Chloe is one of those fast-talking New Yorkers with an opinion about everything. Never mind that most of them are correct. She also has the greatest ass on the planet, along with a sex kitten smile that threatens to undo me every time we meet. But we want different things from life, and neither of us are willing to compromise. I have to keep my distance, no matter how much my heart wants to make her stay. Chloe:My holiday plans never included a funeral, or the grizzly bear in a suit scowling at me throughout the service, but here I am. Turns out the grizzly is named Aidan, and he’s actually a big softie beneath his shaggy beard. A big softie with rock hard abs. He’s fun, flirty, and dangerously attractive, but we’re strictly friends. There’s no crossing that line, although with each passing night, he’s getting harder to resist. I changed my life for love once before and I won’t do it again, no matter how much my heart wants him to make me stay.

    Except that the number is not a phone sex service—it’s the revenge Cameron Kirkwood’s ex-boyfriend took on the uptight advertising executive after Cam forgot their anniversary and accidentally put him in the hospital. Needless to say, after thirty-nine disturbing calls seeking phone sex, Cameron is at the end of his tether and yells at his fortieth caller. What he doesn’t expect is for Riley to hit redial and yell right back.The argument helps both Cameron and Riley vent about their issues, and when they’ve calmed down, they decide to exchange numbers and talk again. From this decision springs a friendship that, over time, grows into a gentle romance—all over the phone, because Riley is too scared to meet Cam in person. Showing a potential boyfriend his disfigured face is the fastest way to get rejected, right? Even a month of scorching hot phone sex can’t change his mind, no matter how hard Cam tries to persuade him that with their phone chemistry, the sex would be so much better in person.Meanwhile, Cam is haunted by the scarred blond he seems to be seeing everywhere, and Riley can’t get the handsome brunet who always seems happy to see him out of his mind. It’s a shock to both men to realise that the guy they’re falling for over the phone is also the man who brightens their day with just a smile; but it’s one thing to let a stranger smile at you and quite another to let him close enough to see into your soul. If Riley can’t break down the walls in his mind and believe that Cameron loves him in spite of his scars, their relationship may be doomed before they’ve even had a chance to kiss.

    Two weeks to teach him how to fall in love – with his own life.Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump. Adam is desperate – but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him she can show him that life is worth living before then. Despite her determination, Christine knows what a dangerous promise she’s made. Against the ticking of the clock, the two of them embark on wild escapades, grand romantic gestures and some unlikely late-night outings. Slowly, Christine thinks Adam is starting to fall back in love with his life. But has she done enough to change his mind for good? And is that all that’s starting to happen?

     Featuring seven brand new novellas, each answering the question—what happens when the one meant for you was right there all along?

    Gorgeous Grace and Charming Charity are soon hot favourites on everybody's guest-list. Except that of their neighbour, Marcella Hunter. Heiress Marcella doesn't want the competition and when Grace starts dating Marcella's 'Plan B' man - dull but extraordinarily rich Choate Fitzgerald - the gloves are off. Marcella determines to find out where the sisters really came from. And exactly how they can afford to rent a six-bedroom beach house in this millionaires' playground. In the process, however, it's discovered that quite a few of the people spending that summer in Little Elbow are not exactly what they seem...

    Their tense, nine-day standoff builds into a deadly war of nerves between two unforgettably charismatic and strong-minded protagonists.

    Widowed at only twenty-six, she’s just trying to get through one lonely day at a time as she grieves her late husband, and finds the energy to take care of her infant son.As Zoe bravely tries to hold herself together, her husband’s cousin and business partner, Adam, offers his support and friendship. Shattered by her loss, Zoe is distant and resentful at first, but Adam gently persists, and Zoe’s reserve soon begins to crumble . . .Adam knows that Zoe needs time to heal but finds himself more and more attracted to her. He knows he must not act on these forbidden feelings, but they just won’t go away . . .Noelle Adams’s Bittersweet is a poignant, fearless exploration of friendship, loss, new beginnings, and the healing power of love.

    His job in London takes all his energy and commitment. When he goes to Cornwall to stay with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin, love is the last thing Leo expects to find. Tris lives in a cottage on Edwin’s land. Gay, but still half in the closet, he and Leo bond over their affection for Edwin, and the pull of attraction between them proves too strong to ignore. In Tris’s arms, in the wilds of Cornwall, Leo finds a peace he’d forgotten existed.On his return to London, Leo finds himself grieving for more than just the loss of his uncle. When some unexpected news gives Leo the chance to return to Cornwall, he’s afraid it will be too late to rekindle things with Tris. But having learned much from his stay with his uncle, Leo doesn’t want to look back and wish he’d done things differently. It’s time to seize the day—if it’s not already too late.

    She lives and breathes the plan. The plan and coffee. Go to law school. Check. Make Law Review. Check. Get competitive internship. Check. Land dream job. Double Check. That dream job? Yeah, it’s a nightmare, and Evelyn is miserable with a capital M. When she reaches her misery threshold, Evelyn does the unthinkable and deviates from her plan. Her unexpected new job takes her to Pinehaven Ranch in the middle of nowhere Montana where Evelyn is faced with her biggest obstacle yet. No coffee shops within a 30-mile radius and her new boss’ brother, former rodeo champion Jack Danvers. The three words that best describe Jack are stink, stank, stunning. He is perfection and he inexplicably seems to hate her on sight. But if there is one thing life has taught her, it’s that she still has a lot to learn and Montana is full of surprises.

    McKenzie (Mack) Harper needs to get away and the small cottage just outside of Cape Elizabeth is the perfect location to unwind and bond with her six-year-old nephew, Lucas. It’s here at this quaint summer rental that Mack discovers a diary dated March 4th, 1947, which pulls her into a world of love and heartache.Each entry into the diary is brought to life through the words written by nineteen-year-old, Rose Degan, who falls in love with a man her parents disapprove of. Her heart knows what and whom it wants, Jacob Evans, a fire fighter in Cape Elizabeth. He hasn’t been in town long when they meet on the cliffs while she watches the rescue of a crew from a collier ship that went aground during a fierce storm.Back in the present, Mack discovers that Jacob is still alive and tries to find him. She leaves a message that falls into the hands of Jacob’s grandson, Dean Evans. With his curiosity piqued, Dean decides that the mystery woman, along with her diary, is an excellent excuse to slip away from home, earning a break from his mother’s matchmaking shenanigans—a grandchild being her sole focus.All these characters come together in a story of love and friendship. It shows that love and family can transcend time.

    Just another twenty-something girl, living the dream. That’s what I tell myself every morning. That I’m successful, self-aware, and well-balanced. It's just a tiny fib. I would be all of those things, if I had friends who didn’t work with me at the bank. And if I made it to pilates more than once a quarter. And if watermelon slushies weren't the main source of nutrients in my diet. It wouldn’t hurt if I’d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn’t count.)But when you know where you're going, you don’t need to enjoy the ride. Right?Even if some teeny part of me did want to fool around, Max Donovan would be the last guy I’d call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. And yeah, his eyebrow piercing’s sexy, in a ‘what-are-you-in-a-band?’ kind of way. And fighting with him gets me going faster than Jorge on bezerker mode…He’s still colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. And I’m not talking about his face, because the guy’s barely old enough to shave. It’d really be best if we just ignored each other. Which is a problem, because Max Donovan is my new biggest client.So what happens when the girl who lives to work meets the guy who was born to play?Game on.

    When she's encouraged to join her fitness-fanatic best friend's running club - by none other than its gorgeous new captain - she finds a mysterious compulsion to exercise.

    Original.AMELIA BY DAYFrom nine to five, she was Amelia Beauchamp, typical small-town librarian. But when the sun went down, she was miniskirt-clad cocktail waitress Amber Champion. And she'd caught the eye of the town's biggest rake, Tyler Savage. The name said it all -- and this was one Savage, "Amber" knew, who would never be interested in her if he knew who she really was. She had to keep playing the game....AMELIA BY NIGHTOr did she? Tyler, it turned out, was well aware that proper Amelia and flirtatious Amber were one and the same -- and he was having a fine old time playing along. And as for romantic dinners and long, moonlit nights together, really, they were all part of the game. One which he had every intention of turning into reality....

    He’s met— and had— many a man. None of whom he’d want to share five hundred kisses with. If you don’t like someone, you just don’t like them. End of story. No amount of kissing will change that. Dylan Halsworth doesn’t believe it either. But Chris and his arrogant, always right, dare I be wrong attitude has Dylan challenging him to try it. And who knows, maybe watching his most loathed neighbor suffer through five hundred kisses with the same man is worth it. He’d sit back, crack open a Mountain Dew, and have a good laugh . . . But . . . shit . . . there is one slight snag in his plan. Chris has chosen Dylan with whom to prove his point . . . * * * This story was originally written as part of the Goodreads “Love’s Landscapes” anthology, 2014. This second edition has new scenes, scene expansions, scene alterations, a revised ending, reformatting, and--thanks, Natasha!--a new cover. Big thanks to all those involved in both its original and second edition developments.

    . .