Ten years later, he returns home, telling himself he will avoid the woman who broke his heart.But nothing goes as planned. Can Allison and Cole forget the past and come to terms with the events that tore them apart?

    She’d rather snort lines than think about that. She’d rather do shots of marshmallow-flavored vodka until she can’t remember.When Griffin Fawkes arrives with the news that her father’s dead, she isn’t sure if she cares. He wasn’t much of a father anyway. The only silver lining here is that Griffin’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and Leigh wants him bad.Griffin owes his life to Leigh's father. The man begged him to keep his daughter safe. But Griffin didn't expect a cocaine-fueled party girl who barely seems to care about her own safety. It seems like she'd rather destroy herself than anything else.Even worse, he didn't expect he'd care about her. He knows he's too damaged to ever really be with a woman. The best he can do is to make sure she’s safe from whoever could hurt her. Including herself. Including himself.Of course, fighting off men with guns is starting to seem easier than keeping his hands off Leigh.

    Each story was specifically written for this anthology.The goal of the Cocktales Anthology is to raise funds to fight against obstruction of creative expression. Specifically, what we believe are obstruction attempts through the trademarking of common (single) words for titicular use in books / or as a book series (eBooks, print, and audio).*ALL* net profits will be donated to:1) Authors already impacted by creative-obstruction (10%), and2) Romance Writers of America (RWA) (90%) as a general donation intended for their Advocacy Fund.Disclaimer: This anthology is not being conducted on behalf of RWA, nor does RWA endorse this anthology or effort. They have, however, graciously agreed to accept the funds.Authors with material included (as they appear in the anthology):Nana Malone, USA Today Bestselling author – ForewordDylan Allen – 'Cocked and Loaded'Jana Aston, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Double Cocked'Whitney Barbetti – 'Cocksure Grin'Author Sawyer Bennett, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'A Wicked, Cocky Plan'K.f. Breene, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Magical Cock and Bull'Ruth Clampett, Amazon top 20 Bestselling Author – 'Don’t Get Cocky'L.H. Cosway, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Illusionist Seeks Neanderthal'Mariah Dietz – 'Landmines'Amy Daws, Amazon Top 25 Bestselling author – 'Cock and Balls'BB Easton, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Cocky BB: Two Boys, One Prom.'Jaymin Eve, USA Today Bestselling author – 'The Cockier the Dragon, the Harder They Fall'Emma Hart, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Tricky Bond'Staci Hart, Amazon Top 10 Bestselling author – 'Cockamamie'Jessica Hawkins, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Couture'Julie Johnson Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Culinary Cock-Up'Karpov Kinrade, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Crimson Cocktail'Adriana Locke, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Swag'Lex Martin, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Love & Hate at the Stallion Station'Aly Martinez, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Going Down'Katyi McGee - USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocksure Co-Star'Corinne Michaels, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cockblocked'Liv Morris, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Getting It Up'Red Phoenix, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Her Cocky Russian'Daisy Prescott, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Confessions of a Cockblocked Wingman'Jessica Prince – ‘A Cocky Corruption Engagement’Meghan Quinn, Amazon Top 20 Bestselling Author – 'Fight or Flight'CD Reiss, NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Capo'Penny Reid, WSJ and USA Today Bestselling author – 'Beard and Hen'Julie Richman, USA Today Bestselling author – 'The Color of Love'Aleatha Romig, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Aligned'Kennedy Ryan, Top 40 Amazon Bestselling author – 'All'Kylie Scott, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Short Story with Mal and Anne from The Stage Dive Series'Sierra Simone, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Until the Cock Crows'Tara Sivec, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Chocolate and Cockup'Kate Stewart, Amazon Top 30 Bestselling author – 'The Golden Sombrero'Leia Stone, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Alpha'Karla Sorensen – 'Tristan & Anna: A Bachelors of the Ridge short story'Rachel Van Dyken, NYT, WSJ, USA Today Bestselling author – 'Cocky Mafia'April White, Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author – 'Code of Conduct'

    She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania. Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls. When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her. Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why. *Second Hearts (Book 2 of the Wishes Series)* Charli Blake's high tolerance for risk doesn't always work in her favour. After a year of living out her dream of travelling the world, the sunny West African village of Kaimte would be her last stop. She's bound for New York, in search of the boy she'd let go of long ago. For Charli, nothing has changed. She's travelled thousands of miles but hasn't moved an inch. Adam Décarie still means everything to her. But reality soon hits hard. For Adam, everything has changed. Memories of the best love she's ever known is all she has left, until Charli makes a shocking discovery. None of it had ever been real in the first place. *Storm Shells (Book 3 of the Wishes Series)* The only way to move forward was to go back to the very beginning…. After three miserable weeks without Charli, Adam makes the decision to follow her, desperately hoping to find a way of following through on his promise of a happy ending. He finds her back in Pipers Cove, healing her broken heart by spending time with the one person who never lets her down. Both know nothing has changed. They're desperately in love, hopelessly stuck in limbo, and unable to find common ground. When fate offers them a chance at a different kind of ending, it’s a one-shot deal. Running with it means changing their plans – something neither of them has ever been willing to do before, even for each other. Just as one begins to find their way, the other completely loses direction – and neither of them realise that time is running out.

    It includes love stories and happy ever afters set in the stunning Canadian Rockies! Secret Gifts (Book 4) For blockbuster star, Gage, Castle Mountain Lodge is the perfect place for him to hide out and stay out of trouble. At least that's what his PR rep Megan hopes. But staying out of trouble proves to be harder then either of them thought, especially when the temptation is each other. Goodbye Gifts (Book 5) Carmen has dedicated her career to making sure the Lodge runs smoothly, which is why when her boss asks her to date his brother, she reluctantly accepts. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with Dylan, and sometimes, falling in love means saying goodbye. Tempting Gifts (Book 6) Lisa’s tired of her reputation as the Lodge’s ‘bad girl’. She’s ready to get serious—about everything. Which is why she wants nothing to do with Jason, who only seems interested in flirting. But when their mutual concern over a little boy shows them what’s really important, anything can happen.

    After he smears her article on his show, nearly costing Macie her job, she devises a plan to masquerade as a modern-day Cinderella and get her revenge on the infuriating Texan.All Ross wants is a woman with old-fashioned values to be his housekeeper and role model for his troubled teenage daughter. When the perfect woman shows up, Ross is relieved—until he finds himself drawn to his gorgeous, red-stiletto-wearing new employee. “Martha Jane” is opinionated and sexy, and Ross is intrigued…and more than a little turned on.Macie thought Operation Cinderella was foolproof, but Ross, with his rugged good looks and southern charm, proves to be as perfect behind-the-scenes as he does in public. But when she finally uncovers a secret that could destroy Ross's reputation, she faces losing her job or losing the fairy-tale ending she didn't even know she wanted.

    Two years out from a divorce that left her emotionally fragile, Kate is starting to think that maybe she’s ready for love again—or at least for a fling with a hot man. Jackson Graham is a local chef who’s controlling when it comes to food, careless when it comes to women, and temperamental when it comes to just about everything. When Kate’s friends mobilize to set things up between Kate and Jackson, she expects some casual pleasure followed by a hasty goodbye, but Jackson’s long-term crush on Kate means that he’s in this one to win. The problem is, neither he nor Kate knows whether he can change the self-defeating habits that usually send women scurrying for the door as soon as the afterglow fades. Throw in a beautiful backdrop of rocky beaches and rugged coastline, a manipulative father, a Mary Kay–pushing stepmother, a yapping Pomeranian, and a nervous ring-tailed lemur, and you’ve got Moonstone Beach, the first contemporary romance in a series of four about Kate and her friends, Gen, Lacy, and Rose.

    9Rockford St. Stephens - The owner of a newly acquired luxury vacation business who finds himself boss to an executive assistant who can't stand him...but who he finds impossible to resist.HER INDECENT PROPOSAL -Vol. 10Sloane Quest - The media mogul who's rocked back on his heels when his top competitor, the lovely Melanie Parker, makes him an offer he can't refuse. SO MUCH TROUBLE WHEN SHE WALKED IN - Vol. 11Maximillian Davidoff - The cosmetics giant turned NASCAR entrepeneur who's bowled over by the most ornery woman he's ever met. MARRIED BY MIDNIGHT – Vol. 12Reed Davidoff – The fashion mogul who gets caught up in a fairy tale romance that makes him wish he could reverse his past. After the mistakes he’s made, can he win the hand of the princess?Alpha males at their best - which one will you fall in love with?

    And her plan is to keep her head down and to work hard until she can retire. Never mind that she doesn't know what she'll do once she retires– at least she won't be working for the man anymore. Because even though he's a gorgeous man, he's still her boss and he likes to push her buttons.Ethan Howell O'Connor's charmed life comes to a screeching halt after his latest ex-girlfriend starts a fashionable trend in talking to the tabloids. Now all of Ethan's old girlfriends are talking to the press, ruining his reputation, and wiping that charming smile right off his face. The only person that can brighten his black mood is the same person who can annoy him to kingdom come. He and Mackenzie have feuded since the day she was hired, but now Ethan's starting to realize: maybe those sparks were hiding a blazing fire.Mackenzie's about to find out that sometimes a gorgeous man can come up with a plan all his own, and it's a given that it'll mess hers up.

    Alone and in a foreign country, Nick is working on rebuilding his life one patient at a time, that is, until a striking volunteer makes her presence known.Can Nick finish his year in Africa without risking his heart being broken again, or is he willing to start a new chapter in his life before his return to Beaumont?

    That is until Chase breaks her heart and leaves her for another teacher at the school. Now Shel is left broken-hearted and trying to figure out what she wants while watching Chase and the home wrecker make moon eyes at each other. Enter Matt Fuller, Shel's friend for the past 5 years and the perfect rebound. He's gorgeous, smart, funny and fits into Shel's idea of the right guy. Only problem is there may be more there than just a simple rebound. Is it a way to fill a void left by Chase, or is there more smoldering between these two friends? Find out what happens when the bell rings and the teenage drama ends and the adult drama begins. Who says being a teacher is boring? They obviously haven't met the teachers at Carver High.Warning: this book contains the following adult content.Sex and nudity: Yes!Profanity: Hell yes!Alcohol: That too!

    Read the first three books in the series: Maid for Love, Fool for Love and Ready for Love in this special offering. Book 1: Maid for LoveMaddie Chester is determined to leave her hometown of Gansett Island, a place that has brought her only bad memories and ugly rumors. Then she’s knocked off her bike on the way to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Resort Hotel by Gansett’s “favorite son,” Mac McCarthy. He’s back in town to help his father with preparations to sell the family resort and has no intention of staying long. When Mac accidentally sends Maddie flying over the handlebars, badly injuring her, he moves in to nurse her back to health and help care for her young son. He soon realizes his plans for a hit-and-run visit to the island are in serious jeopardy, and he just may be “maid” for love. Book 2: Fool for LoveJoe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. At the same time, Janey has been dating or engaged to doctor-in-training David Lawrence. When things go horribly wrong between David and Janey, she calls her “fifth brother” Joe, one of the few people in her close circle who lives on the mainland. Janey decides a few days with Joe is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her parents and family with the news of her broken engagement. It was bad enough for Joe loving Janey from afar, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he take advantage of this opportunity to show her what they could have together? And what will Joe’s best friend and Janey’s protective older brother Mac have to say about it? Book 3: Ready for LoveFor four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy's Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she's returned to Gansett to figure out what's next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?Gansett Island Reading OrderMaid for Love (Mac & Maddie)Fool for Love (Joe & Janey)Ready for Love (Luke & Sydney)Falling for Love (Grant & Stephanie)Hoping for Love (Evan & Grace)Season for Love (Owen & Laura)Longing for Love (Blaine & Tiffany)Waiting for Love (Adam & Abby)Time for Love (Daisy & David)Meant for Love (Jenny & Alex)Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)Gansett After Dark (Owen & Laura)Kisses After Dark (Shane & Katie)Love After Dark (Paul & Hope)Celebration After Dark (Big Mac & Linda)Desire After Dark (Slim & Erin)Light After Dark (Mallory & Quinn)Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)A Gansett Island Christmas NovellaMine After Dark (Riley & Nikki)Yours After Dark (Finn & Chloe)Trouble After Dark (Deacon & Julia)Rescue After Dark (Mason & Jordan)

    After a tragedy, it’s just not in the cards for him, and he wishes his family would get off his back. He’s fine—or at least he thought he was–until a family wedding forces him to address a few things, namely his date, Abby Mathews. She’s been put in the ‘friend’ category, mostly because she deserves so much more than what he can give. But the more time that he spends with her, Tucker begins to think that maybe there is a chance for love after all…Abby Mathews has been in love with Tucker Simon since he walked into her family’s bar nearly a year ago. But he’s got baggage and heartache a plenty. His one-night-stands aren't going to lessen that no matter what he thinks. Tucker needs a friend, but Abby wants to give him more, and as they navigate their way through a weekend in Florida, their attraction can’t be ignored. Abby has to make a choice. Does she cherish their friendship and take what she can get? Or does she go after what she really wants, which is Tucker’s heart…

    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

    There is also a bonus scene! It is a delivery/baby chapter told in Gage Grendel's POV.Who He Is (Book 1)Eliza Smith has never been the one to seek a relationship. She's never dated a guy in her life, never even hugged a man (outside of her father/manager of the hot and popular rock band, FireNine) but when she decides to spend her summer on tour with FireNine, it all changes. Eliza really gets to meet Gage Grendel - her former crush from high school and the lead singer of FireNine - and witness sides to him to which she'll begin to truly despise.She'll ignore him, she'll dislike his ways, she'll do anything to try and stay away from him until Gage finally gets her to slip up and give in. She agrees on a casual fling with Gage, but soon they'll both see how the fling will blur into something they can't control and when it's finally time for Eliza to go and accomplish her own dreams, she'll know there's more she took from Gage than she ever thought possible.Who We Are (Book 2)Eight months.That's how long it's been since Eliza last saw Gage and they both feel as if they don't deserve one another's forgiveness. He screwed up. She walked away without looking back. They'll try and make up all the time they've lost with one another, that is until they're facing the choices of either going their separate ways, or hanging on and fighting for dear life.The fights will be endless. They heartache will be real. The demons will return, and they won't back down without a fight.There are some who will do anything to keep true love apart, and those same people will dig deep into their demonic ways until Eliza and Gage are literally no more.Can Eliza and Gage overcome it all? Will they be able to face the true demons that are seeking to destroy them? Or will they just forget about everything they've worked so hard for and go their separate ways?Sometimes you have to go through struggles in order to reach an ultimate point of peace... but will their struggle be worth it?Who I Am (Book 3)Some stories aren't easy to tell.Some situations aren't easy to relive.But I was raised to be strong--to hold my own. Because of it, I was hurt, torn down, beaten and even had my heart snatched right out of my chest.But I'm ready now. It's time for me to speak up. You want to know what really goes on inside my head, well I'm right here.Real. Raw. Intense.This is all me. Roy Sykes. This is my story, and trust me... its far from pretty.Who I'm Becoming (Book 4)Montana Delray is the most laid back of the popular rock band, FireNine. He's goofy, charming, blatantly honest, talented, a massive flirt, and extremely handsome. The girls literally throw themselves at him, and he accepts it. He loves the attention. The fame. The parties. His single life. With so many women to choose from, it's not in his nature to chase after just one, but when Lauren Harkin enters his life, that all changes. Lauren is smart, sexy, confident, and knows exactly how to get under his skin... and although he hates to admit it, he loves it. He wants her in every way possible, but she doesn't want anything to do with him. Famous FireNine rocker, Delray isn't the kind of guy Lauren needs to bring into her life. After having her emotions tampered with repeatedly, she refuses to give into someone who will most likely take her for granted and make things worse.