Book picks similar to
Played Out (Making the Play, #4 by L.M. Reid


fake-relationship
single-parent
contemporary
read-arc

Mr. Secret Daddy


Annabelle Love - 2021
    Now I’ll stop at nothing.Whatever it takes, I’ll get Lucy back.I’ll be the man she wants, and the father our baby deserves.This secret baby romance will set your pulse racing and warm your heart. There’s an extra big serving of HEA, and of course, no cheating or cliffhanger. This is Book 5 in the Love, Accidentally series, but each book is a stand-alone and can be read in any order.

Bringing Up Baby


Shyla Colt - 2021
    With my parents on an international cruise, I’m the guardian of my nephew, Noah. I love the kid. I mean, I’m his godfather, but I know next to nothing about caring for a baby. Shell-shocked and at my wit’s end with a colicky babe who seems to be allergic to sleep, I’m about to cry with him when an angel, in the form of my sexy neighbor, knocks on the door and begins to show me how empty my life was before now.When cries, unlike the usual moans of pleasure, come through the walls of my single neighbor’s apartment, I leave the comfort of my bed to investigate. The sight of the distraught man with a chunky baby in his arms melts me on the spot. Assessing the situation, I offer aid. I swore off dating after a disastrous run of unsatisfying relationships and hook-ups, but this new role-playing house caught me off guard. I’m falling for more than the baby as we work together to care for the tot. Forgetting this is temporary could prove detrimental to my heart.A playboy doesn’t go cold turkey on partying and the single life ... or does he?

Guarded Hart (Cross Creek, #3)


Kelly Collins
    Or does it?I’ve been keeping a secret. One that could change a lot of lives, including my own. I came to Cross Creek to find my father. He’s the difference between life and death for me. During my search, I found love, only sexy builder Ethan Lockhart isn’t having any of it. I’ve done my best to make him mine, but he’s more slippery than a fish in a brook. I built my life here on a lie, but my feelings for this man are true. Will the secrets I keep destroy what Ethan and I creating?I’m not the guy anyone picks first, so when Angie Sutton started flirting with my brother, I wasn’t surprised—that is until I found out she was doing it to get my attention. But this time, I’m determined not to give my heart away—not until I know who she really is. Letting someone get too close too fast is a blueprint for disaster. No matter how deeply I’m drawn to her, I know she’s hiding something, and until she can be honest with me, we don’t have a future.Find out if the truth can really set you free in Guarded Hart, book three in the Cross Creek Series.

Protecting What's Mine (Playing with Trouble)


Ava Gray - 2022
    

Falling in Fate


Melanie Shawn - 2021
    When she woke up, she expected to walk down the aisle and say, “I do.” Instead, she ended up at a diner commiserating with her sisters as she inhaled a carb heavy breakfast and ate her feelings. With her entire future in limbo, Ava was plotting her next move when she overheard a deep, sexy, blast-from-the-past voice ask for a table for two. She tried to place where she'd heard the baritone vibrato before but it was sort of hard to concentrate with the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing up, goosebumps lifting on her bare skin, and her lady parts throwing a rave.After nearly twenty years on the force Asher Ford thought he could handle anything, but becoming a single dad to a rebellious teenage girl overnight was proving to be more difficult than he’d expected. In a hail Mary move, he decided to quit his job as a homicide detective in New York City and move his daughter across the country to a simpler life in a small town. Things were going as planned until his fresh start was threatened after running into a breathtakingly beautiful woman whose smile made him feel like a teenager again and he also happened to share a complicated history with.Sometimes it's best to leave the past in the past...spoiler alert: this isn't one of those times.

THE BEAR'S BRIDE: A Mail-Order Service Paranormal Romance (Midlife Shifters of Shadow Falls Book 3)


Erin Havoc - 2021
    She has nothing to her name when she meets Nick.Turns out her groom is her mate.Rome knows she should be elated. But she’s not staying. She left her sister behind, the one person who ever treated her right. Rome needs money to rescue her. She needs the money to buy their freedom.Even if it breaks her mate’s heart.Nick is surprised to learn he has signed for a mail-order service.Only he hasn’t.His mate found him somehow, and his bear is finally at home.But Nick can’t rest. Something is wrong with his mate. He feels it in his gut.Worse? Someone is trying to break through the wards protecting Shadow Falls. Someone who is unwelcome.Someone who means harm.

Seeking the Future (The Forgotten Trilogy Book 3)


Brenda Kennedy - 2016
    You name it, she has survived it. She has lived through love and loss, but being a single mother with no memory of her past is something she never thought could be her reality. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Ava's memory returns, flooding her thoughts with a living nightmare of what her life was like with Connor. The dreams that have haunted her don't even compare to the horrific life that she's somehow managed to survive. The amnesia that once protected her is gone, and she's faced with the unimaginable truth. Can Ava pull it together to move forward? Does she hide the truth to protect the people who love her? Will her past define her future? The long-awaited conclusion of the Forgotten Trilogy is at your fingertips. Happy reading.

Kang (Alpha Force Elite, #4)


Mazzy King - 2020
    All I need is my friends, my books, and my dog. A day at the dog park turns into a chance encounter when a sexy soldier-type turns out to be my newly adopted pup's trainer.He's gorgeous, charming, and...not the one for me. I saw how the military destroyed my sister's relationship, and I won't go through that again.KangOutside of my work in Alpha Force Elite, keeping the world safe, I train dogs for the military, for police, and for anyone who wants to help their furry friend succeed.A routine appointment gives me the shock of my life when the most beautiful, curvy woman shows up with her adorable puppy. She's everything I want in a woman, but she's keeping me at arm's length.I'm deploying in a couple of weeks, and I need to go into danger knowing I have her heart...and I'll stop at nothing to win it.

Seth: The Brothers of Hastings Ranch Series: Book Seven


Katharine E. Hamilton - 2021
    

The "I Do" Do-Over: After I Do


Poppy Parkes - 2022
    HEA guaranteed!

Mob Boss' Ever After: A Dark Mafia Billionaire Romance (Broken Throne Book 5)


Lisa Lovell - 2021
    

A Wedding to Celebrate (The Wedding Planners)


Evangeline Kelly - 2021
    

Carson


Maryann Jordan - 2022
    Lighthouse Security Investigation West Coast.Carson Dyer spent years creating his business, partnering with a former Special Forces leader who owns the original LSI. Determined to make it as successful as possible, he gives one hundred percent to the effort.No distractions. No way. Not him. Until her. Jeannie Carnes. Former military nurse. Burned-out ER nurse. Volunteer Red Cross nurse. And she lands in the middle of an LSI- WC investigation of a cartel drug lord.She wants answers. He wants her safe. Will either of them get what they want? Only if they give in to what they need… each other.Lighthouse Security InvestigationsThe security and investigation company is filled with handpicked men and women from the SEALs, Rangers, Special Forces, Deltas, and Air Force Special Ops. All trained in CIA Special Operations, the Keepers were the best of the best and ready to take on any mission.Language and scenes similar to an R-rated movie. 18+ readers only.

Ex Best Thing (Sisters From Hell, #4)


Marika Ray - 2021
    Sure, he’s my sister’s ex, but he’s also the leather jacket to my quilt tote bag. He rides a Harley, frowns at everyone who makes the mistake of glancing at him, and closes real estate deals that have more zeroes than the number of dates I’ve been on recently.He’s all wrong for me, but now I’m tasked with training him at the center we both volunteer at in our off hours. Except, maybe he’s not the man I thought he was. He asks me to teach him how to be kind. I ask him to teach me how to have some adventure.The big question is if this unlikely pairing is worth the backlash from my family. Could we actually ride his motorcycle off into the sunset?

Sleigh Bell Baby: Holiday Belles


Dee Ellis - 2021
    Looking for a do-over on life, she thinks maybe this cute little town can be a fresh start for her—not as if she can go anywhere else with a snowstorm coming.Burke Ives comes from a huge family with big hearts, big lives, and big bank accounts. City life and starting a family were never for him—that's why he stays on the fringe in the wilderness of Driftwood, Georgia. Until he spots a beautiful woman with an adorable baby—and knows they both need him.Bristol makes the quite beast inside yearn to bed her, wed her, and breed her until the end of time.For Christmas he knows just what to give her—his last name and another baby in her belly. Tis’ the Season to Get Married!Nine of your favorite romance authors have joined forces to bring you a world full of wedding bells and Christmas cheer!Each short and steamy story promises a happily ever-after, with plenty of mistletoe and snuggles by the fire. The question is, will you end up on the naughty or nice list?#TheHolidayBelles are ringing beginning December 1st!