At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

    The château of Duc Hugo d’Amboise simmers with rivalry and intrigue. Henriette d’Augustin, one of five mistresses of the duc, lives at the chateau with her daughter. When the duc’s wife, Duchesse Charlotte, maliciously undermines a new mistress, Letitia, Henriette is forced to choose between position and morality. She fights to maintain her status whilst targeted by the duchesse who will do anything to harm her enemies. The arrival of charismatic tarot reader, Romain de Villiers, further escalates tensions as rivals in love and domestic politics strive for supremacy.In a society where status is a matter of life and death, Henriette must stay true to herself, her daughter, and her heart, all the while hiding a painful secret of her own.

    She’s a hard-hitting journalist. Will their romance be game, set, mismatch?800+ pages of fast-swinging racquets, hot-off-the-press gossip, and smoldering chemistry across three full-length novels!Tennis heartthrob Cash Gallagher is undefeated both on and off the court. But beneath his superstar playboy image, he’s hiding a painful secret. When a headline-busting exposé hits a little too close to home, he’s determined to match the feisty journalist swing for swing… even if it means sleeping with the competition.Tally McKenzie is one story away from launching her career into the big leagues. And she can’t think of a better subject than the tennis bad boy she’s drooled over for a decade. But when her unauthorized tell-all triggers his infamous competitive streak, she’ll go toe to toe with the man of her dreams for a shot at fame and a fantasy of her own.As their flirtatious rivalry heats up, can Cash and Tally drop their defenses and let love in or will old doubts and dark secrets ruin their perfect match?A Winning Ace Boxset: The Complete Series is a sizzling contemporary romance collection containing three full-length novels.

    Tired of casual hook-ups and meaningless affairs, Eric is ready for something real. When a mysterious dark-haired beauty moves in next door, Eric knows he’s found exactly what he’s been missing. She is running from her past… Lily Sotelo just got the break of a lifetime choreographing for pop star Karina Black’s winter tour. As important as it is that she does an amazing job, it’s equally as important that she remains anonymous. Which shouldn’t be a problem. She’s spent the last ten years on the move, never letting anyone get too close. Until now. Her new neighbor is as persistent as he is sexy and is making Lily want things she knows she can’t have. Book #2: Snow Days She wanted to feel pleasure… After twenty-nine years, high school English teacher Amy Maguire realizes something is missing in her life…passion. Always one to tackle a problem head on, Amy makes a plan to remedy her situation. Phase One: find a suitable candidate. Phase Two: experience passion. Simple. Right? Except after countless dates she hasn’t once felt that spark, that chemistry. That is until the sexy new History teacher walks into her classroom… He wanted to forget pain… Matt Kellan knows he’ll never love again. After tragically losing his wife five years ago, Matt has been in a holding pattern. Every woman he meets wants to fill a void that he knows will never be filled. Until he meets Amy. Her quest to find fulfillment has nothing to do with letting her into his heart…just his bed. Passion brought them together. Love may drive them apart. Book #3: Snowed In The Free-Spirit… Nikki Maguire does what she wants, says what she wants, and lives by her own set of rules. She is an intoxicating combination of beauty, sex-appeal and sharp wit that men find irresistible. Unfortunately for them, none have ever come close to holding Nikki’s attention, and settling down is not even on her radar. The Politician… Sexy Senator Michael Gowan lives under a microscope. As a man of power and influence, he always has to do and say the right thing. Every move he makes is heavily scrutinized. After being named one of People’s 100 Most Beautiful People and landing on countless Most Eligible Bachelor lists, the spotlight on his personal life has never been more intense. But Mike has no interest in love...he doesn’t even believe it exists. The Stormy Night… Grounded by a snowstorm, they share an anonymous night of passion and connection, both finding what their souls have been missing. But in the light of day, will the illicit high-stakes world of politics cause Nikki to deny her feelings or can Mike convince her that the only place she belongs is with him? When the world is against them, will their unlikely love endure? Book #4: Let It Snow Thirteen years ago…his world fell apart after his soul mate left him in the middle of an unforeseen tragedy that would bind them together forever. Ever since, sexy Fireman Jake Maguire busied himself by putting out fires in buildings and starting them in women, all in an attempt to extinguish the fire she set off in him all those years ago. Thirteen years ago…she made the hardest decision of her life. For every tear, every heartache, Tessa Hayes reminded herself that she made that sacrifice out of love.

    Hard because Harry, her beloved uncle, has died suddenly, but also because of him. Kale.Kale Hunt has been her best friend since childhood. But it was never that simple. He was Lane’s reason for leaving home and moving to New York. Seeing him with someone else, in love with someone else, shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It really, really did. So she upped sticks and left, started a new life and cut herself off from her past.But now she’s back, and all the feelings are right there. As if she had never left.Emotions are running high for everyone, and tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together. But is Lane reading the signs right? Are they still just friends, or is there something more?

    A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest.Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry . . . and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.

    But Sonny is desperate, and although Ace isn't going to take him up on his offer of "anything," that doesn't mean he isn't tempted. Instead, Ace takes Sonny under his wing, protecting him when they're in the service and making plans with him when they get out. Together, they're going to own a garage and build race cars and make their fortune hurtling faster than light across the desert. Together, they're going to rewrite the past, make Sonny Daye a whole and happy person, and put the ghosts in Ace's heart to rest. But not even Sonny can build a car fast enough to escape the ghosts of the past. When Sonny's ghosts drive them down and run their plans off the road, Ace finds out exactly what he's made of. Maybe Sonny was the one to promise Ace anything, but there is nothing under the sun Ace won't do to keep Sonny safe from harm.

    He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar.And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think it’s time to start working on his issues. Maybe.When Declan meets Sidney—a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show—an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode.The dates are…sort of blah. It’s not Sidney’s fault; the folks participating are (mostly) great people, but there’s no chemistry there. Maybe Declan’s just broken.Or maybe the problem is that the only person he’s feeling chemistry with is Sidney.

    After his father dies, Noah's mother, a temperamental poet, takes a teaching job in a small New Hampshire town, far from Chicago and the only world Noah has known. While Noah gets along reasonably with his mother, the crumbling house they try to renovate quickly reveals dark secrets, via dusty Mason jars they discover interred between walls. The jars contain scraps of letters, poems, and journal entries, and eventually reconstructs a history of pain and violence that drives a sudden wedge between Noah and his mother. Fortunately, Noah finds an unexpected ally in J.D., a teenager down the street who has family troubles of his own.

    Keeping it secret will destroy him.It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding they never had. Everyone she loves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won’t be there. Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he’s arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnie arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he's learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love—and give each other a last few hours of happiness?

    Six months of too many missed shifts at the hospital, too much booze, too many men. Matt knows he's on the verge of losing everything, but he's finding it hard to care. Then Matt meets Aaron. He's gorgeous, intelligent and apparently not interested in being picked up. Still, even after seeing Matt at his worst, he doesn't turn away. Aaron's kindness and respect have Matt almost believing he's worth it-and that there could be life after Joe. But his newfound happiness is threatened when Matt begins to suspect Aaron is hiding something, or someone...

    Throw in an incontinent Chihuahua, an unrequited love affair, a severe case of social anxiety disorder, a dying father, and a man-eating hog and it becomes darned near impossible. Still, it takes two to tango—and when Tom Morgan, a mild-mannered assistant bank manager with a debilitating case of shyness, meets Frank Wells, who is straight off the farm and even shyer than he is, sparks start flying.Just when Tom and Frank’s burgeoning love affair is rolling along nicely, Frank must return to Indiana to oversee the farm while his father battles cancer. Tom tags along to help Frank out and finds himself slopping hogs and milking cows and wondering what the hell happened to his orderly citified existence. And what’s with all the chickens? Tom hates chickens!With Frank’s help, Tom grits his teeth and muddles through. Funny what a couple of guys can accomplish when they’re crazy about each other. Not even nine hundred chickens can stand in the way of true love.

    Perceived betrayal had burned the bridge between them, tossing them into the icy river of estrangement. But life and death has a robust sense of irony, and when they learn that their cruel father has died and made his final request that they travel together across the country to spread his ashes, they have no choice but to spend a long, long car trip in each other s company. It s either that or lose out on the contents of the envelope he s left with his lawyer. The trip will be as gut-wrenching as each expects it to be . . . and revealing in ways neither of them is prepared for. At turns humorous, biting, poignant, and surprisingly tender, ASHES puts a new spin on family and dysfunction with a story that is at once fresh and timelessly universal."