The Rules of Dating by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
Rule number one for having a one-night stand: Don’t fall for the girl.
After a lengthy dating slump, I finally met someone who sparked my interest.
Well, first the sparks flew when we argued. Later in the evening those sparks ignited into something more.
I was drawn to Devyn, in a way I hadn’t felt in a really long time.
Needless to say, I was disappointed when she abruptly left after our amazing night together.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But she hadn’t even given me her number.
In a city with eight-million people, I figured I’d never see Devyn again.
So imagine my surprise when I knocked on the door of an apartment in the building I lived in, and none other than my one-night stand stood on the other side.
If I thought Devyn didn’t want anything to do with me before, that was nothing compared to how she felt after finding out I was the landlord and she was about to be evicted…
And that was just the first surprise that would rock my world when it came to the mystery woman in apartment 410.
Love & Consequences by BJ Harvey
A year ago I let my heart overrule my head and I made an error in judgment that cost me everything I’d ever worked for.
Then I screwed up again trying to save my career and lost the last ally I had left.
Just as I’m slowly rebuilding the life I spectacularly destroyed, I’m sent back to the scene of the crime to go undercover in the hottest new club on what seems like an open-shut skimming case. But as always, nothing is as it seems. Especially when I cross paths with the very last person who wants to see me–Marlee Manning.
The biggest distraction and risk to my cover just happens to be the girl who enamored me as a kid enchanted me at twenty, and used to be the one constant presence in my life, loving me unconditionally until I broke her heart, her trust, and everything else.
Now we need each other to help bring down a man who could be the most dangerous man on the Strip. The problem is, we don’t know what we’re up against, and the deeper I get into the life, the more I realize that the stakes are higher than ever. Not just for me, but for her, and any future we might have.
Because if I’m not careful, this case, this chance, this journey toward redemption, could very well end up being my last.
The Stand-In by Kristen Proby
I don’t like my new boss. Not at all.
London Ambrose is a spoiled billionaire’s daughter. And now she’s the new co-owner of the Seattlefootball team,but that doesn’t mean that she knows diddly squat about football.
There’s nothing I hate more than having someone micromanaging me, shadowing my every move, and giving me their two cents on Every. Little. Thing. as I coach MY defensive line.
I don’t care about new team jerseys and branding or answering her million and one questions about how I do my job. But, I can’t help but come to her defense when an old flame shows up and starts harassing her. I’m a Montgomery. We don’t let anyone mess with women.
Now, I’m suddenly in a fake relationship, pretending to date the gorgeous billionaire and learning so many surprising things about this captivating woman that I just can’t seem to stay away from her.
When the lines between our fake relationship and real relationship blur, and my initial distaste for her turns into desire, I find myself coaching the most important game of my life – do I let my guard down or do I let London Ambrose walk away forever?
Dr. Fake Fiance by Louise Bay
She’s famous. He hasn’t a clue who she is.
I’m in London, in disguise, trying to hide from the tabloids, when I slam into a wall.
Except it’s not a wall. It’s a hot hunk of British man.
And I just poured scorching hot coffee all over him.
He goes from burn victim to my fiancé in three days flat. It’s all fake to divert tabloid attention away from my recent breakup with my longtime boyfriend-turned-traitor.
Except it doesn’t feel fake. The way he looks at me makes me shiver. When he touches me, I’m molten lava.
Neither of us is looking for anything serious.
Except…did I tell you how hot he looks playing naked Twister? He might just be husband material.
For real.
A standalone fake relationship romance in the Doctors Series.
Next -Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin
After years of hustling, Collins Carter has finally made it…back to her parents’ house. Between tending to the compost with her newly retired dad and running into her high school nemesis at the only decent coffee shop in town, Collins realizes this subdivision from hell she swore she’d never return to is her rock bottom.
Then the homeowner’s association complaint arrived.
Nathaniel Adams always dreamed of a nice, quiet life in his suburban hometown. Or at least that’s what he thought until Collins moved back and sent his quaint, organized life into a tailspin. He thought Collins was infuriating ten years ago, but when she announces she’s running against him for HOA president, all bets are off.
From secret board meetings to vicious smear campaigns whispered over backyard fences, Collins and Nate sink to levels their sleepy suburb has never seen before. But as hate turns into lust, these two enemies are forced to reckon with the feelings they’ve ignored for years. If only there were bylaws for real life.
Scorch by Abbi Glines
A world of racing horses, wealth, power, and organized crime was what Garrett Hughes had been born to lead. He thrived as the boss of the southern mafia. Women had come and gone in his life, but he had never needed any of them. Once he was given his heirs, he no longer cared about marriage. He had one family, The Family. He didn’t need anything more.
The gorgeous cocktail waitress at his private club is everything he despises. She gets by in life by her beauty, not striving for more. Just like his ex-wives. Beautiful, vain, and flighty. What kind of woman raises a kid in a camper, always picking up and moving? A selfish one. Someone who can’t be trusted.
Fawn Parker isn’t a typical mother, but having a child when she was seventeen and alone in the world, she did all she could to give her the best life possible. The one thing she has taught her daughter is to never back away from an adventure. To live life to its fullest.
The day that Garrett sees Fawn’s true character, he can’t seem to stay away. He wants to be near her and experience life through her eyes. It’s addicting and unlike anything he’s ever known.
What he didn’t expect was to have to work for her attention. He’s never been told no until Fawn does it frequently. Tossing his demands, gifts, and interest in his face. She refuses to let his money and power control her.
But instead of getting angry, he keeps coming back for more.
Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.
Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.
Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.
Naughty & Nice by Mari Carr
If there’s one thing Liza excels at it’s making bad decisions. Which is why she knew it was stupid to invite the guy she’d just started dating to the gala she was hosting. When he gets overly familiar, she asks him to leave. He refuses…
Until sinfully sexy billionaire, Matt Russo, intervenes, leading to Liza’s worst decision ever. Because a holiday hook-up with Matt, her family’s enemy, would definitely land her on the naughty list for life.
If Matt’s past has taught him anything, it’s that true love doesn’t exist. Then he spies Liza—the only threat to his simple existence—across the hotel ballroom. A slow dance leads to a heated embrace that ends in his hotel room. And for the first time ever, he imagines a very different future for himself.
Unfortunately, it’s one he can never have.
Rainfall by Alison Rhymes
I met the love of my life at ten years old.
At sixteen, I gave him my heart.
Three years later he was drafted to the NHL and moved across the country.
Five years after, he’s back. And he’s meeting his daughter for the first time.
I still hate him.
Even if my heart says that’s a lie.
***
At ten years old, she changed my life.
At sixteen, I told her I loved her.
Three years after, I left and broke her heart.
Five years later, I’m coming back home to the surprise of my life.
I hate her for it.
Even though my brain says this is all my fault.
Dark Heir by S.C. Pacat
In this riveting sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel Dark Rise, Will and his allies have survived the Dark’s first assault, but at a terrible cost.
A new threat from the past is rising, and only a handful of heroes remain to fight. Pursued by dark forces, Will and his allies must leave the safety of the Hall and travel to the heart of the ancient world, making new and dangerous alliances, and revealing the shocking secrets of the past.
But Will is carrying a dark secret of his own—his true identity. Drawn to the beautiful and deadly James St. Clair, Will is pulled ever deeper into the web of the past, and finds himself tempted by the darkness within. As the ancient world threatens to return, can Will and his friends fight their fate? Or will the truths they learn tear their world apart?
Dark Heir is the explosive and highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dark Rise,from global phenomenon C. S. Pacat.
The Whole Time by Catherine Bybee
Salena Barone has broken free of her family and moved into an apartment above the D’Angelos’ restaurant, where she works as a manager—without a husband, thank you very much. But even on a restaurant salary, she soon finds herself strapped for cash. Salena’s never been afraid of living on the wild side, though, so she takes on a side hustle that’ll raise big bucks…and eyebrows, if anyone finds out.
Tattooed biker Ryan is the youngest of the wealthy Rutledge wine family and has never dreamed of rings, forever, or continuing the family business. He’s perfectly happy living his own life and helping out hardworking folks in his own way.
When these two independent singles spot each other at a Rutledge-D’Angelo wedding, the attraction is instant. But as their friendship with benefits evolves into something more, the secrets Salena’s keeping—from family, friends, and Ryan—threaten the happily ever after she never knew she wanted.
After the Storm by Laura Pavlov (Live 11.16)
I’ve loved her from the first moment I saw her.
And I’ve loved her every day since.
Whether we’re together or we’re apart—that hasn’t changed.
Which is saying a lot considering I don’t like most people.
But life has thrown us a slew of curveballs and we went our separate ways.
Life, family, jealousy—we let it all get in the way.
I’m a dad now, and my little girl is my world.
And after years apart, Presley is back in Cottonwood Cove.
I don’t believe in fairytales or second chances.
My heart belongs to my daughter now, and there is no room for complications.
Presley Duncan is a giant complication.
A wise man would keep his distance.
But I never claimed to be a wise man.
So maybe we end up in a car together in the middle of a snowstorm.
Which leads to a hotel room with only one bed.
Maybe I should reconsider my stance on fairytales and second chances.
And seeing Presley with my little girl does something to me.
Stirs something inside of me that I thought was long gone.
But I know this is temporary.
She’ll be leaving soon, and I’m prepared to let her go.
Until she’s gone.
And I realize that I’m not prepared at all for life after the storm.
Stuck Bayou by Erin Nicholas (Live 11.16)
Opposing her proposal to build luxury condos in his tiny hometown…and maybe getting her fired…is probably not the best way to get on Savannah Lee’s good side. But Theo Taggart likes all of Savannah’s sides—her sweet, tight backside in her uptight pencil skirts and her delicious, curvy front side in those buttoned-up silk blouses. Oh, yeah, he welcomes every single clash with the sassy city girl.
He’s never wanted anyone like he wants this woman.
It’s really too bad she’s allergic to settling down, because he’s got very deep roots.
It’s really too bad the big, rugged game warden has become her nemesis.
Because Savannah would really like to sleep with Theo just once.
Of course, there’s always hate sex.
But it doesn’t feel anything like hate when he rescues her from the bayou cabin where she’s stranded without power.
Or when he insists on accompanying her on a work trip at Christmas so she doesn’t have to spend the holiday alone.
Or when he literally carries her to safety and then, ahem, keeps her warm when they get snowed in at the Merry Falls Lodge.
But no matter how festive things get, or how ‘jolly’ they are together, they need to remember that all of this will end when the cocoa loses it’s steam and the mistletoe dries up.
Stuck Bayou is a part of the Merry Ever After collection. To read other stories set at the rustic Merry Falls Lodge, look for books with the Merry Ever After icon from the following authors, all releasing on November 16, 2023
Untin Hanna by Aurora Rose Reynolds (Live 11.17)
Hanna has always dreamt of the day when she’d find the perfect man and start a family of her own. But one horrible dating experience after an another, has her second guessing her ability to trust her own judgment when it comes to men. After her last failed relationship with a man who had a whole other life that she knew nothing about, she makes a promise to herself:
No dating and no serious relationships for a year.
But a vacation fling isn’t dating is it?
Walker St. James has always lived his life one adventure at a time, and settling down hasn’t been something he’s ever considered until her. Hanna Mayson. A woman he knows he could easily fall in love with. But while he’s trying to figure out how to make things between them work she informs him that all she wants is a vacation hook up.
Giving her what she wants is easy but if he gets his way they will be anything but temporary.