Or rather, she did. She'd spent the first few years of her life being shifted from one foster home to another, never really finding that special place to make her feel home. When she finds a small envelope on the ground on a side street in Boston, and opens it, her heart plummets. She recognizes the description of the contents and knows what it will mean to the little girl if the promise of this gift is not fulfilled. But when the CEO of Holden Industries, Derek Holden, accuses her of stealing the money inside the envelope, she's determined to go the distance and not only fulfill the gift herself, but to prove to the dashingly handsome millionaire that there is more to life than just money. The day his family lost their fortune and his world fell apart, Derek Holden swore he'd make his family fortune back. All good things in life came with sacrifice and hard work and he wasn't afraid of it. He'd built a financial empire all on his own and didn't need the simple conventions of life...until he met Allison Jones. The incredibly sweet designer with beautiful hair flowing down her back was much more than he'd originally thought when he'd accused her of stealing the money from the envelope he'd given the courier earlier that day. He'd intended the money to be a small donation to a local charity event. But he soon learned that a bank account full of money was no match for a heart full of love...and there was only one special woman who could teach him. Please look for other books in the FATE WITH A HELPING HAND series: All I Want for Christmas is You The Marriage Contract The Knight and Maggie's Baby The Gift The Gift is a contemporary romance short story prequel to THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT.

    Aware, and interested. But he's been busy--or so he tells himself. His bartender, Kennedy, has her suspicions. When Kennedy and her wedding planner cook up a matchmaking scheme to put Denver in Misty's orbit, Denver, a bar owner and tattooed biker, is surprised at how much he has in common with the modern-day flower child--including their mutual tendency to want to leave the past in the past and keep it private. But what will happen when Misty's private past is revealed, and clashes painfully with the things Denver has tried to put behind him? A novelette of approximately 15k words. This story is a crossover with the Misfit Inn series (It comes after Book 1). Check out the first full novel in the series, When You Got A Good Thing. Q: What makes the Meet Cute Romance series special? "Meet cute" is a term used to describe a situation in which a future romantic couple meets for the first time. Meet Cute Romance is a series of contemporary romantic shorts celebrating the possibilities of that first meeting. Q: Who would dig these books? Meet Cute Romances are designed to be a fast (but not too fast--these are full novelettes, not short stories of only a scene or two), lunchtime or coffee break read to give you a bright spot of romance in your day. If you're looking for a quick romantic pick me up, these short contemporary romances are sure to be right up your alley. Q: What order should I read the books in? These novelettes are each stand-alone and can be read in any order. Though there are a few recurring characters in some, so if you want to read in chronological order, they go like this: * Once Upon a Snow Day * Once Upon a New Year's Eve * Once Upon an Heirloom * Once Upon A Coffee * Once Upon A Setup * Once Upon A Campfire * Once Upon A Wedding Q: Are there crossovers with other series? YES! Two of my Meet Cutes tie in with my longer, southern romance series set in Wishful, Mississippi. Wishful is a collection of southern romance novels honoring my Mississippi roots and exploring love in a small town. You can try the first book in the series, To Get Me To You, for FREE! It comes just after Once Upon A Coffee. Once Upon A Setup is a companion novelette to Be Careful, It's My Heart (Book 2 in Wishful) and a prequel to Just For This Moment (Book 4 in Wishful). Once Upon A Campfire ties in with the shared world Camp Firefly Falls series. And Once Upon A Wedding follows the first book in The Misfit Inn series (When You Got A Good Thing).

    Now, the Manley Maids are at your service. Satisfaction guaranteed. It’s what a woman wants... Resort entrepreneur Sean Manley was all set to buy an historic mansion at a great price, making a name for himself while making millions, when the seller and a poker bet change the game. Now he’s in the place as a hunky male maid and there’s one more complication: Livvy Carolla. The house is Livvy’s inheritance. Her plan? Unload it to the highest bidder and use the cash to start her own bakery business. One look at �the help” and she’s hot to take him with her. Until she finds out he’s got a secret agenda. But when Sean falls for the free-spirited, strong-willed Livvy, he has new ideas for the estate—and Livvy’s part in it. If all goes well, they’ll both be getting what they want. And then some.

    She treasures beading jewelry for her own small business while watching nature and its amazing creatures outside her window. But, her mom begs her to move back to the city so she can find a man to marry. Holly doesn’t want to give up on her dreams, but does that mean she’ll have to give up on love?

    Both recovering from shocking revelations, they unintentionally lean on each other. But as their attraction builds and their undeniable chemistry explodes into passion, a secret threatens their happily ever after.Final stop: Red Maple FallsMad About Matt: When city girl Shay moves to picturesque Red Maple Falls, she opens her own bakery--and reunites with her ex, Matt, the handsome local sheriff. A passionate and engaging small-town romance!Travelers Guide:Willow Cove: BEST LOBSTER IN THE STATE! Check out the locals and their freshest seafood. Don't forget to stop by The Local Bean for that cuppa and catch up on all the town gossip!Morgan's Bay: Are you ready for some New York fun? Get away from the city and visit the cutest book store and eat the BEST BURGERS around! Don't forget to say hi to the very cute bartender.Red Maple Falls: Visit the Happy Apple for a slice of our famous pie! Enjoy a cruise down main street on one of our custom bikes at the Chain and Spoke. Don't forget to say hi to one of the MANY hot Hayes' siblings.

    Unattached and not interested in falling in love, he dives head first into his business in the small coastal Georgia town.Jenna Davis's life has come to a screeching halt. After making the worst decision on her life during college, she now finds herself a single mother about to lose her home over a decade later.When these two cross paths after many years, sparks fly and Kyle puts up a brick wall to protect himself. In this sweeping romance, emotions run high as the two try to find themselves, and each other, again.

    Alonzo's ego was crushed, totally crippled for the very first time--by a woman! "Do you even know who I am?" he said to her. Sure, he thought. She's a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu...but I'm Alonzo, the only rightful heir of the Ortega family.A Spanish billionaire with more power than she can fathom. But he didn't tell her that. Camila doesn't give a damn about his gorgeous body or his self-absorbed attitude. And that drives him crazy. Now he's obsessed. Not to sleep with her. But to beat her on the mat and show her who the boss. But in the midst of his determination, they begin to form a friendship.Unlike any other woman Alonzo has encountered, Camila does not flirt with him. She pays for her own drinks and would rather teach yoga than party all night. She is blunt and speaks her mind. She is wild but level-headed, confident and strong.She is everything he is not. But everything he needs

    That was the night they broke all the rules…Lucky Shot is a free short story. Enjoy it as is, or go on to read the rest of Bess & Tank’s second chance love story in Sure Shot.

    Romance, danger, and a bit of comedy fill each book set in the small town of Shadows Landing. Saving Shadows Gavin Faulkner was the only doctor in the small South Carolina inner coastal town of Shadows Landing. He was used to patching up everything from fishing lures stuck in skin to gator bites. Nothing could surprise him anymore—except when he found an unconscious woman partially submerged near his dock after a fierce thunderstorm.Ellery St. John’s last memory was of a bat swinging toward her head. The next thing she knew, she was cold, wet, and a sexy man was pressing his lips to hers. Too bad it turned out to be CPR instead of a passionate kiss.Gavin thought Ellery would be safe in the small town where BBQ wars were the biggest danger, but he was wrong. Now it was up to him to help Ellery put the pieces together in order to discover who had tried to kill her and why before they both ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Sunken Shadows As a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard, Wade Faulkner was used to unpredictable situations. But an emergency call late one night turns his life upside down. After finding a boat on fire, he discovers a dead body and a visibly shaken woman in need of rescue. Now he finds himself entangled in a murder mystery between two teams of treasure hunters out for the discovery of a lifetime . . . and he’s falling for the main suspect.Darcy Delmar survived an explosion on her boat while racing to be the first to find a sunken treasure she believes to be worth more than most people can possibly imagine. Now she is the lead suspect in the murder of a fellow treasure hunter. Or is she simply the next victim?As Wade and Darcy lose themselves to the passion of the hunt and a new love, one thing becomes clear: this is a treasure worth killing for.

     Heat of the Moment For almost a year Shelby has lusted over swoon-worthy Garrett, but she can’t figure out why he’s not interested…until she overhears him saying she’s too vanilla for his taste. When a heat wave sends the sexy Navy SEAL into her bakery, she finally has the opportunity to show him exactly what he’s missing… Heat of Passion Holly has too much on her plate to think about a serious relationship. A hot fling with a SEAL, though, is the perfect way to take the edge off. The last thing she expects is to run into her gorgeous one-night stand weeks later, and to discover that Carson wants the one thing she doesn’t: more. In the face of his methodical seduction, her resistance is crumbling… Heat of the Storm Will has waited fifteen years for the storm that sends Mackenzie into his arms. He’s the one man not scared of her psychic gift, and their one night of passion is enough to convince this tenacious SEAL that they are much, much more than friends. Now he just has to convince her of that… Warning: Contains dangerously hot Navy SEALS, and heroines not afraid to take them on one—or two—at a time.

    Her solution? Try out for TV's new Mystery Date show to get some free promotion. She just hadn't counted on winning a "date" with hot historian, Dr Joel Benjamin - or that Joel would be the tubby teen she'd commiserated with years ago after a blind date gone wrong. Joel has put those painful teenage years behind him, throwing himself into his work, where he isn't judged by his looks. But meeting Daisy Miller is about to change his life in ways he never thought possible. But will Daisy ever believe that Joel can really, truly love her, when she's spent a lifetime feeling second best?

     Bamboozled Into Going Home Again… Ten years ago, Sunny Carmichael left Hope Valley, Texas and became a veterinary disease specialist—a darn good one! When her meddling, matchmaking mother urges her to come home to investigate the mysterious deaths of several cows before news spreads and ruins the local cattle industry, Sunny reluctantly agrees, even though she will likely run into the man who broke her heart and caused her to flee her small hometown so long ago. He has no idea he’s been set up… Jackson Slade never forgot the girl who got away. But he had to put the painful past behind him and move on with his life. Now a widowed, single-father, he is raising his quiet little girl alone on his ranch that is suddenly losing cattle. With his livelihood and life in possible jeopardy, the last person he expects to find nosing around his herd is the very same woman he's tried to forget—Sunny Carmichael. Now what? A second chance at love...? Although this Texas Sweetheart is not home to stay, it isn’t long before the passionate spark that fired their youthful romance quickly blazes into a scorching flame. Now Sunny and Jack have two problems on their hands: a deadly cattle epidemic and their undeniable attraction! “Mindy Neff weaves a wonderful romance!” —Romantic Times Review

    Tara’s about to live her dream only there’s one problem. Her husband of 15 years has just walked out, leaving Tara on the brink of financial ruin with no choice but to promote a self-help book about marriage when hers is secretly in ruins. Enter publicist Jake Randall, 30, who’s had it with hand holding newbie authors channeling their inner divas on their first book tours, until he meets Tara. Their instant attraction blossoms quickly into love. Tara thinks she has achieved her dreams and earned her license to thrive until her husband, Jim returns determined to win her back.

    A meddling small town. A second chance.It’s not a new story. Wife finds out husband’s been cheating on her and she packs up her four kids and heads back to her hometown, Sunrise Bay, Alaska.Yeah, not a fresh start, but thousands of miles away from my ex will do just fine. I’m prepared for the cold weather, the early snowfalls, and dark days and nights. What I’m not prepared for is coming face to face with my ex’s cousin and for the same feelings from twenty years ago to ignite like the flame never went out. It doesn’t take long before people are whispering about the widowed Hank Greene and me. But we both have children to think of this time around. Then again, Hank knows what it’s like to be a single parent and sometimes those damn dimples of his make it hard to remember why we can’t be together.

    Each book in the Cliffside Bay Series is intended to be read and enjoyed as a sweet standalone, but for maximum enjoyment read this binge-worthy series in order. Traded Meet Brody Mullen and Kara Eaton as they overcome their protective instincts and learn to wholly trust one another as they fall in love. Deleted Embrace freedom from the painful past with Jackson Waller and Maggie Keene, who unexpectedly receive a second chance to write their own story. Jaded And celebrate with Zane Shaw and Honor Sullivan when they realize that their imperfections are what makes each of them perfect for the other.