In book 2 of the Sweet Tea B&B series...

Mia's high school sweetheart breezes back into town, but will she let him stay at her B&B and risk her heart again?

Kate tries to expand the business, but will she and Mia butt heads over the future of their mother's beloved bed and breakfast?

As usual, Evie is up to no good. Will this little prank get her in hot water?

A woman arrives to stay at the B&B who has some secrets of her own...

“Tess Thompson has ‘wowed’ once again with her ease of writing and talents in storytelling, one that will have you crying, cheering and experiencing the ‘laughing-tears’ just as much, if not more than its previous installments. It's enjoyable to a fault which makes it that much more difficult in preparing yourself to say goodbye to such a lovable and meaningful story.” —Wild Sage Book Blog

In love, there are no mistakes, only detours. Find out for yourself in this standalone, swoon-worthy, small town romance from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson.
 
Businessman Lance Mullen is no stranger to mistakes, but he’s determined to get things right this time. Coming home to Cliffside Bay proves to be the first in a series of great decisions, and in no time at all Lance has his life back on track.
 
After losing her mother, child, and marriage, Mary Hansen is determined to keep her heart safe from any further pain. By convincing herself that her job and her books are enough, she’s sure to never be vulnerable to love or loss again.
 
When New Year’s Eve brings these two unlucky souls together over a bottle of tequila, their celebratory mood will get the best of both of them. But it won’t take long before one fun night turns into long days of panic when they discover that perhaps they’ve both made the biggest mistake of all. Is it possible that the things we don’t think we want can turn out to be the very things we actually need?

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Author Bio:
Tess Thompson is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of contemporary and historical Romantic Women’s Fiction with nearly 40 published titles. When asked to describe her books, she could never figure out what to say that would perfectly sum them up until she landed on, Hometowns and Heartstrings.

 

Book Excerpt:

Chapter 1: Lance

Ten seconds before the clock struck midnight and tossed them into a new year, Lance Mullen had only one wish. He wanted to kiss Mary Hansen. Not a friendly peck on her alabaster cheek or a chaste brush of lips. No, his kiss must steal her breath and quicken her pulse and weaken her knees. He must make her swoon.

This was not a task for the shy or meek. Only a hero could rouse her from her half slumber.

It would take the kiss of the greatest love story ever written.

Around him, his friends began to chant the countdown.

Ten…

Mary stood next to him in Zane and Honor’s crowded living room. All night she’d stayed near, so close he could smell the subtle scent of her perfume and bask in the heat that radiated from her skin. She tugged the sleeve of his jacket.

“Lance, you have to count.”

Nine, eight…

He looked down at her. His pulse quickened, his knees weakened at the mere sight of her. With an oval face and one of those well-defined jawlines he found so attractive, she reminded him of fine china, meticulously honed into beautiful lines and curves. Tonight, she wore a dark blue velvet dress that clung to her slender waist and hips. Her caramel-hued hair was swept up into a pile on top of her head, exposing her long neck, the tips of her delicate ears, and the birthmark on her neck that reminded him of a question mark. All evening he’d longed to trace the birthmark with his finger as if it might unleash the answer to her heart. Yet, he wondered, too, would she shatter under his touch?

She played with the gold bangles around her wrist and counted down the seconds with the rest of his friends. Seven, six…

She smiled up at him with eyes as dull as a child’s crayon. Five, four…

One day she’d told him that all interesting characters in novels have a secret.

He had one.

He was in love with Mary Hansen. No one knew, not even his best friends. She was tainted in their eyes, prickly and cold.

Unlike a hero in Mary’s favorite novels, his secret did not make him interesting. More like pathetic.

Three, two, one…

Confetti floated and danced around him. “Auld Lang Syne” played from the speakers. His best friends and his brother kissed their wives—everyone married now but him. Maggie and Violet were pregnant. He knew his sister-in-law, Kara, wouldn’t be far behind. He was ashamed that their happiness made him sad. More than it should? Maybe. Was he wrong to want a love of his own? A woman to cherish and dogs and babies and the busy, messy lives his friends had made for themselves? If it was wrong, if he should not yearn for more when he had so much, then he was guilty. His new house and all the money in the bank and his expensive cars and clothes meant little when you woke up alone.

He wanted to wake up with Mary Hansen.

The passage into her heart was as mysterious as the Agatha Christie novels she lovingly displayed on the Staff Picks table of their bookstore. That said, he knew more than most about the damaged beauty by his side. During their late nights of easy friendship, she’d slowly revealed herself to him as they prepared to open the revamped bookstore. The plot? Six years ago, her baby daughter had died, followed closely by her mother’s death. Then, her husband had admitted to having an affair while she was pregnant. The subtext? Trained as a librarian, she lived only in the pages of the novels she coveted. They were her link to the living world.

Mary turned to him and played with the collar of his shirt. “Sir Lancelot.”

“Yes?” She labeled everyone by characters in books. He was Sir Lancelot. Every time she called him that, his heart fluttered. However, she was not his Guinevere but his Sleeping Beauty. If only he could waken her.

“You’re supposed to kiss me or it’s bad luck.” She held up her cheek.

This was his chance. Do it. Be bold.

“It has to be on the lips,” he said. “Or it doesn’t count.”

“I’m not sure that’s true, but just in case, you better do it.”

She pursed her lips, playful.

She was about to know he was not playing.

He pressed his lips to hers, not hard like he wanted but with just the slightest of pressure, and kissed her. To his surprise, she softened against his mouth. She kissed him back! Yes, there was no question. Her lips moved, mimicking the flutter of the confetti that tickled his ear. He lingered at her mouth, lost. My God, she tasted of champagne. Another stanza of music passed. Still, he could not let go. He slipped one arm around her waist. She kept her arms at her sides but allowed him to pull her small-boned frame against his broad chest. Overwhelmed by the scent of her perfume and her hair, he kissed her harder. A spark of light exploded behind his eyes. An engine rumbled through his stomach.

She pulled away, flushed and breathing hard. “What was that?” she whispered.

​“A kiss.”  

“Why did you do that?” She splayed her fingers against the base of her neck, as if a collar choked her.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

She looked down and rearranged the bangles on her arm. “It’s fine. Just a kiss between friends.”

Suspicions confirmed. He was a sick man. Not with a physical ailment, by the grace of God, but with a mental malady he’d named after himself. The Lance Syndrome. Men who fall for women who are either married, gay, emotionally unavailable, or not interested due to lack of physical attraction.

“I want to go,” she said.

His heart no longer fluttered at her words. Once again, he’d blown it.

A few minutes later, he pulled out of Honor and Zane’s driveway and headed down the hill toward town. Mary sat beside him, stiff and quiet. He’d frightened her with his unwanted kiss. He could kick himself. Here it was the first day of the new year and he had nothing but the same mistakes stretched out in front of him like a road map to his own personal hell. New year. Same mistakes. New woman with which to make same mistakes.

Nice. Tori Hawthorne, the woman who’d wrecked his life, had once called him vanilla melba toast during a fight. He was the guy you called when you needed a warm smile, genuine encouragement, or to kill a spider. Not the guy who pressed you against the wall and kissed away all reason.

Everyone knew nice got you nowhere in life.

His father had always said a man’s greatest strength was also his greatest weakness. Lance was a good man, a compassionate person. He was sick to death of himself. Sure, it was great to be empathetic and nonjudgmental, but it made life more complicated. Seeing beyond a person’s public face made almost everyone understandable, even lovable. He could see a person’s innate character, the person they’d been before life whittled away at their trust and courage.

It was as if he stood on a glass floor and could see what lay below when others saw only a shiny reflection of themselves. One couldn’t truly see another if they looked exclusively with their eyes. Only a heart could see through glass.

He saw Mary with his heart. Behind her reticence and aloofness, those layers of porcelain, was a woman who had suffered great losses yet continued onward, fighting the darkness that wanted to pull her under. To him, this was the true definition of character. She was strong and brave. His friends didn’t understand. They couldn’t see beyond her cracked glass floor.

Make small talk. Get through the awkwardness. Back to friend zone.

“What’s the famous medical manual? You know, the one on my mother’s desk?” Mary knew every book ever published. She was a walking database of books.

“The Merck Manual,” she said.

Lance snapped his fingers. “Right, that’s it.”

He imagined The Lance Syndrome listed in the Merck Manual. Along with the description of the syndrome, photographs of the women he’d once loved displayed as exhibits A though F. His last conquest, Exhibit F, Tori Thayne Hawthorne, best described as married. A footnote at the bottom of the page would include details such as, the boss’s daughter who subsequently got him fired from his upwardly mobile job as a hedge fund manager in one of the most prestigious firms in New York City.

Never one to fail quietly, no, not Lance Mullen. He went out with a splash big enough to empty his famous brother’s swimming pool. Lost the girl and the job and his eye twitch and everything else he’d built over the past eight years of eighty-hour work weeks by falling in love with his boss’s married daughter.

His brother, Brody, had convinced him to come to Cliffside Bay. Start fresh.

So, he had. He began again in Cliffside Bay. He’d had a beautiful house built on the corner of Brody’s property. The Dogs and their wives had welcomed him back into the fold, delighted he had finally moved to town. He thought he’d made the right decision for his life. However, one couldn’t shake fundamental flaws just because one moved across the country and constructed a beach house.

Wherever he went, there he was.

Exhibit G was his current work in progress. Mary Hansen. She might be his finest disaster to date. Mary fell under two categories. She was emotionally unavailable and put him squarely in the friend zone. Only his most self-destructive work contained women who fell into more than one category.

She shifted in her seat, smoothing her hands down the front of her dress. Damn that clingy blue dress coupled with the pair of nude sandals that showed off her long legs. Mary Hansen was one sexy librarian.

He should never have asked her to be his date. Not when he knew his feelings were so far out of the friend zone it was practically another planet.

Mary looked over at him. Her eyes sparkled in the lights of a passing car. “I don’t want to go home.”

“You don’t?” If only she meant, I want you to take me home and rip off my clothes.

“No, it’s just a little after midnight. Now that half your friends are pregnant or have small children, that was a tame New Years’ Eve celebration.”

“Everything’s changed.” He’d felt it keenly all evening. He was going to be alone the rest of his life, thanks to The Lance Syndrome.

“Let’s buy a bottle of tequila and make margaritas,” she said.

“You drink margaritas?”

“I used to. I used to be fun, believe it or not.”

“I think you’re fun now,” he said.

“I’m not.”

“You are,” Lance said. More than you know.

“I want to be fun again. I want to have fun. Do you know how long it’s been since I cut loose?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

She laughed. “Yes. I don’t want to go home to my empty house. Not tonight. I hate New Year’s Eve. I just want to forget my life for a few hours.”

“I have tequila at my house.”

He turned onto the road that took them out of town and up the hillside toward the Mullen property.

“I feel like drinking too much and dancing in my underwear,” Mary said.

He coughed. “What?”

“You are awake,” she said.

He was awake now. The thought of her dancing in her panties was enough to keep him from sleeping for weeks.

“You’ve never danced in your underwear,” he said. “No way.”

“Once. In college. After too many tequila shots.”

“I can’t picture it.” Maybe you could demonstrate later.

“Librarians know how to party,” she said.

He laughed. “That’s a party I’d love to go to.”

“Seriously, the country song’s true. Tequila does make your clothes fall off. And other things.” The last part was said under her breath.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Never mind.” She punched his shoulder. “Keep your eyes on the road.”

They turned into the Mullen property. The head of Brody’s security team, Rafael, was off for the night, but Taylor, the night guy waved them through.

“I’d hate to be as famous as Brody. Well, famous at all,” Mary said.

“It’s the price he had to pay to play football.” In the past tense. Brody would never play again. A neck injury had forced him into retirement at age thirty-one.

He drove by Brody’s house, then past the driveway that led to Mary’s dad’s place. Her father had married the Mullens’ longtime housekeeper, Flora, essentially their second mother, and built a cottage where they planned to stay part of the year. Currently, they were in Oregon at their other house and wouldn’t be back until next month. Mary was staying at their place while they were gone.

“Any luck finding a house?” he asked.

“Nothing’s for sale or rent. I’ve got to find something before Dad and Flora come back. I cramp their style.”

“I still think we should make the rooms above the store into an apartment. Like Zane’s apartment above The Oar.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. Something about living above a bookstore in that tiny space reiterates the fact that I’m doomed to a life of cats and spinsterhood.”

You don’t have to be.

He turned into the third driveway. His house wasn’t far from the cliff, but not so close it would fall into the ocean. He’d made sure of that. Like trading stocks, one had to measure the risks versus the rewards.

They walked up his stone pathway to the front door. He’d left the yard lights on, but the stones were craggy and uneven. Perfect excuse to take Mary’s arm. How she walked in those heels was as intriguing as the woman herself.

He kept hold of her as they ambled up the stairs to the front door of his Cape Cod–style home. Once inside, he turned on a few lamps with a command on his phone.

“Oh, Lance, it’s gorgeous.”

His designer, Trey Mattson, had put the finishing touches on his house that afternoon. The white couch was now adorned with blue pillows that mimicked the color of the ocean on a summer day. Paintings of the Italian seaside hung on the walls.

The living room and kitchen were one great room, strategically designed to face the ocean. Tonight, the giant windows acted as mirrors, catching their reflections. During daylight, however, they looked directly out to the ocean. Wide-planed, distressed hardwood floors throughout contrasted with white walls and light furniture with pops of blue in pillows, bowls, and vases. At the kitchen island were five stools for five Dogs.

“Did the table for the dining room come?” she asked.

“Yes, finally.” He pointed toward the closed door to the dining room, next to the stairs that led up to the second floor. “You can look at it later.” He’d bought an enormous table with enough seating for all of his friends and family. Someday, he would host a holiday meal. A vision of the two of them together with a couple of kids flashed before his eyes. How he wished it could be true.

“Oh, Lance, the view from this window is unbelievable.” She stepped out of her sandals and placed them neatly by the door to the patio.

“I’ll never tire of it,” he said. The window was in fact a door, much like a garage. During warm months, the entire door rolled upward and disappeared, making the living room and deck into one space.

“I love the high beams and light walls. Everything seems so clean and fresh.” She swept her hand over the back of his white couch. “And the bits of blue are lovely. My favorite color.”

“Mine too. Anyway, we can thank Trey for all of this. I can barely pick out a pair of shoes let alone decorate an entire house.”

Lance had asked Trey for the ultimate seaside escape—a sanctuary from the world. He hadn’t said it out loud, but he wanted a place where he could feel at peace. A home where he could forget what happened in New York and let all the expectations he’d had for his life drift away in the ocean breeze. This house should grant him peace. Something had to.

“I love the floors,” she said.

“Brody said they’re manly but also pretty, like me.”

“That’s not nice.”

“It’s fine. Just brotherly ribbing.”

“You’re handsome, not pretty,” she said.

“I guess so.” Embarrassed, his ears burned. For years the Dogs had teased him about being too pretty for a guy. Secretly, it offended him. He’d grown a short beard just to counteract the prettiness. It did nothing to disguise his delicate features. “Now, about that drink.”

“Yes, let’s get this party started.”

He laughed at how awkward those words sounded coming out of her mouth. In all the months they’d spent together, he’d never known her to have more than a glass of wine. At the shop, she drank apple cinnamon herbal tea all day long. “I’m always cold,” she’d told him one time when he’d teased her about her tea addiction.

In the kitchen he found a bottle of tequila in the pantry. “I don’t have margarita mix, but I have lemonade. Will that do?”

“That’ll do just fine.” She sat, rather primly, on the oversized chair by the fireplace. That dress. That dress needed to come off.

“You want to borrow a shirt and a pair of my boxer shorts?” he asked.

“You read my mind.” She crossed the room in her bare feet over to where he had opened the bottle of tequila and the lemonade carton. “Here, I’ll do this while you fetch me something to wear. This dress is like a cobra around my middle.”

“I can imagine.” He’d like to be a cobra around her middle.

When he returned with a soft t-shirt and a pair of his boxer shorts, two glasses of the lemonade tequila concoction waited on the coffee table. She excused herself to change in the downstairs bathroom. Do not think of her naked.

She returned a few minutes later with her dress over one arm and placed it on the back of a chair. “I just thought of something. You won’t be able to drive me home if we have too many drinks.”

“It’s too far to walk in the dark. You can sleep in the guest room. No one’s stayed there yet. I figured it would be Kyle’s room, but now he’s married, and I’ll probably never see him again.” He spoke casually, oh so cool, like there was no agenda.

“Especially with another baby on the way.”

He looked at her closely. Had her voice quivered when she’d mentioned a baby?

She grabbed her drink. “I need a straw. Do you have straws?”

“I do. For when Dakota and Jubie come over. Kids love straws.”

“I love straws,” she said.

“I never knew that.”

“We’ve never had drinks before.”

He left his drink on the coffee table and went into the kitchen to get her a straw. He grabbed only one. Men didn’t drink from straws. Even nice men.

She thanked him and stuck it into her drink, then took a long suck as he sank into the corner of his L-shaped couch. “I have something to say.” Her eyes shone in the light from the fireplace. Now that he thought about it, she might have been a little drunk at the party. “Thanks for hiring me to manage the bookstore. I have a purpose I wouldn’t have if not for your generosity.” She cut herself off and raised her glass. “Anyway, to the new year.”

“To the new year.”

She curled up in the oversized chair looking comfortable, not to mention sexy as hell, in his shirt.

“Speaking of the store,” he said. “I closed the books this morning. We made a profit our first month. It’s much better than I expected.”

“The holidays helped. Next month might be terrible.”

“Don’t be such a pessimist,” he said. “Having trivia night and book clubs and all the other stuff you thought of will bring people in during slower months. Plus, customers love how you help them find just the right book for them.” Every time a new customer had come in looking for a gift, she’d rattled off a few questions and then presented them with several books sure to please.

“I love finding people the right book.” She was talking faster than her usual measured pace. He worried over how quickly she was downing her drink, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop her. “I looked at my stock account today. How are you making me all this money?”

“I’ve been pleased,” he said. More than pleased. Over the past few months, he’d increased her wealth by ten thousand dollars. She didn’t have much to start out with, unlike his former clients who invested millions. “I watch the market closely, that’s all.”

“Not all. You’re a genius.”

“That’s what my boss used to say.” Back when he was a rising star at the firm. Before he was summarily fired.

Her glass was almost empty. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was in the mood to have a few drinks.

He moved to stand by the fire. Her hazel eyes glittered with energy when she met his gaze. And her cheeks were flushed a bright pink. This was not self-contained Mary. Tonight, she was all sexy librarian Mary.

“How about another?” She uncurled her long legs and got up from the chair, then crossed over to the kitchen. “I made a pitcher.”

“I’m good for now.” He might have to look after her later. Best to stay sober.

Moments later, she was back in her spot, guzzling her drink.

“Be careful,” he said gently. “You’re not much of a drinker, are you?”

“Not really. But do you ever just get sick of being who you are?”

“Almost every day.” Definitely today.

“What would you change?” she asked.

He rattled the ice around his nearly empty glass. “I’d like to be more like Kyle and Zane. More of an alpha type guy.”

“You mean because of women?”

“What else reason would there be? It’s always about a woman.”

 “A woman? Or women?” She pulled a pin from her hair and her hair cascaded around her shoulders. “It has to be the latter if you’re going to be a romance book alpha male.”

“Do you like that type?” he asked.

“I have no idea. I don’t think about men. I have no interest in ever letting myself get hurt that way again.”

“Are you ever lonely?”

“I didn’t think so.” Indecision played across her features. She was obviously wrestling with what to say next. “Until recently.”

“How recently?”

“Tonight. When you kissed me...” She looked up at the ceiling. Her eyelashes fluttered. “Your kiss unsettled me.”

“Is that good?” Act like it was nothing. He strolled over to the couch and sat with his legs stretched out on the coffee table. Mr. Casual.

“Yes. Our kiss, to be more accurate. I believe I kissed you back, making it ours.” She crossed her legs. “Which is weird.”

“Because it was nice?” he asked, a flare of hope in his chest.

She rested her neck on the back of her chair and stared at the ceiling. “Nice isn’t how I would describe it. More like, hot.”

He swallowed and gripped his glass in both hands, afraid he might drop it onto his new couch. The ice cubes had melted into slivers.

“It surprised me,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think of you that way. You’re my pal. My best pal.”

The friend zone. Damn it all.

“But now I feel a little confused,” she said.

“You do?”

“I do, yes.” She tilted her head, studying him. “Are you?”

“Not in the same way.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I think about you.” How’s that for an understatement?

“You think about me? Like that?”

“It’s impossible not to. Given how gorgeous you are. I mean, seriously, that dress tonight. I’m a man, not a zombie.”

“Oh.” She stared at him for a second, then finished her drink with a noisy slurp and got up for more. Surprisingly, she walked in a straight line all the way to the kitchen. When she returned, she stood near the couch and examined him as if they had come upon each other on the street and she was trying to place where she knew him from. “You’ve surprised me twice tonight. That never happens. People don’t usually surprise me.”

“Most people are much more than they appear on the surface,” he said.

She shook her glass at him. “You’ve taught me that. It’s humbling to hear what you see in others that most people miss. I love that about you.”

“Yeah?” She loved that about him. She’d narrowed in on this trait. She saw him for who he was.

She slapped her left knee. “I’m vowing right here and now to make this a better year. I can’t be sad forever. I mean, it’s been six years since I lost Meme and my mother, and my husband left me for that barista skank.”

Skank. He’d never heard her use that word before. Tequila loosened her tongue.

Mary slurped up her drink. In hindsight, the choice of a straw might not have been wise.

“It was like everything was mine one minute and poof it all disappeared in the next.” She waved her hand in front of her face like she was swatting away mosquitos. “But I have to stop being like this. I have to start living.”

“You suffered a terrible loss. It’s understandable that you withdrew.” What a stupid thing to say. Trite and ridiculous.

“You want to know something?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Reading novels—my old friends—has been the only thing that gets me through the day. I can get lost in a story and forget for a while. Or, sometimes, the story mirrors something in my own life and helps me cry and grieve and feel less alone. But you know what? I’m not really living. Dammit, my mother would be truly disappointed in me.” She placed her empty glass on the coffee table and wandered over to the bank of windows. “Do you know how long it’s been since I had sex?”

He almost choked on his drink.

“The last time was with my husband. Can you believe that? Good old Chad the Cheater.” She giggled as she turned to face him. “Do you know he’s married and has three kids? Three. Can you imagine how that hurts?”

She’d shared this with him before, but he didn’t remind her. He would let her talk for as long as she needed.

“I could, yes,” he said.

“How stupid is it to have an incompetent cervix? I mean, seriously? Of all things. My Meme never had a chance because of my incompetence.”

He had no idea what to say. She’d gone into labor at only twenty-two weeks. The baby wasn’t developed enough. Despite heroic efforts of the hospital staff, tiny Meme had died in Mary’s arms.

She turned back to the window. Her breath steamed up the glass as she spoke. “And wouldn’t you know it, life goes on. Unfortunately. So, you just have to get up every single stupid day and pretend like you’re present in the world when all the time you’re just a ghost floating amongst the living. And in the middle of all the soul-crushing grief, you’re pissed as hell too—witnessing all the lucky ones with their precious families and happy marriages—those adorable babies at the supermarket all fat and pink. It all eats away at you until all that’s left is this angry, bitter shell. You hate yourself for it. Honestly, you do. You want to be gracious and graceful and believe that God is good, but you can’t. You rage against Him. You hate all the happy people.”

Lance joined her by the windows. Her reflection in the glass appeared ghostlike and eerie. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, comfort her, but remained at a distance.

“Now you know. I’m an awful person,” she said.

“No. Not awful. Hurting.”

“Damn, Lance, how are you so good all the time? How do you always know what to say so that I feel understood instead of judged?”

“I’m not good all the time. You know how I wrecked my life. No one to blame but myself.”

“I blame the boss’s daughter.” She rested the side of her head against his shoulder. “I could never blame you for anything. You’re too good for this world.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Mary jerked away. “No, I’m not doing this. I’m not ruining our fun night. This is the beginning of a new year. We’re going for broke.” She scurried across to the kitchen and grabbed the pitcher of drinks. “You’ve got to catch up. It’s terrible manners to let a lady get drunk while you remain sensible and sober.”

“Sensible and sober? God, I sound like an old man.” He fetched his drink from the coffee table and finished the dregs. “Here, give me that pitcher. I don’t trust you.”

She laughed. “Because I’m drunk?”

“Yes, and my furniture’s white.” He poured them both a new drink. “I’m worried you’re going to be sick.”

“No way. I ate a huge dinner. I’m fine.” She fell back onto the couch and planted her legs on the coffee table. Her toenails were painted pink and reminded him of perfect seashells. “My mom always made me come up with New Year’s resolutions. Did you guys do those?”

“Sure. My mom was always big on making goals. I mean, not that we stuck to them, but yeah.” He took the chair she’d vacated earlier, afraid if he sat by her he might lose it and pull her onto his lap.

“Do you have any for this year?” Mary asked.

“Read more.” He grinned at her. “Someone suggested that.”

She’d given him a stack of some of her favorite books for a Christmas present.

“What else?” she asked.

“I’d like to find someone. The right someone. I guess that’s not a resolution, but a wish.”

Her voice softened. “Those are different things, yes.” She fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt before she leapt up. “We need music. Something cheery.”

He found his phone and turned on the Bluetooth speakers. A pop song came on, sexy and up-tempo.

“Is this the dancing-on-the-table portion of the evening?” He leaned back in his chair like he was ready to watch a show.

In front of the fireplace, she swayed to the music and flashed him a saucy grin. “What? You think I won’t do it?”

“I know you won’t do it.”

“Really? Well, how about this?” She put aside her drink and stepped onto the coffee table. With her arms stretched out above her head, she moved her hips in a circle one way and then the other. Maybe she was right. Librarians knew how to party.

“Didn’t you say something about underwear?” The comment flew from his mouth without proper evaluation of the consequences.

Her hip gyration commenced. With an evil glint in her eyes, she gazed at him. “You don’t think I’ll do it.”

“I don’t.”

“Oh, I’m doing it all right. And you have to watch. No turning away now.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m turning away,” he said gruffly.

 

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A captivating series that masterfully weaves the complexities of modern family life with the surprise joys and gifts of midlife reinvention.

Jess Rand is eager to rebuild her life after a long-overdue divorce. First, she'll sell the house that used to feel like home and start fresh at Whispering Pines, the Minnesota lake resort gifted to her sister by their late Aunt Celia. Her tumultuous marriage has mangled her belief in "happily ever after," yet she's excited to embrace her newfound independence. A savvy businesswoman, Jess mirrors Celia's many talents. She's determined to live up to the confidence Celia placed in her, despite a jumble of nerves and shaky optimism.

But just as Jess finds her footing again, unforeseen challenges emerge, testing her resolve in ways she never expected.

A web of deceit begins to unravel when her estranged husband disrupts a family celebration. How dare he ask Jess to care for the child he fathered with another woman? The sins of his past collide with Jess's dreams, shattering the serene future she'd envisioned and saddling her with an unfair moral dilemma.

Her emotional turmoil grows when hidden secrets and shocking accusations tied to Celia emerge. A forced collaboration with a vexing younger man from her aunt's past could prove to be more than her bruised and battered heart can take.

As she navigates a tangled maze of love, lies, and loss, will Jess discover that protecting her family is the ultimate way to honor Celia's legacy?

"This is a beautiful read and I had a hard time putting it down." —Book In One Hand Coffee In Another Blog

Molly Trent is an adventurous, free spirit whose turbulent childhood has driven her to a new mission in life—to make people feel better. Unfortunately, a series of burglaries at her new wellness shop puts her in the path of a cynical and suspicious detective, who thinks she does more harm than good. She's used to criticism, but she sees something in the tightly-controlled police detective that she wants to unleash, if only she could get him to trust her.

Trust doesn't come easily to Detective Adam Cole. He has been a loner for as long as he can remember. He's very good at protecting people. He's great at being a friend, but relationships that go beyond that—not so much. After a heartbreaking tragedy in his early twenties, he put up walls that are never coming down. Despite what Molly Trent might think, he does not need help or herbs to be happy.

Unfortunately, what he needs is her. The chemistry between them almost makes him wonder if she hasn't cast some sort of spell over him. But he fights their attraction hard, because he doesn't do forever, and he can't imagine that an optimistic romantic like Molly would settle for anything less. But when they get tangled up in life and love, anything can happen…

 

Author Bio:

Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 41 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara opened her own publishing company in 2011 and has since sold over 4.8 million copies of her books. Nineteen of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists. In July of 2014, Barbara was named the Amazon KDP bestselling author of ALL TIME! She was also the first indie author to sell over 1 million copies at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon. An author known for writing emotional stories about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, Barbara has received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and has also received six nominations for the RITA for Best Single Title Contemporary Romance from Romance Writers of America. She has won the honor twice for her novels Daniel's Gift and The Way Back Home. 

Shop all Barbara Freethy books

Sable has been exposed for who she is: Imari, the illegitimate daughter of Istraa's king, and a Liag -someone born with forbidden Shah power. After ten years of hiding and surviving in the bitter cold Wilds, she is finally returning home.

But it's not the homecoming Imari envisioned. After all, her father proclaimed her dead ten years ago, and with an anonymous Liag leader operating in Istraa's shadows, attacking villages and burning down temples, her father fears the people will blame Imari.

It could mean his throne, and her life.

Worse yet, the night Imari played her flute in Skyhold's court, something unlocked inside of her, and now her power will not quiet. Neither will the growing fury she feels on behalf of Istraa's Sol Velorian labor- people who share her blood.

As that fury becomes too loud to ignore, Imari chooses to use her position to liberate the Sol Velor. But can she free them without angering enemies hungry for the power she wields-a power that could rip the Five Provinces apart?

Sparks fly and tension soars when a gutsy 21st century lawyer meets a 19th century Pinkerton agent in a Colorado mining town Fast-paced Western adventure with a railroad war, gunslingers, dinosaur bones, and romance... Amber Kelly, mining lawyer and amateur paleontologist, visits her family's 19th century log cabin in the Colorado mountains, and discovers a puzzle box hidden in a 200-year-old loom. Inside the box is a brooch engraved with a Gaelic inscription. After reciting the words, an earthy-scented fog engulfs Amber and whisks her off to Leadville, Colorado, in the year 1878. Within minutes of arriving in the infamous boomtown, she witnesses a horrifying accident.Pinkerton Agent Daniel Grant, a widower on assignment to the Rio Grande Railroad, sees his son fall into the path of a freight wagon. Terrified, he knows he can't reach him in time. Amber sprints toward the boy, grabs him, and drags him to safety. Although Daniel is grateful to Amber for saving his son's life, he quickly becomes suspicious of her legal knowledge, odd passion for hunting dinosaur bones, and the inability to answer simple questions about her identity.Olivia Kelly, real estate Broker and former litigator, is distraught over her sister's disappearance. With the assistance of her client, former NYPD detective Connor O'Grady, they search the cabin for clues to Amber's whereabouts. Connor recognizes the puzzle box and is convinced Amber has gone back in time. But where? With the help of his friends, David and Kenzie McBain, they identify two possibilities: Morrison and Canon City, Colorado, in the late 1870s. A plan to rescue Amber is immediately put into action.The time travelers are drawn into the middle of two wars: a ruthless and competitive bone war between two noted paleontologists, and a desperate railroad war between the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande. Their involvement in these wars puts at risk the future of paleontology, the outcome of a sensational legal battle, and the health and hearts of two couples, a ten-year-old boy, and a dog named Ripley.Scroll up and grab a copy today.

When a newspaper report of a medical miracle catches Matt's eye, he and India go in search of Dr. Hale in the hope he is more magical doctor than miracle worker and can lead them to Chronos. But Hale turns out to be an apothecary magician keen to educate the public about magic.

Their disappointment at not finding Chronos is soon forgotten when Hale is murdered, and Matt becomes a suspect. With Matt's nemesis Sheriff Payne influencing the investigating detective, India and Matt know they must find the real killer, or risk his freedom, and ultimately his life. Time is running out as they hunt for a killer capable of turning medicine into poison with a magic spell, as well as continue the search for Chronos. A search that must end in success before Matt's malfunctioning watch stops altogether.

About the Author
Archer, C. J.: - C.J. Archer is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fantasy novels including THE EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY, the FREAK HOUSE series, the MINISTRY OF CURIOSITIES series and the GLASS AND STEELE books. She has also written historical romances set in Elizabethan England. C.J. has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat. Subscribe to C.J.'s newsletter through her website CJARCHER.COM to be notified when she releases a new book, as well as get access to exclusive content and subscriber-only giveaways.

The first of a charming, heartwarming holiday trilogy that will whisk you away to a dreamy winter in the mountains. With sweet romance, strong family bonds, and an uplifting story of hope and joy, this is the perfect Christmas collaboration between two beloved women's fiction authors!

When the Chambers sisters receive an invitation from their jet-setting aunt to spend the entire month of December at the family's cabin in Asheville, North Carolina, they have one question -- why? The retreat, tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains, may be the site of many happy childhood holidays and summers but it also holds sad memories. The sisters, and their aunt, have spent twenty-five years avoiding the cabin and renting it to strangers. Why would Aunt Elizabeth want her "dearest darling" nieces to put their busy lives in three different states on hold and spend a month in the mountains?

Eve, Angie, and Noelle, triplets born on Christmas Day, owe their very lives to their aunt, and they agree they must go. Once there, not only do they learn to let go of the past and embrace a bright future, they all start to see their lives in a new way.

Big city girl Noelle comes face-to-face with her first love...and feelings for this single dad are strong, tempting her with a small town lifestyle that she never imagined she'd embrace. Eve, a stressed-out mother of three, revels in the change of scenery and begins to learn the art of letting go of complete control. And when Angie's rocky marriage truly cracks, she finds a new kind of joy with a connection to the past and a reconnection with her daughter.

Can one Christmas in Asheville change everything? Join these strong, funny, and loving women as the holiday spirit lifts them as high as the Blue Ridge Mountains, and promises a whole new life ahead.

The Carolina Christmas Trilogy

The Asheville Christmas Cabin -- book 1

The Asheville Christmas Gift -- book 2

The Asheville Christmas Wedding -- book 3

The charming, heartwarming holiday series continues, whisking you away to a dreamy winter in the mountains. With sweet romance, strong family bonds, and an uplifting story of hope and joy, this is the perfect Christmas collaboration between two beloved women's fiction authors!

The forecast for Christmas is chilly with a chance of major life changes for three sisters who have been brought together by their aunt. The month in Asheville has already opened the women's eyes to new possibilities, and each of the sisters must make major decisions this holiday season.

With her daughter joining the family at the cabin, Angie faces the fact that her marriage is over, but has no idea how or where to start again. Noelle can no longer deny that the boy she once loved is now a man she could love again...although it would mean giving up her big city life and exciting New York career. Eve and her husband discover an opportunity that would upend their comfortable lives, but might bring them immeasurable joy.

Can one Christmas in Asheville change everything? Join these strong, funny, and loving women as the holiday spirit lifts them as high as the Blue Ridge Mountains and promises a whole new life ahead.

The Carolina Christmas Trilogy

The Asheville Christmas Cabin -- book 1

The Asheville Christmas Gift -- book 2

The Asheville Christmas Wedding -- book 3

Winner of the 2021 Author Shout Reader Ready Awards Recommended Read.Her future was assured. But bloodshed made her an orphan. Can she unlock her power and save the land from doom?

Princess Pria is unconcerned with her high-born destiny. A precocious child, all she knows is that she'll be loved and coddled until she's sent to study with the priestesses who protect the realm. But after the ruling prince and his royal wife are viciously murdered by savage beasts, the grief-stricken girl is kept close by her protective older brother despite her dangerously growing magic.

Deciding to accept her duty and leave for formal training at age twelve, Pria returns home a decade later but struggles with the intense scrutiny of a people desperate for her protection. But she soon learns the brutal monsters that slew her parents are controlled by a sorcerous rogue... and she's the next target for his bloody revenge.

Inexperienced and under pressure, can Pria defend her kingdom against a fearsome foe?

The Battle for Trimera is the thrilling first book in the Priestess of Reia Chronicles coming-of-age fantasy adventures. If you like strong heroines, medieval settings, and action-packed quests, then you'll love Tanya S.M. Kennedy's captivating epic.

Buy The Battle for Trimera to face fate today!

She says that she’s his daughter. Could the shocking claim be true?

Beatrice is speechless. It’s something she never expected—a secret daughter. She and Aiden have only just renewed their romance, after decades apart, and he never mentioned a child. Did he know she existed?

Their budding relationship may not survive a scandal this big.

Penny’s brother comes back into her life along with her high school nemesis, his best friend. There’s one rule her brother has always held his friends to—no dating his sister. But she’s an adult now, does the rule still stand?

Plus the friend has information about the photos that were found hidden inside the cottage walls. However, his revelation may uncover more questions than answers.

Taya’s coming to terms with the new competition in town, an upscale resort built by her very own father. It could mean the end for the Blue Shoal Inn.

Then Beatrice’s ex-husband comes back into the picture and throws a spanner into the works with a shocking announcement. 

Author Bio:

Lilly Mirren is a USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and three children. She always dreamed of being a writer​ and is now living that dream. When she's not writing, she's chasing her children, doing housework or spending time with friends.

Her books combine heartwarming storylines with achingly realistic characters readers can't get enough of. Her debut series, The Waratah Inn, set in the delightful Cabarita Beach, hit the USA Today Bestseller list and since then, has touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers across the globe.

Shop the Coral Beach series

Two widows, six kiddos, and a will that leaves them a massive cattle ranch, but only if they work it for a year.

Abigail and Amanda may have married brothers, but they have almost nothing else in common (and really, they never did get along very well). After their husbands both pass away within a year of one another, they have no reason to interact. Their connection drops to an awkward phone call on birthdays and an exchange of holiday cards.

Until an eccentric uncle of their husbands' leaves a massive cattle ranch to the women's minor children. . . if they work the ranch themselves. A ranch that's located near a small town on the Wasatch front that isn't too keen on outsiders.They're both going to turn the bequest down, clearly. It's not like either of them could properly raise their kids or find love again in a backwater province like Birch Creek.

But when things at home change dramatically-for both moms-they decide to give it a try. . . just for the summer.What could possibly go wrong in a mere three months? (Or more importantly... what might go right?)

Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author Pamela Kelley said, "B. E. Baker takes you right to the heart of the small town that two widowed sisters-in-law land in very unexpectedly. Can they survive the year they need to spend there to keep it? I really enjoyed reading Bridget's romantic women's fiction debut."

"[The Bitterroot Inn] was the ultimate romance novel and I lost myself for many blissful hours in this story swooning over absolutely everything about it!" —Aestas Book Blog

Her past. His secrets. They have more in common than she knows.

Maisy is happily content with the life she's built for herself and her young son in small-town Prescott, Montana. Her child is thriving, her business is growing, and her family is as close as they've ever been. But when a handsome stranger walks into the lobby of her motel, her simple life is swept up in a wave of affection for his gentle heart. None of those feelings can be trusted, though. She made that mistake before with another man. The man she murdered.

Hunter was a different man when he first saw Maisy Holt from afar. He took one look at her and ran in the opposite direction. But years later, he's back in Montana and unable to keep his distance. He shouldn't have tried to find her but he never was good at rejecting temptation. The promise of the good she could bring into his life is too hard to resist. Maybe if he can disguise the lies and hide the deceit, he can keep her from learning the truth. Because his only chance at a future with her is by burying his past.

More Reviews:

"Oh wow, we loved this book so much, Hunter and Maisy's love story was so emotional yet so heart-warmingly beautiful too. There's something about Devney Perry's heroes that have our hearts melt into puddles on the floor and their passion sets our pulse on fire." —Totally Booked Blog

"Idid not see this book coming. I mean, I knew it was going to be FANTASTIC, butI had no idea of the emotional punch that it packed." —Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads

Author Bio:

Devney is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she’s discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.

Shop the Jamison Valley series

The Blue Shoal Inn faces its biggest challenge yet. Will it close its doors, or will Taya find a way to save it?

Taya's inn is under threat. Her father's company has built a five star resort in Blue Shoal and is taking her business. She renovates the inn, as a last ditch effort to keep it afloat, but will finally have to make a decision about whether to hold onto the past or embrace the future.

When her father hires a handsome manager for his new resort, Taya wants to hate him but witnesses him do something unexpected that causes everything she thought she believed to unravel.

Rowan reconnects with his estranged stepfather, Buck, but questions still hang over Buck's head about the murder of Penny's grandmother. He was once a suspect, but was cleared of any wrongdoing. Still, Penny and her friends do some digging and will discover that not everything is as it seems. When, Rowan and Penny have a decision to make that could mean big changes for both of them, they'll learn a truth about their past that has been hidden for far too long.

Author Bio:

Lilly Mirren is a USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and three children. She always dreamed of being a writer​ and is now living that dream. When she's not writing, she's chasing her children, doing housework or spending time with friends.

Her books combine heartwarming storylines with achingly realistic characters readers can't get enough of. Her debut series, The Waratah Inn, set in the delightful Cabarita Beach, hit the USA Today Bestseller list and since then, has touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers across the globe.

Shop the Coral Beach series

Things aren't always what they seem on Waverly Lane...

After moving to the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina, Shelby Anderson decides to form a book club to get to know her neighbors and build a new life after her old one imploded.

Little does she know that the women who show up with homemade cookies and perfectly manicured nails have a whole host of secrets of their own.

Will her new book club lead to lifelong friendships or put her in the middle of drama she doesn't want or need?

If you love funny, Southern women's fiction with maybe a hint of romance thrown in for good measure, you'll adore The Book Club On Waverly Lane!

When a brooch is broken, some of its magic is lost...When NYPD detective JL O'Grady is invited to be her brother's plus-one at Montgomery Winery's end-of-harvest gala, she plans to enjoy a fabulous weekend in Napa drinking wine, enjoying sunset dinners on the veranda, and watching her brother's high school basketball tournament. Instead, she's pulled into a murder investigation hauntingly similar to a New York City racketeering and drug case that nearly ended her career.The local cops insist she steer clear of their investigation, but JL's gut instincts - and fears for her brother's safety - drive her deeper into the case. With help from MacKlenna Corporation's irresistibly handsome and charming CFO, Kevin Allen, she searches for a connection between the two cases, while at the same time her connection with Kevin rockets from mild to scorching in a New York minute.When another crime hits too close to her heart, the stakes escalate and endanger not only JL, but the entire MacKlenna Clan as well.Now it's up to JL and Kevin - with a little help from David McBain, who is drowning in toddler hell - to solve the case. With time running out and danger closing in, JL and Kevin rush to discover the killer's identity before someone else is murdered, and while they're at it, they might just find what's been missing from both their lives for far too long.

About the Author
Katherine's historical research has taken her along the Oregon Trail, to the reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek, to England and Scotland, and in 2015 to Bletchley Park and the beaches of Normandy. Also, while researching 'The Emerald Brooch' she flew on Texas Raiders, a World War II B-17. This year she'll be spending even more time in New York City researching 'The Diamond Brooch', along with a summer trip to Italy to research the Italian Renaissance for 'The Pearl Brooch' to be released in 2017. Katherine is the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of five. She is also a marathoner and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

The crown demanded everything. The kingdom will answer.

Chaos paints the White Kingdom. Missing children, dead nobles, and a daring escape have created an upheaval that threatens the future of the entire realm.

The lords and ladies are armed with a powerful secret weapon as they prepare to make a stand against the crown, but the resistance has plenty to overcome before they can claim triumph. The lord-less Westerlands prepares for war with the formidable Quinlanden Guard spreading their men and cruelty to every corner of their Reach. In the Easterlands, the sorcerer Mortain cultivates his ominous influence over the enslaved Saleen, a decisive threat he could unleash upon the kingdom with a snap of his finger.

To the kingdom, it appears as if these assaults on their freedom are cosigned by the crown. It seems only a matter of time before the king's victory becomes total.

But from his isolated throne in Duncarrow, King Eoghan has discovered his authority is not absolute. There are other powers at play, as sinister as they are resilient. Those close to him curate the facts he is fed, keeping him tucked away in the dark while they issue orders in his name. As his control spirals, and opposing forces gain ground, the king's fragile resolve turns to desperation.

Yet, across the kingdom, a quiet but powerful awakening of magic is taking place. One that began generations ago, on a cold night in Duncarrow...

The treacherous, magical, seductive world of Kingdom of the White Sea, introduced by bestselling fantasy author Sarah M. Cradit in The Kingless Crown, continues in this thrilling sequel, The Broken Realm.

"Lush and brilliantly composed, Cradit weaves her world with masterful precision. The second installment in the Kingdom of the White Sea series, The Broken Realm shatters expectations and establishes new ones. Earning her place among the greats, Cradit has set a new standard for us all." -K.L. Kolarich, author of The Haidren Legacy series

"The game has changed. The Broken Realm is passionate, deadly and polished. Get ready for a whirlwind of emotions." - Laura Trujillo, The Literary Vixen

For content warnings, please visit sarahmcradit.com.

“This vital, sweeping story is delivered in Harnisch's silky, upscale prose. Much like a fine glass of wine, The California Wife is a highbrow indulgence that is tasteful, captivating, and heady.” ―The Globe and Mail

In the sweeping, poignant internationally bestselling sequel to The Vintner’s Daughter, the Lemieux family’s ambition to establish an American winemaking dynasty takes Sara and Philippe from pastoral Napa to the Paris World’s Fair and into the colorful heart of early 20th-century San Francisco.

It is 1897, and Sara and Philippe Lemieux, newly married and full of hope for the future, are determined to make Eagle’s Run, their Napa vineyard, into a world-renowned winemaking operation. But the swift arrival of the 20th century brings a host of obstacles they never dreamed of: price wars and the twin threats of phylloxera and Prohibition endanger the success of their business, and the fiercely independent Sara is reluctant to leave the fields behind for the new and strange role of wife and mother.

An invitation to the World’s Fair in 1900 comes just in time to revive the vineyard's prospects, and amid the jewel-colored wonders of Belle Époque Paris, Sara and Philippe’s passion is rekindled as well. But then family tragedy strikes, and, upon their return to California, a secret from Philippe’s past threatens to derail their hard-won happiness in one stroke.

Sara gains an ally when Marie Chevreau, her dear friend, arrives in San Francisco as the first female surgery student to be admitted to prestigious Cooper Medical College. Through Marie, Sara gets a glimpse of the glittering world of San Francisco’s high society, and she also forges friendships with local women’s rights advocates, inciting new tensions in her marriage. Philippe issues Sara an ultimatum: will she abandon the struggle for freedom to protect her family’s winemaking business, or will she ignore Philippe and campaign for a woman’s right to vote and earn a fair wage?

Fate has other plans in store in the spring of 1906, which brings with it a challenge unlike any other that the Lemieux family or their fellow Northern Californians have ever faced. Will the shadow of history overwhelm Sara and Philippe’s future, despite their love for each other? In The California Wife, Kristen Harnisch delivers a rich, romantic tale of wine, love, new beginnings, and a family’s determination to fight for what really matters.

More Reviews:

“Harnisch’s lyrical descriptions underscore the beauty of winemaking, political activism, and even surgery. Combined with her first novel, The California Wife feels like the second season of a period miniseries, best enjoyed with a glass of zinfandel.” ―Booklist

“Fans of historical fiction, heart-pounding romance, and remarkable women look no further. Kristen Harnisch…transports you back in time through engaging dialogue, complex characters, and vivid description.... An exquisite read from start to finish.” ―Alexandria Brown, Napa County Historical Society Research Librarian

“The California Wife is a vivid, fine-tuned novel about two fiercely ambitious and determined people who face obstacles that would bring most of us to our knees. Harnisch’s skillful blend of 19th-century societal norms and details about wine-making practices never overwhelm the characters but enrich them, captivating the heart. You'll long remember this beautiful story about redemption, forgiveness, love, and family bonds.” —Ann Weisgarber, author of The Promise and The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

“The California Wife is not only an accurate and nostalgic account of the early history of our wine industry in California, it’s a lovely novel with characters you want join in a harvest, a meal, and a glass of wine. I recommend this book to wine lovers and historical fiction fans alike!” —Tina Vierra, Associate Publisher, Wines & Vines

Author Bio:

Kristen Harnisch is the author of the award-winning, internationally bestselling novels The Vintner’s Daughter, The California Wife and The Vintner’s Legacy. She drew upon her extensive research and experiences living in the San Francisco Bay Area and visiting the Loire Valley to create the stories for the three historical novels in the series. Ms. Harnisch earned a degree in economics from Villanova University and currently resides in Connecticut.

Independently published with She Writes Press

Shop The Vintner’s Daughter series

"A story of strength, pain, healing, fated love, and new beginnings, The Candle Palace is a must-read book which I think romance fans will cherish for years to come." —Harlequin Junkie

Sometimes a single flame can ignite a love that lasts a lifetime.

Milo Phillips knows the meaning of pain. Suffering through the most intense physical agony of his life, he's confined to a hospital bed to bear it alone. More than once, he wishes he'd died in the explosion that melted and mangled his skin. Darkness consumes him, snuffing all the joy in his life and leaving an empty hole in its place.

But one day, a flicker of light sneaks into his hospital room, driving away some of the hopelessness. For the first time in months, pain isn't all he feels.

The flicker's name is Sara Foster, his new nurse. Milo just hopes that Sara can see past his scars. Because underneath, his heart has begun beating again just for her.

More Reviews:

"Devney Perry captured my heart with a The Candle Palace! All the emotion and pain and feels that makeit worth it in the end!" —New York Times bestselling author, Carly Phillips

"This was pure ANGSTY ROMANCE GOODNESS!! The literal definition of a tormented hero and a truly forbidden romance." —Aestas Book Blog

"The Candle Palace is the best candle blown out and relit time and time again." —Enamored Reads

Author Bio:

Devney is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she’s discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.

Shop the Jamison Valley series

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there's no logical reason why I'm so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don't usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I'm flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn't help that he's buddy-buddy with my brother.

And that his best friend has a crush on me.

And that I just moved in with them.

Oh, did I not mention we're roommates?

I suppose it doesn't matter. Fitzy has made it clear he's not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I'm not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I'm not about to start. I've got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he's missing?

He knows where to find me.

The arrival of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in London brings trouble. When the sharpshooter who beats Willie at poker is murdered, Matt and India investigate. Willie is convinced the victim cheated, but no one knows how until India discovers his secret - he was a paper magician.

When their list of suspects grows to include a member of the mysterious magic Collector's Club, they uncover a spy. But who is he working for? And what does his employer want?

As danger circles, secrets are revealed, and India struggles to keep her own secret hidden from Matt. But when her grandfather introduces her to a man who can change her life, India must decide if she wants her life to change at all.

“Jan Moran is the new queen of the epic romance.” —USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Forster

 

A young widow. A husband she thought she knew. On the picturesque Italian coast of Amalfi lies a chocolatier's destiny...

San Francisco, 1953: Heartbroken over the mysterious death of her husband, Celina Savoia, a second-generation chocolatière, resolves to take their young son to Italy's shimmering Amalfi coast to introduce him to his father's family. Just as she embarks on a magical, romantic life of making chocolate by the sea surrounded by a loving family, she begins to suspect that her husband had a dark secret—forged in the final days of WWII—that could destroy the relationships she's come to cherish.

While a second chance at love is tempting, the mystery of her husband's true identity thwarts her efforts. Challenged to pursue the truth or lose the life she's come to love, Celina and her late husband's brother, Lauro, must trace the past to a remote, Peruvian cocoa region to face the deceit that threatens to shatter their lives—or lose the life and those she has come to love.

More Reviews:

“A solid pick for fans of historical romances combined with a heartbreaking mystery.” —Library Journal

“A novel that gives fans of romantic sagas a compelling voice to follow.” —Booklist

Author Bio:

Jan Moran is a USA Today bestselling author of women's fiction. She writes stylish, uplifting, and emotionally rich contemporary and 20th-century historical fiction. Midwest Book Review and Kirkus have recommended her books, calling her heroines strong, complex, and resourceful. Her books are also translated into German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, and other languages. Jan studied writing at the UCLA Writers Program, sailed on Semester at Sea, and graduated from the University of Texas and Harvard Business School. She lives near the beach in southern California.

Shop the Heartwarming Family Sagas Standalone Fiction series

Christmas comes but once a year. Unless you never take down the decorations.

When a pipe in her home freezes and bursts, antiques collector Fern Gale knows her holiday season is off to a bad start. Her house was already a mess and all she wants to do is drink hot chocolate and binge-watch Christmas movies. 

The winter catastrophe pushes Fern to spruce things up at 313 Pine Tree Lane. And that's when she stumbles across something that belongs to her estranged husband.
Stedman Gale thought he moved on from Fern. After all, when her mother died, their marriage died, too. But then he gets a frantic phone call in the middle of the night that changes everything...

If the small-town magpie can reconnect with the love of her life then maybe she'll be more than the lonely woman who lives in The Christmas House.

Book Two in the Hickory Grove series is a quirky, stand-alone romantic women's fiction about a second chance that comes a little later in life. 

Author Bio:

Elizabeth Bromke writes small-town women's fiction and sweet romance. In her stories, she weaves multi-generational family dynamics with the triumphs and trials of modern relationships.

Elizabeth and her husband and son live in the mountains of Arizona. There, they spend time together reading, taking walks with their sweet pup, Winnie, and working on puzzles.

"This book has it all; great characters, cameos from our past favorite people, humor, romance, sexiness and of course the touch of suspense that this author loves! I read it in one sitting and the writing flows so easily." —Elena's Book Blog

She took a dare and fell in love. Truth would have been the smarter choice.

After years of living under her father's thumb, Emmeline is ready to break free. She's abandoned her life as a New York socialite to follow her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher in a small, wholesome town. Seeing the man that nearly broke her was absolutely not what she had hoped to find in Prescott, Montana.

Nick hasn't seen his Emmy in nine years, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten a thing about the woman he loves. After just one blissful night as man and wife, he gave her up, sacrificing his own happiness to keep her safe-far away from him. But the moment she walks back into his lonely life is the moment he decides never to let her go again. He won't waste his second chance. All he has to do is win back Emmeline's heart, keep her safe from the shadows in his past and prove to her that taking a wager on him is a sure bet.

More Reviews:

"If you're looking for an addictive second chance romance that'll keep your heart racing, a swoony Alpha hero who'll sweep you off your feet, and a strong sassy heroine who'll make you smile, then I highly recommend this book!!" —Aestas Book Blog

"Addicting and fun, sexy and heartwarming, this is definitely a favorite of mine. One I would absolutely recommend you adding to your reading list." —Angie's Dreamy Reads

Author Bio:

Devney is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she’s discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.

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“I never know what to say about a Julianne MacLean book, except to say YOU HAVE TO READ IT." —AllRomanceReader

From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes a gripping and emotional contemporary novel, where people are affected by real life magic and miracles that change everything they once believed about life and love.

Claire Radcliffe has been blessed with a wonderful life-a loving husband, a fulfilling career as a schoolteacher, and a perfect house in a charming historic neighborhood. But with each Christmas that passes, the one thing she longs for most of all—a child of her own—continues to elude her, and before long, her life doesn't seem so perfect anymore.

When yet another holiday season approaches and her marriage suffers the worst possible blow, Claire must learn to have faith in destiny, and allow herself to believe that miracles can happen to anyone—especially at Christmastime.

Heartwarming and inspiring, The Color of a Christmas Miracle is the tale of one woman's journey to find happiness, and to learn the power of forgiveness and redemption on the path to true love.

Author Bio:
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of numerous historical romances. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers' Best Award, the Book Buyer's Best Award, and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada.

Shop the Color of Heaven series

From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes an emotionally charged tale of a young woman who has fought hard to survive a heart transplant, but soon finds that her new heart is engaged in another battle altogether...

Nadia Carmichael has had a lifelong run of bad luck. It begins on the day she is born, when she is separated from her identical twin sister and put up for adoption. Twenty-seven years later, not long after she is finally reunited with her twin and is expecting her first child, Nadia falls victim to a mysterious virus and requires a heart transplant.

Now recovering from the surgery with a new heart, Nadia is haunted by a recurring dream that sets her on a path to discover the identity of her donor. Her efforts are thwarted, however, when the father of her baby returns to sue for custody of their child. It's not until Nadia learns of his estranged brother Jesse that she begins to explore the true nature of her dreams, and discover what her new heart truly needs and desires... 

Author Bio:
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of numerous historical romances. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers' Best Award, the Book Buyer's Best Award, and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada. Please visit Julianne's website for more information.

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"Julianne MacLean knows what her audience likes...compelling characters and a soul-baring journey of love." —Reader to Reader

Find out why readers everywhere are clamoring for the next installment of this thrilling, inspiring series. ER nurse Audrey Fitzgerald believed she was married to the perfect man—a heroic firefighter who saved lives, even beyond his own death. But a year after losing him, she meets a mysterious woman who has some unexplained connection to her husband...

Soon Audrey discovers that in the weeks leading up to her husband's death, he was keeping secrets, and she wonders if she ever really knew him at all. Compelled to dig into his past and explore memories that define the essence of their relationship, Audrey embarks upon a journey of discovery that will lead her down a new path to the future—a future she never dared to imagine.

Author Bio:
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of numerous historical romances. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers' Best Award, the Book Buyer's Best Award, and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada. Please visit Julianne's website for more information.

Shop the Color of Heaven series

From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes a new novel in her popular Color of Heaven series, where people are affected by real life magic and miracles that change everything they once believed about life and love.

Having spent a lifetime in competition with his older brother Aaron—who always seemed to get the girl—Jack Peterson leaves the U.S. to become a foreign correspondent in the Middle East. When a roadside bomb forces him to return home to recover from his wounds, he quickly becomes the most celebrated journalist on television, and is awarded his own prime time news program. Now, wealthy and successful beyond his wildest dreams, Jack believes he has finally found where he is meant to be. But when a giant commercial airliner explodes in the sky over his summer house in Cape Elizabeth, all hell breaks loose as the wreckage crashes to the ground. He has no idea that his life is about to take another astonishing turn...

Meg Andrews grew up with a fear of flying, but when it meant she wouldn't be able to visit her boyfriend on the opposite side of the country, she confronted her fear head-on and earned her pilot's license. Now, a decade later, she is a respected airline crash investigator, passionate about her work, to the point of obsession. When she arrives in the picturesque seaside community of Cape Elizabeth to investigate a massive airline disaster, she meets the famous and charismatic Jack Peterson, who has his own personal fascination with plane crashes.

As the investigation intensifies, Meg and Jack feel a powerful, inexplicable connection to each other. Soon, they realize that the truth behind the crash—and the mystery of their connection—can only be discovered through the strength of the human spirit, the timeless bonds of family, and the gift of second chances. 

Author Bio:
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of numerous historical romances. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers' Best Award, the Book Buyer's Best Award, and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada. Please visit Julianne's website for more information.

Shop the Color of Heaven series