Just as the two begin to understand how extraordinary their friendship is, another cross-country move wrests Cazz away.Ten years later, Cazz unexpectedly runs into Sarah during a fraud investigation at Sarah’s charitable foundation. The women are inexorably drawn to each other, but Cazz’s investigation into the foundation's finances limits her ability to be entirely honest with Sarah.Already wary of Cazz for not keeping in touch after Claiborne, Sarah demands the truth. Will Cazz own up to her feelings for Sarah? Or is she too late? And will Cazz’s investigation bring a killer to justice, or will she sacrifice herself to protect Sarah from a man desperate to conceal his crimes?

    The cold, exacting assassin is hired to kill a woman who seems so innocent that Natalya can’t understand why anyone would want her dead. As she gets to know her target, she can’t work out why she even cares.Winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award (2017) for Mystery/Thriller and Lambda finalist.Length: 80,000 wordsThemes: assassin · Australia · awakening · cellist · crime · homicide · lesbian · lesbian thriller · Melbourne · murder · music · police

     Now in her adult years and a sought-after scientist herself, Diana learns that Nora is dying. She hires private-duty nurse Brooke Sheldon to care for Nora. Over the days and weeks spent in Nora’s company, Diana and Brooke are privy to Nora’s long-held secrets, along with her deep-seated regrets. Trapped in a failing body, but with a keen mind, Nora Lindstrom watches as the spark of attraction between her great-niece and her caregiver grows into a flame. Determined to help the two younger women find the kind of deep love they so richly deserve, Nora makes a fateful decision that brings the past and the present directly onto a collision course. After all this time, it’s still about chain reactions.

    An early morning hotel fire turns out to be anything but routine, and firefighter Reid Webb's best friend and partner, Jimmy Grant, dies. Guilt-ridden and grieving, Reid feels responsible for her partner's young son, Chase. She would do anything for him, even if that means spending far too much time in the company of the woman she's harbored feelings for since high school. Isabel Grant doesn't know anything about raising children. But when she returns to her hometown to assume custody of her orphaned nephew, she gets a crash course. Isabel's struggle to keep her footing in the midst of chaos is further complicated by her growing attraction to Reid, a woman whom Isabel blames for her brother's death.

    She excels at her job, in large part because of her ability to keep her emotions in check. Her past has given her many years of practice and she’s become a pro. But once she meets dog-walking volunteer Ashley Stiles, a distractingly attractive, perpetually late, emotions-on-her-sleeve young woman who smells like cupcakes, all bets are off for Lisa.The first of the Puppy Love Romances by award-winning author Georgia Beers.

    As Thorn Enterprise’s US branch president, she goes into business with Maeve DeForest, a party-loving socialite.Aeron DeForest, Maeve’s clandestine daughter, was brought up by nannies and sent off to boarding schools and has always been invisible to her mother. After college, Aeron moves to the Adirondacks and becomes a successful horror novelist.When Maeve dies, Sylvie learns Maeve has a daughter, and she needs Aeron to sign vital papers. After an initial clash, they reluctantly start working together. Just when they start to believe in love and their all-consuming passion, outside forces threaten to keep them apart forever.

    For Beth Ellis, Grafton College and its faculty and students are her home and family. But the president of the college rubs everyone the wrong way, the new English professor on campus isn't much more popular, and Beth has her hands full trying to keep the peace as various campus factions quarrel. Still, she didn't expect a tenure battle to end in murder. Sally Sullivan left the Chicago police homicide division and returned to her hometown where, as chief of police, she expected her greatest challenges to be dealing with car accidents and drunk drivers. But faced with a murder investigation with more motives than evidence and an inexperienced staff, Sally finds small-town policing isn't as simple as she thought. Neither are her growing feelings for Beth Ellis. As Sally and Beth's different worlds collide, their desire to solve the murder is complicated by their unexpected attraction. A second murder on campus places the survival of the college itself, their tenuous relationship, and even their lives in jeopardy.

    An orphan of circumstance, Reed knows the streets of Las Vegas better than anyone. Growing up rough has gotten her to the top of her profession, and she plans to stay there.Accountant Brinley Myers, a recent hire at the Moroccan Casino, discovers a money laundering operation orchestrated by the New York mob and suddenly her life and the people in it become collateral damage. Reed has Brinley in her sights and is ready to close the contract when she sees Brinley’s son in the car with her. Even hard-hearted Reed can’t kill a mother in front of her child. Before Reed can come up with a plan to finish the job, she’s double-crossed. It’ll take all her street smarts to keep herself, and her surprisingly beautiful mark, alive.

    The trauma of Sydney's dark childhood is something she would do anything to forget. Now only nineteen, she's trying to start over with a new life and a new name, but you can't escape the past...Caroline is the most stunning woman Sydney has ever seen. Every night, Sydney hears her singing from her apartment window, and every night, Sydney's heart aches with something indescribable. When Caroline offers singing lessons, Sydney jumps at the chance to be in the captivating woman's presence...but her desire for Caroline can't be hidden. And Caroline is over twice her age. Through Caroline's gentle instruction, Sydney finds her voice again. The broken girl feels like she's starting to mend. But her infatuation with Caroline is reaching a fevered pitch...Will Sydney lose everything if Caroline finds out the girl is in love with her?Provocative, passionate and achingly raw, THE LONGING, the latest romance from best-selling author Bridget Essex, explores the unbreakable human heart in a love story that you'll never forget.59,500 words

    After the untimely death of her father, she and her mother move to Los Angeles to start a new life. Devin is welcomed to her new school by an arrogant bully named Jason who promises to make the rest of her senior year miserable. Things turn around, however, when a beautiful and intelligent young woman named Melanie Parker, who happens to be Jason’s sister, comes to her rescue. As the relationship between Devin and Melanie grows, Devin finds herself becoming more and more drawn to her new friend’s vivacious spirit. It’s not until an unpleasant confrontation with Jason that Devin must admit to herself that her feelings for Melanie are far more than platonic.

    Suddenly, Carolyn's carefully manicured domestic life seems contrived and much less colorful. And her husband's love for her seems contrived and condescending, as if it's not the real Carolyn he loves at all. His tenderness turns to rage, caresses to blows.

    Ryan Myers’ life is on the fast track with a new career, a supportive group of friends, and an easy going relationship. Then an unexpected death, a diary that leaves more questions than answers, and a few family secrets turn her life upside down. Will Ryan be able to brave the elements and find the joy she has been searching for?

    A successful, self—made realtor, Regan has always played it safe, and the first time she takes a chance on love, she is left wounded and puts a wall around her heart. Darcy Grey has lost more than most, her parents at such a young age she barely remembers them. When she loses her grandparents, she is left struggling to fill the void. Six years later she is engaged to a man she isn’t even sure she is still in love with. When Regan and Darcy bump into each other, sparks fly from the start. But Regan’s vow to never fall for another “straight” girl and Darcy’s inconvenient engagement threaten to keep them apart. Can the two women look beyond past hurts and give themselves a chance to find the love of a lifetime?

    After a devastating ultimatum from her lover, Campbell Carson returns to her childhood home, Bear Run Ski Resort, seeking her family's unconditional solace and support.

    Stupid idea, but simple. She'd done it a dozen times before.Kristin Walker, doesn't want to go on this trip, be the perfect hostess, or be the boss's wife anymore, but finds herself trapped in all three.When an unexpected turn of events transforms their three days in paradise into a fight for survival, both women struggle against the odds and their own fears. However, the biggest challenge is their growing attraction toward each other and the question of who will rescue whom?