Showing results by author "Tess Thompson" in All Categories

Property developer Kyle Hicks’s playboy lifestyle couldn’t be better. He’s overcome his impoverished past, his new resort is under construction, and he’s free of any ties. But when he’s given custody of a baby he didn’t know he fathered, he has to turn for help to the one person who hates him. Single mother Violet Ellis can’t seem to catch a break. Between the failure of her business and a developer ruining Cliffside Bay’s charm, she feels her life is in tatters. Out of work and desperate for a home, she reluctantly accepts a job offer from the man she despises.

Two years after her husband’s death on a ski trip, Crystal Whalen is devastated when a fire destroys her quiet Colorado mountain home. And when she can’t keep her hands off the gorgeous divorcé who’s become her new temporary housemate, it only feeds her grief and growing guilt. Garth Welte won’t be burned again. After his ex-wife took most of his money, the downhill-skiing Olympic medalist is determined to keep things casual with the sexy woman he can’t resist. But the more time they spend with each other, the harder it is to deny his burgeoning feelings.

Carlie Webster remains haunted by the past. After a messy failed marriage sends her packing for her small hometown, she relives the memories of her sister’s 30-year-old unsolved murder. But when rekindled sparks fly with the suspected killer’s brother, Carlie must clear his sibling’s name if she wants a shot at second-chance love.

Zane Shaw needs a fresh start. After his fiancé called off their wedding, he left his failed relationship to run the family restaurant back home. And just when he thinks he’s sworn off emotions for good, a former fling residing in Cliffside Bay reignites his broken heart. Honor Sullivan thought she had escaped her abusive background. But the terror returns when she learns the man who hurt her is out of prison. And when a dead bunny appears on her porch, she turns to her old crush Zane for the protection she so desperately desires.

Charlotte Wilde's life is a flop. She gives her heart to the wrong men and her first published book is a failure. Desperate to pay the bills, she takes a job caring for an elderly woman. Yet as Charlotte gets to work, dutifully helping Mrs. Lanigan sort through a box of old letters, distractions abound. For one thing, both women immediately become consumed with a mystery unfolding in the correspondence. And to complicate matters further, Charlotte finds herself drawn to her charge's son, Ardan, like they've known each other forever.

An unorthodox arrangement creates the family Sylvia so desperately wants. But everything beings to unravel when a pregnant teen is found murdered. As Seattle Detective Peter Ball pieces the crime together, he uncovers deception and an illegal adoption that threatens to destroy a family and rip motherhood from Sylvia's grasp.

Constance Mansfield had a perfect life: a successful writing career, a beloved daughter, a beautiful home, loving friends, and perhaps, most importantly, her privacy. But after Constance is killed, her grieving daughter Sutton begins to unravel her mother's secrets amidst the grief of unexpected loss. And it seems that Constance's privacy was not for her protection, but for something - or someone - else entirely.

After a decade of playing hockey, a single injury ended Trapper Barnes’ career. But when he discovers that the woman who owns the local bakery is the girl who once shattered his dreams, the painful secret she’s been harboring all these years threatens to turn Trapper’s idyllic small-town future into a disaster. Will it take a forest fire threatening the mountain village to force Trapper and Brandi to confront their history?

1921. Cast out and alone, I lost everything weeks before my wedding—my betrothed, my family, my future. With nowhere to turn, I accept the help of a compassionate stranger, not knowing it may lead me towards a path I swore never to tread.

I didn’t mean to kill my husband. All I wanted was to escape his abuse and start a new life with my daughter as far away from him as possible. But in one life-altering second, I had to decide—run or stay and face his family and a possible murder conviction. I ran. What else could I do? I’m all my daughter has in this world. I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe.

In the spring of 1910, an advertisement I spotted in the Boston newspaper called out to me: “Wealthy family in need of secretary on Whale Island. Must have an affinity for books.” When I’m offered the position, I do not hesitate to pack my meagre belongings and travel to Washington state. After all, I have nothing to lose. I’ve been dismissed from my current position. I have no family. It’s all a dream come true. The only problem? My employer, Benedict Tutheridge, makes my heart flutter and my knees wobble.

Devastated after both my fiancée and best friend betrayed me, I traveled to a distant isle in the Pacific Northwest, clinging to a job as an artist's assistant to escape my broken heart. Little did I know that I would find something else entirely when I met Briggs Tutheridge. His kindness and sensitivity were not at all what I expected. Still, his reputation was well-known and notorious, with bevies of admirers who wanted nothing more than a brief affair. That wasn't me. I was a wallflower destined to live in the shadows, and no amount of wishing could change that.

After the death of my beloved aunt and a troubling experience with a stalker, I’m ready for a fresh start somewhere quiet. I leap at the chance to become the pastry chef at a quaint dude ranch in western Montana. Soon, I’m happily working under the talented and sexy, Caspian Moon. If only I could concentrate fully on my cakes instead of yearning for the boss who has made it clear that employees are off-limits. Even if they don’t want to be.

In the fall of 1910, a violent patriarch with many enemies is murdered, freeing his long-suffering wife and four misfit children. Can a secret matchmaking plan find love for the eccentric members of the Tutheridge family?

When war threatened Europe, my parents sent me from our vineyard in France to safety in America, where I found a new life, with friends who become family. But even in a land untouched by the bombs, the shadows of war loomed over my heart. As secrets from my past emerge and the world around me is torn apart, I must confront the grief of loss, the weight of duty, and the delicate balance between love and loyalty.

Can the skilled matchmakers of Ella Pointe help a melancholic widower with a vivacious little girl rediscover love? Or will his intended love slip away into the arms of an alluring yet perilous charlatan?

Since the loss of my husband, matchmaking has been my solace and mission as I pair souls meant for each other. However, letters from a sensitive and insightful bachelor from across the country have me wondering about my own destiny. Together, Matthew and I successfully paired the Tutheridge siblings, but as our shared project ends, can a new story begin? With some trepidation, I agree to travel from Boston to Whale Island. Will I find love again in the arms of Matthew Goodwell?

I didn’t want him here. I’d do anything to get rid of him. Sabotage his practice. Make sure the islanders knew he was not to be trusted. Push away his overtures of friendship and partnership. What good did a fancy city doctor do for the community anyway? My community. The residents of Whale Island could attest to my competency and compassion. We don’t need outsiders telling us what to do. Then I find out my mother is the one funding the interloper’s medical practice. My own mother. Why? I can’t fathom why she’d want to ruin my life.

My heart shattered when my sister's fiancé took what he wanted against my will, leaving me pregnant and disavowed by my family. Driven to desperate measures, I agree to take a housekeeping job on a remote island off the cost of Washington state. The man I’m working for? He’s kind, handsome and has a unique understanding of my position.

Returning to Bluefern to care for my father wasn’t part of my plan. But here I am, doing my best as the town’s new vet and trying to avoid Rafferty Moon, the one person who knows exactly how to get under my skin. We were high school rivals through and through, constantly competing to be the best. Now he’s the town doctor, and it feels like no time has passed—as if the years haven’t erased the tension that crackles every time we’re in the same room. But when a snowstorm traps us together, I start to see a different side of him, one that I can’t ignore.