But with time running out and no flawless male specimen in sight, Mel has no choice but to try and pass off the former soldier as the real thing for her next campaign. Her business partner claims Mel only needs to “smooth out Sam’s rough edges,” a comment that has her reaching for a sand blaster. Confident, irrepressible, and sexy as hell, Sam has an unerring talent for finding trouble and more appeal than any man has a right to possess. Against her better judgment, she finds herself falling under his spell. But Mel has to wonder: is she falling for her own Mr. Right, or under the hype of her own campaign?

    After moving his chocolate shop, and newly single life, to the quirky town of Cactus Creek, Luke wants nothing more than to devote all his energy into making his business a success—by taking the romance market by storm. But his grand plans get thrown for a loop when he locks horns with the feisty beer-brewing beauty next door who calls his ‘romantic idealism’ a load of fairytale bull. Soon, driving the woman sparking nuts becomes another wickedly fun priority he simply can’t get enough of.In his defense, she’s addictively easy to incite…and plain impossible to resist.Beloved local brewmaster Dani Dobson is beyond riled up. It’s bad enough the new shop owner in town comes locked and loaded with both a distractingly rugged charm and sexy flashing dimples, but the whole only-in-the-movies variety of romance he’s selling—the kind her world has been crushed by before—is really doing a number on her allergy to unrealistic clichés. What’s worse, he’s created an annoyingly clever ad campaign that dubs ‘beer joints’ like hers as the “cave where romance goes to hibernate.” The nerve of that man.Combustible chemistry or not, damn it, this means war. The stakes…very likely, her heart.

    It is also the prequel to Mary’s bestselling family saga, A Family Affair: The Promise, Truth in Lies, Book Seven. She'll risk anything to save her child...even the truth. 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. BONUS MATERIAL: Included in this book is 2 Chapters from The Way They Were: That Second Chance, Book 2

    Still, spending three weeks on location in the historic city of Bath doesn’t sound too bad.After all, how much trouble can one actor get into?Why Do Fools Fall In Love is a romantic comedy with a little bit of mystery and suspense

    With no job or social support, she flees to a small town in hopes of finding a good family for her unborn baby, but instead finds a man who is as broken as she is. Eric Gaylord returns to his home town for a respite after a tragic loss, but when his spitfire mother takes on an unknown woman as a business partner, he is forced to face the nightmare he’d left behind or risk losing the one woman who could heal his heart.

    Relying on a man only leads to heartache. She takes care of herself, and work defines her life. But Emily soon finds herself in the hands of a real-life prince who defines the words charming and sexy. Not to mention reckless. If Prince Lucas doesn’t find a royal bride, Emily’s dream of being named a partner at the advertising firm will die.Luc’s fun-loving ways have made him a magnet for scandal. His father gives Luc an ultimatum—find a wife on a reality TV show or be disowned. Rules require him to marry nobility, but after he meets the uptight American sent to find him find a princess bride, his search for Cinderella might be over. Too bad Emily wants nothing to do with him. Perhaps he can show her that fairytale endings can happen in real life…

    The literary success she’s struggled so hard for would be a dream come true were it not for the killer preying on bestselling authors. Reid Gardner hosts a syndicated crime show dedicated to capturing the most dangerous fugitives. The former LAPD cop knows only too well how violence can shatter lives. No victim arouses his ardor more than the pretty brunette author who’s become the target of a psychopath. Yet falling in love with her could cost him not only the reputation he’s spent years building, but the one killer who forever eludes him …

    Two years ago, her fiancé failed to show up on the day of their wedding, forever changing her outlook on marriage. Now she’s being offered enough money to solve her financial woes in exchange for acting as proxy for another woman—Andrea's double—in her marriage to handsome and rich Blake Thomas. All Andrea has to do is play the part of the bride in the wedding and then share a two-week honeymoon in Hawaii with Blake.Old fears of being jilted resurface as the wedding day approaches. But after she meets the dashing groom, her ability to distance herself from the job becomes more challenging every day. Will Andrea be able to cash out of this arrangement with her heart intact when Blake’s new wife claims her place at his side?

    First she got engaged, then she was jilted, and now she’s pregnant—via a sperm bank! She was so sure love had passed her by, she decided to have a baby on her own. Before Lily’s due date, Jake will have to woo her, win her, marry her, and convince her that he wants to be a dad to the baby she’s carrying…and maybe a few more. Originally published in 2004 in Mothers by Design.

    Sheltered by her overbearing father, Louisa has years of catching up to do and can think of no better person than gorgeous Sam Rawlins to show her. Is she ready for the time of her life? Hell, yes.Ordinarily unflappable adventure guide Sam Rawlins makes his living showing the wealthy how to have fun, but nothing in his experience could have prepared him for the "adventure" Louisa Honeycut asks for. He might be showing Louisa the time of her life, but the quirky little snack-cake heiress is soon turning Sam's own life upside down...and perversely, he likes the new vantage point.

     Holly Jacobs has always put the cart before the horse. A prodigy who shot to stardom in textile design, she never knew a normal life—and there's nothing she longs for more than to be normal. Pregnant before she even knows the name of her baby's father, Holly has put the cart miles ahead of the horse this time. But when she and Gabe meet for the second time, they decide to have their baby together. Holly finally begins to accept her unique way of doing everything backward, but Gabe's very normality drives her up the walls. Then his tragic past rears up; pain and loss threaten to destroy forever the fragile bond that has blossomed between him and Holly. Sometimes the only way to get where you need to be is to put the cart before the horse.

    His Atlanta based development company is a top southern business and he intends to keep it that way. When he expands into Huntsville, Alabama, he runs into trouble with a tree-hugger who has no regard for his vision of progress. She is outrageously stubborn and incredibly beautiful and she is driving him out of his mind!Free Renzetti will do whatever it takes to salvage and protect historic homes, including going up against the sexiest man she has ever laid eyes on. Somehow she must make this career-focused man see that he desperately needs to stop and smell the roses!

    And now everyone at her work knows what a failure she is as a woman thanks to her ex-boyfriend and co-worker at Sunset Travel who has given Angie the nickname of ‘Ice Princess’, claiming no man will ever thaw her. Thirty-year-old business executive Trey Landers isn’t surprised by much his best friend and neighbor, Angelina Rossi, throws his way. But this time she throws him one hell of a curve ball. She not only wants him to accompany her on a business trip to Las Vegas, pretending to be her lover in front of her ex-boyfriend, she wants Trey to give her pointers on what it takes to seduce a man. A man of his word, Trey’s fevered kisses in front of her ex has the ass regretting his decision to break up with Angie. Not that she’d ever consider going back to Rick. Especially after discovering true passion in Trey’s arms. With that passion comes the realization they’re no longer pretending as the lines of their longstanding friendship and newfound love begin to blur. If only what happened didn't have to stay in Vegas. Or does it?

    Steph thought they were soulmates. Until recently. Surely one’s soulmate shouldn’t put Chelsea FC before her? Or boycott caressing her to fondle the remote control? Fed up, Steph uses her Tesco staff discount to buy a laptop. Her friends all talk about Facebook. It’s time to get networking.Si is worried about middle-age spread and money. Being a self-employed plumber isn’t easy in recession. He’s also aware things aren’t right with Steph. But Si has forgotten the art of romance. Although these days Steph prefers cuddling her laptop to him. Then Si’s luck changes work wise. A mate invites Si to partner up on a pub refurbishment contract.Son Tom has finished Sixth Form. Tom knows where he’s going regarding a career. He’s not quite so sure where he’s going regarding women and lurches from one frantic love affair to the next.Widowed neighbour June adores the Garveys as if her own kin. And although 70, she’s still up for romance. June thinks she’s struck gold when she meets salsa squeeze Harry. He has a big house and bigger pension – key factors when you’ve survived a winter using your dog as a hot water bottle. June is vaguely aware that she’s attracted the attention of fellow dog walker Arnold, but her eyes are firmly on Harry as ‘the catch’.

But then Cupid’s arrow misfires causing madness and mayhem. Steph rekindles a childhood crush with Barry Hastings; Si unwittingly finds himself being seduced by barmaid Dawn; June discovers Harry is more than hot to trot; and Tom's latest strumpet impacts on all of them. Will Cupid's arrow strike again and, more importantly, strike correctly? There's only one way to find out....

    A magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, with a law degree from Columbia, Archer has a great husband, a wonderful daughter, and a fulfilling career. Add to that a slot on the U.S. Equestrian Team and Archer can almost forget her mysterious past, her violent history. Almost perfect. But nothing stays at equipoise forever. When Archer's daughter, Annie, is murdered, her life shatters and deadly skills, long dormant, emerge as highly relevant. As Archer embarks on her own path to salvation, she snips all ties with the past. Love is now an extravagance, no longer affordable for her.At her darkest ebb, Connor McCall, Harvard-educated financial baron turned Wyoming rancher, stumbles into Archer's life and presses her to start reconnecting the dots. It's an edgy blend of La Femme Nikita, The Horse Whisperer, and something else.In Tell Me When It Hurts, memories can sustain or sink you, all in the same night and all the same memories*READERS FAVORITE HONORABLE MENTION AWARD8