Showing results by author "May Archer" in All Categories

Lane’s Tips for Licking Thicket Newcomers: If at all possible, find yourself a hot and helpful landlord like Jaybird Proud who mows the lawn shirtless… and hope your grass grows quickly. Expect the unexpected at work. If you’re a veterinarian, this might mean letter-cows, pet pigs that aren’t pets, and Butterscotch the Pomeranian, who has Strong Feelings about his glands.

If there were a prize for the most contented man in Copper County, I’d win it every time. I’ve got my business. My son. My family. My friends… and no romantic prospects, sure, but only because I don’t need any. My life’s great as it is. Seriously. Could not be better. I’m practically bleeding serenity over here. At least until Jasper Wrigley shows up in Copper County after twenty years–as my son’s temporary hockey coach, no less, though the man could barely lace up his skates back in the day–and throws my carefully ordered life into chaos.

It was supposed to be a straightforward protection job. Remove the target from Vermont, get him to the safehouse, keep him there until his mafia uncle testifies, get back in my employer’s good graces. But it turns out things get complicated real fast when your target is an adorkable, accident-prone cutie with a shockingly low sense of self-preservation, zero clue that he’s related to the Fromadgio crime boss, and 100% too much inclination to chat happily with strangers.

A brilliant, obsessive mind is the heart of Sebastian Seaver’s genius. It might also be the thing that costs him everything he’s created and everyone he’s ever loved. Consumed with the need to destroy Alexei Stornovich, the Russian mob boss who murdered his fiancée and parents, nothing can turn Bas from his plans of revenge until he’s eradicated every last one of them. By any means necessary, and at any cost. Drew McMann learned early that the key to success is control. Control carried him through law school and helped him keep Seaver Tech together through tragedy.

Parrish Partridge’s true facts: There’s nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you’ll resist him...But that’s a lie. And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes...But that’s a lie, too.

I came to Whispering Key for a job. That was all. To show the world Mason Bloom could be more than a small-town doctor living a medium-sized life. Private doctor on a swanky island with a posh resort? Check. But from the moment I set foot on this island, nothing went according to plan. And I definitely didn’t expect Fenn Reardon, the island’s incredibly attractive, incredibly infuriating, incredibly male resident tour guide, to become the one person I can’t live without.

I once lived a fairly quiet existence as a math professor. Then Teagan Donahue crashed into my life like a shooting star. Now every day's a holiday, and my very best friend is also the guy I can't stop fantasizing about. The guy I'm madly in love with. The guy I'm ready to turn down my dream job for. But the statistical probability of a man like Teagan wanting his shy, nerdy roommate as more than a friend is incredibly low, and if I have to choose between having everything else I've ever wanted and having Teagan in my life... well, I know which one I'll pick, every time.

Renowned cardiologist Carter Rogers is used to having things under control. His life, his prestigious reputation, his career, his future.

When Fran Goode kissed me goodbye four years ago, he took my heart with him. Sure, there were reasons we broke up, but they all seem silly now. And I know I should have moved on long ago, but the man's burned into my memory: his smile, his kiss, those long, unforgettable nights in his bed. So instead, I find myself driving up a mountain, on the eve of an O'Leary blizzard, to Fran's remote cabin. I need to see him again, to look into those gorgeous dark eyes.

What do the hot, genius entrepreneur and I have in common? Absolutely nothing. Taika Parata may be rich as hell, but he’s a total jerk. He spends his days traveling the globe in the lap of luxury while I dreamed of leaving my tiny hometown for a nomadic life and never got further than Boston.

I was one of the lucky ones. I found my soulmate back in high school, when my next door neighbor wrote me a love note that changed my life - a love note that promised me "always". But apparently "always" ain't all it's cracked up to be, because here I am, a mere eight years later, planning my soulmate's dream wedding - the most romantic Valentine's Day wedding in O'Leary's history.

What’s a four-letter word for an utterly oblivious, totally commitment-phobic, heartbreakingly gorgeous man with a pet pig named Bernadette? That’d be D-U-N-N, as in Dunn Johnson, my very best pal and fishing buddy since I moved to Licking Thicket. What’s a six-letter word for a nerdy, crossword-loving town doctor who’s doomed to be hopelessly, thoroughly, irrevocably, in love with that straight best friend for the rest of his born days? That’s T-U-C-K-E-R, as in me.

When I asked Jack Wyatt to help me lose my pesky v-card, I didn’t expect him to keel over in shocked disapproval and nearly tumble us down a mountain. You might think a guy who's been reading romance novels his whole life would've figured out a smoother way to broach the subject, but in my defense, I’ve been pining for Jack for seven long years, just waiting for him to notice me.

Once upon a time, someone looked at my scrawny, impetuous eight-year-old self and nicknamed me Mr. Important… and I believed them. That was my first mistake. Two decades, a dozen failed careers, and a thousand meaningless hookups later, I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. My parents have decided I’m purely decorative, my brother thinks I need pep talks, and the gorgeous billionaire who hired me as a favor to my dad? He’s forgotten I exist.

Brian Carr believes in fairy tales — princes, castles, once upon a times, happily ever afters. He's been that way since we were kids, and no matter how many times it all goes wrong, Brian's never given up hope of finding his one true love. It's beautiful. Adorable. Charming. It's also annoying as hell, because I've spent decades standing on the sidelines while guy after guy crushed my best friend's heart, leaving me to pick up his pieces. The truth is, for as long as Brian has dreamed of fairy tales...I have dreamed of Brian.

Camden Seaver had it easy - a loving family, plenty of money, and the freedom to follow his dreams while his older brother, Sebastian, took charge of the family business. But when a tragic plane crash killed his parents, all the responsibilities he never wanted landed firmly on his shoulders. Now saddled with his crazy, grief-stricken brother and his dad’s multimillion dollar company, Cam doesn’t trust in dreams anymore. He’s forgotten what “easy” feels like.

When returning to Licking Thicket, TN, for the first time in 10 years to reunite with your nosy neighbors, heartbroken ex-girlfriend, and matchmaking mama who never quite believed you were gay, it’s best to bring a fake boyfriend as backup. Just don’t be surprised when your ex-girlfriend does the same.

I was supposed to be partying with a bunch of celebrities in paradise this week, okay? But then, I made one teeny, tiny error in judgement before leaving New York. Now, I find myself shacked up with my fake boyfriend Beale Goodman, Whispering Key’s most adorable, most enormous, most virginal cinnamon roll - a guy who rescues feral cats, believes in soulmates, and talks about happiness like it’s free for the taking. A guy who nearly convinces me, with every smile and kiss, that it is.

When your turkey-thieving, town-abandoning, former childhood friend reappears in Licking Thicket after fifteen long years, looking like a snack and smelling like all your favorite treats put together, it might be tempting to, well, dig in.

Look, I’ve never claimed to be a nice guy. I don’t do pretty words, I don’t give polite smiles, and I refuse to be sucked into the sappy bucket of sentimentality that is Christmas in small-town O’Leary. Smiling neighbors, overly decorated trees, a town parade, a Santa contest? Ho ho no. I do shifts as a firefighter, and I go home alone.