Book picks similar to
What Are Friends For? by Patricia McLinn


romance
contemporary-romance
ebook
contemporary

Unsung Hero


Barbara Ankrum - 2016
    He lifted himself from humble beginnings to wealth and helped his brother's battered Navy SEAL team recover after a mission went south. When he returns to his Laguna Beach hometown for a friend's wedding, Nio will need all of his redemption skills to win back the woman he was forced to leave ten years ago without explanation.Becca Howard has quit believing in happily-ever-after's. Scandal has ruined her once well-off family, and betrayal has ended her engagement. She's done with men, or so she thinks. When Nio strides out of the surf looking like some Greek god and announces he wants her back, the urge to run is as strong as the urge to stay. And the wedding they're both attending is about to get complicated.Secrets and family lies still stand in their way. Can one long overdue weekend together in Laguna Beach change Becca's heart? *Expanded version of previously titled "Reckless in Laguna"

Set the Night on Fire


Jennifer Bernard - 2016
    The town bad boy is back to clear his name Firefighter Sean Marcus left Jupiter Point in disgrace, but now he’s coming home to clear his name. As the man in charge of setting up the new Jupiter Point Hotshots wildfire crew, he’s out to prove he’s no longer the troubled boy who fled after a night of violence. He’s back for one reason only--and it isn’t to fall in love. The town sweetheart has a secret Evie McGraw has never spoken about that night. But she can’t escape it, especially now that her brother’s wild friend Sean is back. Rugged, sexy and irresistible, he’s the only one who knows what happened. Evie put her life on hold to protect her family, but now, she has to make a choice. Keep silent…or put her heart on the line and let Sean help heal the past?

The Highlander's Lady (Highlands Forever Book 1)


Aileen Adams - 2019
     Olivia Smythe is the daughter an English earl and a Scottish woman. He has decided that his half-Scottish daughter should go to the Highlands for her own safety to avoid the border skirmishes that plague their area. He’s also pleaded her hand to a cruel Englishman. Laird Boyd MacPherson has no idea the Englishwoman he’s saved from cutthroats is the cousin of a Highland laird. He has no idea the courage and wherewithal that this young half-Scot can muster. He is quick to find out when she runs away and seeks to hide from her betrothed and the rest of the world. Boyd turns the Highlands upside down looking for her, only to find her in the least likely of places.

The Way We Fall


Cassia Leo - 2015
    Maybe we shouldn’t have fallen so fast and so willingly.Maybe we shouldn’t have moved in together before we went on our first date.Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.Maybe we should have never been together.Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he took her into his home. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he’s ever loved.The Way We Fall is the first book in The Story of Us series, which follows the tumultuous love story of Rory and Houston. The sequel, The Way We Break, will be released Spring 2015.

Feels like Home


Evelyn Adams - 2014
    But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night. Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

Royal Mistake


Renna Peak - 2017
    Others are assholes. I've spent most of my career writing tabloid articles about the royals of Montovia, and Prince Andrew, the heir to the throne, was always the one that intrigued me most. He's so guarded, so mysterious…so ridiculously attractive. And then I met him. And I found out he's the most arrogant, smug, infuriating man to ever live. He also desperately needs my help. There are three things I know for sure. First, Prince Andrew has a secret. Second, he'll do anything to keep it a secret. And third, in spite of how infuriating I find him, I can’t help being incredibly attracted to him. This is Part One of a six-part contemporary romance serial by bestselling authors Renna Peak and Ember Casey. This episode ends with a cliffhanger.

Come Go with Me (Vegas Bad Boys)


C. Morgan - 2020
    It should. I have a son to provide for.Unfortunately, I don't have much time for the boy.Hiring a nanny is a must after he gets into some trouble that leaves me needing extra eyes on him.But the woman I hire is everything I want in my life and in my bed.A job takes me overseas and I have no choice but to offer her a great opportunity to go with us.I don't have time for family so I sure as hell don't have time for love.Funnily enough, love didn't ask.I'm drowning in desire around this vixen and falling for her more and more every day.Watching her with my boy leaves me wanting so much more than a work arrangement with her.But she's protecting herself because she can't have kids and is worried a good man won't accept that.She's dead wrong. I'm getting her to leave that old life of condemnation and come follow me to something better.Love. Warmth. Smoking-hot heat.

My Lord Rogue


Katherine Bone - 2014
    The only thing more dangerous is being in love…Gillian Chauncey, Baroness Chauncey, is a master of disguise, trained by her expatriated husband, a former French royalist, in the arts of espionage. When a dangerous life or death secret lands in her lap, she’s thrust into a perilous world of ticking clocks and desperation, arrowing her directly into the arms of the man who arranged her marriage.Lord Simon Danbury is no ordinary nobleman. He’s been tasked by Admiral Nelson to organize an elite group of clandestine first sons willing to sacrifice all to protect England’s shores. When an assassination attempt is made on Nelson, Simon isn’t sure what poses more danger, the enemy or the masterfully seductive Gillian.

Heroes of Henderson Boxed Set 1


Liz Kelly - 2016
     Playin’ Cop ~ Heroes of Henderson Prequel Duncan James may be a well respected attorney, but he's still a fraternity guy at heart. So when his buddies bet he can't give the local female speed demon a ticket, he adopts a cop's persona and goes in for the kill. Only to find killer lips, a killer body and a whole lot of killer sass challenging him at every turn. Annabelle Devine may be a genteel Southern belle, but she's dealing with her own long-standing bet. So when smooth-talking, sexy Officer Friendly hands her a speeding ticket, she licks her lips and simply insists he escort her to her family's New Year's Eve ball. Well, duh! Duncan is in. In deep. And now he's desperate to come clean and turn one seriously naughty night into a lifetime of hot Southern lovin’. Good Cop ~ Book 1 Local sports heroes Brooks Bennett and Vance Evans are used to being part of a winning team. But when it comes to romance their good cop, bad cop images have them handcuffed. They want a woman’s point of view to help unshackle their reputations, and they’ve picked out one pretty, pony-tailed firecracker to do it. Lolly DuVal longs for a summer fling that can set off all her bells and whistles. So she agrees to tutor Henderson’s hunkiest heroes on what women really want. Now she finds herself caught between two cops and a hard place. And those bells and whistles? They are starting to sound a whole lot more like alarms. Bad Cop Book 2 When Vance Evans tracks down Piper Beaumont, the little blonde who saved his life back in fourth grade, he doesn’t just find the sweet, curly-haired Tinkerbell he remembers. He also finds a complicated woman who proves to be way more than he’s bargained for. Though she’s still Perfect Piper with the soothing touch, she’s also The Lawyer Beaumont, a defense attorney carrying a personal grudge against every cop who crosses her path. So when his newly adopted Good Cop persona can’t break down the lawyer’s defenses, Vance decides to fall back on his Bad Cop ways to coax Naughty Piper into his arms.

Lazer Focused


Gina Robinson - 2016
    Until she meets hers.The lonely single men of Seattle have a problem—a shortage of eligible women. Across the county, Manhattan has the opposite problem, a shortage of eligible men. Sexy Seattle billionaire and entrepreneur Lazer Grayson thinks he has the perfect solution. Now all he needs is a little cooperation from Manhattan's premier matchmaker, a beautiful, seductive woman he wants desperately. For a lot more than her matchmaking skills.Manhattan matchmaker Ashley Harte has never seen the New York marriage market so desperate. With so few men in her matchmaking pool, she has to turn away female clients. Which is very bad for business. And her reputation. Will hot billionaire Lazer Grayson's proposal be her path to matchmaking success? Or will he break her heart? The first episode of the romantic comedy serial readers have been eagerly waiting for! Continue in the exciting and romantic world of the Jet City Billionaires… The Billionaire Matchmaker Serial Novellas NOTE: These novellas end with cliffhangers and must be read in the order listed below. When the series is complete, there will be between 4-7 episodic novellas. 1-Lazer Focused 2-Harte Strings3-Pair UsIf you enjoy romantic stories full of humor, laughs, secrets, mysteries, and, of course, hot men, you'll love The Billionaire Matchmaker Series!

For Now and Forever


Sophie Love - 2016
    When her boyfriend of 7 years takes her out for their long-awaited anniversary dinner, Emily is sure that this time will be different, that this time she will finally get the ring.When he gives her a small bottle of perfume instead, Emily knows the time has come to break up with him--and for her entire life to have a fresh start.Reeling from her unsatisfying, high-pressure life, Emily decides she needs a change. She decides on a whim to drive to her father's abandoned home on the coast of Maine, a sprawling, historic house where she'd spent magical summers as a child. But the house, long-neglected, is in dire need of repair, and the winter is no time to be in Maine. Emily hasn't been there in 20 years, when a tragic accident changed her sister's life and shattered her family. Her parents divorced, her father disappeared, and Emily was never able to bring herself to step foot in that house again.Now, for some reason, with her life reeling, Emily feels drawn to the only childhood place she ever knew. She plans on going just for a weekend, to clear her head. But something about the house, its numerous secrets, its memories of her father, its oceanfront allure, its small-town setting--and most of all, its gorgeous, mysterious caretaker--doesn't want to let her leave. Can she find the answers she's been looking for here, in the most unexpected place of all?Can a weekend become a lifetime?

Last Resort


Jill Sanders - 2015
    He has been trying to run her business into the ground so his family can snatch up the land for cheap. But, how can she turn him away when just the sight of the man makes her heart jump out of her chest?Luke was sent by his father, owner of the swankiest and longest-operating resort along the Florida's Gulf coast, to gain one of the best properties at any cost. But when he sees the owner of the bar and grill, he’s torn between his duty to his family and his desire for the silver-eyed beauty.

Evidence of Trust


Stacey Joy Netzel - 2014
    It’s a fault that lands her in more danger than she bargains for while camping in the back-country of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Ranger Joel Morgan is used to having the upper hand in all his cases—until he runs into the headstrong blond while investigating disturbing incidents of poaching in the park. Brittany’s imprudent lie of omission awakens ghosts in his past, making the sizzling attraction between them unwelcome. As he searches for evidence he can trust her, the monster mutilating wildlife turns his sights on Brittany, and Joel discovers he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her—even give his own life.

Every Little Kiss


Susan Hatler - 2015
    Now she’s a successful Realtor, and a workaholic who stays away from complicated emotions—until her grandmother dies, leaving Wendy the Inn at Blue Moon Bay and mandating that if Wendy sells it, she must put it on the market herself “in person.” As soon as Wendy arrives in Blue Moon Bay, bad memories, the inn’s poor condition, and her brother’s pleas to keep the inn overwhelm her. Then she meets a sexy laid-back stranger on the beach, and Wendy does something she never does . . . she opens up and confides her problems to him. Since Max Huntington’s only in town for one night, Wendy spontaneously kisses him, hoping to be distracted from her troubles for just one evening. But when Wendy begins the painstaking process of fixing up the inn in order to sell it, Max tells her he’s staying on longer. He’s enchanted by the charming inn and even more with the kisses they shared on the beach. He wants to help her with the repairs, and she reluctantly accepts his offer. Although she’s determined to remain detached from the allure of her inn, Blue Moon Bay and Max, every repair, every stroll on the beach, and every moment spent with Max, draws her in and reminds her of the local legend she’d believed as a child: that being kissed by the bay under a blue moon will lead to love that lasts forever.

A SEAL's Oath


Cora Seton - 2016
    But they need land, so when Martin Fulsom, iconic leader of the Fulsom Foundation, offers them Westfield, an uninhabited ranch in Chance Creek, Montana, they take it sight unseen—and agree to Fulsom’s condition that they document their progress on a reality television show. Building a working community will be hard enough, but Boone’s got another problem. Fulsom expects families—not single men—to make up the population of the new town. Now Boone’s got to find a wife, fast, before he loses his funding, and his dream. So when he arrives at Westfield to find it already occupied by Riley Eaton, the woman he thought he'd lost forever, he wonders if fate itself has provided him with an answer. Riley Eaton's played by the rules all her life, but it hasn't gotten her anywhere. Now she's out of work and no closer to being a full-time artist--or meeting a man and starting a family. Never happier than when she’s buried in a Jane Austen novel, she knows she’s not the only woman longing for a simpler, more beautiful life—one that allows time for art, literature and music. When she discovers her friends are in the same frame of mind, she throws caution to the wind and invites them to Westfield, the ranch her uncle inherited long ago, but has never lived in. Equipped with a key and a standing invitation to stay there whenever she likes, she heads to Chance Creek and gives up all things twenty-first century in order to take a six-month Jane-Austen style vacation. Westfield is perfect for Regency living with its wide lawns, extensive gardens and large ballroom. But when sexy, stubborn Boone shows up with plans to build a hyper-modern sustainable community on the ranch, it’s clear her Regency paradise is over before it even began. Now Boone has thirty days to marry Riley or lose the ranch to developers, and Riley has to decide whether to marry Boone or say good-bye to Westfield--and her Jane Austen life--forever. Can they overcome their prejudices to help each other? Or will their pride destroy both their futures?