Showing results for "The Start of Us Lauren Blakely" in All Categories

It started as one night. It turned into a friendship. Then Harley became my everything. She owns me, heart, mind and body. And for a few brief days, our future seems bright and certain. Until, the past wraps its arms around us in so many terrible ways. Someone I never expected to see again reappears in my life. Trying to keep us apart. I’ll do anything for her, but the question is - will anything even be enough?

I swear I’m changing. I’m trying so damn hard to step into the wild unknown of my future. At least Trey is on the other side waiting for me, and he’s the closest I’ve ever come to something real, something true, something like love instead of addiction. But when I learn what the man I love has been hiding from me, I fear our future will be riskier than I ever could have imagined. And I don’t know how the hell I’ll ever be ready for it.

Ten years ago, I let the love of my life slip through my fingers. It’s my greatest regret, especially since she’s all but disappeared. When she walks back into my world unexpectedly, I have one mission - win her back. Whatever it takes. But the gorgeous, brilliant, tough-as-iron Shannon has secrets of her own, and a family past she’s trying to escape. Slowly but surely, I break down her walls over our sinful nights together, with a connection more passionate than ever, an intimacy more fiery than it was before.

Let me just say -- none of this was supposed to happen. I didn't expect the letter to go viral. I didn't think anyone would figure out who Dear Sexy Ex was. And I especially never thought he would find out about it. Yeah, bit of a miscalculation there. But see, I need the money to fund my brand new venture. And Dear Sexy Ex, well, it turns out he needs me to save his business.

One night only - that was the deal we made. But one fantastic night had us both changing our minds in the morning. And making plans for another. Until I walked into the office to learn he just bought my company.

Just my luck - my new next door neighbor is a unicorn. Yep, the British hottie is clearly a mythical man because - get this - he's a sexy, witty, charming, big-hearted single dad. Who, wait for it, wants to find Mrs. Right and get hitched. He’s a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of man, and it’s a darn shame I’m not on the market. If I were, his accent alone would melt me. Add in the fact that he's a veterinarian, and my animal-loving heart would be flip flopping.

Let me list the reasons why dating the sexy, charming pro hockey star is a bad idea: He’s one of my closest friends All our friends are friends. The wounds I’ve got from past relationships go deep. And so do his. We’re both devoutly single -- it’s just safer for the heart that way. But there’s no reason not to bid on the gorgeous, clever athlete at the charity auction this weekend. If I win, it’ll be a "friendsdate."

That smoking hot one-night stand with a former rock star? Turns out, he's my son's new teacher. Oops. But I didn't know that the night I met Campbell. All I knew was he played my body the same way he played a guitar - like he owned it. My libido is still high-fiving me after being self-served for too many years, and we're both ready for another night or two of fun, especially since we don't just have chemistry in bed - we connect over everything. That is, until I learn he's the man who'll be coming to my house twice a week to teach my son the best music lessons money can buy.

It's so easy being best friends with a gorgeous, talented, charming guy. Said no woman ever. Except me. My friendship with Miller is a sure thing - he’s my plus one, my emergency contact, and my shoulder to lean on. He’s also been by my side helping me raise one helluva awesome kid who’s the center of my world. Nothing will change our easy breezy friendship. Until I have the bright idea to convince him to start a new band with me. Trouble is, our sizzling chemistry in the recording studio is getting harder to ignore, no matter how risky it might be.

Kristen Leonard is done with setups. She’s not interested in your son or your nephew or your butcher or the guy who mows your lawn, thank you very much, grandma! After all, she’s a modern woman - she’ll take her chances on the algorithms of online dating to find her ideal man. Before long, she meets a man who might just be the one - he’s hilarious, quick-witted, and full of heart. And when she meets up with Cameron in real life, he certainly looks exactly like his profile picture...but something’s not quite right.

What’s a man to do when the one who got away comes roaring back into his life, and asks for a little help in the bedroom? Say Hell, yeah. Of course. But if she happens to be my business partner’s daughter? And she’ll be working in our practice, where we’ll be rubbing elbows every day? Also, have I mentioned she's as dynamic, brilliant, and captivatingly sexy as ever?

I used to pray that I'd find the strength to move on from him, from the pain that the end carried, from the emptiness in my chest, but ultimately move on from the loss of Creed Sullivan and the death of his sister, Cora. The Sullivans had been the best part of my summers in New England. Deep down, I always knew my ache for all that I had lost was the reason I returned...but I hadn't expected to see him again - especially not like this.

When Lance Spector quit the CIA, he swore he was out for good. One more government lie and he would go off the deep end. They could find someone else to do their dirty work. As far as he was concerned, Washington, Langley, the Pentagon could all go to hell.

Snagging a date? Not a problem. But one that meets my special requirements? As the premier best-man-for hire in all of Manhattan, I promise discretion, so when I need a plus one for a couple of I dos, she needs to be A-Plus in reliability. Fortunately, I have a brilliant solution in asking my best friend's sister to go on my arm. Truly is my good friend, too, and I trust her completely.

Never Have I Ever been so infuriated by a man I wanted to kiss. They say opposites attract, but I beg to differ. Combust is more like it. Because every single time I talk to Zach Nolan, I see red. The too-good-looking, too-smart, too-effortlessly-charming single dad who works down the hall from me has turned getting under my skin into a sport. Call it the battle of wits between the wedding planner and the divorce attorney. Trouble is, when we’re forced into closer quarters, planning an engagement party for our best friends, I start to see his other sides....

It’s the annual hunt for Sloane and her vigilante family of serial killers. Track the most cold-blooded psychos imaginable and take them down. This summer’s prey is Allan Munster, a churchgoing chicken farmer who slaughters more than fowl. The rules of the game: Divide into teams, devise a strategy, and make a move—the more cutthroat the better. May the best team win. The players are closing in. All eyes are on Munster. But there’s a hitch in the family sport this year. Someone might be watching them.

Ruby Darling's life is falling apart. Her engagement is over, her career as a travel influencer is in shambles, and she's convinced the universe is out to get her. Desperate to turn things around, Ruby embarks on a life-changing journey to New Zealand to find her long-lost father, dragging along her estranged best friend, Nate. As they navigate the stunning landscapes, Ruby and Nate's friendship rekindles into something more.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

Welcome to the Lilydale Foundation Center... home of second chances. At least, that's what they tell us it is. It's basically a glorified prison and asylum for the deranged with good alibis. When the police pulled me out of my burning home, along with what was left of my Father, I was deemed broken — even if I was the reason the fire started. So, here I am at my new home. They think they can save us with their fancy facility. But what insane person decided it was a good idea to put a bunch of young, unhinged people together?

As a third-year PhD candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships—but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

Abby never thought she'd see Dax Harper again — let alone bump into him in a Manhattan coffee shop. Dax was her law school fling. The one that got away. The almost-relationship she never could forget. Now he's older. Hotter. And in town for just one night. Dax wants dinner. Abby wants one night of rekindled heat. It won't change anything. He's in L.A. She's in New York. No strings. No regrets. Until Abby's firm is called to L.A. in a deal that will make, or break, her career. She's ready for anything — except finding Dax on the other side of the boardroom table.

Holland Beck – yes, after the country, and no, the story isn’t a good one – hates flying. On the brink of boarding a flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles, she panics. She can’t do it. Travelling triggers all the trauma of her past, the childhood memories she’s done her very best to forget. But thanks to cool, calm and collected Xander, Holland somehow manages to board the plane. Twelve hours and six thousand miles later, they touch down in LA and aren’t quite able to say goodbye. They make arrangements to meet at the end of Santa Monica Pier in three days time.

Beckett: If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have. I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart.

I thought my invitation was a birthday present from my best friend. The dress, the limousine, the red carpet...I thought they were meant for me. That was mistake number one. Then my date arrives, all gleaming cufflinks and tousled hair, steely blue eyes, and a body honed to masculine precision. Arrogant. Charming. Panty-melting. And melt, they do. Hanky-panky with a rich hottie in the back room of the event I'm crashing? Don't mind if I do.

They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart. Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Mona and Duncan used to be best friends. Now they can’t stand each other. Too bad that’s not a good enough excuse to miss their two families’ annual trip to the cabin. But things get really complicated when they accidentally drive through a wormhole together on the way. Look what playing nice and carpooling gets you. Now they’re stranded indoors by an epic storm and stuck in an alternate timeline where things are just slightly ... off.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much.

The very moment that Raina Wingate learns her husband of sixteen years wants to separate, she gets a call that her father has suffered a stroke. Racing to her family’s home on Amelia Island, Florida, Raina hopes the time apart will heal her cracked marriage and that she can step into her father’s real estate business and keep it running. Her sister, Tori, a divorcee who owns a catering business in Boston, also flies in to join the others at the hospital. But an unexpected run-in with their father’s rather attractive neurologist adds a new dimension to the days and weeks ahead.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story.

It’s a game of survival but the odds are against us. They promised that they would save us, but it turns out they are the real villains—elitist savages, protected by wealth and fueled by greed. We’re only valued when we’re broken. But there’s one thing they are forgetting… To them, we might be the monsters… but they created us. And we’re not going down without a fight.

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel - The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her twin. Too bad for Naomi, her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with a niece she didn’t know she had. Now, she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no home - and an 11-year-old to take care of. Since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least Knox can do is help her out. And just as soon as she's out of trouble, he can get back to his peaceful, solitary life. That’s the plan, until the trouble turns to real danger.

Am I friends with JP Cane? Ha! That's laughable. Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can't be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we're not friends. He's annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons...multiple times a day. So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we're sharing the same air, 24-7. We're talking full-fledged working roommates.

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.