Lady Emily Thurston desperately needs her brother’s help to escape from her vicious husband, Victor. After mustering all her strength to entrust Francis with the truth of her life, she must now confront the reality that she will live in her own private misery forever as her brother is caught in a daze between his grief and his newfound responsibility as Lord of the family estate. Just as all hope seems lost, an unexpected man considers taking on the challenge of rescuing Lady Emily. With the unexpected arrival of her brother’s friend to her home, Emily is unsure of his intentions. However, she quickly realizes that not only is she fiercely drawn to him, but he may be her only hope of getting out. Will Lady Emily and Lord Markham be able to find a way to hatch a secret plan? Or will Victor's obsessive rule prove to be too much to overcome? ****** Book 2: ”Charles and the Intruder” Looking forward to a new life filled with literary discussions and hours playing on his beloved piano forte, Charles moves to his newly inherited London townhouse with his eyes vigorously set on figuring out what this next chapter will bring. What he never expects is to wake to a sword tip pointing directly at his throat! When the captivating Abigail appears in Charles’ life, he is not quite sure what to do with her. Her rebellious disregard for societal standards has her fleeing the arranged marriage that her gambling-addicted father has supposedly wagered her into. Charles is compelled to help her…but as gossip spreads around town, Charles soon comes to find out that Abigail may not be the damsel in distress that he once thought. With his roguish sidekick, the affable Lord Richard, at his side, Charles must navigate his new city life and figure out what is truth and what is fiction. Will Lord Charles Catesby help the beguiling Miss Abigail Sidmore? Or is he in for the swindle of his life? ***** Book 3: ”The Mysterious Lord Livingstone” Sometimes the person you love isn't quite who you thought they were... Lord Richard Livingstone and Lady Helena Catesby have loved one another from afar for years, without either being sure how the other truly felt. When Helena goes to visit her brother and sister-in-law in London, she is excited for the opportunity to finally spend time with Lord Livingstone, as he is her brother’s closest friend. Richard is thrilled when he hears that Helena is coming to town, and plans to formally court her and ultimately confess his love for her. There is only one problem with his plan…and it is a problem that has haunted him for years, causing him to lie to all who know and love him. Helena’s stay in London starts well, except that every time she and Richard are together, he leaves at a moment’s notice. His affable charm has served him well for many years, causing his close friends to laugh off his flighty habit as a whimsical eccentricity, but Helena has had enough.

    She doesn't need a man. After all, her Grams taught her a thing or two about making lemonade out of life's lemons.Then she meets Cash Carson.Reeling from a bad breakup, Cash has sworn off love. It led to nothing but pain and misery, and he’s determined to move forward alone.Until a redheaded Southern beauty crashes into him. With her shopping cart. At the local Piggly Wiggly.If love wasn't for him, why did his heart beat a little faster every time Myla Rose sent that sweet smile his way?He was no knight, and she didn't need saving.But damn if he didn't want to try anyway.AN UPHILL BATTLE: Azalea Barnes has hated Drake Collins since the day he broke her teenaged heart.Fast forward almost seven years later and her libido still hasn't gotten the memo.Now they're frenemies... with benefits.Which suits Azalea just fine. She gets what her body craves while keeping her heart safe.Kind of.Mostly.Drake has loved Azalea since the day they met. He knows that she's his forever. Too bad she only sees him as a good time. He wants more. Needs more.If only he could convince her that it's real this time. He's more determined than ever to prove to Azalea that chemistry like theirs doesn't exist only in the bedroom.The odds may be against Drake, but he's prepared to fight.WEATHER THE STORM: Magnolia Ellington is all too aware that dangerous things can come in shiny packages. Her husband made sure to teach her that.Desperate to escape his wrath—and his fists—she flees in the dark of night. Seeking safety and shelter with the only family she has left, Magnolia finds herself in the sleepy, Southern town of Dogwood—and in the arms of Simon McAllister.Simon has always been more of a thinker than a doer. That changes the minute he meets shy and mysterious Magnolia. She has him rushing into action, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to earn her trust.Slowly, with his steadfast determination and kind heart, Simon brings Magnolia out of her shell. But just as things start heating up between the two of them, the darkness of Magnolia’s past resurfaces, threatening to rip apart everything they’ve worked so hard for.With their future hanging in the balance, Simon fears he’s losing Magnolia. He must find a way to convince her they're better together.

    Until the person she blames for her heartache is assigned as her new client. Cade doesn’t take life seriously, finding it easier to drink his problems away than deal with them. But when Francesca steps back into his life, he’s forced to revisit the past. Can he bring himself to tell her the truth about her sister’s death? Will the truth bring them back together, or push them further apart?

    She will run the inn, write her cookbooks, and pick up an occasional catering job with her cousin, who owns the local bakery. Her life in Harbor Falls is predictable--a welcome change from the chaos of recent months (when her sister ran off with her fiancé)--and that's the way she likes it. Until chaos rides his bad ass Harley up to her bed and breakfast doorstep--and her perfect, predictable, and well-planned world starts crumbling like yesterday's blueberry muffins.Brad Matthews has other ideas. When Suzie worked as his sous chef in Asheville months earlier, he had no intention of falling in love with the sassy chef--no room in his life for romance. But when she disappeared and took Brad's heart with her, his good intentions shattered. Even though Brad's plan to win Suzie back involves making the people of Harbor Falls a bit angry (Suzie included), it is part of his bigger plan to get his life and career on track, and to win Suzie Hart back into his arms--permanently.But can Suzie let go of their muddled past, and her well-planned future, in order to find happiness with hunky Chef Brad? Can Brad alter his own plan, in order to win Suzie back? Take My Heart - When Shelley Hart ran off and married her sister, Suzie's, fiancé, the whole town of Harbor Falls was in a twitter. A few years later, her husband deceased and with two little girls in tow, her only recourse is to go home for the holidays. Will Suzie, forgive her? What about that boy she left behind?Harbor Falls Police Officer Matt Branson values being alone. Dubbed the town hermit, he prefers the solitude of his mountain cabin to socializing with friends--friends who say he still pines after the woman who got away. But the snowy day he pulls over an older model sedan speeding into Harbor Falls, things change. His gut slams against his backbone as a tearful woman rolls down the car window. His heart melts when she looks up into his eyes.Shelley Hart is back in town--the woman who sent him into his cave in the first place.

    See author's note, below Pulling Home (That Second Chance #1) It's taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She's created the perfect life: a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and the man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother. Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn't even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story...and forgetting her? Near impossible. When a shattering illness strikes Audra's daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever. A Family Affair: The Promise (Truth in Lies #7) Grant Richot sprinted through life, a boy wonder with talent, intelligence, confidence, and charm. He never doubted the world awaited him, just as he never doubted the right woman would come into his life—but only when he was ready for her. Anyone before that was simply preparation for the one. How wrong he was. Years and a tragedy later, Grant arrives in Maggie Finnegan’s hometown of Magdalena, New York—broken, uncertain, and searching for that second chance with the woman he cast aside. But Maggie’s no longer naïve and impressionable; she’s a confident, competent widow with a child, who has more at risk than another broken heart… Note from Mary: I love secondary characters: writing them, reading about them, even watching them on the big screen. Secondary characters support the “stars”; make them more vibrant and compelling. But when the story ends, I’m often left wondering what they’d do if they were in the “spotlight”. That’s why I’ve created special boxed sets that were part of That Second Chance series and the Truth in Lies series. These boxed sets let the reader follow the before and after of select characters as they first appear in That Second Chance series and later in the fictional town of my bestselling Truth in Lies series. Boxed Set One contains Pulling Home and A Family Affair: The Promise. I invite you to follow their journey!

     Cami Calypso receives her first assignment on Earth just in time for the Valentine season. As a newbie Cupid archer, her life is perfect until her arrow accidentally strikes the wrong man. She has sixty days to secure a job as the confident cowboy’s housekeeper and find him his soul mate—not keep him for herself. Rhett Holloway needs a housekeeper and cook. He doesn’t need an adorable blonde to distract him. He doesn’t need her to fix his love life. But here she is, and he finds her irresistible.

    She'd been raised to bake in her parents' bakery, and after their deaths, she had planned to carry on the family tradition. Devastated to find out she was losing her family's business, she needed something to do to support herself. When she received a letter from her twin sister's husband in Arizona Territory, suggesting she come out to be the bride of his best friend who was opening a restaurant, it seemed like the perfect solution to her problems. Tripp had gone to the best culinary school in the country, and he knew exactly how to create the perfect meal. He spent hours and hours coming up with just the right menu for his restaurant, only to be told he couldn't get a loan for it unless he married. When his best friend came up with the solution of sending for his baker sister-in-law, it only made sense. Her ideas of the perfect menu were different than his, though. Would the two be able to stay together long enough to convince the bank he was a good risk? Would Sadie be able to convince Tripp that the two of them belonged together after all? The Wrangler's Mail Order Bride Clara had spent most of her life working in her friend Sadie's bakery in cold, snowy Chicago. Until Sadie lost the bakery and moved to Arizona to marry a man, sight unseen. Soon after, Clara was at a crossroads when her brother announced that he and his wife were moving to New York City and she should go with them. She’d also received a letter from Sadie asking her to be the bride of a friend of theirs, a horse wrangler. As Clara had just had an interesting experience with some horses in the cold, a move to warm Arizona Territory instead of New York City was a more appealing adventure. Hank had spent his life on the open trail, driving cattle across state lines for his father, a gentleman rancher. He’d spent many long days and quiet nights out under the stars, working with horses and molding them to be the best they could be. Now, he was ready to leave the trail and do what he loved—train horses. When his grandfather passed away, leaving him property that would be perfect for horse-wrangling, he thought his problems were solved. There was one catch, though—a big one. He couldn’t inherit the property unless he was married. Clara was suggested as a possible bride and he gratefully agreed. He had no idea his bride knew more about horses than he realized. And about people. When a tragedy threatens his fledgling business, Hank must decide between his father’s wishes that he stay on the trail, or his dream for his own future. Would his father succeed in tearing them apart or would Clara be able to convince Hank that the two of them belonged together after all? The Bartender's Mail Order Bride Nutmeg Archer has had enough of being invisible in a family of six girls—especially since the man she’s pining for doesn’t notice her, either. When she finds out he needs a mail-order bride in a hurry, she hatches a plan to get him to notice her, one way or another. Sam Allen gave up his career ambitions and left New York for Tombstone, Arizona, and a new start. He enjoys his job as a bartender—and is very good at it. But because he knew his mother would not approve, he told a white lie that he never thought would be found out. When his high-society mother unexpectedly decides to make a trip to visit, he needs to make that fib a reality—and fast. Sam is dismayed to discover that he has only one positive response to his ad—and to say that he is surprised by who it is is an understatement.

     Dusty Mann is determined to buy his own ranch. He doesn’t need a modern, straightforward woman to barrel into his life or knock his plans off track But Mia steals his heart—and then claims she’s from the future.

    But Nina’s vision of her future was shattered after a bitter breakup, followed by Garner’s quick marriage to another woman and fatherhood.Then tragedy strikes. And Garner returns to her a chastened, lonely man.As she wrestles with her feelings for her former suitor, Nina also is handling the biggest case of her career. A prosecution in which one of Garner’s oldest, most powerful, and craftiest family friends is her opposing counsel, representing a well-known state senator.Personal and professional worlds collide. Will the sharpest or most sympathetic survive? Sharp Practice is the first book in the Bourbonland series.

    Grumpy. Irresistible.Dr Jake McBride loves two things in life. His people, and chicken cheesy-crust pies. Returning from Iraq, he’s done with medicine and strangers… in fact life. He knows all about trauma, and plans on dealing with his, his own way. His needs are simple, solitude and working on his new career as the town recluse. The only problem with that… well two actually, are the interfering towns folk of Lake Howling, and Branna O’Donnell. He’s damn sure that her return means nothing to him… until it does!THE TEXAN MEETS HIS MATCH (Ethan and Annabelle)Hot. Rich. Annoying.Helicopter pilot Ethan Gelderman V is a man who understands woman, both in and out of the bedroom. Annabelle ‘killer’ Smith seems to be the only lady who looks at him like he’s something she got stuck on her stiletto. Sexy, beautiful and colder than a glacier, she lives in the small town of Lake Howling alongside his best friend, and she has a lifetime supply of Texan repellent. But Ethan has one thing in his favor – persistence - and when he gets the chance to infiltrate her defenses he takes it, and to hell with the bite marks!HOW SWEET IT IS (Buster and Willow)Enemies to lovers. And dangerously hot buns.Buster Griffin has zero tolerance for idiots. Annoy him and you’re cut from his life. Unless you’re a friend, then you get two strikes. When Willow Harper from New York turns up in his home town of Lake Howling determined to meddle, he’s ready to move her on. The problems starts when her business woman persona sheds and he discovers the sweet, hot mess beneath. Before he knows it, he’s making plans to keep her.If you enjoy your small town romance sizzling with a side of crazy, then Lake Howling is for you. Meet the real authority in town (the local book club) and remember to stick your nose in everyone’s business! Swim in the ice cold lake, then warm up with a coffee and mystery muffin at The Hoot Café. Plenty of feels and LOL’s, all wrapped up in a town that will have you packing your bags to head there from the opening page. BOOKS IN THIS SERIESA Promise Of HomeThe Texan Meets His MatchHow Sweet It IsIt Only Took YouDon't Look BackA Long Way HomeThen Came You

    So, when she is introduced to Stefan, the Gold's captain, she is determinedly not interested.Stefan is sexy, charming, and has a publicly documented list of conquests a mile long. Brit is unwilling to risk mixing business with pleasure, even when that business is wrapped up in a six-foot-plus, gorgeously muscled package.When management pushes Brit and Stefan together in an effort to gain good press for the beleaguered team, Brit finds that her carefully calculated disinterest doesn’t mask her body's desires. The more she falls for Stefan, the more she risks her career.Will she be able to have it all—a starting position and the heart of the captain? Or will she lose everything?BackhandMike Stewart is a bad boy. Sleeping around. Boozing. Fighting with teammates.Name a bad behavior and he’s done it—done it so well, in fact, that he almost tanked his career as a starting defensemen for the NHL’s San Francisco Gold.But Mike is done with all that. He’s starting with a fresh foot forward and putting his past behind him.That is, until his past quite literally reappears before his eyes.Sara Jetty is just as beautiful as she was a decade before, but Mike hasn’t seen her since she scored a gold medal in women’s figure skating. Now something has put shadows in her eyes, a familiar type of hurt he is all too well-versed in.This Sara wants nothing to do with him. Their easy friendship is gone and in its place is a hardened woman who’s nothing like the girl from his past.Still, Mike hasn’t become a top defensemen in the NHL by being afraid of hard work, and he isn’t about to let Sara push him away. Come hell or high water, he’s going to crack her tough outer shell and find the sweet, innocent woman he’s lusted after and loved, in equal measure, for more than ten years.BoardingMuscles. Mandy’s work was supposed to be regulated to muscles. Well, muscles and ligaments and tendons . . . and general body health and—Blane was her fantasy—literally her nightly fantasy. He was sexy, strong, talented, and normally she would have thrown herself at his feet and begged for a night—or, cough, more—showing him exactly what that fantasy was.But that would mean she would get fired . . . and worse, so would he.She couldn’t have that on her conscience, not when Blane was a gifted player for the San Francisco Gold. Plus, he was a professional athlete and their relationships were doomed to fail. Mandy knew that firsthand and she also knew she couldn’t live that life. Always being the one left behind, always way down on the priority list.Hockey was his job and it was all consuming. That was reality and everything was fine—Until Blane got hurt. Until she was spending more time with him. Much more time.Until Blane told her she was his fantasy too.Empty Net (never before released novella)Empty. That was her life—What? No. Shannon had been referring to the other half of the duplex she lived in, the half that her best friend and fabulous baker of a business partner, Molly, had moved out of when she’d reunited with the love of her life.But, if she was being truthful, Shannon’s life was a little empty. She had a steady and growing business, even helping Molly expand their joint venture into the Gold Mine, arena for the San Francisco Gold, but she was bored and well . . . a little empty.Until Evan moved into the other half of the duplex and tall, dark, and brooding took over her life with the ease of a fire alarm blaring through the quiet, night air.

    You’ll meet a famous country singer who lost the love of his life to the bottle, a recovering addict who fought hard to prove herself to the man of her dreams, a professional baseball player who gets a second chance with his first love, an elusive billionaire who’s used to getting what he wants, and a married couple on the brink of divorce who puts it all on the line to save the only thing that matters to them: their family.

    Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won't want to stop reading. Every book's a winner!" New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak 3 AWARD-WINNING CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE NOVELS in 1 GREAT BOXED SET LOVERS AT HEART (The Bradens, #1) DESTINED FOR LOVE (The Bradens, #2) FRIENDSHIP ON FIRE (The Bradens, #3) Sneak Peek: SEA OF LOVE (The Bradens, #4) --- LOVERS AT HEART SILVER MEDAL WINNER, Readers' Favorite Awards, Contemporary Romance Handsome, wealthy resort owner Treat Braden is used to getting what he wants. When Max Armstrong walked into his life six months earlier, he saw right through the efficient and capable façade she wore like a shield, to the sweet, sensual woman who lay beneath. She sparked an unfamiliar desire in him for more than a one-night stand, leaving his heart reeling and his blood boiling. But one mistake caused her to turn away, and now, after six months of longing for the one woman he cannot have, he's going home to try to forget her all together. Max Armstrong has a successful career, a comfortable lifestyle, and she's never needed a man to help her find her way--until Treat Braden caught her attention at a wedding in Nassau, causing a surge of emotions too reminiscent of the painful past she'd spent years trying to forget. Max will do anything to avoid reliving that pain--including forgoing her toe-curling, heart-pounding desire for Treat. When a chance encounter turns into a night of intense passion, Treat realizes that the mistake he made six months earlier may cause him to lose Max completely. He will do everything within his power to win her heart forever--and Max is forced to face her hurtful past head on for the man she cannot help but love. --- DESTINED FOR LOVE BRONZE MEDAL WINNER, Readers' Favorite Awards, Romance Sizzle Love hot cowboys? Rex Braden is wealthy, hard working, and fiercely loyal. Sweat at his brow, he works the family ranch by day, then kicks back at night with part time lovers who require nothing more than his physical presence a few times each week. But that was before. Before Jade Johnson, the daughter of the man his father has been feuding with for over forty years, moves back into town. After ditching a horrific relationship--and her veterinary practice in the process--Jade Johnson returns to the safety of her small hometown and finally finds her footing. That is...until her horse is injured and Rex Braden comes to her rescue. The last thing she needs is a bull-headed, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Braden complicating her life. Despite the angry family history, sparks fly between Rex and Jade, and attitudes follow. Fifteen years of stifled, forbidden love stirs a surge of passion too strong for either to deny--and the rebel in each of them rears its powerful head. Loyalties are tested, and relationships are strained. Rex and Jade are about to find out if true love really can conquer all. --- FRIENDSHIP ON FIRE SILVER MEDAL WINNER, Readers' Favorite Awards, Romance Sizzle Small-town overachiever Riley Banks has finally scored her big break--working in Manhattan as a fashion design assistant for her childhood crush, Josh Braden. She enters her new job hoping to make a name for herself and--just maybe--explore the romance that slipped through her fingers way back when. Josh Braden has models at his beck and call, a staff that never says never, and an elegant clothing line for the holiday season. When he hires Riley Banks, he expects her to learn the business from the ground up.

    When she mistakes Camden for her date-for-hire, things spin out of control. Camden starts to fall for her wacky personality, but Kenzie has her heart well guarded. Can her heart take another chance at love? Book 2: Her Big Fat Foxy Billionaire Best Friend Miranda is devastated when she's dumped days before her wedding. She convinces her best friend, billionaire game designer Drew Tucker, to go with her on her dream vacation -- the cruise that was supposed to be her honeymoon. She doesn't realize Drew has been in love with her since high school, and this trip will be torture for him. Can he convince her he's not the same high school nerd? Book 3: Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss Katherine adores her job at the small town newspaper. When Damian, the handsome owner, shows up right before Christmas, she suspects he's there to shut them down. Things get complicated when her manager forces her to be nice to the man and show him around town. How can she be falling for the one who could cost her the job she desperately needs? Book 4: Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex Felicity should have known something was up when she took the all-expenses paid job photographing the beautiful resort in Belize. When she arrives, she finds her ex-fiance, Aiden, is the owner, and Grams, her beloved almost in-law is the one behind the setup. But Aiden hasn't changed, and she can't allow herself to fall for him again. All four of these novels are clean romances with no bedroom scenes.

    Reaper only cares about his men; until he ends up falling for the one woman who can rescue his team.Reaper has lived his entire life without love. Living on the edge with no fear, Reaper and his team volunteered for Project Mayhem — a top-secret experiment that uses a serum to enhance physical abilities in order to fight terrorism. Reaper believed the experiment would help save lives, but the serum only ends up taking them. Forced to go on the run, Reaper escapes the lab with his men, only to realize that they need the serum to survive. He has only one choice; return to the lab, and steal the source of the serum.Caroline Cotter used to be a spoiled Senator’s daughter; now, she’s a victim. Kidnapped and held against her will to make the serum used for Project Mayhem, Caroline gives up hope of ever being free again… until Reaper enters, and frees her from her dark prison. Yet the jungle outside is full of terrors, and government officials are hot on their tail. Reaper plans to keep the relationship between him and Caroline platonic, but undeniable attraction and explosive desire, coupled with Caroline’s adoration that he saved her from certain death, make it hard to resist the love story blossoming between them. What will Reaper choose? His romance with Caroline, or the sacred vow he’s made to the brothers willing to die by his side? Mayhem's Desire His traumatic past has left him dark… and longing for love.Hicks thinks good and evil comes in black and white. No blurred lines, no grey areas. After being subjected to a horrific experiment that’s left him damaged as a super soldier, Hicks seeks comfort from his torment in reliability. He’s got clear rules on morality and isn’t willing to break them.Until her.Whitney is a seductress. Secretly working for a Senator as a mistress, she puts on leather outfits and a mask of sensuality to bend men to her will — though the money she makes doing so isn’t to save her, but others. Whitney believes she’s past saving, and that love is a silly dream. Then he enters her life.Hicks is sickened by what he thinks Whitney is — and undeniably attracted to her. After Whitney’s life is threatened in a violent murder attempt, Hicks calls in his team. Whitney is the target of a government operation, and unless Hicks can discover who’s behind it, Whitney’s life is forfeit. But the mission isn’t the only thing on Hicks’ mind.Whitney and Hicks can’t keep their hands off each other… but they can’t stand each other, either. Whitney isn’t the innocent woman Hicks thought, and Hicks isn’t the strong hero Whitney’s looking for. But together, the heat of their romance and the passion of their love cannot be stopped. Mayhem's Hero He needs someone to tell him he’s worth saving.Diggs never mattered — not in his family. Project Mayhem left him with nothing but questions about who he is and confirmation that he can’t contribute to the team. He’s tired of being overshadowed by his brothers; Diggs needs something more… someone more. She’s about to fall for the man who could hurt her more than anyone.When Audra receives a cryptic message from her military brother that was filmed the day before he was killed in action, she knows he was involved in a secret operation gone wrong.