With every good deed done, and helping hand offered, we are making the world a better place. The dedicated women selected as this year's recipients of Harlequin's More Than Words award have changed many lives for the better, through their compassionate hearts and unshakable commitment. To celebrate their accomplishments, bestselling authors have written stories inspired by these real-life heroines.In this book, Jillian Hart honors the work of Mary Byberg, a committed volunteer for Nellie's Shelter for Women and Children in Toronto, Ontario.We hope More Than Words inspires you look inside your heart and to get in touch with the heroine inside of you.

    She’s nothing like the women he dates. So when he suggests they play for a kiss over a game of Hearts, Kristi can’t resist. Even if she loses, she wins. Because she’s finally going to taste him. Of course, one kiss can quickly become something altogether steamier, especially when both parties are on the rebound… Fall in Love on Tryst Island… When a group of friends share a vacation house, wild hijinks, unexpected hook-ups and steamy sex ensue.

    Or so he thinks. Lacey did put Sean in the friend zone, but now she's ready for more. Only he won't make a move.Lacey enters a contest in which a kiss from her will be the prize. Can Sean win the contest? Can he win the girl?

    Morris’s house twice a week, soaking up every moment with the reclusive ex-soldier she secretly loves. Blake Morris knows he’s scarred both inside and out and is no good for the beautiful young woman who cleans his house to pay for college. But when Erin walks in on Blake touching himself and moaning her name, all bets are off.

    The supposed bad girl is determined to walk the straight and narrow, a seemingly impossible task when Tall, Dark and Sexy shows up…Rich and powerful, Dane Michaelson is every woman's dream. When he returns to Strawberry Valley after a sixteen-year absence, he is unprepared for the redheaded girl he's never been able to forget. She's all woman now—and he's never wanted anyone more. But to have her, he'll have to break through her defenses… and surrender his own.* First published in the 2014 anthology, All For You.

    Ellie & Adam. Jo & Cam. Olivia & Nate. Hannah & Marco. Shanon & Cole. And one Valentine’s Day they’ll never forget.It’s Valentine’s Day! How do Joss & Braden, Ellie & Adam, Jo & Cam, Olivia & Nate, Hannah & Marco and Shannon & Cole keep the fire burning in their relationships while trying to juggle busy careers and the joyful chaos of parenthood? Find out in Valentine, six sexy and emotional short stories, one for each couple in the On Dublin Street series so far, making up a short novella about one very special day.Valentine is a special gift to fans of the series in thanks for supporting Hero, her first standalone contemporary romance.The digital edition is free.Also part of the paperback edition, On Dublin Street: The Novellas.

    But, when she needs to do some research of this kissing kind, things may get a little more heated than she expected.Research has never been so fun.WARNING: This 11k short has no vampires, shape shifter or scorching sex, but it might make you snort your diet Coke out your nose.

    At least she used to. Somewhere between law school and real life, she lost her sparkle. Now she wears boring business suits to boring dates in her boring life. The last time Anna remembers feeling that sizzle was with the one man who's all cayenne and passion: Max Corazao, the one who got away. Except Max still sees Anna as a woman full of spice. And Anna intends to do whatever she can to be that woman again—with his (unknowing) help...

    But here's the rub about her job as a baker ... Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning crEme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day.Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

    Why?Her sister is marrying Bobby's brother.She's trussed up in a bridesmaid dress that must have been designed originally as a Victorian Torture Chamber.To teach them a lesson, she and Bobby have been assigned to the Kiddie Table.And that's only the beginning...

    But he’s determined to show her everything the season has to offer…including love. For Andi Williams, Christmas represents everything she’s supposed to have—and doesn’t. Running away to a remote mountain lodge seems like the perfect way to escape the season. And it would have been if it weren’t for the snow storm and a booking mix-up that finds her stranded. That is, until a rough around the edges, green eyed stranger offers a solution.  There was no way in good conscious that Colin Hartford could leave the woman with nowhere to stay. Especially on Christmas. He knows all too well what it’s like to be alone for the holidays. It isn’t long before Colin’s determination to enjoy the festivities he’s missed for so long sweeps Andi into the season of joy that she’s not so sure she’s ready for.  If Andi can allow herself to open up—just a little—she might finally have the chance to experience everything the holidays can really offer…including love.

     Heading home always stirs up mixed emotions for Laney Calhoun. Twelve years ago she left for graduate school, broken-hearted. She's found professional success, but positive personal relationships have proved elusive. Running into her ex-boyfriend fans flames she thought long extinguished, and causes a renewed interest in love. Not with Kyle, of course. Never again. But as sparks fly and items of clothing disappear, she scrambles to keep her emotions in check. ...Now he has a second chance to get it right. Kyle Nixon let Laney slip away once. Their chemistry together is undeniable, but steamy sex is not enough to convince her to let him back into her heart. Even if she did trust him again, her career as a paediatric surgeon is five hundred kilometers away from the hometown that he loves, and the life he once chose over her. Come home to Wardham. Come home to love.

    It makes her miss the simplicity of being a teenager, when she was surrounded by her amazing friends, The Fabulous Four, and she was madly in love with her Dad's right hand man, Justin Barnes. His sexy smiles and deep brown eyes had made her heart race in a way she's never felt before or since. When the Fabulous Four unexpectedly show up on her doorstep to support her through this complicated time, things seem to be looking up for Amanda. But that's not the only surprise visit in store for her...Justin Barnes left Hope Falls ten years ago, in the dead of night, and didn't think he'd ever set foot there again. That was just fine with him, except for one little complication: Amanda Jacobs. He had fallen in love with her unruly blonde curls and sparkling sapphire eyes, but she had been a teenager then, five years younger than he - too young for him to act on his attraction. Still, he'd missed her every single day of those ten years. When Justin receives a phone call that his former mentor has passed away, he knows he has to return to Hope Falls. Justin just has one question - will the girl that once adored him have grown into a woman that can't stand him? Or will she still be the only thing in the world that feels like home?

    She's good at it, too. In her acupuncture practice, she fixes the community of Darling Bay, and in her personal life, she's rescued her sister too many times to count. Her love life, though... Grace doesn't think she needs help, especially not from a man whose very nickname is unhealthy.Tox Ellis is the hazmat expert at the Darling Bay Fire Department, and he knows about harmful substances. He knows what gases to keep apart to prevent explosions. Why, then, can't he seem to stay away from Grace, the woman who seems to think he needs fixing?Is Darling Bay ready for the chemical reaction Grace and Tox generate whenever they're in the same place at the same time? And who will be standing by to put out the flames?The Firefighters of Darling Bay seriesBook 1: Fire at TwilightBook 2: Fire at DawnBook 3: Everyday Hero (A Darling Bay Short Story)

    A long-term guy. One who does dates and romance and emotional strings…I’m just an asshole who wants to tie you up, make you come, and walk away.” Samuel Bradshaw is a man with a reputation—the kind of reputation that should have me running the other way. Instead, it has me searching for the shortest distance to his bed. I won’t be the starry-eyed girl who thinks she can change a man like Sam, and despite what he thinks, forever is not what I need. I need the things he makes me feel, the way he turns me on, and the promise of pleasure in his eyes. I need SOMETHING WILD.The Reckless and Real Series includes:SOMETHING WILD (Liz and Sam’s story begins - novella)SOMETHING RECKLESS (Liz and Sam’s story continues)SOMETHING REAL (Liz and Sam’s story concludes)