Her plan takes a wrong turn when she finds Veronica, her twenty-year-old housekeeper and daughter of her beloved nanny, Lola, hovering over the dead body of octogenarian Randolph Brentwood, the fifth richest man in the world. Maple has never been a warm and fuzzy type of family person, and the last thing she wants to do in her final months of life is deal with Veronica’s mess. But long ago Maple made a promise to Lola that she’d always look out for her “little sister” Veronica. Still, the stubborn Maple, hardened from her own personal loss, resists involvement until she learns that Veronica is pregnant with Lola’s grandchild, an heir to the Brentwood estate. To make good on her promise to Lola, Maple vows to help Veronica. With the assistance of Michael, a handsome and savvy PI, they journey up and down the East Coast, dodging the authorities, a shady lawyer, a cold-hearted hit man, and the powerful widow, Mrs. Brentwood. As Maple’s bitterness about spending her last days saving Veronica dissipates and her friendship with Michael develops, she realizes that on the way to death, she’s found something she’s never had—life. (PLEASE NOTE: This is the Author's Women's Fiction Debut. It is NOT a Romance. Further, this book touches on serious subjects that may affect more sensitive readers.)

    Eva moves to the Napa Valley where her culinary skills come to the attention of the owners of a start-up, All Things to All People, and Eva finds her niche as a personal chef. Now all she needs is a man as perfect as her cooking, but she has serious doubts that such a creature exists. When wealthy entrepreneur, winery owner, and noted Lothario, Gabriel Abbott, makes plans to seduce his flavor of the month, his assistant hires All Things to All People to cater a gourmet dinner. Eva expects to use her way with food to showcase the startup. What she unexpectedly discovers is that her culinary skills showcase far more. Once Gabriel finds himself seduced by Eva's voice, and the sensual flavors and textures of her food, his previous plans are quickly forgotten. He begins to obsess about meeting his little chef in person. But when Eva and Gabe finally come face to face, the question is, how hot will their fire burn?

    Reunited after many years and many changes, Lucy and Jackson find themselves caught in a dilemma. Both of them are struggling with the fact that their old feelings for each other have been reawakened… And now both of them are involved with other people. Should Lucy stay in a comfortable, routine relationship with her boyfriend, Matt, even though he doesn’t make her feel the way Jackson does? Should Jackson keep going with the flow in his marriage to Sloane, his overbearing wife who is pressuring him to start a family?What begins as a friendship rekindled leads to a romance caught on fire as Lucy and Jackson question the decisions they made in their younger years and wonder if they are truly meant to be together.

    Stunned, Carrie drives all night to her quirky hometown and collapses in a near-catatonic state. A crew of ladies spanning three generations realize it’s up to them to help Carrie get her life out of the ditch. Known as the “Presbyterian Mafia,” these are not sweet old gals. They have a book club that never reads, a garden club that doesn’t garden, and a bible study class that gossips about the Methodists. They’re known around town for antics including catfights, car chases and Voodoo rituals. The women enlist Carrie’s former childhood best friend Portia (now a lawyer) and her flamboyant cousin Eric (recently returned from New York) in their effort. While dealing with the after-effects of her imprudent gunplay and managing a hair color disaster, Carrie meets Rhett Richards. He’s an attractive oil field worker who can make women think un-Christian thoughts by the mere act of wearing a pair of tight wranglers. Carrie soon learns that hometowns can be the perfect places to bury old scandals and create new ones.

    But here's the rub about her job as a baker ... Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning crEme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day.Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

    But when her boyfriend of six years abruptly leaves her, she’s catapulted back into pain, nursing a broken heart. When indulging in mountains of chocolate doesn’t work, Serena decides the best way to deal with her shattered heart is to indulge in something else. A rebound... The night she swaps her usual Sprite for tequila, she meets James. The encounter is breathtaking.Electrifying.And best not repeated. James is a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. A man who has amassed a fortune by taking risks. A man who has shunned commitment completely, and still does. He’s the exact opposite of Serena. But sometimes opposites attract. Sometimes they give in to burning passion. Sometimes opposites are perfect for each other. James is everything her damaged soul could want. His kisses are intoxicating, his touch out of this world. He makes her forget. He grants her peace from her pain. But as they grow closer, Serena discovers she isn’t the only one with a past. James carries the scars of a past much darker than hers. One that has left him damaged, hurt, and wary of love. A past that gives him the power to shatter her. Now James and Serena must find a way to mend one another. Or risk losing each other forever.

    He’s made millions as a top-selling real estate broker. His rugged good lucks and over-the-top personality helped him build a virtual black book most men would kill for. Having been burned once however, he’s sworn off anything resembling an emotional connection with any woman. But an undercurrent of dissatisfaction runs through his life. His frustration grows as he seeks something even he can’t quite put his finger on.Thanks to a life of discipline and focused routine, Sara Thornton has fast-tracked herself to the top of the Ann Arbor real estate market. As her career skyrockets, the fulfillment she seeks remains out of reach. One thing she knows for sure: she will never join the Jack Gordon groupies in her company, no matter how tempting it might be.A chance encounter, then a difficult transaction, throw Jack and Sara into temptingly close contact. After their first, smoking hot hook-up, he decides she could be the elusive happiness he’s seeking. Right about the time she decides to avoid him like the plague. But fate keeps forcing them together, so Jack decides to make The Big Gesture.Floor Time: the epic beginning of the best-selling Stewart Realty saga—full of romance, humor, family dynamics, white-hot heat, and long-simmering desire between two stubborn, successful, and compelling people.This second edition is refreshed and re-edited.

    Plump, plain and past her sell by date, happiness and hope were no longer part of her vocabulary. But one day like a bolt from the blue, destiny delivers a massive dose of compensation in the form of David Powell, her strange and elusive neighbour. From the moment they meet, Madeline is plunged into a world of excitement and intrigue where nothing is what it seems. This classic reversal of fortune tale reminds us that ultimately life is a mystery, perfectly able to demolish and reconfigurate even the most hopeless situations.

    Instead, she reinvents herself and the new Bobbie Jones—new haircut, new name, new attitude—follows her soon-to-be ex to the small Northern California town of Cottonmouth. What better way to show him—and his sweetheart—what he’s missing in the brand new Bobbie Jones than taking up with the town’s local bad boy—who’s also reputed to be a serial killer. Nick Angel is devilishly handsome and sexy as all get-out. In a word, perfect.It’s all going exactly according to plan...until a real murder rocks the little town of Cottonmouth. Of course, Nick didn’t do it...did he?“She’s Gotta Be Mine”, previously published as “Sex and the Serial Killer”,

    Little does she know she would meet that one special love, an unexpected love. That one true love is Mike Ramsey and he's a U.S. Marshal. As their love grows, so do their troubles. Someone is stalking Lana. Mike has to figure out who it is before the stalker gets Lana. Not only does he have to protect her, he must find the connection between Lana and the killer before it's too late. They soon find out this stalker also wants Mike dead, and he'll go through any lengths for that to happen. Mike's team find out how desperate this man is when he starts murdering.

    The lush and majestic setting of the Pacific Northwest calls to her and offers a place of refuge and perhaps renewal. Her grandmother has passed away, leaving the Madrona Island Bed & Breakfast Inn to Lily. Left with only an old guestbook as her guide–a curious book full of letters, recipes, and glimpses into her family history–Lily is determined to embrace her newfound independence and recreate herself, one page at a time. With the help of the quirky island residents she has befriended, she slowly finds the strength to seek out happiness on her own terms. But as soon as she has sworn off men and is standing on her own two feet, Lily meets Ian, the alluring artist who lives next door, and her new life is suddenly thrown off course. The last thing she wants to do right now is to open her heart to another man. Ultimately, Lily must decide if it’s worth giving up her soul for security or risking everything to follow her heart.

    Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends. Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

    It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night—but he broke her heart and she had to move on. Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky panky permitted. Kat can handle that because she's totally over him... right? Except, he still makes her laugh, and he remembers all the things she likes. Not to mention that he's even more handsome now than he was then. Then there's the spark between them—the simply undeniable chemistry, and the tender ways he shows he still cares for her. Can they resist each other the second time around or will first love trump all?

    Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work.School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man.While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret?

    But now he's back in her life, and ready to steal a heritage protection contract that could make or break her career--if he doesn't steal her heart first. Samantha's vowed to hate him, but it's more than anger heating the competition between them. With sparks flying across the conference table and sizzling in every touch, Dean proposes a weekend liaison. Anything to have Sam again; anything to get her out of his system. But the unresolved feelings between them complicate both their personal and professional lives, and one wild weekend could turn into a disaster that would destroy the one job that means more to Samantha than anything. For a shot at love...is it worth the risk?