Book picks similar to
The Reasons to Stay by Laura Drake


romance
part-of-a-series
romance-category-contemporary
contemp-romance

The Earl's Outrageous Lover


Elizabeth Lennox - 2012
    And she has a father who is trying to control her even from the grave. Edward is scheduled, organized and deliberate. Everything about the lovely brunette who he has agreed to help is the exact opposite of what he’s looking for in a wife. And yet neither can fight the attraction they have for the other. Even when Edward meets Jessica and the crazy woman is wearing red cowboy boots, he finds himself falling for the woman despite his better judgment.(Be prepared to enter a passionate affair within the English aristocracy in her brand new novel The Earl’s Outrageous Lover; a story of two people who dare to defy generations of tradition with their romance. Duty, tradition, and obligation are known only too well in Edward and Jessica’s world. While Edward does his best to maintain what is expected of him, Jessica chooses to rebel against what she feels is not the life she wants to lead. However, an unbridled romance threatens to bring chaos to their lives and those who surround them. )

Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay


Babette de Jongh - 2021
    With nowhere else to go, she lands on her Aunt Reva’s doorstep at Buckaroo Barn, home to a motley assortment of rescue animals. Reva, a telepathic animal communicator, gives Abby time to reinvent herself by leaving Abby in charge of the farm while she's away. Abby immerses herself in caring for the animals and running educational programs to teach kids to appreciate and relate to them. Just when Abby is finally starting to feel like herself again, a sexy new neighbor moves in next door, determined to find some peace and quiet, and challenging Abby in ways she never expected. Can she convince her stubborn new neighbor to give the noisy petting zoo next door...and her...a chance?You’ll fall in love right along with Abby as animals and humans alike find unexpected ways to connect, nurture each other, and thrive.

Her Country Star Cowboy


Taylor Hart - 2020
    She wants to keep her secrets. Will true love take them both off track?Aspiring country music star, Shay Summerville, only wants to be writing and singing his music, so when his boss at the auto body shop—aka—his father, tells him it’s his turn to pick up the snobby, Harvard stranded princess who needs a tow, he does everything he can to get out of it.Spending her summer at her family’s lake house wasn’t on Jaycee McCade’s happy list. Frankly, not much had been on that happy list since her mother passed away three months before. When a tow truck spirals out of control and nearly hits her, she never imagined she’d be kissing the guy driving the truck. And she really never imagined liking it.When summer love captures both of their hearts, they have to make a choice—give up on their dreams or create a new one together.

The Pregnancy Plot


Paula Roe - 2013
    How can any red-blooded billionaire say no to siring a child with the one who got away…? It's an offer Matthew Cooper can't refuse. Make a baby with his long-ago lover, AJ Reynolds? He'd like nothing better than to bed her again. The brilliant doctor has had ten years to contemplate where he went wrong. This time, he won't let her get away. Free-spirited AJ wants no romantic entanglements with the all-business ex-boyfriend who broke her heart. All she wants is a child. But Matt's persistent attentions weaken her resolve, threatening all her carefully laid baby-making plans….

Rich Fake Witch


Weston Parker - 2021
    He’s got a killer reputation, social status, unfathomable wealth, fast cars, and all the women he wants. Hell, he even has a video game character made in his likeness. Brother…But, he’s willing to pay the big bucks for my high-end escort services. If the boy needs a monster to prance around his annual Halloween Crawl of Horrors experience, then I’m his ghoul. The only real problem is that I’m terrified of things that go bump in the night. Halloween is NOT my holiday. But, I can swallow my fear for a month and play Barbie to his Ken. The main thing to keep in mind is that the man is a client. None of this is real. Not the wealth, the heat, the steamy moments where I want to give up all of my candies and stop being a trick… all fake. And he is completely off limits. The fact that he keeps making me feel so safe in the swirls of horror around us isn’t helping anything.He might be looking for a rich fake witch, but I’m starting to feel forever. Maybe I’ll just put a spell on him. ‘Cause then he’s mine… right?

Beware of the Boss


Leah Ashton - 2013
    But one completely unexpected (and completely magical) kiss later, Lanie's forced to admit the truth—that their supercharged battle of wills hides a much more dangerous attraction….

Hide Your Heart


Tracey Alvarez - 2015
    Distrust will tear them apart…Alexandra Lauren Knight has reinvented herself in the safety of her rural New Zealand hometown to become Lauren Taylor. She’s cut all ties with her past as a former model whose ex-husband turned out to be ruthless in both the boardroom and the bedroom. While Alexandra allowed other’s expectations to propel her into the spotlight, Lauren prefers the safety of anonymity; restoring classic cars with her brother, and snuggling with her four-year-old son. Nate Fraser, a burned-out photojournalist, plans to fix up the property next door to Lauren and sell it as a celebrity retreat. Always on the move, Nate is only comfortable with short-term assignments and even shorter-term relationships. But it’s not just his buyer’s tight deadline or that the restoration is far beyond his expertise which turns a short-term project into an ordeal. Nate’s plan of travelling the globe is in jeopardy — created by the intensity of his growing feelings for Lauren and her little boy.As the sparks of passion ignite between them it reawakens Nate’s long forgotten dream of having a home and family. Lauren must find a way to trust Nate not only with her secrets, but with her heart — before her safe haven is exposed and she can no longer hide in the shadows.

The Fireman Who Loved Me


Jennifer Bernard - 2012
    These firemen might be heroes, but it's their bad luck in love that makes them legendary.News producer Melissa McGuire and Fire Captain Harry Brody couldn't be more different, though they do have one thing in common: they're both convinced they're perfectly wrong for each other. But when Melissa's matchmaking grandmother wins her a date with Brody at a Bachelor auction . . .Sparks fly. Passion flares. Heat rises. (You get the picture.)Add a curse, a conniving nightly news anchor, a stunningly handsome daredevil fireman, a brave little boy, a couple of exes, and one giant fire to the mix, and Melissa and Brody's love may not be the only thing that burns.

Simple Wishes


Lisa Dale - 2009
    Adele Matin couldn't wait to put her lonely childhood and hometown behind her. Amid the bright lights and hustle and bustle of New York, she built a life for herself--until one terrible mistake brought it crashing down. Now Adele is running again, this time to a cottage she inherited from her mother in rural Pennsylvania. And she's about to realize that a small town has more to offer than she ever dreamed. An artist and woodworker, Jay Westvelt knows a thing or two about living in the country. Adele is intrigued by her mysterious and sexy green-eyed neighbor, a man who took care of her house and soon cares deeply for her. But even as Adele's heart begins to soften toward him, secrets from her mother's past threaten to send her fleeing back to the city. Can Jay convince her to stay with him? Only if she can learn an important truth: that happiness begins with Simple Wishes.

His Ultimate Prize


Maya Blake - 2013
    To mask his pain? He'll seduce his beautiful physio, Raven Blass! Knowing she's responsible for his scars, will Raven risk discovery for one glorious night in Rafael's bed?

Lone Stallion's Lady


Lisa Jackson - 2000
    Original.

Memories for Eternity: Taming Clint Westmoreland\Cole's Red-Hot Pursuit


Brenda Jackson - 2012
    But when she arrives, Clint's boundaries begin to blur. He and Alyssa Barkley have thirty days to untangle the legal knot that bound them together during an undercover assignment years before. But this sexy, curvaceous Alyssa is different from the mousy, awestruck rookie agent he remembers. And now her every move has him wondering what it would be like if he really was her man.…Cole's Red-Hot PursuitCole Westmoreland always gets what he wants! What the former Texas Ranger wants is sultry Patrina Forman. But Patrina is dead set against falling for a man with a no-strings-attached attitude, and there is no way she is going to fall into bed with a lawman! Then a Montana blizzard changes everything. Trapped together for three sinfully delicious nights, Cole soon has Patrina singing a different tune thanks to his personal brand of red-hot seduction. But what will happen once the snow begins to thaw?

Fanning the Flames


Victoria Dahl - 2014
    Close friends of your ex-husband, for instance. Or firefighters who work in the same building as you. Yet despite her best judgment, librarian Lauren Foster can't help noticing fire captain Jake Davis whenever he jogs by…shirtless. They've always been friends, but all it takes is one not-so-chance meeting at a local bar and one not-quite-innocent walk home to ignite a fierce, uncontrollable desire between them.Widower Jake Davis has tried to ignore the spark he feels whenever Lauren's around, but once he sees her curves in a little black dress, there's no turning back. No matter how often she says she's all wrong for him, the sexy, outspoken divorcée is driving him wild in the best possible way. Maybe she's just blowing off steam. Or maybe he can convince her to fan these flames into something deeper, hotter and truer than they ever expected….

Unraveling the Past


Beth Andrews - 2012
    It doesn't help that he's a by-the-book cop who expects everything done his way. It also doesn't help that he's hot. Ignoring that little fact is impossible-she's tried! Then Layne's world is turned upside down when human remains are discovered...and the case has a personal connection. Suddenly she's glad Ross is so thorough, because he'll get to the truth. And his search brings them closer, fueling the attraction that's out of control. As secrets and lies from the past surface, Layne's biggest challenge is fighting for a future-with Ross in it.

Coming Home to Merriment Bay: the complete four-part serial in one book.


Emily Harvale - 2019
    This is all four parts and forms Book 1 in the Merriment Bay series. If you have read the four-part serial, you have read this book. Cat Devon left Merriment Bay eighteen years ago with her baby daughter, Kyra. Now a letter from Cat’s estranged mum has brought them back. Cat has tried to forget her heartbreaking past and forgive her mum, Mary and her gran, Viola. But nothing seems to have changed and Mary still insists on keeping secrets. Sitting beside Viola’s hospital bed, isn’t exactly fun, so when Cat and Kyra stumble on a faded photo of an RAF pilot and a pile of unopened letters in a trunk in Viola’s room, they decide to find out who he is and what he meant to Viola. Amias Wells, who owns Bay Water Sports but also flies a vintage Spitfire for the Merriment Bay WWII Museum, is the perfect man to ask. Except Cat and Amias haven’t spoken since the accident that killed his friend and left Cat scarred, eighteen years ago. Sparks fly when they meet again. But Amias traces Bailey Mitchell, who lives thousands of miles away and is almost ninety-eight. Exchanging Christmas cards leads to revelations Cat had not expected. Then a surprise visitor means Cat’s Christmas takes a delightful turn. Now she’s facing choices she never thought she’d have to make. When distressing events end more than one person’s dream, Cat realises what – and who – she wants. As Merriment Bay prepares to toast in the New Year, can Cat finally put the past where it belongs and find the love she deserves? This is the complete book of Coming Home to Merriment Bay, which is also sold in four parts: Part One: A Reunion. Part Two: Sparks Fly. Part Three: Christmas. Part Four: Starry Skies. If you have read the four parts then you have read this book.