story of four people searching for love - will they have the courage to find it?

    He has a scandal. And they both have an attraction they can’t deny. Ella Dennings is furious. Soaking wet, muddy, and furious. All she wants is to enjoy a quiet summer retreat in her Red River Valley cabin. Maybe she can finish healing after the death of her husband, Bradley. Maybe she can even finish writing that third book in her anonymously written bestselling series. But when she arrives at the cabin in a raging rainstorm, who does she find holed up there but Cooper Wells, Bradley’s sexy best friend—a man capable of seducing women within seconds—and a man Ella has never liked.Coop’s got his own baggage. He’s engulfed in a nasty legal battle, and after selling his home to cover his legal fees, he’s got nowhere to go but the cabin. He and Ella will just have to coexist under one roof...but is their heated animosity boiling over into attraction? And when Ella’s racy new book rocks the sleepy town, will her secret identity spell scandal for both of them?

    But that was before they grew up and went their separate ways. Now, after a disastrous divorce and a career-changing accident, Olivia limps home, minus her mojo, her courage and her faith in love. She retreats to her parents’ ranch, determined to play it safe, but when ex-Army helicopter pilot Jake Lassen arrives to make good on their promise, he reignites passion and hope, two things Olivia had forgotten existed. Olivia resolves to keep Jake at arm’s length, even though the memory of his kisses keeps her up at night. She knows better than to let her heart get involved, but Jake is planning for the future. Their future. Can Jake convince her to risk it all one more time and really make this a fair to remember? *Previously titled A Fair to Remember

    As the younger of the two Harper brothers, Matt can enjoy his life of luxury and privileges to the fullest. After all, Ryan is the one who will inherit the family business. Matt doesn’t mind it in the slightest. His rebellious nature makes it an easy choice to step aside and let Ryan take the spotlight. His beloved older brother can have it all, as far as Matt is concerned.The only thing that makes Matt envy his brother is Megan’s love.Megan has always known she wanted to be with Ryan, ever since their school days. She is happy to be in a stable relationship with the most desired bachelor in town. Any day now, he might finally take the final step to solidify their future together. Becoming a member of the Harper family is everything she has ever wanted. Matt is a part of her life, too. His easy smile and mischievous nature make it difficult to keep him in the proper, brother-like category. As hard as she tries, it’s impossible to silence her stubborn heart. Could it be that behind Matt’s scandalous and “bad boy” attitude, something else is hiding, waiting to be discovered? Torn between the brothers, Megan is afraid to find out what it might be. Could Matt ever see her as something other than his brother’s girlfriend? Does he feel the same almost magnetic pull that makes it impossible for her to avoid him altogether? Only time will tell…

    But now, she’ll do anything to keep the Bancroft Hotel operating—even if that means mixing it up with the late owner’s handsome nephew, Blake Bancroft. He’s here to challenge her unexpected inheritance of the Bancroft Hotel, and there’s no way either of them are walking away without a fight.When his uncle wills away his family’s oldest property, Blake Bancroft cooks up a plan to get it back. To check out his competition, he’ll need to check in. Too bad his first encounter with Felicity proves to be anything but smooth. As their battle over ownership begins, things begin to heat up between them—and not just in the kitchen. Their attraction may be a recipe for disaster. Yet with the right ingredients, it could turn into a recipe for love…In her debut contemporary romance, award-winning historical romance author Gerri Russell whips up a sweet, passionate, and unforgettably delectable story.

    She could have never imagined that she would be agreeing to the proposition of a lifetime. Every woman in Stone River, Texas would jump at this chance, but she’s afraid she’ll leave pieces of her heart behind.Raised on their family ranch the four Brooks brothers have always shared everything. Even women. When they find themselves face to face with the one person who could complete them all, they set out on a journey to claim her for their own.Fate can place them all in the right place at the right time, but will Rachel be able to overcome her relationship scars, or is she destined to live her life alone believing that no man ever stays? Surrender Series:Weekend SurrenderFlawless SurrenderPrimal SurrenderBroken SurrenderFantasy Surrender

    Then she paid her own way through after he was done...with college and with her, when he walked out the day after he got his degree. But now she was finished and enjoying a graduation present to herself in the form of one month in a mountain cabin between Bozeman and West Yellowstone. Things were definitely changing for Cass Wright. The vacation turned into a job opportunity at a local brewery. And she was intrigued by one of Bozeman's talented sculptors and spent money she didn't really have to buy one of his creations that she swore emitted invisible sex waves. It didn't take long to figure out that it wasn't the sculpture emitting those waves, but the sculptor himself.Josh's sculptures were not what most people would consider conventional. They each depicted a couple at one point or another in that journey where interest turned to desire, desire turned to hunger, and hunger turned to satisfaction. They weren’t pornographic or even exotic but more sensual or suggestive. He never used models, so it shocked him when he realized his latest sculpture was in the image of a woman he had seen the night before at a benefit for the Battered Women's Shelter. A woman with alluring green eyes, who was now standing on the outside of the ropes that cordoned off the area where he was working. The woman who just bought that same sculpture. Little did he know that in the coming days he would find life imitating art and then art imitating life...until she got that new job. Then he found himself way over a line that he hadn't even known was there.