Fate. Destiny. Whatever you wanted to call it, Macy Caldwell was mine. She had a chance to get out of this town, but she refused to take it. She was going to give up everything for me. I wasn't worth that kind of sacrifice. In order to save her, I had to break her.

Last night was the most embarrassing night of my life. I was that girl. You know, the highly intoxicated chick celebrating her 30th with her two best friends - the ones who are happily married. And the more I drank, the more I wanted to do something reckless to celebrate. By reckless, I meant the sexy and alluring man dressed in a business suit standing near the bar.

I had no idea how much I would love Alex the day he walked into my life. He changed everything. The way I breathed. The way I thought. The way I loved. He brought me back to life. He gave me strength and a safe place to land. And then he broke me.

Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

Jolie Louis is a smart girl. She knows that her best friend, Sage Poirier, is a bad idea. He's a walking, talking cliché. The Adonis quarterback with the bulging biceps and harem of fangirls trailing behind him on campus like a stench you can't get rid of. Sadly, that's also the reason she can't stay away from him. Well, that and the fact that they're roommates. Jolie is already straddling the line between friendship and more when Sage comes to her with an offer she cannot refuse.

Expect the unexpected. That's what they say, but it's easier said than done. How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core? How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality.

I didn't want this woman to be my nanny. She had no experience and a failed art career. What did she know about rearing children? She was my late wife's choice, and I didn't too much care for the woman, and she didn't care for me, either. Until all hell broke loose and the nanny was the only one my son could turn to. The only one we could rely on. She kept us going, and then she wanted to leave, too. Not a damn chance.

When a scandal tarnishes the reputation of hot-as-hell A-lister Patrick Walsh, he needs a reputation rescue, pronto. Enter waitress Norah Peers - a nobody who’s average with a capital A. She’s available, dependable, and has sworn off men for the rest of her natural born life. In other words: the perfect match for a no-strings fake romance. For the right amount of money, she can avoid waitressing and play the part of his dependable down-to-earth girlfriend. What she can’t avoid - dammit - is the growing steam between them.

Tanner's acting career had just begun. He was hotter than the stage lights and twice as captivating. The gorgeous Australian A-lister was everyone's teenage dream. And he'd picked me. Or so I thought, until he proved to be as false as everything else about Hollywood. Now I've finally scored the perfect opportunity to star in a major film. The kicker? Tanner will be my costar. I don't know if I can do this one more time....

I should have known I was in trouble when I backed my old, beat-up truck into the shiny Range Rover. The driver looked like a gorgeous fallen angel–one who’d been booted right out of paradise for being a giant prick. Good thing I’ll never have to see him again.

I was a small-town girl with big city dreams and more ambition than money to my name. He had everything—money, privilege, and the world at his feet. Opposites in every way, but that didn’t matter. We were lightning in a bottle, and everything felt possible when we were together. Life was perfect.

It was supposed to be the best day of my life. But the second I got up, things started to fall apart. The kitchen just caught on fire. Flowers were from a funeral. My bride-to-be just had an allergic reaction, leaving by ambulance. Oh, and my ex-girlfriend just walked into the church. They say you have to see the signs when they are right in front of you. Maybe she was just mine to have.

Someone is stalking Audrey Young. And she has no idea why. Complicating matters is her landlord and new neighbor, Josiah Haven. She doesn’t usually go for the big, surly lumberjack type. But there’s something about that broody man. He intimidates her a little, but she kind of likes it. She could totally handle the mess that is her life, except the strange feeling of being watched is just the beginning. Next thing Audrey knows, she’s a target, and she doesn’t know who’s behind it or why. For Josiah Haven, none of that makes her his problem.

Grace Miles misses her easy friendship with Asher, but growing up means growing apart. And really, how could he fall for her when they spent their childhood getting muddy in the creek and splitting sticks of gum?But this summer, something feels different. If Grace didn’t know better, she’d think Asher was flirting with her. Those dark eyes, hard body, and wicked smile make her insides swirl and her heart dare to hope for things she’s convinced herself she’ll never have. Falling for your best friend shouldn’t be complicated, but for Asher, loving Grace is anything but simple.

When her mother's incessant matchmaking hits an all-time high, Georgie Archibald does what any sensible woman would do: she flees the country. Seeking refuge in the picturesque seaside village of Vernazza, Italy, Georgie's only plan is to lie low, gorge herself on gelato, and let the wine and waves wash her troubles away...that is until she wakes up in a bed that belongs to the most romantic-looking man she's ever seen.

Myla Rose McGraw may be 20, single, and pregnant, but she's no damsel in distress. She doesn't need a man. After all, her Grams taught her a thing or two about making lemonade out of life's lemons. Then she meets Cash Carson.

Abby Davis isn't wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she's busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn't looking for fun - he's a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions and fallen brothers. Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt has been sidelined by a combat injury, and he is haunted by the loss of his best friend and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL - focused and dedicated.

What do ice cream and Sadie Montgomery have in common? They're both ice cold, but one taste is never enough. I wanted to be friends - I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd - but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind. I'd make my coworker fall for me.

Five seconds. A deafening blast. Pain. Silence. That was all it took for an IED to end my life as I knew it. The man I was shattered in a hard wave of sound and debris that rained down on me like death itself. And six months later, after waking up to an inescapable hell, I found myself wishing that death had found me. Until her. Miranda Jacobs swept into my life like a cool breeze on a smoldering day.

Regret, she's a snarky little bitch. I've tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can't. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because they ultimately led me to the place I am in now. And I can't regret the place I am in now. What I still can't figure out is this: How is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day? Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed. Seventeen minutes was all it took to lose my best friend, to lose the love of my life.

In the dark alley of a pub, the words "Please don't" take hold of her heart and break the silence she seeks. Thinking herself beyond redemption, she tentatively grabs on to the slim thread of hope that unfolds inside of her. Holding her secrets close, she can't resist the comforting draw coming from The Skipper. The unconditional friendships it offers, the protective roof it provides, and the spark that its owner ignites in her - melting the frost off her heart, and slowly stripping away her resistance.

I had no idea how much I would love Alex the day he walked into my life. He changed everything. The way I breathed. The way I thought. The way I loved. He brought me back to life. He gave me strength and a safe place to land. And then he broke me.

When I was 13, he stole my heart. When I was 18, he took my innocence. When I was 23, he said he would love me forever. When I was 28, he broke my heart. Now I'm 33... and there's a knock at the door. He's back, again. And this time he's not alone.

Conner Burke never expected Sofie Callahan to come back. Where she's been for the last two and half years is a mystery, and so is the reason she left in the first place. Now, though, she's back in their hometown of Shelton Bay, South Carolina, at the same time Conner's band Dirty B. is home on a tour break.

Before senior year, I was forced to move away, leaving behind the only man I have ever loved. He promised he'd love me forever. He vowed nothing would tear us apart. He swore he'd wait for me, but Jack lied. Six years later, when our paths cross again, his broad shoulders, rock-hard chest, and rippling muscles almost make me forget his betrayal. His rugged voice, tempting lips, and sinful smile make it harder for me to deny the feelings I still have for him. He wants to make me his again, but our past may be too much for us to overcome.

When some pretty little thing shows up at my doorstep with a suitcase, claiming she rented my house for the summer, I waste no time informing her that my house isn't for rent. Some Internet jack*ss scammed her out of all her money, but that's not my problem. Only when I find her sleeping in her car a couple days later, I can't turn my back. I make her an offer: room and board in exchange for working on my ranch. She agrees, and I open my doors to a girl who sings too loud, sticks her nose where it doesn't belong, and distracts me with her tight jeans and those full lips.

Kaylee Rose Burton, kindergarten teacher, has never been a believer in fantasies. Living in L.A. her entire life, she knows the glitz and glam of Hollywood is just an illusion. That is until she stumbles head first into the arms of Hollywood's most eligible bachelor. It was just another day for Paxton Myles on the red carpet until the blue-eyed beauty literally stumbles at his feet. A single glimpse in her innocent eyes and he knows he has to have her. After one night of unbridled passion, Kaylee slips away to live her quiet life, but the paparazzi has other ideas.

Love is fatal; a snake that slithers into your life, poisons you with its venom, and leaves you there to die. I swore I wouldn’t be my parents. I swore I would stay away from the limelight. Falling in love with a musician was definitely out of the question. Weston Carter was all kinds of wrong for a girl like me. He was a musician, a womanizer, and a first class heartbreaker. I didn't know a love like this could exist. Our love was epic, the kind people wrote stories about. We fell into it hard, unable to control our feelings. I set myself up for a shattered heart.

So there I was, on a stage with two other men, being asked ridiculous questions by a woman I couldn't see, but whose voice made my pants tighten - and not around my ankles. Before I knew what was happening, I'd signed up for six weeks in paradise, isolated on an island for 42 days with a complete stranger. And when I finally laid eyes on the sexy brunette who belonged to that voice, a part of me thought this wouldn't be so bad.

Accused of a horrific crime and on the run, Kat has been rejected by everyone she loves. She's a fugitive from her past, flitting from town to town with nothing but the clothes on her back - until she meets a man who literally stops her in her tracks.

Fate. Destiny. Whatever you wanted to call it, Macy Caldwell was mine. She had a chance to get out of this town, but she refused to take it. She was going to give up everything for me. I wasn't worth that kind of sacrifice. In order to save her, I had to break her.

Monsters didn't just exist in nightmares. They were real; they lived among us. As the sole witness to a brutal murder, Ryann Sinclair knew that better than anyone. He'd been burned once, and Cash Donovan swore it was the last time. That all changed when Ryann stumbled back into his life. She was fiercely protective of her heart, and he was hell-bent on protecting her. Never one to back down from a challenge, Cash was determined to break her. Just so he could be the one to put her back together.

It's been eight years since the moment that changed Olivia Dalton's life. Gabriel North was her first love - her only love. But an accident shattered their world, leaving Gabe with a serious injury and Liv with a broken heart. In the years that followed, Liv left their small coastal town in Georgia and began her career in North Carolina. But she often feels like a stranger watching the woman she's become drift farther and farther from the girl she used to be.

Two cups of a protective, dirty-talkin' alpha who loves his Cupcake. One tablespoon of a sweet Southern baker who loves her Sexy Sawyer, even when he's being a hothead. A slice of the past that shows up on their doorstep, turning their world upside down with a life-altering plea. A dash of passion. A pinch of heartache. A sprinkle of hope. Mix together in a large bowl, creating a difficult choice, a testing of one's faith, and a man who will do anything to protect his family - even if it means accepting a decision that could result in losing the one he loves most.

Without her, I was better off. I knew it the second she walked away and realized how much happier I was. Knew it the day I interrupted her wedding reception to show her what she was missing and locked eyes with someone I hadn't seen in years. Those eyes. Her smile. Everything about her turned something around inside me that had been quiet for years.

It took me years to get over my fiance sleeping with another woman. I thought my luck with men had finally turned around until I walked in on my new fiance with my maid-of-honor. I'm done with men entirely. Trust isn't something I have in me to give...to anyone. At least, not anymore. Besides, even if I wanted to give someone my everything, I have nothing left to give. Now, if Walker could be less handsome, his relationship with his nephew not quite as sexy, and his body...well, let's not get crazy. His body is just a gift to womankind.

Wren Ballard is trying to find herself. She never expected to be divorced at 27, but now that the court date has passed, it's official. The paperwork is final. Her feelings on it aren't. Spending the summer in a small mountain town outside Seattle is exactly what she needs. The peaceful scenery is a given, the cat with the croaky meow is a surprise, but the real kicker? A broody neighbor with nice arms, a strange reputation, and absolutely no interest in her.

She saw in him what no one else could see. He found in her what he could never find. One moment changed everything but, even with a break in time, their connection could never be severed. In the beginning he may have been her salvation, but in the end she will be his redemption.

There are rules to being Abigail Crowne's bodyguard, rules to watching the infamous billion-dollar heiress, otherwise known as the Reject Princess. Never forget your place, always put the Crowne name above all else, and never, ever hurt the Reject. Especially don't torment the Reject. Even if she is a spoiled brat. So when an opportunity presents itself to punish her, you definitely shouldn't take it. Then again, Abigail loves to be tortured, and I've waited patiently for revenge. I'll keep her safe...with cruel protection.

Like Father Like Son: I said good-bye to my son. But he had one final request - a letter I'll never forget. Different as Night and Day: I laid my husband to rest....