With only 207 more shopping days until thirty, Darcie Elizabeth Baxter is searching for…an office with a door on it, a great apartment in Manhattan and a man who's interested in commitment.Instead, she's been spending her days battling her co-workers at Wunderthings Lingerie International and her nights trying to avoid her grandmother's possessed cat. And though she gets a great employee discount, she hasn't needed it since…well, it's been a while. Even her grandmother has a more active social life. So when a chance to go to Sydney to open up a new lingerie store lands in Darcie's lap, she jumps at it.Australia is incredible, and so is Dylan Rafferty, the Aussie sheep rancher she falls into bed with. But now that she's met a man capable of giving her multiple orgasms and multiple laughs, Darcie bristles at his fantasy of her barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, no less. Should she marry him, or send him back to the set of The Donna Reed Show?Caught between romance and reality, Darcie vows to define life, and happiness, her own way–even if that means risking it all and going strapless!
Six wealthy Texas bachelors–all members of the state's most exclusive club–must unravel the mystery surrounding one tiny baby…and discover true love in the process!Tracker Darin Shakir worked alone. The mysterious Cattleman's Club member had been burned in the past and he wasn't about to see innocents hurt on this mission. But plans had gone awry–he'd wound up injured, and in bartender Fiona Powers's capable hands. The feisty redhead was more than a match for this brooding sheikh and insisted on helping Darin. But his temporary, sexy new partner was a very tempting distraction Darin didn't want, even as he yearned to show Fiona the fiery attraction blazing inside.
"Just once I'd like to have a plan go my way. Is that too much to ask?"Smart-mouthed P.I. Stella Valocchi is finally in business, with the office and the aggravating employee–former fiancé Jake Carpenter–to prove it. And when a client with a sob story hires them to find her brother, success is one missing man away–until the search becomes hazardous to Stella's life. Threats, gunshots and car chases won't put her off the case. Neither will Jake's insistence that they be full partners–and maybe more. But the closer Stella is to getting her man, the more the case looks like a carefully set trap–and she's the bait….
How on earth had an intrepid U.S. Marine just gotten maneuvered into dating the librarian next door? Mark it down to a sense of duty but for Steve Kozlowski, meeting Chloe Johnson was like walking over a land mine.For beneath her frumpy exterior was a spirited, sexy woman who could definitely use a lot more excitement in her life. And this die-hard bachelor was just the man to provide it. At least he was until he discovered how much fun he was having with sweet, kissable Chloe. Had Steve's time-honored strategy for sidestepping a more lasting engagement just backfired?
BIRDS OF A FEATHER?Tao Tandy can't wait to flee her sleepy life (safe fiancé, dead-end job) and migrate to the big city to find fame and fortune as a food photographer. First, however, she has to find somewhere to live….Luck is on her side when she's offered rent-free accommodation in a beautiful London mansion–in exchange for–baby-sitting a parrot! Not just any old parrot. Sir Galahad is incredibly rare, not to mention worryingly clever. How hard can it be?Apparently not as hard as her dream job working for a TV celebrity who has wandering hands and a suspicious girlfriend. Or the game of hide-and-seek she's thrown into with Chris, the sexy gardener who lives downstairs and spends all day watching Tao like a hawk! Which makes Tao mad. In fact, she's spitting feathers. It's time to show everyone who rules the roost!
U.S. Marine captain Ben Kozlowski wasn't quite sure, but he knew it had something to do with Ellie Jensen's soulful brown eyes and beautiful soft skin.Being near her had his pulse racing like a fresh recruit's. From the moment he had laid eyes on her and started inventing fairy tales for her adorable five-year-old daughter, Ben had felt his insides melt for this vulnerable little family.They were his family now. And after accepting this dangerous domestic mission–the riskiest he'd ever had–did Ben dare let his guard down and surrender? Or would Ellie and her daughter take his heart hostage for keeps?
Libby McIssac is known for two things: catching bridal bouquets (her record's an even dozen) and having a way with words. Since the former isn't really something that looks good on a résumé, it's helpful to have parlayed the latter into a new career as a political speechwriter.But just as she's making sure her boss looks as if she knows something about…well, anything, Libby's world is turned upside down.Enter a handsome British consultant–a bit on the cagey side, perhaps–who upsets the delicate chain of command around the office and somehow always gets what he wants. Including Libby?When a media leak of a big-time scandal sends everyone into a tailspin, Libby fears she may get caught in the cross fire. Cue the fake alliances, the secrets, the sex, the subterfuge, the hidden friendships: it's all there.Welcome to the world of politics, where perception is everything, nothing is as it seems and the last thing you want is to be left speechless.
OPERATION: HEAL A HEROSubject: Justice Wilder, a true American hero. Badly injured while saving a small child's life–and possibly facing the end of his military career.Mission: Track down this stubborn, combat-hardened Marine on the isolated island where he's shut himself away. Convince him to accept someone else's help–for the first time in his life.Complication: Kelly Hart's skill as a physical therapist would heal his wounds. But what happens when he discovers she used to love him–and she realizes she still does?Mission Success: Uncertain. When a man and a woman share a tiny little cabin–and a whole lot of history–anything can happen!
A heat wave in Manhattan is enough to drive a girl crazy, and for Tracey Spadolini, a 24-year-old New York transplant who's been «left behind» for the summer, there's even more to sweat about. Her Slightly Significant Other, Will, will be returning from summer stock in September, to pick up where they left off. (Or will he?)But, in the days after Will's departure, Tracey decides it's time for a reality check. Her un-air-conditioned East Village apartment is a dump, her entry-level ad job sucks, her thighs don't seem to be getting any thinner, and Will seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. So, Tracey, with the help of her friends and one very attentive guy, decides to spend her summer reinventing herself…and taking a chance on liking the new woman she becomes.
My name is Merri Walters. I'm twenty-seven years old. Two years ago, I suddenly went deaf….My teaching career ended and my fiancé walked out. I survived–and learned to lip-read. I grew very good at it. Maybe too good. So here I am, two years later, starting my new life as a cold-case file clerk turned undercover agent for the police.My task: Infiltrate the mansion of a ruthless crime boss and read his deadly plans off his lips. My contact to the outside world: Detective Steven Barlow, a tough cop who's convinced I'm on a suicide mission. And in a way, he's right–because if I'm caught, I'll be dead without ever hearing the bad guys coming….