Too ashamed to show his face in Manhattan again, Alex flees for his upstate hometown and vows never to plan another wedding again. When his best friend announces her engagement, she begs him to reconsider his decision. Torn between his duty as BFF and his newly acquired cynicism for love, Alex reluctantly agrees. Little does he know that by agreeing to do so, he’s also agreeing to work with his high school bully, Hank Morrison. Once a college football star heading for greatness, Hank Morrison now runs the inn he inherited from his aunt in the small town of Redwood. The problem is, his aunt’s beloved inn isn’t getting business and with the bank threatening repossession, Hank needs to come up with a way to acquire money fast. When his high school nemesis and first love interest, Alex shows up wanting to plan a wedding at the inn, he can’t turn down the kind of money on offer. Even if it means having to deal with the uptight wedding planner who always thought he was too good for him. Opposites in every way, Alex can't ever imagine hunky straight Hank ever being anything to him. Until he finds out Hank isn't so straight after all. Especially after all those years he made his life hell. Tensions run high between the pair as they're forced into close proximity due to their working relationship. It also means that they can't help getting to know each other and when they find out they aren't as different as they once thought, things become complicated.

    Laid off at his job and at odds with his ultra-conservative boyfriend, Micah, he's searching for something to fill the empty spots. When he meets Ben Gallagher, a cake decorator, Jamie knows he's found a friend. Taking a chance, Jamie turns to art for his new career, and Ben becomes his muse. He creates an entire show based on the man who is always there for him. The problem with Ben is that he's been hurt by love in the past, and might not be willing to risk his friendship with Jamie for something more. Can Ben get past his fear and see that all that Jamie has to offer before it's too late?

    Nate's sister, Hannah, and her kooky best friend, Marilyn, are about to help fate with that task by creating a profile on the gay dating site, OpenHeartOpenMind. The two women are only exploring, but when they need a face and body for the persona they create, they use Nate as the model.When Brandon comes across the false profile, he falls for the guy he sees online. Keeping up the charade, Hannah begins corresponding with him, posing as Nate. Real complications begin when Brandon wants to meet Nate, but Nate doesn’t even know he’s being used in the online dating ruse. Hannah and Marilyn concoct another story and send Nate out to let the guy down gently. But when Nate and Brandon meet, the two men feel an instant and powerful pull toward each other. Cupid seems to have shot his bow, but how do Nate and Brandon climb out from under a mountain of deceit without letting go of their chance at love?

    Then drag queens and female impersonators get into the act and Dick is required to sleuth out who is hot and who is not.

    "Hound Dog" Fisher's life since the death of his beloved mom when he was a boy. Bounced around the foster care system, he ran away as soon as he could… and took the foster dog with him. As far as he's concerned, only dogs have no ulterior motive, never hold a grudge, and offer unconditional love. Now he helps run a no-kill shelter and leaves relationships where they belong: in the back room. "Bean" Alexander settled in Kansas City to open his coffee shop after years of traveling. He never expected to open his heart too. When a man with a grudge takes a swing at H.D. while in line at Bean's shop, Bean jumps to intervene. So taking a hit for H.D. gets Bean noticed, and H.D. feels obligated to pay a debt. But then the unexpected happens. A series of misadventures causes H.D. to open up—but falling in love makes him turn tail and run. Trust is a tough road to travel. Will good friends, a dog named Sarah Jane, and a bit of folk magic be enough to bring Hound Dog and Bean a happy ending?

    At the BDSM club or in business, Lincoln was a storm, blowing in and disrupting the lives of everyone he touched, until the day he met a man who peeled away the tarnished layers to expose a decent person.Lincoln found—then lost—love. Since then, he’s tried to atone for his past, including walking away from his family’s wealth. He opened a diner, hiring people to work for him that he would have spit on before his epiphany. He’s found peace, which he’s about to lose to a hazel-eyed man.Noel Simmons wound up on the street when his parents discovered he was gay. His path leads him to Lincoln’s diner, where he asks for a job. He’s thrilled when Lincoln agrees to hire him, but finds his new boss perplexing. Can anyone be this kind and decent?What starts out as business becomes something more. Noel discovers he needs Lincoln in order to feel safe. Lincoln needs Noel to complete him. But when Lincoln’s past gets in the way of his present, will the two have a future?Cover Artist: Reese Dante

    There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.At first, the only redeeming feature of David’s new home is the swimming hole across the field from his house. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, and suddenly life stops being so dull.Benjamin is Amish, and cooling off in the swimming hole is one of the few liberties he and his brothers enjoy. A friendship with an English boy is not—but that doesn’t stop him and David from getting to know each other, as long as it's on the neutral ground by the creek. After David risks his life to save Benjamin’s father, the boys’ friendship is tolerated, then accepted. But before long, Benjamin’s feelings for David grow beyond the platonic. Benjamin's family and the rest of the community will never allow a love like that, and a secret this big can’t stay secret forever...Gay Contemporary Young Adult/Juvenile

    LUKE I have two mortal enemies - Max Stephens and whoever decided opposites should attract. He’s everything I despise. Perfect looks, easy charm. The world falls at his feet the second he flashes a smile. We started our jobs at the same time, but we’re up for the same promotion even though I stay all night while he leaves at five. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him. I can’t explain it, other than possible brain damage. He’s everything I’m not. Everything I wish I could be. If I hadn’t lost my parents so young. If my whole life wasn’t about making my grandparents proud. If I still hadn’t come out for fear of losing them. At least that keeps me from embarrassing myself with Max. But then life throws a curve-ball. Close confinement with my archenemy. Days on the road together for work. Forced to get to know him. Learn we’re not so different, that the person beneath his charm is even hotter, because it has actual substance. Depth. Hopes. Dreams. Suddenly my crush isn’t so bizarre. A future with him isn’t just a fantasy. I could have the guy of my dreams…but only if I risk losing my last real family… MAX Everyone thinks my life’s so perfect, but if that’s true, why does my office crush hate my guts? Answer me that! It’s not like I dream of a white picket fence and a dog with the guy. Much. I don’t even know if he’s gay. Every attempted interaction earns me a death glare, and I have no idea why. Then we’re crammed in a car driving cross country. I get all the answers I ever wanted, and no idea what to do with them. Luke is gay. He doesn’t really hate me. He likes me, maybe even more than likes me. Maybe a lot more, judging by the way he kisses me. But he’s still in the closet. Even he doesn’t know if he’ll ever leave it. And he might not hate me now, but that could change the second he learns he wasn’t totally wrong about me having advantages he doesn’t. After all, the boss deciding which of us to promote is my uncle… This 50,000 word office feud turned road trip romance has some sexy pit stops on the way to its HEA, so be eighteen and over before you buckle up!

    Unfortunately his new home comes with a laundry list of problems: electrical, plumbing, heating… things David knows nothing about. When his mother offers him the business card of a local handyman, David pictures an overweight, balding man in his fifties. But Jackson Henry couldn’t be further from that stereotype.Dark-haired, muscular, and handsome, Jackson left a large construction firm in Seattle to take care of his sick mother. However, his hometown still has an active “good old boy” network, and finding employment in construction is almost impossible for an openly gay man. Determined to persevere, Jackson takes odd jobs as a handyman. He’s exactly what David needs—in more ways than one.David isn’t ready for his attraction to Jackson, not considering the way his last relationship ended. But as the two men get to know each other, it becomes clear that the heart often knows best, and it rewards those willing to listen.

    He’s steering clear of romance and the heartbreak that goes with it. After losing both parents and having all his relationships fail, he figures happily ever after is a myth.When Dr. Trevor Hayes crosses Mark’s path at the hospital, he falls hard for Mark. The attraction is clearly mutual, and Trevor is determined to parlay that attraction into a relationship. Mark is just as determined to avoid exactly that. But Trevor chips away at Mark’s resistance, and facing hardship and sorrow together brings them closer. Still, Mark can’t shake his belief that their romance is temporary—until he’s unexpectedly faced with the danger that he might lose Trevor for good. Mark must choose between guarding his heart and giving it completely, the risk he swore never to take again.

    He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.Travis is handsome, smart, and funny—the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.Word Count: 18,388Edition: 2ndA story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar collection Heartwarming.

     Jason Davis is in pain. Still smarting from a bad breakup, he struggles to pay both halves of an overwhelming mortgage and balance the books at his floundering business. As if the emotional and financial pain weren’t enough, the agony of a years-old shoulder injury keeps him up at night. When he faces a choice between medication and insomnia, he takes a friend’s advice and gives acupuncture a try. Acupuncturist Michael Whitman is a single dad striving to make ends meet, and his landlord just hiked the rent. When new patient Jason, a referral from a mutual friend, suggests a roommate arrangement could benefit them both, Michael seizes the opportunity. Getting a roommate might be the best idea Jason’s ever had—if it weren’t for his attraction to Michael, who seems to be allergic to wearing shirts in the house. Still, a little unresolved sexual tension is a small price to pay for pain and financial relief. He’ll keep his hands and feelings to himself since Michael is straight… isn’t he?

    Every moment of every day, as he tries to pull his shattered existence together again, it's all he can think about—revenge.Will he give in to his rage and become the very thing he hates most? A killer?Only with the help of Homicide Detective Christian Martin, the cop in charge of his case, does Tyler see the possibility of another life beginning—the astounding revelation of another love reaching out to him. A love he thought he would never know again.Will he let that love into his life, or is he lost already? Is payback more important to Tyler than his own happiness? And the happiness of the man who loves him? Tyler is determined to find a way to exact his revenge without sacrificing all hope for a future with Christian, but it will be difficult—if not impossible—and in the end he might be forced to make an unbearable choice.

    Armed with his grandfather's 1960 copy of Esquire's Europe in Style, Jeff sets off looking for adventure but finds much, much more than he bargained for...In London, dodging questions from shady criminals about a mysterious package he most certainly does not have is simple. Losing the gunmen who are convinced he's someone else is not. And when George, an old friend, offers him help—and a place to stay, and perhaps something more—things become complicated.Is George really who he seems? And is Jeff finally ready to act on his attraction?From Paris to Rome and back again, Jeff and George fall for each other, hard, while quite literally running for their lives. But trusting George at his word may leave Jeff vulnerable—in more ways than one.

    But things are not that easy, especially when people can’t see past the ex-convict, and getting a job is harder than ever. Meanwhile, Kyle has finally come to terms with his own sexuality and does the hardest thing he’s ever done in his life: getting a divorce from his wife, Jessica, with whom he has a toddler named Ryan. He leaves both behind in a bid to rebuild his life and to become the father he dreams of being to his son. It’s in this hurricane of life-changing events that Logan and Kyle end up meeting each other by chance in a small town far away from their previous lives. The spark between them is immediate and strong, but they both try to fight it, coming up with excuses not to pursue it. While their friendship evolves, they find themselves even more attracted to each other. But will Logan trust he can find love with another man while his past is still so present? And is Kyle ready to invest in his first gay relationship at the same time as he’s fighting for his son’s custody? Set in a small town with quirky characters and all the peculiarities that only a small town can offer, Logan and Kyle embark on a journey that could change their lives forever. But will they feel free to follow through? WARNING This book contains explicit sexual scenes as well as some graphic language. It is intended for a mature, adult audience.