But what he got was a woman who shook his lonely bitter world upside down, and touched him in a way no other woman could. Emily Nelson, a courageous young mother, ends a loveless, bitter marriage and strikes out on her own. She answers an ad as a cook and live-in caregiver to a three-year-old boy on a local ranch. Ranch owner Brad Friessen hires and moves in Emily and her daughter. But Emily soon discovers something's seriously wrong with the boy, and the reclusive, difficult man who hired her can't see the behavior and how delayed his son is. So Emily researches until she stumbles across what she suspects are the soft signs of autism. Now she must tell him, give him hope, and help him come to terms with this neurological disorder-to take the necessary steps to get his child the help he needs. As their lives become intertwined, their attraction is unavoidable-a connection sparks between them. But just as they're getting close, Brad's estranged wife, Crystal, returns after abandoning the family two years earlier. Among the shock and confusion is one disturbing question Brad can't shake: How does Crystal know so much of his personal business, the inner working of the ranch, and Emily's relationship with his son? Crystal must've had a plan, as she somehow gains the upper hand, driving a wedge in the emotional bond forged between Brad, Emily, and the children. The primary focus for care and therapy of three-year-old Trevor is diverted. The lengths to which Crystal will go, the lies, the greed, just to keep what's hers, are nothing short of cold and calculating. Emily's forced out of the house. Brad fights to save his boy, to protect what's his, and struggles over his greatest sacrifice-Emily, and the haunting question: Has he lost her forever?THE OUTSIDER SERIES: The Forgotten Child (Brad & Emily) A Baby And A Wedding (An Outsider Series Short) Fallen Hero (Andy, Jed & Diana) The Search (An Outsider Series Short) The Awakening (Andy & Laura) Secrets (Jed & Diana) Runaway(Andy & Laura) Overdue (An Outsider Series Short) The Unexpected Storm (Neil & Candy) The Wedding (Neil & Candy) Or grab The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection which includes all the books and short stories in this in this romantic saga. THE FRIESSENS: A NEW BEGINNING: The Deadline (Andy & Laura) The Price to Love (Neil & Candy) A Different Kind of Love (Brad & Emily) A Vow of Love, A Friessen Christmas

    After moving his chocolate shop, and newly single life, to the quirky town of Cactus Creek, Luke wants nothing more than to devote all his energy into making his business a success—by taking the romance market by storm. But his grand plans get thrown for a loop when he locks horns with the feisty beer-brewing beauty next door who calls his ‘romantic idealism’ a load of fairytale bull. Soon, driving the woman sparking nuts becomes another wickedly fun priority he simply can’t get enough of.In his defense, she’s addictively easy to incite…and plain impossible to resist.Beloved local brewmaster Dani Dobson is beyond riled up. It’s bad enough the new shop owner in town comes locked and loaded with both a distractingly rugged charm and sexy flashing dimples, but the whole only-in-the-movies variety of romance he’s selling—the kind her world has been crushed by before—is really doing a number on her allergy to unrealistic clichés. What’s worse, he’s created an annoyingly clever ad campaign that dubs ‘beer joints’ like hers as the “cave where romance goes to hibernate.” The nerve of that man.Combustible chemistry or not, damn it, this means war. The stakes…very likely, her heart.

    Especially when his own parents raised her after her brother and parents died. Tell that to his heart. Though she accepts his proposal, she breaks it off and escapes to Paris, leaving him devastated. But she’s finally back in New Orleans and Stefan will do anything to get her back. Jen has always loved Stefan but she’s sick of being treated like a little girl. Attending pastry school in Paris was the best decision she’s ever made. She’s a woman now, and she knows what she wants—passion not pity. Stefan needs to man up if she’s going to agree to marry him. But soon she learns the best way to get Stephan to agree to her demands is to sweeten them with a kiss.Sweetened with a Kiss is a slightly steamy somewhat angsty contemporary romance set in New Orleans. Intended for mature audiences.

    Pictures can say a thousand words, and one of Shala's is screaming bloody murder. Now she has to entrust a macho, infuriating lawman with her life -- but she'll never trust him with her heart. Trust or not, Sky Gomez isn't about to let a killer get his hands on Shala's Nikon -- or any of her more comely assets, for that matter. Her mouth might move faster than a Piney Woods roadrunner, but all he can think about is how good it must taste...and how she'll never escape true love.

    Being a caretaker of his corner of the Smoky Mountains makes him almost okay with having to be on Earth. More importantly, this deep in the woods, Nico's practically a hermit at a remote ranger station. Sure, he has good friends in nearby Knoxville, but he's otherwise free from petty drama and broken hearts... until Deen enters his world.Caught in a compromising position by relentless paparazzi, rock star and international playboy Deen Jayse barely escaped with his career intact. He needs image rehab and a break from fame. His manager strongly suggests a stint in the Smokies, promoting national parks and being wholesome. Which would be a lot easier if Nico weren't there in his sexy park ranger uniform.Nico already has his hands full with arsonists at the park without Deen adding to his workload. He thinks he has to babysit a spoiled celebrity, but when he catches a glimpse of the man behind the persona he sees something he can't resist. They've both experienced the isolation of fame, and while their loneliness brings them together, their worlds threaten to tear them apart. Deen can't just drop everything to go live in the mountains, and Nico can't abandon them... After a taste of being together, how can they possibly face a future apart?Splinter is a standalone gay romance novel with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger. Book #2, Grasp, will be available August 22nd!

    Not even God will deny a man like him.I'm certainly not God.I'm just a woman he's set his sights on. One he’ll never relinquish. His idea of being ‘kind’ is to give me two options.One Destroy the reputation of a man I love.TwoBed him . . . and he’ll forget about what he knows.One night only. He doesn't know I'm a virgin.And when he finds out?One night isn't enough.-- Not for him, and not for me. --But his world is forged on the misery of others. He might have a house in the Hamptons, stare at the Hudson when he sits behind his desk,and manage a billion dollar hedge fund, all of that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a mobster. One of the infamous Five Points. Being with him puts me in danger. But my heart?Well, it’s been in danger from the first moment we met . . .*-*Note: This was originally released as "The Air He Breathes".

    The words I would soon say again, in a moment that didn’t involve bridges, but something much more fragile: my heart.He held onto me for three weeks, in a time when I needed to be held. Needed to connect to someone who understood how loss tunneled unrepentantly through the fabric of your soul.Although he said he'd stay, we both knew he wouldn't. I had already survived one loss—I didn't know if I'd survive another.-Ames-She spun into my life like a tornado of smiles and chatter and everything else I'd long avoided, with a persistence that I admired, albeit begrudgingly. She broke down each neat wall I’d constructed without even trying. Her presence alone caused me to remember what it felt like to smile, to look forward to what the day would bring.But it was only supposed to last three weeks.“Don’t let go,” she’d pleaded.I’d promised her I wouldn’t—but I would. I didn't have a choice.

     Rule Number One: Never let anyone get too close… Weston Wyndham has more money on his tattooed wrist than I’ll ever have in my bank account. Drunk, he was gorgeous, wicked, sexy, an inked god. Sober, he is the most arrogant man ever. Will I let him order me around like one of his servants? Hell no. He’s out of his mind if he thinks I’ll ever go out with him. I don’t care how rich he is, or that he drives that Ferrari or a fancy truck. My walls are there for a reason … and they were built to last. But he’s relentless, hot, and it turns out he likes his girls a little feisty. Giving in doesn’t have to mean disaster—unless I break my number one rule. Special O’Malley is a handful. With a name like that, she ought to be. Sassy as hell, bossing me around, but damn if I don’t deserve it. My money usually attracts women … let’s me have my way with them. Not Special. She doesn’t give a damn about it … or me. But there’s more than one stubborn player in this game. I’m not giving up any time soon … at least not until I’m between her thighs, making her moan. And those concrete walls of hers … I have news for her. Concrete crumbles when you strike at the right place.

    He's southern. And he won't stop showing up at my door half naked. Meet Elijah Jackson, my hot new neighbor...From the outside looking in? I’ve got it all. Prestigious job. Pretty house. And a perfect boyfriend who just proposed with the perfect ring.I should feel ecstatic—but instead, I feel suffocated. So I break up with my boyfriend, hop in my car, and head south.Charleston, South Carolina: home to stunning architecture, sultry accents, and—oh yeah—my perpetually shirtless neighbor, Elijah Jackson. As if his abs for days and inked up deliciousness aren’t enticing enough, he also encourages me to chase down my dreams. And the chemistry between us? Hotter than the kitchen at Eli’s restaurant. But I still have a life a thousand miles away. One I’ve worked really hard to build. And I don’t know if I can just leave it all behind.I have to choose. A choice Eli doesn't make any easier by inviting me out to his cabin for a long weekend. Just the two of us. And one bed. I swear to God this southerner is out to charm the panties right off me. Just this once, I might let him...SOUTHERN CHARMER is a slow burn, standalone romance with no cheating. It is part of the Charleston Heat Series, which is a series of interconnected standalone novels set in the steamy southern town of Charleston, South Carolina.SOUTHERN CHARMER: Oliva and Eli’s bookSOUTHERN PLAYER: Gracie and Luke’s bookSOUTHERN GENTLEMAN: Julia and Greyson’s bookSOUTHERN HEARTBREAKER: Eva and Ford’s book

    Men coveted the very idea of me. Escort. Call girl. Prostitute. Hooker. Whore.I'd heard it all. Done it all. Over the years I'd felt a lot of things about my occupation...but not regret--never regret. I had my reasons for doing what I did and nothing and no one had ever made me question them.UNTIL MARCO VALENTI.He'd changed me and I'd naively fed into the fairy tale.But Marco wasn't my Prince Charming. He had secrets of his own. Secrets that would eventually rip away everything I held dear.

    You know what that means? No one messes with me. I’m the head of the O’Brien syndicate and my only obligation is to the family. Until Ava. The curvy lass with a body made for sin. Ava is brilliant and beautiful and wears a suit of armor so thick, I crave to get a look inside. But I’m hiding a dangerous secret—a dirty lie—and come to find out, she has one of her own. I'm forced between a rock and a hard place and I have to make a choice— Killing her would protect my family...but pulling the trigger would destroy me. Dirty Liar is a full-length mafia romance with no cliffhanger and no cheating. Intended for readers 18+ due to Kindle-melting scenes and other mature content.

    Now discover the romance, laughter, and happily-ever-afters waiting for you in her new series, Sweetbriar Cove!Poppy Somerville believes in happily-ever-after. It’s the reason her romance novels have won devoted readers all over the world—and why she’s broken off her engagement just weeks before the wedding instead of settling for less than true love. Escaping to her aunt’s beach cottage in Sweetbriar Cove, Poppy is looking for inspiration to end her writer’s block and finish her new book. She just wasn’t counting on the handsome, gruff contractor making such a racket next door…Cooper Nicholson doesn’t believe in soul-mates. He thought he’d found his forever once, and the world proved him wrong, so when the cute brunette comes storming over and demands he keep the noise down, romance is the last thing on his mind. But his new neighbor is full of surprises, and soon, their chemistry is too hot to ignore. As they grow closer, they discover fiction has nothing on the plot twists life has in store. But will Cooper find a way to let go of the past and risk his heart again? And can Poppy find her happy ending — on and off the page? Find out in the new sweet and sexy small-town romance from New York Times bestselling author, Melody Grace!

     I’m the guy they all want to marry, but I won’t get down on one knee for anyone. They’re the ones who need to get on their knees. And they all do. And they stay there, on their knees in front of me, until I let them get back up. Maybe you think I don’t deserve a wife. Maybe you’re right. Two days ago I wouldn’t have cared. But now, all that’s changed. Kristina Masters. She knows how to use her sweet assets. She won’t get on her knees for me. But she will be mine. Whatever it takes. Even if I know she’s not who she says she is… His Huge Rock is a standalone, full-length novel of approximately 150 000 words. No cheating, no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Includes bonus content! FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED!

    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.

    It's the secret behind the business empire he built from scratch. Under his rule, Bennett Enterprises dominates the jewelry industry. Despite being ruthless in his work, family comes first for him, and he'd do anything for his parents and eight siblings-even if they drive him crazy sometimes. . . like when they keep nagging him to get married already. Sebastian doesn't believe in love, until he brings in external marketing consultant Ava to oversee the next collection launch. She's beautiful, funny, and just as stubborn as he is. Not only is he obsessed with her delicious curves, but he also finds himself willing to do anything to make her smile. He's determined to have Ava, even if she's completely off limits. Ava Lindt has one job to do at Bennett Enterprises: make the next collection launch unforgettable. Daydreaming about the hot CEO is definitely not on her to-do list. Neither is doing said CEO. The consultancy she works for has a strict policy-no fraternizing with clients. She won't risk her job. Besides, Ava knows better than to trust men with her heart. But their sizzling chemistry spirals into a deep connection that takes both of them by surprise. Sebastian blows through her defenses one sweet kiss and sinful touch at a time. When Ava's time as a consultant in his company comes to an end, will Sebastian fight for the woman he loves or will he end up losing her?