But life isn’t done...it sends him Lacy Dalton. She’s a reporter.He hates reporters.She’s pushy.He hates pushy.She’s sexy.He...well, he just won’t let himself think of her that way.The more Lacy learns about Cade’s past, the more she finds herself wanting to prove to him that not all reporters are bloodthirsty vultures. But her growing attraction to him puts not only her heart in jeopardy, but her life as well, because someone is out to ruin Cade and will do anything to make that happen.Show more Show less

    Maddy Bainbridge left her Jersey Shore home town right after high school, determined to put as many miles as possible between herself and her many meddling relatives.Now she's back in Paradise Point -- an unemployed single mother whose only option is to accept her mother Rose's offer of a job and a place to live.But it doesn't take Maddy long to discover that the things about your mother that made you crazy at 17 make you even crazier at 32. Rose's critical comments bring out Maddy's inner teenager and by the beginning of December, the end is in sight. Maddy would stay there at the Candlelight Inn, her mother's popular B&B, through Christmas for her daughter Hannah's sake, but once the New Year rolled around… And then fate, in the form of an online auction battle over a Russian samovar that looks like Aladdin's lamp, brings home-town hero Aidan O'Malley into her life and suddenly Maddy begins to believe anything is possible.A child's dreams, an old woman's memories, the joys and heartaches that come with being part of a family, the thrill of new love and the deep comfort of love that stood the test of time -- it all comes together that one special holiday season when even the most battered hearts open just wide enough to let a miracle or two slip through.USA Today bestselling author Barbara Bretton has been hailed as a "monumental talent" (Affaire de Coeur) and now she delves deeply into the mysteries of family and shows us that even the most independent woman is still a daughter at heart.Home: it's where your story starts.(Previously published by Berkley Books)

    But one day it wasn't enough...With their relationship now firmly in the rearview mirror, Penny's gotten on with her life and her veterinary practice. But a late night plea for help from an injured Beau brings the bull rider crashing back into her life, and she discovers that the fire between them burns as strong as ever.In fact, it might be even hotter than before. But this time Penny's not willing to be Beau's second best. Can they find a way to make it work? Or will her heart be scorched when he leaves again?

     The morning after Amy Leigh Paisley, from Pine Oak, Montana is left behind in Las Vegas, she wakes up with not only a huge hangover, but with a husband who happens to be Trent Baxter, Billings' most eligible bachelor. His father thinks she's a gold-digger, her mother wants her to be one and all Amy Leigh wants, is to stay married to the hot man for just a bit longer and maybe another night of great sex. "Hildie McQueen tugs at heartstrings while bringing love in the American wild west to life." Kirsten Osbourne, USA Today Bestselling Author of Historical Western Romance

    It’s accessible only by plane- the better, he thinks, to hide his scars from the rest of the world. What Theo doesn't know is that the island has an incredible secret, one that gives him hope… hope of future happiness, despite the horrible scars that make him a recluse. Hope to be had in the arms of a mysterious blonde he hasn't yet met…

     Heading home always stirs up mixed emotions for Laney Calhoun. Twelve years ago she left for graduate school, broken-hearted. She's found professional success, but positive personal relationships have proved elusive. Running into her ex-boyfriend fans flames she thought long extinguished, and causes a renewed interest in love. Not with Kyle, of course. Never again. But as sparks fly and items of clothing disappear, she scrambles to keep her emotions in check. ...Now he has a second chance to get it right. Kyle Nixon let Laney slip away once. Their chemistry together is undeniable, but steamy sex is not enough to convince her to let him back into her heart. Even if she did trust him again, her career as a paediatric surgeon is five hundred kilometers away from the hometown that he loves, and the life he once chose over her. Come home to Wardham. Come home to love.

    A few bottles of wine help lower her inhibition and go a long way to giving her the courage to try to heal her broken heart. After all, Taylor reasons, what is the worst thing that can happen – the superstition of finding her true love might come true?   Sheriff Ryan Jones is used to getting calls about the odd dancing around the downtown fountain. When you live in Cupid, Texas, there were always some residents who believed if you dance naked around the fountain, you were guaranteed to find your true love. What he doesn’t expect is to find the lovely, but spirited Taylor Braxton confronting him at midnight – sans clothing. Unfortunately, a long-held promise and his badge stand between him and what he wants – Taylor.   Will the Cupid Superstition help Taylor and Ryan overcome the past and take a chance on love again? Or will a promise he made to her best friend, and his career, deflect Cupid’s arrow?

    These are tales that can be read in their entirety in only a handful of minutes. The stories are submitted by dozens of authors who often set them in the larger worlds of their other books.Stories and Authors in the collection:Mistletoe Cowboy by Trish MilburnAn Ugly Sweater Christmas by Heather McGovernClose to Perfect by Suzanne FerrellTo Santa with Love by Lindsey BrookesA Perfect Party by Anna SugdenThe Miracle of the Child by Bridget HodderMistletoe Magic by D.B. SiedersOn This Christmas Day by Natalie J. DamschroderFashionably Late for Christmas by Tanya MichaelsA SEAL’s Proposal by Tawny WeberWhite Christmas Pizza by Donna MacMeansThe Christmas Before Hell Froze Over by Sally KilpatrickSnowflake by Monica McCabeAn Unexpected Guest by Beth PattilloNew Year’s Magic by Jody WallaceGiving Thanks by Jeanette GreyA Holiday Miracle by Michelle MonkouA Bluestone Christmas Homecoming by M.J. FredrickHaintsgiving by Maureen HardegreeAll She Wants for Christmas by Janice LynnThe Solstice Ball by Nancy NorthcottZombie of Good Cheer by Gretchen StullSnow and Ghosts by Nicki SalcedoA Candle in the Window by Dorien KellyIn Which Miss Gardella Receives Three Gifts by Colleen GleasonA Miracle for Molly by Trish Milburn

     After growing up in a dying town, with only two restaurants, no movie theater, and no future, waitress Cassidy Simon wants out. For once, luck is on her side when the oil boom comes to South Texas. She’s determined to use it for her advantage, starting up an RV park for the oilfield workers to add to her escape fund. She’s never been out of Texas, and she’s itching for adventure. Grady McKenna couldn’t get away from his family’s ranch fast enough when he was a teenager, but a tour in the Air Force in the Middle East is enough to convince him there’s no place like home. He’s seen the world, had his adventure. Now he’s ready to contribute to his family’s legacy in Evansville. Naturally, the woman who draws his attention is the one intent on slipping through his fingers. How can he convince her life with him will be all the adventure she needs?

    While most people celebrate and look forward to the holidays, it's something she has come to dread. When she receives a gift from an unlikely source - a house in the quaint town of Silver Bell Falls - her immediate reaction is to reject it. After all, with a name like that, you're pretty much guaranteed to be surrounded by people who love Christmas!He sees it as the most wonderful time of the year…Josiah Stone is all about peace on earth and goodwill toward man. Maybe it's because he's the sheriff of a town named after a beloved Christmas song, but that doesn't make it any less true. Christmas is his favorite time of year and living in Silver Bell Falls where everyone feels the same and celebrates it nearly year-round only adds to his festive outlook on life.Can a white Christmas change everything?When Melanie is forced to stay in Silver Bell Falls during the actual holiday season, she's less than thrilled. But after meeting the sexy sheriff she finds that there is something to be said about the magic of Christmas.

    For Dan, a self-assured attorney, this means indulging in the all-consuming intimacy of marriage wherever and whenever his new wife will have him.But CPA Maddie doesn’t want to be in charge. In fact, there’s something she craves and there’s no one she trusts more than Dan to give it to her. But is it too much, too soon for their new marriage? The last thing she wants is to make her husband regret his vows before the honeymoon is even over.

    

    In Unexpectedly Yours… Sophie has been dreaming of a magical winter holiday in New York City. Can a chance encounter with musician Austin bring her festive dreams to life?In Holiday Kisses… Writer Dash needs peace and quiet to finish his new script, but he wasn’t betting on inn-keeper Ellie and the local Starbright festival to give him a jolt of holiday inspiration.

    She lost her job, her savings, and the support of her parents. But she has an idea that will put everything back on track. And she needs Meg Klein's help. The MatchBaker. When Claire attends her scheduled taste-testing at Meg's Bakery in Old Town Somewhere, TX, she doesn't expect to have company, let alone her first crush. And what a crush he was. Strapping fireman, town sports hero, all around hunky and currently quite single. So what is Aidan doing at a wedding cake tasting? Captain Aidan Conley doesn't get out much. He's been mostly in limbo, trying to avoid the town gossips who only want to talk about him and his late wife. When doing his sister a favor puts him in the path of Claire Milton, his high school best friend, he can't stop thinking about how much he wants to kiss her. But when a cold case at the fire house puts his career in jeopardy and Claire is the only person standing between him and a life sentence, he has to put his feelings aside and fight for his life. But a fireman who knows entirely too much about how to investigate fires must be under suspicion when his wife dies suddenly in a house fire. Even if they were the happiest couple on earth. So when Claire discovers evidence that they weren't as happy as they seem and it casts a light on Aidan she doesn't want to admit, she has to choose between her resurfacing feelings and her own safety...

    Two years out from a divorce that left her emotionally fragile, Kate is starting to think that maybe she’s ready for love again—or at least for a fling with a hot man. Jackson Graham is a local chef who’s controlling when it comes to food, careless when it comes to women, and temperamental when it comes to just about everything. When Kate’s friends mobilize to set things up between Kate and Jackson, she expects some casual pleasure followed by a hasty goodbye, but Jackson’s long-term crush on Kate means that he’s in this one to win. The problem is, neither he nor Kate knows whether he can change the self-defeating habits that usually send women scurrying for the door as soon as the afterglow fades. Throw in a beautiful backdrop of rocky beaches and rugged coastline, a manipulative father, a Mary Kay–pushing stepmother, a yapping Pomeranian, and a nervous ring-tailed lemur, and you’ve got Moonstone Beach, the first contemporary romance in a series of four about Kate and her friends, Gen, Lacy, and Rose.