However, in an instant - in less than a breath or the bat of an eyelid - the elusive pepper spray hiding somewhere in her purse was all but forgotten. For standing before her, not three feet away, was the best-looking, most gorgeous, handsomest man she had ever seen in all her life!

Mistreated, disheartened, and trapped, Fallon Ashby unexpectedly found the chance of swift deliverance at the hand of a wealthy landowner. The mysterious deliverer offered Fallon escape from unendurable circumstances. Thus, Fallon chose to marry Trader Donavon, a man who concealed his face within the dark shadows of an ominous black hood - a man who unknowingly held her heart captive.

Black Jack Haley and his band of outlaws spent a lot of time in the town of Blue Water. Drinking, gambling, and keeping company with saloon girls, even the fact that retired Texas Ranger Arthur Ray lived nearby did nothing to discourage Black Jack and his boys from spending their time and stolen money in the small western town.

She took two more steps and paused - squeezed her eyes tightly shut - and Ember gasped as she looked forward up the shore to see a man struggling in the water. He was coughing - spitting water from his mouth as he crawled from the water and onto the sand. As he collapsed face-down on the shore, Ember lifted her skirt and ran toward the man, dropping to her knees beside him.

Secretly, however, if Jilly ever allowed herself to be completely honest about it (which she tried to avoid), there was one other man in Mourning Dove who always crossed her mind when the subject of the handsomest man in town arose. Yet there was no lingering on thinking of that man - no sirree! Not for a moment! And so Jilly just kept telling Jack that he was the handsomest man in Mourning Dove Creek. Besides, it was almost true - being that the other man lived outside of town and not right in town the way Jack did.

Rivers Brighton was a wanderer - having nothing and belonging to no one. Still, by chance, Rivers found herself harboring for a time beneath the roof of the kind-hearted Jolee Gray and her remarkably attractive, yet ever grumbling brother, Paxton. Jolee had taken Rivers in, and Rivers had stayed. Helplessly drawn to Paxton's alluring presence and unable to escape his astonishing hold over her, Rivers knew she was in danger of enduring great heartbreak and pain.

Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing.

When Crispin, Lord Cavratt, thoroughly and scandalously kisses a serving woman in the garden of a country inn, he assumes the encounter will be of no consequence. But he couldn’t be more mistaken - the maid is not only a lady of birth, she’s the niece of a very large, exceptionally angry gentleman, who claims Crispin has compromised his niece beyond redemption. The dismayed young lord has no choice but to marry Miss Catherine Thorndale, who lacks both money and refinement and assumes all men are as vicious as her guardian uncle.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

When Logan Steele is hired to protect an archery champion who is being stalked, the former SEAL automatically assumes his client is a man. Then he meets Weslee Campbell, a beautiful woman with the prettiest light blue eyes he’s ever looked into, and he knows his life is about to change forever. That is, if his fear doesn’t get the best of him. For a man who has faced enemy insurgents, he shouldn’t be afraid of anything...Yet meeting Weslee has him questioning if he’s brave enough to fall in love.

Fallon has had a long and rough couple of years. She's ready now to work on putting the past behind her and focus on putting her life back together. A trip to see her best friend to hang out and create some new happy memories seems just the way to start off her new life. However, the first person she meets is Reid Snow, who threatens her peace of mind. Fallon does everything to resist his bad boy charm. The last thing she needs is someone else bringing drama into her life.

Every girl imagines meeting her prince charming. It's doubtful, however, that any of these fantasies include it happening when they're soaked with sweat and knee-deep in pond scum. Fate can be funny that way.

With her 30th birthday fast approaching, Chelsea Wilson decides she is done being single. She is going to be married by the end of the year if it kills her. And 16 first dates might just do that. With no male companionship, other than her cat Daughtry, Chelsea reluctantly creates an online dating profile. She begins meeting all kinds of men in a world now full of man buns and skinny jeans. While trying to find one good man, she ends up with four. How will Chelsea ever decide? The best part is she doesn't have to. It's up to you.

Moving to Kansas City could be the best thing Austin Shelbourne has ever done. For a start he can stop living a lie and finally come out of the closet. And there's a chance, though slim, that he might be able to locate the love of his life, Todd Burton. It had seemed like a good idea when he had seduced his friend, but Todd freaked out and vanished. Austin hopes to find Todd, make things right between them, and win his love. But when he meets actor Guy Campbell, things get even more confusing.

Make it a merry Christmas with these four heartwarming stories. In Christmas Homecoming, sparks fly between former Air Force Pararescueman Kevin Matthews and the town's new surgeon, Kate Stafford. Widower Billy Morgan and his longtime friend, Bella, might discover an occasion to celebrate in An Unexpected Gift. In Christmas in Blue Hollow Falls, Attorney Moira Brogan is rescued by a Aussie chef Hudson Walker. And event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez meets former pro baseball player Ben Thomas who just might inspire a winning strategy in Holiday Homerun.