She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game and the woman he loves.

    See author's note, below Pulling Home (That Second Chance #1) It's taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She's created the perfect life: a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and the man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother. Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn't even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story...and forgetting her? Near impossible. When a shattering illness strikes Audra's daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever. A Family Affair: The Promise (Truth in Lies #7) Grant Richot sprinted through life, a boy wonder with talent, intelligence, confidence, and charm. He never doubted the world awaited him, just as he never doubted the right woman would come into his life—but only when he was ready for her. Anyone before that was simply preparation for the one. How wrong he was. Years and a tragedy later, Grant arrives in Maggie Finnegan’s hometown of Magdalena, New York—broken, uncertain, and searching for that second chance with the woman he cast aside. But Maggie’s no longer naïve and impressionable; she’s a confident, competent widow with a child, who has more at risk than another broken heart… Note from Mary: I love secondary characters: writing them, reading about them, even watching them on the big screen. Secondary characters support the “stars”; make them more vibrant and compelling. But when the story ends, I’m often left wondering what they’d do if they were in the “spotlight”. That’s why I’ve created special boxed sets that were part of That Second Chance series and the Truth in Lies series. These boxed sets let the reader follow the before and after of select characters as they first appear in That Second Chance series and later in the fictional town of my bestselling Truth in Lies series. Boxed Set One contains Pulling Home and A Family Affair: The Promise. I invite you to follow their journey!

    I want someone to push me against a wall, kiss me hard and pull my hair to the point of pain. I want to want someone so much they are all I think about."He was quoting exactly what I had said yesterday-word for word. My heart stopped, I think. His face was close to mine, his lips brushing against mine as he muttered,"Let me be of some assistance here."****************You can't help who you fall in love with.... 'I think that we have relationships with different people to learn things. Learn how to behave, how to fuck, how to break up, how to be.' Cal FallonGretchens life is just average. She has the boyfriend, the friends and the family. She is in the final year at high school and is set on following her career ambition as a therapist. Then Cal Fallon enters her world, changing everything she thought she knew about herself, her friends and the world as she knows it....Cal Fallon. He has a past that he needs to keep a secret, until he meets Gretchen, and he realises he doesn't want to keep any secrets from her...even though it could put them both in danger....

    To protect Victoria, Garrett whisks her away to an isolated lodge. Major problem for Victoria—how does she help Garrett capture the stalker while guarding her heart against the man who broke it once before? Garret thought his heart had healed when Victoria left him ten years ago. Garrett’s bigger problem—capture the stalker determined to imprison Victoria. Keeping Victoria safe is no easy task for Garrett, but getting her to trust him is an entirely different challenge. He puts his life on the line to guard the woman who is more deserving of love than any woman he’s known. But love takes a back seat to the Whitloch-Reynolds feud. At the center is the Crystal Creek Ranch. The Whitlochs own the ranch. The Reynolds are the rightful heirs.

     From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Cali MacKay... Marshall should be riding high as the CEO of his own successful company. Instead, he’s in the middle of a nasty divorce as he tries to rid himself of his cheating and lying wife, while trying to track down a mole in his company. What he needs is a distraction, so when Harper Jones walks into his office with improvements she’d like to make to one of their products, Marshall knows that the brilliant and gorgeous engineer is exactly what he needs to take his mind off his problems. Harper's heard the gossip about her boss, and the last thing she wants is to get sucked into the middle of a nasty divorce—especially when rumor has it that Marshall’s ex may be carrying his baby. When Marshall sets her in his sights, Harper finds him far too difficult to resist, with his charming good looks and sexy smarts, but with her heart and career on the line, and a mole pointing the finger in her direction, will she risk it all to find happiness or simply walk away? *** This novel contains a Happily Ever After ending. Due to the adult language and explicit sex scenes, this book is for adults only.***

    For years, I tried I really did. When I finally broke free of my demons, she planted me firmly in the friend-zone.I'll fight to win her back no matter the cost. With the chemistry we have, I'm not holding back. I'll even play dirty if I have to. My past proves to be more difficult to keep away than I thought. I need to fight the addiction, need to stay focused, because Luna is what matters most.My purpose on this Earth is loving Luna unconditionally and wholeheartedly.My past wasn't full of sunshine and rainbows. It was a living hell. Runaway mother, abusive father, dead brother—yeah my life’s a damn dream. It made me dark and angry. Made me into someone I hated, but Luna made everything better. She made me want to be better. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't change who we are. My past isn't everything I thought it was. I uncover something which changes everything. Can I make Luna fall in love with me all over again, or is it too late? I may be broken, but together we are beautifully broken.Luna:Ethan Knight, the boy I fell in love with at twelve, is back. His addiction was what tore us apart. He promised he'd change, but he never did. Until now.He somehow got hotter, and even his charms are more dangerous. Putting him in the friend-zone was the right thing to do. I know it won’t last, but a girl needs to try, right?Ethan's life is a mess. Can he really be a different person, be the guy I fell head over heels in love with? Us together was never a good idea, but the spark between us hasn't burned out yet. In fact, it feels stronger, and my heart can only take so much! Daddy always warned me to stay away from Ethan, and it may have been for good reason. Ethan's past is more corrupt than even he thought. Can we really overcome everything? Or will we come crashing down into the beautifully broken mess that awaits us?

    In retrospect, hooking up was a mistake because no woman has measured up, since.When I see her again and she asks me for alone time, I assume we’re of the same mindsetInstead, I learn she’s an amateur sleuth, investigating her friend’s death. A county deputy, I shut that down fast. This is real life, not one of her video games.Join Cole and Danielle as they try to solve a murder and deal with smoldering desire, about to burst into flames.Warning: High heat, thrills, mystery, and romance. Not for the faint of heart.

    It’s exactly what workaholic Lexi Regan needs after a viral breakup post. Serially unfortunate in the dating game, she’s seen it all. Players, moochers, all-around losers. Triple check. But one sight she can’t unsee is the model—sans clothes—in her unexpected art class. All it takes is one smirk, one hint of a smile from him for her to peg him in the category of men she needs to avoid. So imagine the double-take when she realizes he’s the groomsman opposite her in her cousin’s wedding. Jack O’Connor has no shortage of admirers. While casual attention can be fun, it’s quality he fears he’ll never find in a woman. Yet when he’s prepared to survive a wedding out of town, he is not ready to face the blushing beauty from the drawing class he’d starred in after losing a bet. Unsure of what to expect from the feisty woman at his side, he’s tempted to learn more about her and hope that first impressions aren’t the only ones that matter…

    They will seduce. They will play dirty. And above all else, they will prove to five alpha men that girls know exactly how to have fun.JULESThe man is infuriating!I can only love once. That’s the family legend and in my case it happens to be true. When Jesse left me, breaking my heart and walking away without a backward glance, I thought I’d live the rest of my life alone, broken and always longing for something that wasn’t meant to be. That’s why it shocks the hell out of me when Jesse comes to me with a deal I can’t refuse. I have to pretend we’re an item for a short time and help him keep his dad occupied while his cousin searches for something I have nothing to do with.I can do that. I can do that all day long. I just hope Jesse knows that this marriage he’s waving under my nose isn’t going to be fake because I have plans…NATALIEHe’s looking for trouble and I’m going to give it to him.He’s a heartbreaker and I hate him. I’ve loved Jett Grey about as much as I’ve hated him. Problem is, I love him a little more sometimes and hate him a little less more and more. In fact, I think I may just want him back, which is ludicrous because the man has no sense, no heart and absolutely no idea how to back down from a challenge. I don’t want him to see me as a challenge though. I want love. Family. All that stuff he promised me three years ago when he made me believe he loved me. And I will get those things. I’m a lawyer. I know how to argue, cheat, and connive.He’s looking for trouble and he’s found me again. I hope he’s ready.MISSYWhat the hell just happened?I’m a lady. I’ve lived half my life being as perfect as I possibly could be and the other half trying to be as invisible and dowdy as I could be, all to avoid love. Love scares me senseless. The thought of falling in love and victim to a family curse that says we only love once…I can’t let that happen. I just can’t. I shouldn’t let Sam Grey push my buttons. I should ignore him and keep going as I have been. But I’ve gone and played with fire and gotten myself trapped and falling. In love. With a wild mountain man. What am I going to do and how will I get over it if it turns out that Sam doesn’t love me?SUNNYI was married. He divorced me. I hate him. I love him.I’ve felt every emotion a woman can feel when Jacob Harper left me high and dry, divorcing me without a reason, without a warning and without the chance to fix a wrong I didn’t know existed. I can’t love another. My family is cursed that way. We love once. We love hard. We love forever. When I’m pregnant, alone and just starting to get back on my feet and I’m determined to move on, he comes back. He wants me back. He wants me to love him but the reality is, I can’t let myself. Jacob broke my heart once before and I am not aiming to give him another chance. Trouble is, my heart and my head aren’t always in agreement.ROSIEI don’t remember a thing.I woke up from a coma and nothing makes sense to me. I don’t know my name, I don’t recognise my crazy family and I have no idea who I am, who I was or who I want to be. All I know is that I feel a connection with Jagger Grey and that for whatever reason, I need him. He doesn’t want me. He’s told me that straight to my face, and yet here I am, kidnapped by a wild mountain man who’s pretending to be civilized while he tries to get me to remember and uses me to break a case that will make his career. I hate being used. I may not know myself anymore but I know that and when I realise Jagger is seducing me with the intention of walking away, I run first.I guess he’s going to have to come catch me…

     That was Marco Desmond. Hot, lethal, and the world’s best hit man for the dangerous Desmond Mafia. And it was my job to go undercover and seduce him so that I could find out the crucial information needed for possibly the biggest sting operation by the FBI. Easy, right? Oh god. As if that wasn’t hard enough, I was going undercover into the heart of the Desmond Mafia. One false move or wrong word and my life would end before I knew it. But I was determined to make this work. I would prove once and for all that I was an FBI agent worth her salt, even if it meant seducing the devil. Halle Margot. Did that gorgeous little fool know what she had gotten herself into? No one walks into the Desmond Mafia and expects to get out alive. You walk in on two legs but you go out on your back. I had enough on my plate and enough secrets to fill several closets but from the moment I see that curvy angel, I can’t seem to focus on anything but her. With her naive clumsiness getting her deeper and deeper into the heart of the Desmond Mafia, I know I have to save her. But can I do it before we both burn in this hell?

    She has one.Harper Crawford is a big fan of the Newport Beach Seagulls, despite their abysmal previous season. It's been a year since Ken Brown's murder and Seraphina Hanson, Ken's youngest granddaughter, just survived her first year as the new owner and manager of the national hockey team. Barely. The last year was dismal to the point where Seraphina is making drastic changes. Like hiring Harper as their official blogger. Harper gets to travel with the team, write character pieces, critiques, game summaries, and the like. It's her dream job.Another change? Putting together practically a new team, including Zachary Ryan, first line center. At six foot four and two hundred and twenty pounds, he is tall, dark blond, and solid muscle. He's arrogant and direct and the minute he sees Harper at Taboo nightclub during a team bonding session dressed in a plaid shirt and converse sneakers, he has to get to know her better.Except there's a problem from her past that won't go away. Harper has an ex that won't stay in her past - where he belongs. He starts showing up at her place, reminding her of all the wrong choices she made, bringing up things she wants nothing more than to forget. When Zachary gets involved, things get heated and his notorious temper flares.Harper doesn't want to get involved with a hockey player - especially with an overzealous ex who won't leave her alone - but Zachary plans to change her mind. No matter what the cost.

    Her only source of comfort is her work—a business dedicated to the care and training of horses. Until one lonely night leads her into the arms of Brock Baisdin. A man who fulfills her deepest desires and reignites a flame long forgotten. Between his picky tastes and running his own business, Brock Baisdin has little time for women, but that doesn't stop him from looking for love. After saving Amy from a cancelled date, Brock is instantly drawn to the shy and beautiful woman hiding secrets beneath her lust-filled baby blues—secrets he finds himself eager to discover. Undeniable attraction pulls them into each other's arms. Hope draws them into each other's lives. For Amy Flanders, Brock Baisdin may be the man to bring love back into her lonely life, if only she can overcome the wounds of her past and face her biggest fear—risking the pain of another shattered heart.

    When he finally decides a fling might be exactly what he needs to move on, he expects to find it in a woman. But when he meets Drea's hot cousin, he feels an attraction that he's never felt before. But Drea's cousin is a guy...and Ryan isn't gay.In Book 2, Drunk In Love, Ryan and Zach have been together for eight blissful months. Just as they are about to take their relationship to the next level, a visit with Zach's ex changes everything. They each make mistakes that could destroy everything they've built together.In Book 3, Choosing Happy, Steve lives his life in a cycle of work, hookups and regret. He's ruined every relationship he's been a part of and knows he's not cut out for love. The highlight of each day is seeing the hot college kid that walks by his waffle truck every evening. When Steve suspects abuse, he steps in and makes the situation even worse. He has to fix what he's screwed up, and maybe he can fix himself in the process.For mature readers. Includes an MMM scene.

    She’s the daughter of a Texas senator. Their chemistry is like oil and water. My name is Ryker James. I hate when people tell me what to do. I’m cocky, ornery, and I take things when I want them. Caring isn’t in my vocabulary unless it’s related to football or my family, and I just lost my entire family in a blink of an eye.Now all I have is football. The problem is the misery, the drinking, and the parties have more appeal to me. But Lakemont University wants that championship. Fans want to see wins on the scoreboard, and my teammates salivate to crush our opponents every game. Yet the only pass I might be throwing is at the auburn-haired girl who waltzes into my life. She’s fire. I’m ice. A combination that doesn’t work. So let the games begin.My name is Haven Hale, and I’ve been tucked away in a boarding school most of my life. Now I’m a big-time college girl, and all I see is freedom in front of me. But first, I have to agree to my father’s demands—no media attention and no sororities. If I can follow those two edicts, then college life should be a breeze. Until one close encounter with Ryker James, and Father Dearest has changed the game. Stay away from the big, bad quarterback, or face my father’s wrath. There’s only one problem. I can’t help who I’m attracted to.And Ryker James is a magnet, built to attract any female, constructed to make any girl’s heart sputter, and my heart is beating off the charts. But it’s time to choose between the devil I know and the one I don’t.

    waiting.As a widow and a single mother, I’d made peace with a quiet life. After all, I lost the love of my life. No one could ever replace him. But then, I met Dr. Logan Matthews and everything changed. He appeared like a white knight, caring for my injured daughter as he slowly mended the pieces of my broken heart. The letter Ethan left me has three words written on the envelope, When You’re Ready.So, I guess the question is...Was I ready... to love again?