Karla Sorensen

It takes a lot to rattle me, but nothing could've prepared me for the day that Aiden Hennessy walked through my beloved gym doors, ownership papers in his big hands. I know a lot about my gorgeous new boss, a former fighter whose posters used to decorate my bedroom walls. I know he retired at the height of his fame to take care of his sick wife. I know he's now a single dad raising an adorable little girl. And I know that no matter how broody and quiet he is, my innocent teenage crush has turned into a highly inappropriate adult fantasy. I would've gotten over it, until one night sparring with him at the gym, it's clear my feelings aren't so one-sided. It's impossible to pretend I don't want him. Especially when I have to see him every single day, and watch him take care of his daughter. Aiden thinks I'm too young for him. He says he shouldn't want me. But all it takes is one step over the line to prove what they say is true- forbidden fruit really does taste the sweetest.

You know the hot neighbor boy you crushed on all your teenage years? Imagine seeing him ten years later and he turns out to be a complete jerk, then you know how I feel. Our last encounter was awkward, given I'd climbed into his bedroom window to turn my unrequited crush into something ... requited. That day was bad enough, but things just got worse. Noah Griffin turned himself into one of the best football players in the country and a transfer to the Washington Wolves- the team I work for-lands him on my doorstep. The timing couldn't be worse, because my boss just handed me the opportunity of a lifetime. And that promotion rides squarely on Noah's big, muscular, condescending shoulders. He wants nothing to do with me, and the feeling is so very mutual. But for the sake of my career, I can ignore all those things about him that drive me insane. His eyes. His mouth. His big, big ... hands. Until one day, we can't ignore them anymore. You know what they say about the line between love and hate though? They're so very right.

You know what I don't have time for? The brooding, dark-eyed former love of my life showing up when my life is finally settling down. I don't have time for Hunter Buchanan and that intense look in his eyes. The way he loved me so perfectly all those years ago. I'm the one who asked him to leave back then, my attempt at saving him from the chaos of my screwed up family. I didn't expect him back in Green Valley, looking better than before and with an empty ring finger. And I definitely didn't expect him to still be in love with me. I don't have time for the things I feel around him, or how amazing it is when he touches me. Most of all, for the broken heart I'll have if I have to say goodbye again. I survived him leaving once before, but I don't think I can do it again. So there's only one thing I can make time for... staying away from Hunter Buchanan.'Worth the Wait' is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Love At First Sight series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Life lesson from Grady Buchanan: If you're going to fall in love with the untouchable girl in town, don't hire her as your only employee. Even after he bungled the interview with Magnolia MacIntyre, he knew better than to hire her. The list of why it's a bad idea is a long one. Her father could ruin his fledgling business. She is completely overqualified. And he's attracted to her. What does Grady do? He offers her the job. Magnolia knew better than to take it. Normally, she'd make the safe choice, and working for Grady is anything but. He's new in town-and entirely too charming. Her dad will be furious. She hates the outdoors and working for an outdoor adventure company is not exactly the right fit. What does she do? She says yes on the spot. Grady and Magnolia will have to prove to everyone in their life that they're not crazy. And prove to each other that the list of why it's a bad idea should be tossed out the window. For these two opposites, sometimes doing the wrong thing is exactly right.'Steal My Magnolia' is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Love At First Sight series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Hate at first sight couldn't possibly exist, right? That's what Grace Buchanan thought, before her useless car stranded her on the side of a deserted road just inside the Green Valley city limits. When Tucker Haywood--tall and handsome and full of southern charm-- shows up to help, her reaction to him is the strongest thing she's ever felt in her life, and it makes no freaking sense. It doesn't make much sense to Tucker either. Not why she hates him, or why he finds her so intriguing. He knows well enough that Grace is moving to Green Valley for a fresh start, not to distract him when he's got no room for something like her in his life. The complications between them are endless, but that doesn't stop her definitely not love-at-first-sight feelings from changing into something else entirely. Grace and Tucker are about to learn the hard way that in Green Valley, hating someone has never tasted so sweet.'Batter of Wits' is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense. No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life. Then I met Jocelyn Abernathy and I realized how completely wrong I was. The problem is, Jocelyn guards her feelings like well-armed soldier. She's the most beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman I've ever met. Every time she talks, I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But I can't. Because when we met, she didn't need true love. She needed a best friend. And that's what I've been to her... for five years. But when Jocelyn meets a handsome stranger her first day working at Donner Bakery and she lets him buy her a dill pickle cupcake, I realize with ominous regret that I may have missed my window with my best friend. If I can't get her to see past our friendship, my new curse may be to watch the love of my life move on with someone else.'Baking Me Crazy' is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #1 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Liz Peters hasn't exactly gotten the happily-ever-after she's read about in her Jane Austen books. 'Always a bridesmaid' is more fitting to the way life has been passing this good girl by. About to go postal from loneliness, she meets a man who doesn't seem to fit any of her requirements for a book-worthy hero. Kieran Carter would do just about anything to put a smile on his terminally ill mother's face. When he meets a woman in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store, Kieran finally has opportunity to do just that. If he needs to lie in order to give his mom a little hope? Not a freakin problem. It all seems so neat and tidy. An arrangement is struck that benefits them both, but when lines get blurry and the guilt of lying to everyone they love becomes too much, neither Liz or Kieran can tell what's real and what's for show. And somewhere in the middle is the last person they ever expected to fall in love with.

For Rachel Hennessy, it's been an interesting six months. Boyfriend? Cheated on her. Job? She totally just got fired. Starting her own wedding planning business sounds exciting ... in theory. In reality, it's completely terrifying. And on top of all that, the freaking cherry right on top? She just had an ill-timed, alcohol-instigated one-night stand with her bff Casey's brother, Tate. Yeah, that Tate. The one that she's had a teensy, inconvenient crush on for years. But nothing about it is ill-timed or inconvenient for Tate Steadman. Because he finally feels free. Free of the oppressive relationship he'd been in for the past six years. Free to pursue Rachel, because one alcohol-fueled night was not even close to enough for him. He just wished she saw it that way. Because she makes him want more than he ever knew he was capable of. When their one night has unexpected consequences, Rachel has no clue how to trust that he's not just trying to be 'the good guy' who wants to do 'the right thing'. And even though the chemistry between them practically burns down an entire city block when they're together, she doesn't know how to let down the concrete wall she's built up around herself. The 'mistake' of one evening can change the trajectory of two lives, but maybe a mistake is all they really need to push them right into true love.

He needs to open up. Jake Miller likes his life. It's simple and quiet. Solitary. He's taking the last thing his mother truly cared about before she died, the properties she owned, and making them his purpose. His time in the Army hadn't allowed him to be there for her before, but this is something he can do now. Just him and his dog. Exactly how he wants it. Until her, his first tenant. With her innate openness and blinding smiles, the opposite of everything he thought he could possibly want. She needs to grow up. Casey Steadman has less to show for her twenty-nine years than she'd hoped. No white picket fence. No 2.5 kids. And definitely no loving husband. Just a few lukewarm relationships, an exceedingly crappy apartment, and a fabulous shoe collection (and the credit card debt to prove it). Moving into her new place is one big, high heeled step towards a new life. The stable, make-boring-mature-decisions kind of life that she needs to be able to prove to her family that she can live. What she wasn't planning on was her hotter-than-Hades new landlord. Sparks are a-flying, and they're the kind that can only come from a stiletto-loving, dog-hating, budget-repelling, relentlessly optimistic, youngest of five becoming the tenant and next door neighbor to a stoically silent, slightly pessimistic, 'my only friend is my dog', only child and former Army Ranger. Casey and Jake are total opposites. But when they come together, it just might be true love.

There's one thing you should know about Tristan Whitfield: he's been in love with Anna for years. There are two problems with that: she has no idea, and she's married. Or at least, she was. Anna Callahan knows three things about her brother's friend, Tristan: he's quiet, incredibly handsome, and has a smolder that could set the room on fire. For years, it wasn't difficult for Anna to overlook all of that. But when Tristan is the solution to a work problem that could derail her career, he is anything but easy to ignore. To Tristan, the fact that the object of his affection is suddenly single means he should tread lightly. Be the friend she needs until she's ready for more and hope the risk pays off. Because it'll add up to the one thing he wants: her.

Brooke Rossi knows how to stay in control. After all, finding herself a single mother to twins after her 'allergic to responsibility' ex-boyfriend left town has kinda set the bar for whatever might come her way. Except the day-to-day realities of single motherhood has her juggling in a way that she couldn't anticipate, which is why she's one sleepless night away from a padded cell. Her unexpected help comes in the form of Michael Whitfield, unrepentant flirt and alleged manwhore. Michael isn't allergic to responsibility, but he does have a healthy aversion to commitment, until his relationship with Brooke. Their friendship is easy, until it's not. They learn to walk a tight rope of restraint, choosing not to act on their attraction out of respect for the friendship they've built. One scorching, clothes-free visit past the boundaries they put in place, and Brooke finds herself facing the most uncontrollable situation of all: risking her heart to a man who's never had to take care of one before.

Cole Mallinson has never been able to move on. It's been two thousand, three hundred and sixty-two days since he's seen his ex-wife, Julia. He's never stopped loving her, never stopped wishing she'd come back. Everyone thinks he's lost his mind for never moving on, but they couldn't understand. It was never a choice. Seven years ago, Julia Mallinson left Denver, and even though it's the last place she wants to be, she's back. The years of infertility that she and Cole endured during their marriage wore her down past the point of breaking. And when she left, she didn't look back, couldn't look back, for the sake of her sanity, her heart. Between an accidental run-in at the grocery store and a meddling pregnant sister, Julia is forced to face the man she walked away from. The man who still, after all these years, has never moved on. Though neither has she. And in the end, she's left wondering if the past is ever left in the past.

The one thing Garrett Calder and Aurora Anderson have in common is that they absolutely hate each other. Garrett has the job that Aurora has worked for and wanted for years and it was handed to him on a silver platter, just like everything else in his life. The fact that he manages everything with the most annoyingly handsome smile on his equally annoying, handsome face is just icing on the freaking cake. Aurora is not only the most beautiful, but the smartest, most infuriating woman Garrett has ever had the misfortune of meeting. Her sharp tongue and inability to be charmed by him makes her somehow more maddening, and she's never let him get away with a single thing, not for the eight years they've worked together. Garrett and Aurora are pushed into a situation neither of them want to be in- forced to work together for twelve months or risk losing everything. Twelve months where they can't kill each other. Twelve long months, and only one of them will be left standing at the end. And in the process of surviving it-and each other-they'll discover that there's a very fine line between love and hate.