Showing results for "but" in Contemporary

Oakley Farrow is your typical high school senior. He stays up late, cramming for finals. He has impossible deadlines to meet. He worries about his future as graduation lurks just around the corner. He has to defend himself from his abusive uncle. He has to keep his sister safe. He has to survive the constant torture from his bully, Asher Brooks—the seemingly arrogant and cruel star quarterback. Okay… so maybe not your typical high school senior.

Kira Murphy is a liability, always has been. She might be small, but her personality and heart are not: A sexual health doctor with a foul mouth, pink streaks in her hair, a bizarre worldview, a reputation for being "pathologically social", and a huge crush on the current minister of state for business, energy, and clean growth, she’s weird and lovable in equal measure.

Popular romance author Margot Bradley has a secret: she doesn't believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, not even for her characters. When a super-fan leaks this to the world, Margot is dropped faster than you can say 'enemies-to-lovers.' Her sister thinks she needs a change of scene and sends Margot off to a remote Alaskan cabin on a writing retreat that could be the perfect chance to say goodbye to romcoms and write something new - maybe swap meet-cutes for murder mysteries? But then she meets the handsome owner, Forrest

Hunter James, a rising star in college basketball, has her career and life sidelined after experiencing a family tragedy. An opportunity for a fresh start opens a door to get back to what she loves most, playing basketball. Hunter rushes through that door to make the most of her second chance. Back in the basketball arena, doing what she loves, will she open herself and her heart to another second chance, a chance to forgive herself and fall in love?

After Cade King cost me everything, I vowed I’d never fall for him again - even if he became rich and megafamous. Go figure. Now Cade is back with his billion-dollar company...and his ability to radiate attraction like a tempting Wi-Fi hotspot. Not to mention his tendency to have worse impulse control than a chimpanzee. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it a little when I arrested him for disorderly conduct. Unfortunately, I think Cade liked it a little too. So when he asks for my help, I know exactly what I should say. But something’s fried the circuits in my brain.

Sheila O'Flanagan's best seller Anyone but Him is a touching novel about love, heartache and the unbreakable bond between sisters, not to be missed by fans of Kerry Lonsdale and Jamie Beck. Andie and her sister, Jin, have never seen eye to eye. Andie doesn't envy Jin her marriage to a wealthy businessman while Jin can't believe Andie's happy with her man-free existence (if only she knew!). But when their widowed mother, Cora, comes back from a Caribbean cruise with more than just a suntan, Andie and Jin are united in horror.

I’m being forced to move in with my brother’s best friend. After my life falls apart, the last person I want to face is my childhood crush. Much less live with him. Unfortunately for me, my overprotective brother and his equally overprotective best friend show up on my doorstep and don’t take no for an answer. I put up my best fight, but it’s no use. Soon enough, I’m boarding a plane with them and my newborn son.

My ex-boyfriend is engaged to my stepsister. Yeah, it shocked me too. So much so, that when my ex tells me, I grab the first guy I see and pretend he’s my fiancé. Somehow it only gets wilder from there, because the guy I grab happens to be Grayson Carter, a notorious flirt and extrovert to the max. Also, the guy I turned down a month before while dating said ex-boyfriend. Grayson surprisingly goes along with my plan, throwing pet names and flirty lines at me all while putting on this protective facade in front of my ex that makes my knees weak.

After twenty years, the cracks in Lauren Reed’s marriage are showing. She and her husband, Jack, feel more like roommates than a loving couple. What they have in common are two wonderful teenagers, Michael and Maddie, and the same wistful question: When did it all go wrong? Now that Lauren’s decided to get on with her life—alone—divorce is inevitable. Not to the kids. They aren’t giving up so easily.

I hate that part in a wedding, where everyone waits on pins and needles to see if someone has a reason why the couple shouldn’t get married. So, when I ran into my high school sweetheart and found out that she was engaged, I said my peace before she ever walked down the aisle. Shauna and I crossed paths when I went to Las Vegas for work, and sharing one meal with her was enough for me to remember why no other woman has even come close to affecting me the way she did.

It’s always been complicated between Libby Lawson and Greyson Chapman - and married life isn’t any simpler. But when Libby gets pregnant, she at last sees a bright future ahead. There’s just one problem: Greyson says he’s sterile. Furious, Greyson abandons the young family. Equally furious and deeply hurt, Libby cuts all ties with him. After all these years, it seems their relationship has finally expired. But love is resilient and endures even when you don’t want it to.

Clay Hollins knows he needs to stay away from Riggs Kennedy. He doesn't have time to fall for the bearded bartender that haunts his dreams and waking fantasies. Not only is he working long hours at his dream job with Montgomery Builders, but he’s raising his three cousins and they need him more than he needs a private life. After one night of giving in, however, neither Riggs nor Clay can walk away.

Selfish. That's the only way Andrew will ever see me. An abused boy who grew up and became a defense attorney for the rich and famous. I'll never forget the look on his face when I told him. The hurt and disgust I saw in his eyes as I stomped all over his dreams. He left me behind, convincing me he'd hate me forever. Now, circumstances have brought me back into his life. I have one more chance to prove I'm not the man he thinks I am. I'll do anything to prove I'm worthy of him.

He’s an influencer—whatever that means. He’s also stunningly beautiful with a feisty attitude, and I can’t deny that it intrigues me. But more importantly, he’s in trouble. I’m not like my brother. Except for being a cop, I don’t strive to save the entire world. However, I find myself compelled to save him. If he’ll calm down and just let me.

Jory Harcourt is finally living the dream. Being married to US Marshal Sam Kage has changed him - it's settled the tumult of their past and changed Jory from a guy who bails at the first sign of trouble to a man who stays and weathers the storm. He and Sam have two kids, a house in the burbs, and a badass minivan. Jory's days of being an epicenter for disaster are over. Domestic life is good.

I had everything; I was going to college, having a blast, enjoying myself, and not taking much seriously. But then, two years ago, everything changed. A car wreck destroyed my life. It sent me into a total tailspin. I walked away, even when everyone said I wouldn’t be able to. But I haven’t recovered from it. The only thing I have left is my best friend, but I’m sure he’ll give up on me soon. Even so, I can’t fight the truth: I’m irrevocably ruined.

Struggling to make ends meet after a messy divorce, Sadie Harris is at the end of her tether. Her waitressing gig isn't enough to pay the bills, let alone secure primary custody of her son, Jayden, a battle she refuses to lose. Desperate, she accepts a position assisting Dawson Reed - the same Dawson Reed who recently stood trial for the murder of his adoptive parents. Joining him at his isolated farm seems risky, but Sadie is out of options.

Keller Rafferty abandoned his dreams long ago to help his mom raise his brothers after his father’s death. Duty, family and deep roots still guide him as he runs his family’s Texas cattle ranch and cares for his new, grieving foster son. They’re just beginning to find a balance when a beautiful and determined woman arrives on the ranch. Sydney Brock spent her entire globe-trotting life thinking she had no family except her ne’er do well, nomadic parents. When she discovers her parents lied and she has a newly-orphaned cousin, Sydney rushes halfway around the world.

Self-made mogul Chase Moore is a charming hound dog with a hairless cat and a family business to save. He was fine being the spare to the heir until the family's billion-dollar business threatens to go belly-up. Now Chase will need more than his rakish good looks to fight his father for control. Powerhouse marketing guru Campbell King returns to Texas and launches her own company after being chewed up and spat out by the city that never sleeps.

Running a café by the sea in Halfmoon Quay should be a dream job for Issy Kernow, but the view reminds her of everything she's lost since her parents' death. She's relied on no one but herself and her eccentric grandmother, Maud. But as Maud finds unexpected love, Issy begins to feel restless and lonely. Could it be time for a change? Liam Penrose has always lived up to his family's expectations, but after a failed relationship and a job he hates, life in London isn't fulfilling. When a gift from his great-uncle offers the chance to take over a run-down hotel in Halfmoon Quay, Liam is torn.