Showing results by narrator "Kirsten Lee" in All Categories

Scarlett Kincaid was more than the girl next door, she was my best friend, until she decided that small town life wasn’t for her. The girl I used to fish with down at the creek is now the biggest name in country music, and I haven’t seen her since she left. Until today when she sped through town in her fancy car. One look at her big brown eyes was all it took to stir up a whole slew of emotions. Emotions I’d long ago buried and sure as hell don’t have time for. It’s the aftermath that’s hard....

He Never Came Home is a collection of 22 personal essays written by girls and women who have been separated from their fathers by way of divorce, abandonment, or death. The contributors to this collection come from a wide range of different backgrounds in terms of race, socioeconomic status, religion, and geographic location. Their essays offer deep insights into the emotions related to losing one’s father, including sadness, indifference, anger, acceptance—and everything in between.

In these twelve new stories, Richard Bausch explores the passions of men and women facing unex­pected circumstances and the complications of modern life and love. In the novella “Donnaiolo,” for instance, the parents of a young divorcée who has returned from Italy and a failed marriage must deal with the completely different, and unappealing, person she has become. In “Isolation,” a happily married woman who has con­ceived an unexpected passion for another man learns, in lockdown during the pandemic, that this man—into whose life Bausch also gives us a window—has become ill with Covid.

It might be fair to say that I despise Macy Carrington. She slings insults with precision, not caring about the destruction she leaves in her wake. We clash in a battle of wills every time we're around each other, and yet I still fantasize about being lodged deep within her body. I have never encountered someone that grates me the way Cal Carson does. His pompous, arrogant demeanor. A holier-than-thou attitude. Any interaction with "Saint Cal" ends in a verbal clash of epic proportions, and yet there's no one I'd rather have.

Macy Carrington is broken. The strong, beautiful woman that I've unwittingly fallen in love with is all kinds of broken from a secret that she has carried for far too long. A secret so dark, she has gone to great lengths to protect it. A secret that I'm terrified will one day rip her away from me.

She spends her nights treating patients, but Dr. Jocelyn Drake's own wounds are unfixable. Her ex-husband and his younger, bouncier girlfriend work just a few floors away at Tulane Medical Center, and they serve as a constant reminder of what Joss lost. But a fierce determination to continue her research project and a shred of remaining pride keep Joss from transferring out of the Big Easy. Carson Stephens recently returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East, and though willing women present themselves at every turn, his closest companion is loneliness.

Fallon McCarthy has climbed the corporate ladder. She’s had the office with the view, the staff, and the plaque on her door. The unexpected loss of her grandmother taught her that there’s more to life than meetings and conference calls, so she quit and is happy to be a nomad, checking off items on her bucket list as she takes jobs teaching yoga in each place she lands in. She’s happy being free and has no interest in being tied down. When Noah King gets the call that an eagle has been injured, he’s not expecting to find a beautiful stranger standing vigil when he arrives.

The night I met her, I had no idea I saved her life. The night I took her home, I never wanted her to leave. The night I fell for her, she was running from somebody else. The night I give her my heart, she doesn't give me hers... and I'm about to find out why.

Passion, betrayal, and heartache collide in an emotionally charged and dangerous chain of events that could unravel everything Sebastian and Talia have worked to overcome. While looking forward to a bright future with the upcoming birth of their child, and navigating the often humorous and overbearingly protective aspects of approaching parenthood, Mister Black and Little Red manage to strengthen their passionate connection.

I've met the best woman at the worst possible time. Miranda is the fire to my ice - a sexy, charmingly candid spark who breaks down my walls and reminds me what it's like to feel again. But I'm being forced to date my team owner's daughter to keep my job, so I can't be caught with Miranda. Still, we're getting closer - until Miranda finds out about my "girlfriend". And that's not the only secret I've been keeping. But Miranda's the one I want...even if she doesn't believe me.

When wedding plans go awry and tragedy hits, Sebastian and Talia race against time to uncover the culprit who dared to strike out at the Blakes. As they wade through murky family waters to discover the truth about the attacks against their family, Mister Black and Little Red’s relationship deepens and simmers to new levels.

No matter how hard I've tried to let go of Mister Black, the memories of us together torture me. They're an unforgettable reminder of a life I can't have for many reasons. Burying myself in work mostly keeps thoughts of him to a screaming minimum, until he's thrust into my life under circumstances beyond my control. Despite my need for his protection, this time I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to survive with my heart intact. He is Black: a fierce protector and irresistible charmer.

Mister Black swept in and out of my life like a tornado, leaving me twisted up and forever changed in his wake. And now that my life is finally back on track, I need to move on, despite the many reminders of our time together. But our pasts are only as far away as the shadows we hide behind, and sometimes those shadows grow darker, converging on the present in the most insidious way.

At 28, Luke Maxwell is the hottest eligible bachelor in America and the billionaire CEO of Maxwell Computers. When Brina Kingston is hired by Luke's competitor as a corporate spy, Brina successfully works her way into a position in Luke's office and his bed. But she soon finds herself risking the most important assignment of her career and, possibly, the greatest love of her life.

I'd say I'm down on my luck, but that's an understatement. I'm flat on my ass. Homeless, hungry, and in hiding with my little sister at the age of 21, I've never been so desperate. I've hit rock bottom when I get an offer I can't refuse. Sell my body to save my sister? There's nothing I won't do to keep her safe. I make the rules, and I'm not afraid to defend myself if this rich guy crosses the line. But once I see beneath his cold, calculating façade, the lines aren't so clear anymore.

Sometimes appearances deceive. Take me, for instance. I look like a respectable doctor with his shit together, but the rural Montana mental hospital I work at is actually a sanctuary from my demons. At just 35 years old, I've already failed on an epic scale. Treating patients at Hawthorne Hill is part of my atonement. I've found peace when a new patient turns me inside out. Allison Cole is a beautiful, haunted survivor who fell into silence after witnessing a murder. But even without words, I'm drawn to her.

Emma's with childhood crush Cole Marlowe, and Layla finally found Mr. Right in alpha cop Ben Montrose. But both couples face unexpected obstacles that will test their relationships. Layla and Emma find solace in each other as battle lines are drawn, and they rediscover the close friendship they lost over Cole. It's all on the line as the sisters struggle to find the answer to the most difficult question they've ever faced: Is the love they have now meant to last forever?

The Spaghetti is a floating palace of elegance and entertainment. There's only one problem: Miss LaPasta doesn't want Barnabas Brambles to come aboard, because she's heard he's the meanest man alive. Lucky for Barnabas Brambles, his boss is Sir Sidney, the nicest man alive.

In slightly fantastical settings, Gonzales illustrates very real guilt over small and large marital missteps, the intense desire for the reinvention of self, and the powerful urges we feel to defend and provide for the people we love. With wit and insight, these stories subvert our expectations and challenge us to look at our surroundings with fresh eyes. Brilliantly conceived, strikingly original, and told with the narrative instinct of a born storyteller, The Miniature Wife is an unforgettable debut.