Book picks similar to
The Salty Dog by Debbie White
romance
contemporary-romance
animals-and-pets
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Caught Up in Us
Lauren Blakely - 2013
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?
Mr. Billionaire's Second Chance: Enemies to Lovers
Laura Olsen - 2021
It's my fault for falling for a filthy rich and obscenely handsome Manhattan type.Silly of me to think Preston had something more beneath his immaculate suit than just a chiseled body.But what a body. I still wake up sweating from dreams about the night we shared.I thought knowing I'll never experience one again was torture enough. I was wrong.
Because working with him every single day is definitely worse.
I hate that he thinks he can order me around or that he still thinks I belong to him.And I really hate that he stays late in the office when I try to bury myself in work to stop thinking about him.Most of all though, I hate seeing glimpses of the man I once believed he was.Hints of true passion and charm beneath Mr. Billionaire's stone-cold demeanor.
But it doesn't matter how many evenings we spend together in the office.
There is absolutely no way I'm falling for him again.
No cheating, no cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed!
Love in Between
Sandi Lynn - 2013
That was until I found my fiancé having sex with my sister in the church moments before I was supposed to walk down the aisle. I grew up with a famous rock star father who was nothing but a womanizer who cheated on my mother every chance he got. Cheating and lying was all I ever grew up with and I vowed never to live the life my mother did. Wanting to start a fresh new life, I moved from Seattle to Santa Monica to focus on my passion for photography. No men. No lies. No hassles. No love. Until I met Luke Matthews.My name is Luke Matthews. A year ago, I lost the love of my life, my fiancée, in a tragic car accident. My life and all my dreams died with her that day, and I do nothing now but exist and play my guitar to try and ease the pain. My love was taken away and that was something I would never get that back. Then I met Lily Gilmore.What happens when the lives of two people who no longer believe in love are suddenly changed by fate?
Fireman Daddy
Taryn Quinn - 2020
Someone else. Hello, this isn’t a Lifetime movie.So, I left New York City and went home to small town Crescent Cove. I’d inherited a bar that was apparently the watering hole for local firemen. Super hot firemen, namely one in particular.Okay, so maybe this is a Lifetime movie.Especially since the fire code chief—and my ex’s high school friend—keeps hassling me about getting the bar up to code, when all I want to do is get the place fixed up so I can go back to the city.Don’t I?But Jake is making me remember why I love my hometown. And it turns out he isn’t only good at preventing fires, he’s even better at starting them.And the one between us may just burn forever…Author’s note: Jake isn’t a daddy yet, but if he has his way, he’ll be knocking up Erica faster than you can say five-alarm blaze. Fireman Daddy is a 18K novella with no cliffhanger and a happily-ever-after.
Remember When
T. Torrest - 2012
Although, come to think of it, I am from New Jersey, which may serve as explanation enough. We were teenagers then, way back in a time before anyone could even dream he’d turn into the Hollywood commodity that he is today.In case you live under a rock and don't know who Trip Wiley is, just know that these days, he’s the actor found at the top of every casting director’s wish list. He’s incredibly talented and insanely gorgeous, the combination of which has made him very rich, very famous and very desirable.And not just to casting directors, either.I can’t confirm any of the gossip from his early years out in Tinseltown, but based on what I knew of his life before he was famous, I can tell you that the idea of Girls-Throwing-Themselves-At-Trip is not a new concept.I should know. I was one of them.And my life hasn’t been the same since.**Remember When is the first book in an NA romantic comedy trilogy, but there is NO CLIFFHANGER. It is intended for mature teen readers and immature adult ones due to some high school sex scenes, underage drinking, questionable language and 1980s flashbacks.**
Devil's Lake
Aaron Paul Lazar - 2014
Like the rest of her family, Boone has never given up hope that Portia would return. But when she turns up battered, skinny as a twelve-year-old boy, afraid of everything and unable to talk about what happened, he does the only thing he can—try to help her heal. He summons the town doctor and Portia’s parents, and sets out to put this beautiful, broken woman back together again. Through her family's love and Boone's gentle affection, Portia gradually comes back to herself, and starts to fall for her old friend in a whole new way. But one thing threatens her fragile hope for recovery: The man who took her promised that if she ever escaped, he'd kill her. Slowly. And someone is definitely watching her...waiting to make his next deadly move.
The Billionaire's Secret
Johanna Evelyn - 2018
Broken and wounded after the devastating loss of her parents, she’s tried to navigate her way alone. Earning a lucrative contract in the modeling industry, she puts her past behind her. Until everything comes crashing down. Now she lives a quiet life out of the spotlight. When her best friend Hazel pulls her back, she tries to fight the attraction she feels for Gabe, a charming bachelor who wants more than friendship. Gabe has been relegated to the friend zone when he so clearly wants more. But he has secrets of his own—their past that links them together has the power to force them apart. Other titles in the series: The Billionaire's Conflict Excerpt from this book: "The moon shone bright still, highlighting the silk of his black hair. They moved to the ship’s rail again. Paige, leaning her arms to peer at the water, Gabe standing behind, not touching her. But she could still feel his electric pull. The air buzzed with static that begged contact. She ignored its call and thought of the inevitable. She would need to leave Tino’s. A clean break would be best. She knew from experience, those wounds healed the fastest. She started her sentence before the words would be too hard to speak. “I’m recognizable. I’m taking a big risk working at Tino’s. The paparazzi would have a field day if they knew. I left that life for a reason. I need to stay out of the spotlight.” The words sat heavy in her throat. He closed the gap, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. The connection sent instant sparks shooting through her veins, just as she knew it would. As it had countless times tonight. “I hope you know you can always trust me.” His breath was hot on her skin and it made her insides do too many things she wasn’t prepared for."
After Hello
Mhairi McFarlane - 2017
But now happily in love and partners in crime once more, it feels like it’s all been worth it.But when a face from the past reappears, misunderstandings come between them once more.Can they hold on to their happy ever after?
Happy Hour
Michele Scott - 2009
The ones who laugh with you and cry with you. The ones that will always be there. These are the women of Napa Valley.Jamie is the editor-in-chief of Wine Lover's Magazine, a single mother and caretaker to her senile mother-in-law ~ a woman who thinks her daily caregiver is Dean Martin. Jamie is still recovering, financially and emotionally from the death of her husband several years earlier. And when she finds what could be the key to happiness, can she open the door and let it in? Or will her feelings of guilt and betrayal hold her back?Danielle is a vintner and the divorced mom of two. She's basking in what she knows is going to be a successful launch of her new wines. Wines she created on her own after her divorce. But what she doesn't expect is for her daughter to come home with news that will shock her to her core. Will an old flame help her accept the changes that are coming and find the love she's been missing in her life for so long? Or will a tragedy that no one sees coming change their lives forever?Kat is a sommelier, co-owner of a magnificent restaurant with her chef husband, and mother of a blended family. But is being deeply in love with your husband enough to get them through the teenage years, step-children and exes? And what happens when old faces return and she's faced with the knowledge that not everything is what you thought it was. What happens when she finds she was mad at the wrong person and finds out the "right one" was in the wrong? Can she forgive and move on? Can love overcome everything and truly bring a family together?Alyssa is an artist and gallery owner with a secret of her own. One she was hoping would stay buried deep in her closet. But the time has come for her to put someone else first, to face the past and to deal with her demons. What she never expected to find was love and her "home."No matter what is going on in their own lives, no matter the heartache or joy they're experiencing these four women are always there to love, support and encourage each other.
No One's Angel
Kelly Walker - 2013
No One's Angel's angel is a New Adult (NA) Contemporary Romance about a girl learning to fight back and a boy learning to let go. Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it--and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.
Tell Me When It Hurts
Christine M. Whitehead - 2009
A magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, with a law degree from Columbia, Archer has a great husband, a wonderful daughter, and a fulfilling career. Add to that a slot on the U.S. Equestrian Team and Archer can almost forget her mysterious past, her violent history. Almost perfect. But nothing stays at equipoise forever. When Archer's daughter, Annie, is murdered, her life shatters and deadly skills, long dormant, emerge as highly relevant. As Archer embarks on her own path to salvation, she snips all ties with the past. Love is now an extravagance, no longer affordable for her.At her darkest ebb, Connor McCall, Harvard-educated financial baron turned Wyoming rancher, stumbles into Archer's life and presses her to start reconnecting the dots. It's an edgy blend of La Femme Nikita, The Horse Whisperer, and something else.In Tell Me When It Hurts, memories can sustain or sink you, all in the same night and all the same memories*READERS FAVORITE HONORABLE MENTION AWARD8
Dream With Me
Kristen Proby - 2020
His pieces are on display in palaces and museums, including the O’Callaghan Museum of Glass just outside of his beloved hometown of Seattle. Kane is a bit of a recluse, spending time on his farm alone and committed to his art. His life is full. Until the day he meets her. Wandering through museums is Anastasia Montgomery’s favorite way to spend her time. Not only does art feed her soul, but it inspires her own art of designing wedding cakes. When her muse seems to be gone, she finds her again among the beauty in the museums of Seattle, and the O’Callaghan Museum of Glass is her favorite. She’s never met the artist, but he must be absolutely brilliant, if he can make such beautiful things out of glass. Bumping into a grumpy stranger at the museum wasn’t in Anastasia’s plan. And then discovering it was Kane himself was absolutely humiliating. But when she sees him again at a charity fundraiser, and ends up spending an incredible, unforgettable night with the mysterious glass smith, Anastasia finds herself thinking of Kane and little else, even her precious work. Will this relationship bloom into the romance of a lifetime, or will their dreams of success get in the way of true love?
Just This Once
Rosalind James - 2012
She just needs a vacation. Three weeks in New Zealand to sort out her life, figure out what she wants, seems just right. Oh, and to relax. She should definitely put that on the agenda. She certainly isn’t looking for a sexy fling with a professional rugby player, no matter how attractive he is. Hannah doesn’t do casual. But maybe just this once ...As much as he’s shared with Hannah, Drew Callahan has kept one very big secret. And learning the truth, now that she’s back home again, has made Hannah warier than ever. Drew knows that she’s right for him. But how can he convince her to let down her guard enough to explore what they could have together?Note: This romance, like New Zealand, contains some steam. If that isn't your cuppa, you may want to visit another country ... er, book.
Chosen for Power
Kathleen Brooks - 2014
As the CEO of a corporate conglomerate, Elle is used to fighting off challengers. However, this new threat comes at a time when she finally lets her guard down to meet Prince Charming. And it’s unlike anything she’s been up against before. Drake Charles’s work on mobile technology has made him a wealthy, powerful man. But he quickly sheds the fame and publicity for a more private life, which earns him the label as a man of mystery. Drake adds to that mystery every year when he hosts a masquerade ball for charity. It’s also his best chance to find the one thing he really wants . . . true love. Having met behind masks of anonymity, Elle and Drake enjoy a whirlwind night of romance that leaves them both wanting more. But Elle must question everything and everyone as she battles to save her life and career. Can Elle trust Drake to help get her life back or will she lose everything?
SEAL's Promise
Sharon Hamilton - 2014
Talbot had watched from afar as his best friend married the love of his life. Raised in and out of the foster care system and nearly ruining his chance to become a SEAL, he figured his Happily Ever After would never be. But Dr. Death plays a heartbreaking trick on him and he winds up being the man’s father confessor, where he makes a promise to the dying SEAL to look after his friend’s wife and baby. Back in the states, Shannon Moore is grateful for the baby she is carrying, though she is a constant reminder of the man who no longer lives at her side. She is not ready for the attention from the community she receives, especially from T.J. She’s decided to honor her fallen husband by giving her whole life to the child he left behind. Recovering from his wounds, Talbot is plagued by the depth of the wounds he still carries inside him, as he tries to perform a mission he wishes he was not given. Rebuffed at every turn, he struggles but understands his promise might not be able to be fulfilled. He does not want to take what was never given to him in the first place. But what starts out as an improbable love story begins to bloom and grow. When Shannon and the child are endangered, he will not quit fighting for the family he now knows he was meant to love forever.