It’s been ten years since Austin abandoned her. Sam still can’t get over it. He was her best friend and the first man that she ever loved. How could he throw that all away? Stuck in her hometown, Sam has been running the family bakery to support her widowed mother. Without Austin around, it quickly became her prison.
Bruised, broken and betrayed by those he had loved, Kel is at the brink of ending it all. His fragile heart can no longer handle the deadly blows dealt to it by the deceit of those who claim to deserve his trust. Deep down inside him, he struggles to hold on to the true definition of love, rather than the misunderstood and convoluted definition provided to him by his unpalatable experiences.
Three lives are forever changed when fate intervenes.
As a young girl, Maggie’s world was shattered by the unexpected death of her father. When she meets Tim in college, Maggie realizes that his cautious lifestyle was exactly what she is seeking.
Edward and Isabel are great work colleagues but have no romantic interest in each other whatsoever. He is the charming, handsome enigmatic lawyer, she is the quiet hardworking clerk. But a fire at Isabel's apartment leads to them spending Christmas together.
Annie McCauley has left the mobile home park where she grew up in West Texas to make a career as a high fashion model in NYC. She has the looks and determination, but she also has a few problems. One big problem is that she's the kind of woman that "things" happen to. Sometimes those things are accidental and sometimes they're nasty tricks played on her by her arch rival and former friend, Brittany Carstairs. A hot temper doesn't help matters.
Jenny and Alex are high school sweethearts intertwined in an idyllic romance that spans several decades. Their journey carries them through unexpected trials that challenge the security and the very foundation of their relationship. Jenny’s fears of losing the only man she’s ever loved quickly become overshadowed by a tragedy she couldn't have imagined.
Over the years, Melanie Merton has used every trick and ruse to repel overeager gentlemen callers without ever revealing the real reason she won’t say yes to an offer of marriage. When neighbor Walter George jumps to her defense against slurs cast by suitor number twelve, he also pries into her past—uncovering the circumstances around a tragic loss in her childhood and her aversion to being touched by anyone.
In this two-work anthology we meet characters as diverse as the sweet, shy Linda and her femme fatale sister, Tessa; the likeable, loyal Lisa and her selfish stepmother-to-be, Eleanor, as well as an engaging group of their friends and family.
Father Tim Kavanagh’s adopted son has graduated from vet school and opened his own animal clinic. Since money will be tight for a while, maybe he and Lace Harper, his once and future soul mate, should keep their wedding simple. So the plan is to eliminate the cost of catering and do potluck. Ought to be fun.
Stella’s mama never should’ve put Stella on the church prayer list. With Stella’s twenty-seventh birthday coming up fast, Nancy desperately wants to see her daughter married and giving her grandbabies. Petitioning heaven seems like a surefire way to get it done. But in Cadillac, Texas, where the gossip’s hotter than the city’s famous jalapeño peppers, it isn’t long before all hell breaks loose.
Megan McGowen has strong theories on love - or rather, against it. She loves the single life, and has no intentions of settling down - unless of course someone can give her an honest, legitimate reason to change her mind.
Mallory had it all - great friends, a handsome boyfriend, and a very successful bakery business. Her life was orderly and neat, just as she liked it. But when she crosses paths with a blond-haired, blue-eyed man named Greyson, everything changes.
The heart must be protected at all costs... but will Cassidy be able to afford the price?
Cassidy has distanced herself from childhood friend, Tristan. She’s moved on from their days of best friend-hood and is attending college. And dating one of the most eligible males on campus. Life couldn’t be better. Really.
Megan Vandemeer meant to tell her parents about her broken engagement, but a month and a half later she finds herself boarding a plane home to her wedding. Having stretched avoidance to its limits, it's time to come clean--a terrifying prospect since her mother is sure to blame her rather than her cheating, emotionally frigid ex. A couple of drinks and two Dramamine later, Megan finds herself spilling her sob story to the tall, dark, and handsome stranger in the seat next to her.
