Showing results by author "Smartypants Romance" in All Categories

First rule when returning to your hometown after storming out of sight: Don't fall for the guy who broke your heart. Julia Browne should know better than to kiss where she bakes. She's built a bread empire in California and only plans to stay in Green Valley long enough to sell the family house.

Thus far, Cassandra’s abysmal luck has kept her from reaching her goals. With no husband and no household, she’s beginning to wonder if she has a future at all. A surprising encounter with a cunning thief brings more to light than Cassandra is prepared to handle. But the lady has never backed down from a challenge, and it seems this mystery man might have finally met his match. When circumstances, once again, threaten Lady Cassandra’s dreams, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her careful plans for the thief who has stolen her heart.

Before Hannah was a 9-5 working, dinner making, homebody, she was Ashton James: a paparazzi-stalked pop star with more enemies than friends. These days she has one priority: keeping her sister safe and away from the public eye. Hannah was doing a great job, until the pesky little brother of an ex-fling discovers where she is, and wants her help launching his career. Now she has to trust Johnny - whom she betrayed in more ways than one - to protect her whereabouts.

Rosalind Palmer was blessed with the perfect stage name. Or so she's been told. There are just a few problems with it: 1) Her family doesn't know she's a stripper. 2) She'd like to keep it that way. 3) She got over the nickname somewhere around seventh grade. Unfortunately - because she likes her job and she really likes her independence - her unexpected pregnancy means Rosalind's days on a pole are numbered. Even so, she's determined to make this co-parenting thing work.

"What could go wrong?"—four words MBA student Marcos Oliveira ignored when he accepted a prestigious internship at Reedweather Media, a subsidiary of the legendary Sandeke Telecom empire. What did go wrong? Everything.

Suzie Samuels is the only thing standing between Clifford and his life’s work. All he has to do is change everything about her. Perception creates reality and Clifford Rutledge needs the irascible stripper to prove it. Suzie Samuels is set to prove once and for all she’s more than Short Fuse Suze, stripper for the Black Demons and renowned motorcycle arsonist. If all it takes is hard work, then Suzie knows how to work it hard. But Suzie’s scandalous spirit tests Clifford's resolve. And Clifford’s buttoned-up bullying is driving Suzie bonkers.

Vali Erickson is the classic middle child - misunderstood, underestimated, and overlooked. He’s fine with it. Really. The overlooked part is actually serving him well during this phase of life. Margaret O’Neal is an only child who has led a sheltered life. She’s used to being a wallflower. Her ability to blend into the background is what allows her to maintain her anonymity as a gossip columnist for the Green Valley Ledger.

Mia knows stress. She’s dealt with it her whole life. So when she gets an opportunity to run a psychology study to help her get into grad school, it should be no problem dealing with the prickly guy she suddenly finds herself paired with. The one she had a secret crush on last year. The one who refuses to let anyone close. The one she’s discovering by the day may have a softer side than he lets anyone else see...

As far as Green Valley is concerned, Kim Dae disappeared into the Wraiths, a decade ago. They were sort of right. Kim has spent her life since Jethro, fighting her curious nature and trying to blend into the background. Unfortunately for her, a mysterious maestro comes to town and takes quick notice of her for reasons unknown to anybody.

Nate Hanover’s future was set. The perfect girlfriend, the perfect career.... He’s the perfect man with the perfect life—until he lost it all this summer. Now he’s not sure about anything, except that no one can know the truth lurking behind his “perfect” façade. Especially not at this week’s high-stakes corporate circus known as Tele-Con.

Nash Ellis knows music. Producing, performing, writing—if it involves the creative process he’s there for it. He knows nothing about copy machines. Or financial reports. Or anything related to the stuck-up business world his best friends have been chasing since they were kids. But Nash also needs money, so when his roommate gets him a paid internship at Reedweather Media, he reluctantly agrees

I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense. No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.

Pippa Fleming is a woman who always has a plan…until she finally secures a coveted promotion and her dream job suddenly feels worse than getting caught under the sun as a redhead with no sunscreen. Exhausted and confused, Pippa seeks an escape by signing up for a reality dating show. Everyone is allowed one identity crisis, right? And where better to recharge than on a beach sipping cocktails with little umbrellas? As long as she remembers she’s only here to have fun not to lose her heart…

I’ve spent the last few years watching my dreams of a writing career and true love fade away, settling for a dead-end job and denying my feelings for my best friend—until I find a list of dating advice for single women to “find a husband” in the 1950s. I decide to experiment: Try out the 1950s advice on my 21st-century dating pool and write about the results. If love is timeless, some of the dating advice still holds value. Maybe my experiment will launch my writing career. Maybe I’ll get over my best friend and meet someone new.

Leigh D’Alessandro is a fighter. She fought to escape her dysfunctional family, to end a soul-killing marriage, and to build a new life in a small Tennessee town. When the fate of the community hospital she works for is threatened, she’s ready for battle. What she can’t fight any longer is her unshakable attraction to her best friend’s brother. Walker Leffersbee is a lover. Scion of a prosperous Tennessee banking family, he’s a known ladies’ man and a confirmed bachelor. The last thing he needs is to give in to his long-standing craving for his sister’s best friend.

Mousy bookworm. Psychology nerd. The kind of girl who constantly sticks her foot in her mouth. The last thing I am is the type to attract the intimidating, motorcycle-riding guy in the apartment next door. Especially when that mouth of mine gets me in trouble and he overhears me talk smack about him.

Chloe and Brandon have nothing in common. She’s a spontaneous, people-loving fiber artist; he’s an uptight, introverted law student. The only thing they agree on during their blind date is that they hope to never see each other again. Except they do have something in common—Brandon’s mother Dawn, who happens to be Chloe’s boss and dear friend. And that's how they end up stuck with each other for a six-hour road trip to Dawn’s destination wedding. But as they get to know each other better, their mutual irritation morphs into an inescapable connection.

Love can be complicated...when life gets in the way. Thomas is caught off guard when his lifelong love tells him their relationship isn't working anymore. His effort to make things right leads Thomas on a journey of self-discovery. Is it enough to save his marriage, or is it too late?

I am Toby Azumah’s opposite in every way. I’m a pessimist; he’s an optimist. I’m into art; he’s into sports. Still, I’m highly entertained by our flirtationship. When he finally talks me into a date, everything goes wrong. Chaos descends on my orderly life when my mother falls and needs nearly round-the-clock care. Add in my nosy neighbor, and my peace of mind has been turned inside out. When Toby, Mr. Best-Case Scenario himself, offers to help, I’m skeptical. A relationship with him would only make things more chaotic, right?

Noah Malone is back in his hometown for a short break from his stunt work, but his mother’s set on convincing him to settle down in Green Valley so he can give her grandbabies like the good Lord intended. Not only is she pushing him to help out at the Donner Bakery decorating cookies, but her matchmaking is relentless.