She's always wanted to get paid for something she loved to do--cooking. This job might be the lucky break she's been looking for. But can she convince Gage she's more than just another employee? That she just might be what he's been looking for all of his life? Gage Forrester had been abandoned again! First by the woman he'd planned to marry and now his long-time cook. His ranch hands were getting ready to revolt if he didn't find someone who could provide them three--edible--squares a day. Valentine was known for her award-winning pies and cakes at the county fair, but did she have enough experience to keep a hungry cowboy satisfied? She certainly has enough curves to satisfy his hunger!

    A new name, a new town. I lived a sheltered life far from the club and farther still from the man who owned my innocence… I never expected him to find me again, but when I saw the motorcycle accident just outside Baddock, I knew my quiet little life was over… Until he asked me for my name. LANDON I barely remember my own name, but I know I’m not a good man… Scars on my knuckles, tattoos of skulls and dragons running down my arms, the twisted wreck of my motorcycle or the patches ripped from my leather cut… No… I’m a bad man. I’m the kind of man a girl like Lucy should be running away from… But she isn’t running. I feel something for this girl. She’s taken me in. She’s helping me heal. With my memory returning piece by piece, I know this girl just wants to save me from myself. But I want more… And I won’t stop until I possess her.

    She'd left South Dakota years ago because she couldn't bear to watch the man she loved loving another woman. But now she knows the truth. She'll keep the promise she made to a friend, but will Logan understand when he learns the truth? More important, can they again recapture the passion that had been between them all those years ago? He needed to face the past to get the love of a woman he thought he'd lost... Everyone knows that the Dakotas didn't get the name Badlands for nothing. Harsh weather and rough living are a way of life. But single dad, Logan McKinnon, had seen more than his share of bad times after the death of his wife a year ago. The last thing he needs is Poppy Ericksen, an old flame and his late wife's best friend, showing up unannounced to help after devastating floods nearly washed away their hometown. With no place to stay in town, he has no choice but to offer her a bed at his house. But can he live under the same roof with a woman he'd once loved passionately without feeling he's betraying his late wife?

    After losing his high-adrenaline career as a Hollywood stunt driver, he's had to tuck his tail between his legs and take up employment as a chauffeur for the Montgomerys, a wealthy hotelier family.Amy Sanders has returned home to Ransom Creek to take over her mother's former position as nanny to the Montgomerys—bringing her close to dashing Jake Montgomery once again. She grew up with a major crush on Jake, and it's not easy to leave those feelings behind, even though her friendship with the hard-edged family chauffeur, Ryan, has a sizzling undercurrent of undeniable attraction.Amy's determined to prove to Ryan that life at Montgomery Manor isn't all bad, but each time they draw closer Jake swoops in. Amy is torn between two men—and two worlds. And Ryan is rapidly coming to learn that if he wants to make Amy his, he'll have to prove to her that life downstairs can be everything they both want.90,000 words

    She is helped by the dour and disliked Laird Logan Fraser, who arranges the murder scene to look like a robbery. But soon someone is spreading rumours that Logan had committed the killing and he is soon a wanted man. After fleeing to the Highlands, he and Rosina fall in love. Meanwhile, Connor, Alasdair's brother has arranged to marry a beautiful Frenchwoman called Monique, but she has a passion for Rosina's father Hugh, which is returned. Will Connor take revenge?And will Logan be able to clear his name?

    Knight... Ridley... Fletcher... Caldwell... Cates... Tisdale. Welcome to the LORDS OF THE BORDERS MULTI-GENRE ROMANCE collection! Seven of the top names in Historical Romance have come together to bring you these great and passionate tales from both England and Scotland, the countries of both strife and brotherhood, where epic heroes and fiery women live... and where love knows no borders. Within these pages, you will find tales to sate your passion and warm your heart. This collection includes: Guardian of Darkness by Kathryn Le Veque – a knight hides from the king and finds love with a Scottish lass. A Season of Love by Christi Caldwell – Scandals and broken hearts in this sweeping Regency romance. Dark Surrender by Erica Ridley – A secretive governess seeks shelter in the towering home of a mysterious recluse who may be even more dangerous than the man she fled. A Highlanders Temptation by Eliza Knight – A forbidden love sizzles in this Highlander tale. Findley’s Lass by Suzan Tisdale – a widow hides dark secrets from the man determined to marry her. Crown of Dreams by Kimberly Cates – childhood enemies become allies… and more. Isle of Lies by Donna Fletcher – A lass marries a man who is her father’s mortal enemy. Enjoy these seven passionate stories for a limited time!

    He settles in to heal at his family's ranch, where his four brothers, famous trick riders, train horses.Adam is stunned to find Bailey Farrell working there—she was the shy girl who'd helped Adam graduate high school so he could run off to Hollywood. Except the budding Bailey, with whom Adam had a brief but intense affair, has blossomed into a beautiful woman. Now the sparks that had once ignited between them threaten to explode.Adam is beaten-up, broken-down, and has lost his nerve—the stunt that injured him also killed his best friend. The only one he can turn to is Bailey, but will Bailey, who has come back to Riverbend to lick her wounds after a painful divorce, be willing to help him again?Book 1 of Riding Hard. A 230-page (approx) novel—20 chapters, plus bonus sneak peek at Grant's book and a recipe for Mrs. Ward's Harvest Pie.

    Now she works in Dodge—one of the most wicked and lawless towns in the West—at the Northern Star saloon. But her survival in this new world of sin and violence depends on maintaining a secret so deadly it could end her life before the town of Dodge can.The one man capable of unraveling all of Sadie's secrets is Noah Ballantyne, the Texan rancher whose herd destroyed her home. Back in town and taking up the role of deputy alongside legendary lawman Bat Masterson, Noah vows he won't leave until he's made things right. But with the saloon’s madam unwilling to release Sadie and a rich cattle baron wanting her as well, the odds aren’t in favor of finding love...or leaving town alive.

    With his father dead, his brothers away, and his mother off “finding herself,” it’s Nat who runs their sprawling ranch. But with cattle to sell and the bank breathing down his neck, he needs all the help he can get, even when that help comes from the last person he ever expected to see again—his childhood sweetheart January Rose. Free-spirited January always dreamed of traveling the world. The moment she turned eighteen, she left Close Call, Texas behind and barely looked back. So now that she’s home, she intends to stay only long enough to earn some cash and get back on the road. But when she comes face to face with Nat Meier, she quickly realizes the boy she left behind is now all man. Even for a nomad like January, wanderlust sometimes gets lonely, and Nat is the one person who’s called to her, even after a decade apart. But for a man ruled by responsibility and a woman whose suitcase is her home, the future is uncertain. And the closer they get, the more Nat worries he’s going to get burned…again.

    The popular quarterback mocked her full figure and her studious ways; hurt, she ran a humiliating picture of him in the school newspaper. She can’t imagine anything more infuriating than the big, handsome jerk coming back from the big city and living on the ranch next door to her property…except being blackmailed into a fake marriage to help him save his family’s ranch. But what are Ty’s true reasons for wanting to marry Abigail…and what are his secret plans for the ranch?EXCERPT:“Abigail, I think about you every minute of the day. I want you so bad it hurts. I know you want me too; I could feel it in the way you kissed me.”Abigail bit her lower lip, and a blush crept over the creamy skin of her face. His arms were around her, and she was pressed tight between him and the foot of the bed, with nowhere to go. That was exactly how he wanted it.“Ty, I…”“Tell me you don’t feel the same.” He cupped her breast in his hand and smiled at her sharp intake of breath, and the flush of desire that turned her ivory cheeks a rosy red. Squeezing gently, he ran his thumb over her nipple, and she whimpered.“Don’t like it? Don’t want me? Tell me to stop, and I will.” He brushed his lips against hers softly, and then pulled back slightly when her lips parted to kiss him. “Ty,” she choked out.“What?” he said, all innocence, and then did it again, a hot, teasing kiss, longer this time, sliding his tongue into her mouth, and pulling away quickly when she started to respond.With one hand he yanked at his towel and dropped it to the floor, and then pressed against her, his shaft pressing against her soft flesh.“Damn you!” she hissed, and then she was on him, kissing him hungrily, and blood rushed to his head and he grabbed the waistband of her skirt and yanked it off her, and then peeled her shirt off over her head.Then they were on the bed again, in a tangle of hot flesh and hungry, probing tongues, and he was sliding between her legs.

    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.

    For Pippa Turner there’s only one place to go when her life self-destructs on national TV—home to Ghost Falls, and her heavily perfumed, overly dramatic, but supremely loving grandmother, Philomene. If anyone will understand how Pippa’s hit makeover show was sabotaged by her vengeful ex, it’s Phi. But she’s not the only one who’s happy to see her—and Pippa can’t help but wonder if Matt Evans, her gorgeous high-school crush turned Phi’s contractor, is game for a steamy close-up…Matt owes his whole career to Phi and her constant demands to embellish the gothically ridiculous house he built for her. Getting to see red-headed, red-hot Pippa is a bonus, especially now that she’s no longer the troublesome teenager he remembers. He’s willing to stay behind the scenes while she gives her own life a much-needed makeover, but not forever. As far as he’s concerned, their connection is too electric to ignore. And the chance to build something lasting between them—before she can high-tail it back to Hollywood—is going to the top of his to-do list…

    A bad cowboy. A dirty secret. Ready to figure this one out? She used to be like my little sister. Now her curves make me choke on my beer. But she’s broke, and I’m the reason. Not that she knows. It’s my secret. I’ll make it up to her though. I’ll offer her a job. To be the live-in nanny at my ranch. I’ll win her for me with my cowboy abs. Seriously, who can resist those? She’ll be screaming for more before she knows it. All I need to do is keep my secret from her. Or she’ll leave. And I want her to stay. This is a 97-page billionaire romance with a single dad and an innocent girl. It is a stand-alone story with an HEA, so no cliffhangers! Be prepared for panty-melting talk and lots of steam. Most definitely for 18+ readers.

    Until the drop dead sexy cowboy next door, Rye O'Donnell, decides he'll only take the farm if he can get the fiery woman who owns it as part of the deal...Praise for Getting Lucky:"Smart dialogue and unmistakable characters will leave readers wanting more." -Affaire de Coeur"The down home Texas feel comes through in spades in Brown's writing." -Leslie's Psyche"This is not your mother's western romance!" -RT Book Review

    Now, she’s running from her old life. Not sure where else to go, she decides to move back to Laurel, where she plans to renovate the farmhouse her grandmother left her. She has a new job and is looking forward to a new start in life. The last thing she expects is to bump into her old high school flame.Cole Montgomery knows what it’s like to run from something. Due to an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he felt he had no choice other than to leave Laurel and the girl he loved right after high school graduation. But now it’s eight years later and he’s back. And by some strange twist of fate, she’s back too. Cole is determined to right his wrongs. Even if it means finally telling Sarah the real reason he broke her heart. He needs her to know that he only wanted to keep her safe then as well as now. Because the truth is, he’s still worried his past will come back to haunt them both. What he doesn’t know is that Sarah’s past haunts her too. Winning her back might be the easy part. It’s keeping her safe that might be a challenge.