I whisper timidly, “Does it hurt?” “Yes,” Griffin says with a smile. I murmur, “You’re not really acting like it.” He laughs softly. With a teasing glint dancing in his eyes, he tilts his head the slightest bit. “Do you want me to cry, Cookie-Girl?” He’s only teasing. But still, his injuries look PAINFUL. He smiles ruefully. “Look, I’m trying to act tough for you, okay? Yes, it hurts. Bad.” His grin quirks with amusement. “But having you be my nurse is pretty much worth the pain right now.” Purrr! Sharp cushiness slices through me. Griffin goes on with a smirk, “But yes—it hurts. So, maybe don’t watch me too close, okay?—I may lose my cool nickname.” He says it like he doesn’t really think the nickname is that cool. Like he’s just being ironic. But doesn’t particularly care for it or like being called it. I arch my eyebrow. “You mean, ‘The Grief-Master?’” He kind of grimaces as the words spill from my lips. Glancing quickly at me, he says, “You know I don’t really cause grief to people … right?” He says it softly. “I mean, I cause it to the other team, yeah—but not to girls.” Then he adds softly, “I wouldn’t cause you grief, Ally.” Summary: When Ally is forced to help a “troublemaker” from her middle school (tough, hockey playing, Griffin Piper), she soon realizes that it’s her heart that is in “trouble.” Because handsome Griffin Piper isn’t what he seems. At all. Yes, he’s tough (totally). But he’s also the sweetest boy on earth. And he soon has Ally’s heart turning to mush any time he just looks at her … and he looks at her a LOT!! Ally isn’t sure her heart can take Griffin’s gratitude … or his lingering, twinkling stare. It’s like he can read her crush-y heart—like he knows it’s going to explode just from him looking at her … but that doesn’t stop him from doing it. A lot. In fact it seems to be exactly what he wants—to make Ally’s heart pound. For him. As a bonus, there is also a short story included in this book about a boy in middle school (Matt) and how he secretly has a crush on his best friend, Nicole. Update: This book now also has Melanie Marks' new middle school story: "Friend or Enemy? (... or Crush??)" By Melanie Marks, the author of His Kiss; and Fall For Me (plus a lot of other books) Newest Books: "Matt and Nicole (Middle School)"; and "Summer and Mason (Middle School)" From the author of Best Friend Wars; and Slumber Party Wars

    Her cousin Chloe’s wedding is the following day and she needs to get from Northern California to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough money to fix her car, much less buy a bus ticket. When Jake Bellomy, the hot Biology lab partner from last semester, offers to give her a ride home, she takes him up on his offer, even though she knows things are bound to get tense since he traded her for another partner in their Biology class. Kendra knows he’s a jerk, but what she doesn’t realize is that God has a way of revealing that people aren’t always what they appear to be.

    

    Lots of it! Oh, and a Netflix binge session might help too.If you like sassy heroines, swoon-worthy hunks, and heartwarming romance that will have you laughing out loud, you’ll adore this small-town romp by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Youngblood.

    But soon after, Mikaela and her fiancé are in a tragic car accident, resulting in her husband-to-be’s death. Then when Mikaela’s grandmother loses her life in a hiking accident one year later, an old man gives Mikaela another mysterious blue card at the funeral. After the service, Mikaela’s grandfather asks that she oversee the renovations on his bed & breakfast in New Zealand. When she arrives, Mikaela meets Tui Davies—the inn’s manager—and Brentin Williams, the man Tui expects her daughter to marry. Tui helps Mikaela retrieve a doll from the cellar vault, but the doll turns out to be an evil omen that Mikaela is told she must get rid of before someone is murdered. Meanwhile, the old man from the funeral is bent on revenge and is plotting against everyone who has ever wronged him, and Mikaela is next in line. But until she discovers the killer’s contact in New Zealand, whom can she trust? And while Brentin attempts to help Mikaela overcome her grief, she must decide—is she ready to love again?

    Each book takes place in a unique setting! Let these stories lift your spirits, make you laugh, and get you decking the halls! This Collection Includes The Following Books: In From New York, With Love, we join Emily and Josh as they confront some of life's trickier decisions. Can a big city girl survive the holidays in her boyfriend's small hometown? Throw in a Christmas tree farm visit, some warm apple cider, good Southern cooking, and everyone's favorite little town of Magnolia Harbor. Watch the downtown come alive under the twinkling holiday lights and find out if Emily and Josh will be celebrating the New Year alone or together.In A Whole Latte Christmas, Sonia returns to her hometown of Evergreen Valley from teaching abroad, wishing for a simple Christmas with her family. When her character is put to the test, she saves a life and in the process earns the gratitude of Aiden, the charming new café owner in town. Sparks fly, but can Sonia overcome her own doubts and at the same time save the youth choir's Christmas Eve performance? Travel to the beautiful Canadian Rockies for a sweet story and a good latte to find out!In A Girl's Guide To Creating Christmas, single mom Natalie is overwhelmed running her small flower shop. Can her precocious daughter Fiona convince her after-school mentor, Paul, to help her plan a magical Christmas for her mom, and hopefully remind Natalie of the true meaning of the holidays?In Key West Christmas, Josie makes a dramatic life change but quickly realizes the realities of paradise may be a little more than she bargained for. Can her new friend Nate help her find her holiday spirit in the not-so-snowy Key West, Florida?In Santa Baby, Maybe, we take two strangers whose paths can't stop crossing and sprinkle in a little art, coffee, and an opulent holiday party. Mix it together, and you have been whisked away to the scenic Great Smoky Mountains for a cute, clean holiday romp! A Christmas story of family, faith, and finding out that sometimes the mall Santa is more than meets the eye!In Scottish Holiday, a journey of self-discovery leads New Yorker Jillian on a quest across the Atlantic. Will her Christmas holiday home provide the quaint getaway she has in mind...or will a chance occurrence with a local Scotsman change her plans completely? Venture to the wee Scottish Isle of Lewis and help Jillian track down her roots.

    When one of the Duke's former lovers manipulates it so that Raff and Catherine are caught in a compromising situation the pair are forced into a hasty marriage of convenience, one that Catherine fears will end in disaster. Raff William James D'Alton, Sixth Duke of Albright had always been a huge admirer of wives --provided that they belonged to other men, of course. When his old love takes her revenge by forcing him into an unwanted marriage with a dowdy spinster, Raff vows that he will not let an inconvenient thing like a bride ruin his bachelor lifestyle. However, as time passes Raff and Catherine begin to realise that the sparks that fly between the pair have more to do with attraction than tension and that this inconvenient marriage might just have a happy ending --if only they'll allow it.

    Anisha Blake and her best friend Sherri Dawson are running on empty in the dating scene until Anisha meets the handsome and charming Tyson Randall at her local church. He is everything she could ever want: honest, ambitious, easy on the eyes, and religiously devout -- and he even has a good-looking friend for Sherri, too. But soon Anisha risks losing Tyson to a conniving woman from his past. And it certainly doesn't help that Sherri has found out that Tyson's friend Xavier is a wolf in sheep's clothing. With so much drama in their love lives, can Anisha and Sherri stay focused on their commitment to their faith?

    Wanting something different, he decides to take some time off to think. However, when his car breaks down in the small town of Soda Spurs, Texas, he is forced to rely on people he doesn't know, Brent rediscovers the charm of a small town and a feisty female mechanic, but will it be enough for him to stay or will the fame call him back?Sam Jenkins moved to Soda Spurs after a hard breakup. All she wanted to do was open up an auto shop and return to her small town roots. Then Brent McKasson lands in her lap. Literally. She's the only mechanic in town, and with the only hotel in town booked for the Cowboy festival, she is forced not only to fix his car but to open her spare room to him for the weekend. What she hadn't expected was to open her heart to him as well.Can a spark between two opposites create a lasting love? Or will his fame and her independence keep them apart?A new inspirational Christian romance by Amazon best selling author Lorana Hoopes, this story focuses on second chances and trusting God to bring the right people into your life at the right time.Follow the journey by clicking the button above. Nominated for the Clean Wholesome Romance Reader's Choice Award for 2018.

    Kaitlyn Johanson is chosen by heartthrob, nationally-acclaimed lacrosse player, Axel Olsen, for a dream date. She didn't know a man touching her hand could feel like heaven, but she awkwardly blacks out then admits to him that she's in a relationship. Kaitlyn comes home to Echo Ridge hoping to rekindle her relationship with her high school boyfriend, Mason. She never expects Axel to show up in her hometown, hosting a lacrosse camp with Mason and his stepdad. When Axel steals her attention and possibly her heart from the man she is supposed to marry, she has to decide if she'll take a risk on new love or give old love a second chance.

    He's searched for her for ten years. An ex FBI agent looking for his Christmas miracle. Will they get their second chance? A Cowboy FBI Agent turned bodyguard when Parker Kelly finds himself in the middle of a witness protection gone wrong. All Ariana Claire wanted was to avenge her father, too bad her plans are thwarted by a dance at a Christmas ball. Now they are faced with a choice; walk away or forgive and take down the man who killed her father.

    Her only hope of surviving is to travel to America, a land of freedom and opportunity, and reunite with her brother in Baltimore. There she'll find new challenges, and perhaps, if she can put her painful past behind her, a new chance for love and lasting happiness.

    Her grandfather, a retired army colonel, drives her to a resort in Maine where she can heal in peace while the authorities track down the man who almost killed her. To Lanie's dismay, he hires a bodyguard to protect her. Lanie's nightmares are debilitating, but giving up control of her life is unacceptable.Army Ranger Matt Saunders knows all about nightmares. He's spent the last year recovering from an injury he sustained during his last tour and the hellish events that caused it. Anxious to prove that he is fit to go back overseas, he accepts the bodyguard job. The resort is everything they imagined - tranquil,safe, and a place to heal. Gradually, they open up to each other and realize they have a lot in common - except their future plans. When a resort video goes viral, Lanie's stalker knows just where to find her. Can they battle their personal demons in time to come together to fight the very real threat coming to destroy her?

    Having endured a decade long marriage to a brute of a viscount, she is more than happy to live in genteel poverty, as long as she is free. When the news comes that the boy whom she had loved since childhood, would return to England as a duke, she tries not to let herself feel too hopeful. After all, Katherine had promised Michael, now Duke of Elsmore, that she would wait for him, only to marry another three months later. No man, or duke, in their right mind could still love a woman who broke their heart — a woman who was now older, poorer, and barren to boot. Michael Carville, Seventh Duke of Elsmore, had unexpectedly inherited his title, following the death of his elder brother. For a decade, Michael had fought on the peninsula for his country and tried to forget the girl who broke his heart. Now, he finds himself back in London and still as enamoured with Lady Atwood as he had been a decade before. Common sense told him that he could not hope to make Katherine his bride, not when she could not provide him with heirs, but when the pair accidentally become embroiled in scandal, Michael seizes the chance to make Katherine his bride. As the pair try to mend the hurts of their past, Michael comes to realise that he is not the only one who has spent a decade at war. Can he help Katherine heal, or is she too broken to love again?

    She never imagined she’d run into her high-school sweetheart thousands of miles away from her home town. Why would God throw them back together?Caleb always regretted the way things ended with his high-school girlfriend, Mia. After a chance encounter in the streets of Nottingham, Caleb feels God is giving him a second chance to right the wrongs he committed. Unbeknownst to him, Mia has secrets that may require his forgiveness.Will her past overshadow his wrongs? As Mia and Caleb work through old hurts and broken hearts will they let the blessing of forgiveness redeem their relationship?____________Alternate cover for ASIN: B00UI8K16W