But her perfect world falls apart when her fiancée calls off their engagement. Because of that, even her book deal might be off the table. After all, readers don’t want relationship advice from someone who can’t even make her own relationship work.So Claire sets out to hire herself a fake fiancée.Lana Henderson, the actress who shows up to audition for the role, is not exactly Claire’s ideal woman. Her frankness and the messes she leaves everywhere drive Claire up the wall. At least she won’t fall in love with someone like Lana.But soon, Lana starts to win her over with her big heart, tickle fights, and—gasp!—carbs after six. The longer they pretend to be a love-struck couple, the less fake their kisses feel and the more the lines between reality and role begin to blur.Once the book contract is signed, will they walk away or is their relationship no longer just for show?A lesbian romance where role-playing has never been so irresistible.Themes: actress · fake dating · fake relationship · fauxmance · pretend romance · psychologistWords: 103,000

    She is careful to avoid intimacy and does not allow anyone to get close to her. Taylor has convinced herself, against the wishes of her friends, that being unattached will save her from inevitable heartache. However, this all changes when Zoey, a representation of everything that Taylor is not, moves in with her. The more Zoey accepts Taylor for who she really is, the more Taylor worries that Zoey could fulfill her secret desire for true human connection. Now, a frightened Taylor must decide whether she is willing to reevaluate her sense of happiness and redefine it with Zoey, even if it means running the risk of being broken in the end. Something in Return is a story about learning to let people into our lives, as oftentimes getting to know the stranger among us requires getting to know the stranger within us. It is a tale of self-preservation and self-definition. It is about breaking down the confines in which we live that we typically have built ourselves, because it is only then that we are free and able to love truly.

    Among her charges is the young and elusive Alice Jameson. Alice Jameson has been silent for the last fifteen years of her life and doesn’t have any plans to open up about her past or her traumatic life anytime soon, especially not to someone as beautiful and perfect as Indiana Reynolds who manages to get the shy Alice to start experiencing what life could be like outside of the sound of silence.

    One day, her top client asks her to work on a lucrative project with the notoriously fastidious Georgina Masters, of the American agency Mastery. The temporary merger causes a fiery clash of cultures and personalities. Especially when Georgina sets her romantic sights on Kate’s young intern, Sophie.

    Six passengers survive and find themselves on an uncharted island. They survived the crash, but must now learn to survive the harshness of the island, the elements from Mother Nature, and the differing personalities of the others. The family and friends of those lost on Flight 1049 come together for support, forming the 1049 Club - a help to those left behind who have lost parents or breadwinners. The 1049 Club also finances flights to continue the search for those missing after the authorities have given up. Can those on the island find new family and loved ones amongst their fellow survivors? Can those left behind find new life, new loves and continue on in spite of the void made by the loss of their loved ones? How long will those seeking survivors continue to have hope?

    When she finds herself chauffeuring a drunk guy harassing his date, she leaves him stranded and is sure she’s going to get fired.Iris Fleming’s flight to Atlanta was a scene from a disaster movie, the scariest landing ever. She’d desperately wanted a part on a new sci-fi series, until the director made a pass at her. Now Iris doesn’t want the role and has no intention of getting back on a plane.Making their escape from Atlanta, Iris and Finn end up at Hideaway Haven, in neighboring cabins. Iris isn’t sure what’s scarier, sexy Taylor Finn or woodland nighttime noises. But maybe they can help each other out. There are jobs for stunt drivers in L.A. and Iris needs a ride. Wrong turns, and roadside hijinks ensue as Iris and Finn set off on a road trip, chasing the sunset, and falling for each other along the way.

    When her best friend Ava is injured the night she is scheduled to assist with a hands-on sexual education workshop, Diana is forced to find a short term replacement. The last thing she wants is a new lover, even a paid one. After a year of living in the apartment next door, all Jude Monaco knows about her neighbor Diana is that she’s a gorgeous, older woman and the inspiration for more dirty fantasies than she cares to admit. So when Diana knocks on her door with a shockingly delicious favor to ask, Jude seizes the opportunity to learn more. Their professional relationship is supposed to be a clinical erotic arrangement between a sex therapist and her assistant, but at the intersection of sex and intimacy, anything is possible. Even love.

    When they meet, there is a connection for them both. But can they overcome their fears, regrets and an old love to find a future in each other?BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum

    As a paramedic, AJ puts others’ needs above her own; in her personal life, she keeps everyone an arm’s length away. That distance disappears when a chance run-in with actor Melanie Cooper leaves her sticky, angry, and fed up.Melanie Cooper has just signed her last movie. The media keeps portraying her as cold and hard to work with, and Mel has absolutely nothing more to give. As she begins to imagine a new life, a challenging part of her past comes back on the scene, determined to cause problems for Mel.After a series of coincidental meetings, AJ battles her desire for control while Mel struggles with trust. Despite the challenges and complications, Mel finds herself drawn to the Beckett ladies, and AJ can’t deny their connection, either.Falling in love has never been so sweet.Genre: RomanceCover: Cath Grace DesignsEditor: Kat JacksonWords: 86,000

    Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!

    When Cassie Hollander spills her guts to her very straight best friend, she doesn’t get the answer she wants, and even though she knew that would probably happen, she’s still crushed. She’s used to hiding in the shadows, masking her true self and pretending to conform to a life that doesn’t fit her. Everything happens for a reason, and in Cassie’s case, being rejected by Jessica Taylor was the catapult she needed to get her life together in more ways than one. Come along as Cassie figures out who she is, where she’s going, and how wonderful things happen when you open your heart to the chance for real love.

    After immigrating from Mexico when she was nine years old, she’s content with the life she’s made for herself in sunny San Diego. She works hard at her mother’s housecleaning service by day and spends the evenings with her quirky eight-year-old daughter, Grace.From a very young age, Emory Owen had several concepts drilled into her head. Success is everything. Be the best. Fight your way to the top. Expectations were high in the Owen household and the world was watching. Born into a high society family, Emory never wanted for anything…at least anything money could buy. When she meets Sarah, hired to sort her mother’s home, her sterile life suddenly sparks into color.But when the emotional logistics of combining two very different worlds proves to be too much, a terrifying turn of events spurs the question: If love exists, can it really find a way?

    Deciding she’s done the last of her now ex’s laundry, Lee hops on the Harley, ripe for adventure. One thunderstorm, a brief stint as a funeral crasher, two ruined shoes and several cheerleaders later, she’s still planning to run away. Better yet, she’s got one of the cheerleaders along for the ride.Not just any cheerleader, either. Vivian Baxter is that cheerleader, the one that made Lee certain back in high school that she was never going to be like all the other girls.Destination? Someplace not Oklahoma. Possibilities? As many as the wide open road can offer. Problems? None at all. Except perhaps Lee’s ex, a hopping mad stripper who wants her Harley back.Vivian’s feminine wiles prove invaluable in solving their transportation problem just as her own past catches up to them. And Vivian’s past has two legs, a lot of henchman and a very big gun. Lee and Vivian may never get out of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma may never be the same.First-time novelist Layce Gardner’s love story sparkles with irreverent wit, unexpected developments and features two women in the race of their lives on the trip of a lifetime.

    What Frankie didn’t know is those letters hold the key to mending her broken heart and finding true love. Letters written by a complete stranger whose words find a direct path to healing Frankie’s broken heart and hope in finding true love. In Sydney Gibson’s third novel, Let The Wind Eavesdrop, we join Frankie on a magical journey, where she finds love in the written word of a complete stranger who appears to be living in the past, while Frankie is in the future. The story of how true love can transcend time, space, and be more powerful through the written word, is told beautifully in Sydney’s unique style. The book will restore your faith in love, and maybe make you believe that magic is real.

    Of all the ways she could have said it, she'd chosen these specific words. Not "I won't hurt you," or "I'm not going to hurt you." Those words would have calmed my fears. But no. She chose "I don't want to hurt you."Computer analyst Leslie Howard knows all too well that the fastest way to a broken heart is to ignore Lesbian Dating Rule Number One: Never, ever, get involved with a straight woman. Yet, despite her better judgment, and serious warnings from her friends, she finds herself battling a growing infatuation with her very straight - and very attractive - co-worker Sara Stevens.Haunted by memories of past rejection, Leslie is understandably hesitant about coming out to Sara, yet she doesn't want to jeopardize their friendship by being dishonest about who she is. When Leslie finally trusts Sara enough to tell her she's a lesbian, Sara fulfills Leslie's worst fears and cuts her off.Hurt and angry with herself, Leslie vows never to trust Sara again, and seeks solace in the arms of a seductive young golf pro. When Sara sees Leslie with her new lover, she is forced to confront her own hidden desires. Then, a long business trip together turns into an emotional tug-of-war, as Leslie and Sara struggle to control the raging passions that could bring them together - or tear them apart.