CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Romance by Design Series
#1 Sets Appeal
#2 Perfect Scents
#3 Golden Opportunity
#2 Perfect Scents
#3 Golden Opportunity
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY - Some designs are timeless . . .
They grew up together yet worlds apart. But a wealthy young man and a classy young woman find that some bonds can’t be broken . . .
The only thing Marigold Reynolds and billionaire Hagen Allbrook ever had in common was their attraction. Marigold made sure that never went anywhere by cutting ties with him six years ago. Now, however, she needs a job—and Hagen’s design assistant desperately needs someone to fill in for her at his family’s construction firm. Trusting that time has dimmed the electricity between them, Marigold accepts. But as she undertakes his challenging renovation of her own ancestors’ home, it’s soon clear she’s mistaken.
A year after his wife’s death, Hagen is coming to terms with the past. He’s as drawn to Marigold as ever, but as they finally cross long-held boundaries, a misunderstanding, and Marigold’s belief that she can never measure up to his perfect wife, threatens to tear them apart once more. Hagen’s only chance of winning her back is to reveal the truth about his marriage. And perhaps then Marigold will reveal a heartfelt secret of her own . . .
Excerpt from the story:
Then, as she and Tiggy watched, the golden boy strolled into the warehouse. Over the years—Hagen would be almost thirty now—the gold had remained. His white-blond hair had darkened somewhat, but in the light of the doorway he stood surrounded by a halo that he could never have earned. If the fates collaborated with justice, a person as endowed with money, brains, and athletic ability as Hagen should be only minimally attractive. Instead, the man was a tall, wide-shouldered heart stopper.
Her breath sighed out as he hesitated and glanced across the shrouded furniture. He spotted Tiggy and lifted a hand. Then his gaze slowly shifted to Marigold. Her mouth dried.
Nothing in the world would let her visibly react. She’d last seen him at Calli’s wedding a year ago, but she hadn’t spoken to him on that day. His aloof expression had warned off everyone. She managed a polite, if not vague smile. “Hi.”
“Marigold with the marigold hair.” He sounded surprised, probably because he had nally connected her name with her appearance, but her hair was a dead giveaway. She had been named after the orange of her hair, the name an embarrassment she had tried to argue her mother into letting her change a long time ago.
“It’ll be tricky when I go gray.” She shrugged. “No one will ever remember me.”
“Your hair is aggressively red enough to defy fading.”
Even uttering that line, which was mildly funny, he didn’t smile. His thick-lashed eyes didn’t glint with slow amusement the way they used to. His words seemed to come from someone else, not from the handsome young man she remembered who had the world at his feet, but from a man who would more likely kick the world in passing. Anyone could see Hagen hadn’t yet dealt with his grief.
She was also bereaved, though admittedly she’d had time to come to terms with losing the person she loved most. Her mother had passed away little by little. His wife had died on impact when her car had crashed into a tree. “I’ll probably adopt the clown red. I’m the eccentric type.”
Tiggy sighed loudly. “Civilities completed, I will now leave you to Hagen. I’m off to pack.” She kissed Marigold’s cheek, kissed Hagen’s cheek, and left two people sharing the same heavy silence.
PERFECT SCENTS - Two unsuspecting lovers stumble upon the blueprint for love . . .
Calliope Allbrook takes a job in lovely, sunny Adelaide, Australia, hoping to lose herself in her work as a balm for her broken heart. And if it weren’t for the handsome hunk renovating the house next door, Calli would never even have looked up from the garden she is designing for her latest client. But rugged Kellen Dee is just the cure the beautiful heiress needs. After all, he has no idea who she is, so he certainly won’t see her as a meal ticket. Then there’s the fact that Kell’s deliciously sexy--and incredibly good with his hands . . .
From the moment Kell takes her in his arms, he knows Calli is more than just a fling. Then the blue collar bachelor learns he’s not sharing his bed with just any woman, but the blueblood daughter of the man who could make Kell’s construction business a success—and Kell the kind of well-heeled man worthy of Calli’s love. But he’ll have to be careful his ambitions don’t trip up his heart . . .
Excerpt from the story:
Although conscious that she looked far from her imperfect best, she instantly reacted to his imperious manner. She’d had enough of men telling her what she could do. He could get rid of her neighbor with her blessing, but other than that, he could mind his own business. He appeared to be able to speak civilly to the gangster next door, but not to a harmless woman. As she rose to answer, her throat completely closed over. “Me?” she asked in a husky whisper.
“Put down that can.”
She rose to her full height of five-eight, ready to set him back into his place. Trying again, she forced through, “Now, j—”
“Don’t make me come in and take it,” he said in a dangerous tone.
Backing a little, she held up a placating palm and began a far from ladylike hawking of her throat, and finally managed to say, “I’m the gardener,” in a voice that sounded like a scaredy-cat with laryngitis rather than a fully-grown woman.
His dark eyebrows arched with disbelief. “Well, buddy, in that case you would know the name of the owner of the place.” He folded his arms across his manly chest and stared down his nose at her. The morning sunlight emphasized his wonderful cheekbones and made chiseled angles of his clean-cut jaw.
She smiled at her challenge. At this time of day, still before ten and wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, he could be a doctor, a lawyer, or possibly an architect, but he was most likely a professional sportsman. His clear skin said healthy living and his perfect haircut said money. He looked about the right age to be a footballer. She knew a few lived in this area. If so, he would be married. She didn’t know why she tried to see a ring, but angling her gaze to his left fist took her eyes to the front of his well-packed jeans. She hastily glanced back at his face. His relationship status had no relevance at all to his infuriatingly melting effect on her.
Read the first chapter on Amazon:
Calliope Allbrook takes a job in lovely, sunny Adelaide, Australia, hoping to lose herself in her work as a balm for her broken heart. And if it weren’t for the handsome hunk renovating the house next door, Calli would never even have looked up from the garden she is designing for her latest client. But rugged Kellen Dee is just the cure the beautiful heiress needs. After all, he has no idea who she is, so he certainly won’t see her as a meal ticket. Then there’s the fact that Kell’s deliciously sexy--and incredibly good with his hands . . .
From the moment Kell takes her in his arms, he knows Calli is more than just a fling. Then the blue collar bachelor learns he’s not sharing his bed with just any woman, but the blueblood daughter of the man who could make Kell’s construction business a success—and Kell the kind of well-heeled man worthy of Calli’s love. But he’ll have to be careful his ambitions don’t trip up his heart . . .
Excerpt from the story:
Although conscious that she looked far from her imperfect best, she instantly reacted to his imperious manner. She’d had enough of men telling her what she could do. He could get rid of her neighbor with her blessing, but other than that, he could mind his own business. He appeared to be able to speak civilly to the gangster next door, but not to a harmless woman. As she rose to answer, her throat completely closed over. “Me?” she asked in a husky whisper.
“Put down that can.”
She rose to her full height of five-eight, ready to set him back into his place. Trying again, she forced through, “Now, j—”
“Don’t make me come in and take it,” he said in a dangerous tone.
Backing a little, she held up a placating palm and began a far from ladylike hawking of her throat, and finally managed to say, “I’m the gardener,” in a voice that sounded like a scaredy-cat with laryngitis rather than a fully-grown woman.
His dark eyebrows arched with disbelief. “Well, buddy, in that case you would know the name of the owner of the place.” He folded his arms across his manly chest and stared down his nose at her. The morning sunlight emphasized his wonderful cheekbones and made chiseled angles of his clean-cut jaw.
She smiled at her challenge. At this time of day, still before ten and wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, he could be a doctor, a lawyer, or possibly an architect, but he was most likely a professional sportsman. His clear skin said healthy living and his perfect haircut said money. He looked about the right age to be a footballer. She knew a few lived in this area. If so, he would be married. She didn’t know why she tried to see a ring, but angling her gaze to his left fist took her eyes to the front of his well-packed jeans. She hastily glanced back at his face. His relationship status had no relevance at all to his infuriatingly melting effect on her.
Read the first chapter on Amazon:
SETS APPEAL - In the cosmopolitan coastal city of Adelaide in South Australia, two theater lovers create a little drama of their own…
Twenty-seven-year-old divorcée Vix Tremain finally has her first job—as a theater-set painter—and is ready to leave the past behind. What better way to get her confidence back than a fling with a handsome stranger? She isn’t looking for anything emotional, she’s had enough heartbreak. Rugged Jay Dee, the set construction manager, fits the bill for no strings fun perfectly. What Vix doesn’t realize is that Jay is not exactly a stranger . . .
Jay would recognize wealthy, spoiled Vix anywhere. After all, she’s the ex-wife of the man who destroyed his career. Naturally, Jay wants a little sweet revenge—at first. To his surprise, Vix is far from the ice princess he expected, and spending time with her changes everything. Soon he realizes he’s actually falling for the vulnerable beauty. But becoming entangled with her will mean revealing who he is—and opening them both up to more pain. With their dreams at stake, is their connection strong enough to weather the truth—and take center stage?
Excerpt from the story:
Now he had to make his explanations in the bedroom, which he approached cautiously, wondering why. He’d slept with Vix, yes, but that was all. The crisp underwear she’d arrived in had barely been disturbed, unfortunately. He found, despite his body having other ideas, that he couldn’t casually screw a woman who was afraid of sex. This said nothing for her ex-husband. Nor did her lack of confidence, which he’d spent his waking time last night trying not to erode further, and he also wondered why.
“Keep looking,” he said, cheered by the way her big blue eyes skimmed over him as he walked through the doorway of the bedroom. “I don’t mind being admired.”
“So who admires you?”
“Too bad about that condom.”
“Too bad about your mother.”
“Who?”
“No doubt that was your mother in the kitchen?” She gave him a faked smile.
“Nope.” He moved towards her, knowing she’d been married to an unfaithful prick who clearly hadn’t treated her well in the bedroom. Jay was a sucker for a woman in distress. Vix also had body issues, which she hadn’t changed by making her figure into one of the shapeliest he had ever seen. Although her most noticeable attributes were physical, in all the subjects they had covered at the party while tentatively assessing each other as bedmates, not once had she talked about herself.
He knew her opinion on the weather, musicals versus plays, comedies versus tragedies, the last musical to hit town, the university drama course, and the benefits of volunteering to get a job. And nothing about herself, other than hearsay from Ilona, in that she hadn’t deserved her rich, brilliant husband, Tim Nolan.
As she had last night, she pulled the covers to her chin. Her hair looked messy but glossed with health, and her eyes shone with suspicion. “Are you going to tell me who she is?”
Read the first chapter on Amazon.
Twenty-seven-year-old divorcée Vix Tremain finally has her first job—as a theater-set painter—and is ready to leave the past behind. What better way to get her confidence back than a fling with a handsome stranger? She isn’t looking for anything emotional, she’s had enough heartbreak. Rugged Jay Dee, the set construction manager, fits the bill for no strings fun perfectly. What Vix doesn’t realize is that Jay is not exactly a stranger . . .
Jay would recognize wealthy, spoiled Vix anywhere. After all, she’s the ex-wife of the man who destroyed his career. Naturally, Jay wants a little sweet revenge—at first. To his surprise, Vix is far from the ice princess he expected, and spending time with her changes everything. Soon he realizes he’s actually falling for the vulnerable beauty. But becoming entangled with her will mean revealing who he is—and opening them both up to more pain. With their dreams at stake, is their connection strong enough to weather the truth—and take center stage?
Excerpt from the story:
Now he had to make his explanations in the bedroom, which he approached cautiously, wondering why. He’d slept with Vix, yes, but that was all. The crisp underwear she’d arrived in had barely been disturbed, unfortunately. He found, despite his body having other ideas, that he couldn’t casually screw a woman who was afraid of sex. This said nothing for her ex-husband. Nor did her lack of confidence, which he’d spent his waking time last night trying not to erode further, and he also wondered why.
“Keep looking,” he said, cheered by the way her big blue eyes skimmed over him as he walked through the doorway of the bedroom. “I don’t mind being admired.”
“So who admires you?”
“Too bad about that condom.”
“Too bad about your mother.”
“Who?”
“No doubt that was your mother in the kitchen?” She gave him a faked smile.
“Nope.” He moved towards her, knowing she’d been married to an unfaithful prick who clearly hadn’t treated her well in the bedroom. Jay was a sucker for a woman in distress. Vix also had body issues, which she hadn’t changed by making her figure into one of the shapeliest he had ever seen. Although her most noticeable attributes were physical, in all the subjects they had covered at the party while tentatively assessing each other as bedmates, not once had she talked about herself.
He knew her opinion on the weather, musicals versus plays, comedies versus tragedies, the last musical to hit town, the university drama course, and the benefits of volunteering to get a job. And nothing about herself, other than hearsay from Ilona, in that she hadn’t deserved her rich, brilliant husband, Tim Nolan.
As she had last night, she pulled the covers to her chin. Her hair looked messy but glossed with health, and her eyes shone with suspicion. “Are you going to tell me who she is?”
Read the first chapter on Amazon.
Rom-com Intrigue
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A scintillating romance with a twist of intrigue and a lot of flirtation. Can true love be found in the hunt for a killer?
It's Bree Branson's first day at Pemberton Private Hospital and the last thing she needs is a patient dying in suspicious circumstances on her watch. The only person who can help her clear her name is the one person she was hoping to avoid, the devastatingly handsome Sam Vincent . . . the doctor she stood up three years ago. Forced to work together to find a killer, will Bree and Sam be able to leave their past behind to find a future together? |
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Romantic Comedy
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