I didn’t know bridesmaid was code for babysitter for the bride’s brother, but if that’s what my best friend needs of me for her dream wedding to go off without a hitch, that’s what I’ll do. Even if Theo Monroe has been a pain in my rear since third grade. Even if he should be responsible enough to not wreak havoc at his sister’s destination wedding.

I pretended to be the girlfriend of one of the richest men in New York City. It was only meant to be the one time. I mean it was the week before Christmas, I was shopping with my best friend and we were hungry and wanted to dine at the new swanky restaurant on the upper west side. For some reason the hostess misheard me when I mentioned Max Parker’s name. I’d been complaining that he was the reason why I’d lost my job. Who was I to correct her when it meant that “my relationship” had caused a table to suddenly open up?

I just wanted to have some fun.... It all started when I moved into my new apartment in Brooklyn and met my neighbor, Olivia. We became fast friends and so when she had to go out of town on an emergency work trip, I agreed to give her brother her keys so he could look after her dog. And then I met him. Her brother was Carter Stevens and he was sex on legs. He was a banker by day and a musician by night; arrogant, handsome, with the most tantalizing smile I’d ever seen. When he invited me to his show, I couldn’t say no.

I would like to request more information about the assistant job I saw advertised in Sunday’s newspaper with the six-figure starting salary. I have a bachelors degree in English and many years of work experience and think I would be a good fit for the job. My questions are as follows: 1. What is the exact nature of the job? 2. Is it a strict requirement that I live with the boss? If so, can I have friends and others over? 3. The ad states there is a uniform. May I ask what sort of uniform? And why?

To the rude guy in apartment five, I’m glad you’re happy to have moved into a new apartment, but no: I do not want to have a beer with you. I do not want to have a nude sleepover. I do not want to make you breakfast, lunch or dinner, no matter how many lap dances you promise to give me. I do not need you to serenade me through the walls at 1am. And no, I have no interest in letting you take me on a date. Sincerely, Magnolia Allen

It had been one year, two months and seventeen days since my last date. So my best friend Abby decided to sign me up for a dating app. She guaranteed that she could get me the best date of my life within one week. I didn’t really want to do it, but I figured what did I have to lose? Turns out that I had.

New York Times best-selling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward bring you three sexy short stories to heat up your holidays: "Get Sleighed", "Lights Out Love", and "Hot Item".

Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.

The only thing I hate more than Christmas is Tucker James—the guy who wrote a song about me after I turned him down in high school. He became famous. I became infamous. With Tucker back in town to play at the annual winter festival, this Christmas is shaping up to be one of the worst. Everyone in Halften loves the country music star who put our town on the map.

Years ago, Annabelle Montgomery married not for love, but for a promise of hope. When she lost him weeks later, she told herself she never needed those sentiments again. Only when she discovers years later that her new neighbor is her late husband’s brother, Annabelle finds she can’t quite shake the emotions she’s long since buried.

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.

With the name Holliday, you’d think I’d be all about the Christmas season. Most years, I am, but this one not so much. Between my ex being a real Scrooge-in-the-backside, re-entering the workforce, wrangling my two children, and evading my eight-year-old’s questions about Santa’s existence, I’m struggling to believe in the magic myself.

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

Five hockey players, a cabin in the woods...and little old me, Winnie Berlin. Sounds like the start of a fantasy, right? But it's not. It's my reality. It all started when I got lost in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. A wicked thunderstorm sent my car mud sliding into a ditch, and for a girl whose survival skills involve finding the nearest Starbucks, I was in deep trouble. Forced to abandon my car in search of help, I stumbled upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

When my brother’s best friend asks me to fake marry him to secure a business deal he desperately needs, I laugh in his face. Me, help Carter Harrington? That’s split-your-pants, rip-roaring hilarious. I don’t even like him.

Silas and I agree on one thing, and one thing only: my ruthless, heartless, narcissistic jerk of an ex-fiancé needs to be taken down a notch. So we do what anyone would do: we pretend to be a couple.

Trust me when I say you do not want to make the same mistake I did. His name is Colton. Colton Hart. He's my brother's best friend. My nemesis. The man who fired me after working for him for one hour. Now he's my latest mistake.

It all starts with a bucket list and a romance novel…. I’ve known Ryder McAdams my entire life. We’re neighbors and our families are besties. He’s also friends and teammates with my younger brother, Maverick. But Ryder and me? We’ve never been close. In fact, I’ve always gotten the distinct impression he doesn’t like me very much. He goes out of his way to ignore me. Know what makes it worse?

Jared Connor lost his innocence at the age of 10 when his father poured gasoline around the family home and left his two young sons to die in the flames. Now an adult, he's carefully crafted a pretend life where he can hide his scars and his death row father behind the disguise of a caretaker's pickup truck and a pair of gardening shears. But when a beautiful woman with scars of her own barges into his quiet, solitary life, Jared finds it increasingly difficult to hide from what he really wants.

It's a bad idea to fake marry your grumpy minotaur boss on reality TV, right? But when ratings are down and he catches me snooping on his computer, I open my big mouth and... well... I might have come up with an idea to rescue the network, but I didn't take into account what it would feel like to be his. Even if it's not real. Now, we're stuck together on a romantic island on my dream honeymoon, with only one bed!

My crush has come home just in time for Christmas, but wanting him could mean breaking my big brother’s heart. Asher Mitchell is still the Scrooge I remember from when I was a kid. I decide to get my own back for all the teasing, but my pranks lead us to forbidden places. When we kiss, I know it’s wrong. When he calls me Snowflake and his icy exterior begins to melt, I want more. Our secret could ruin everything. It should be a relief when our company gives us anonymous cellphones for the Secret Santa scheme, a break from my brother’s best friend’s obsessive attention. As we text, ...

Elowen is cursed: she kills with a brush of her fingertips. Her worst fear is hurting the boy she cares for—and her second-worst is the attention of the Raven Lord. Maelor is the lethally beautiful leader of the witch-hunters. And now, he seems like he knows her secrets. When he arrests her, her only hope is to survive a series of brutal trials. Ninety-nine out of a hundred will die, and magic is strictly forbidden. Strangely, Maelor is immune to Elowen’s touch. The Raven Lord claims to want to help her. But as she spends more time with him, she discovers he has a dark secret of his own.

Needing a change, Rayne Meyers, aka Calamity Rayne, sets out to be a personal assistant for one of the wealthiest families in the world. What could possibly go wrong? Inexperienced with sophisticated settings, she does her best not to screw things up too severely, except there's one complication she didn't foresee: her boss' devastatingly charming son, Hale Davenport. Hale is everything Rayne is not. He's experienced, mature, and methodical about every part of his life. But when he meets his father's new assistant, he is captivated.

As the PT for the Bringham Bobcats, he knows they're loud, cocky, and more trouble than they're worth. Not to mention painful reminders of the career ripped from his grasp a decade ago—a past he's desperate to leave behind. All he needs to do is finish his business course and open his own practice to be free of hockey forever. It's all going according to plan, until a dirty-mouthed young hotshot who won't take no for an answer waltzes into his office, and Jamie's forced to reconsider whether he's ready to give up on the game.

I never thought I’d see her again—the woman I left behind at the motel after our one-night stand. Picture my surprise when she strolls into the office as my new assistant. But wait, there’s more. I come home to find her with suitcases, nowhere to stay. I could decline to have her move in, yet I see a chance. My nosy aunt’s visiting, expecting to meet my non-existent spouse. My assistant’s onboard with the madness of playing my newlywed wife.

City girl in Montana looking for her Romeo. Sounds like the start to a Hallmark movie right? Well, it would, if they had movies about idiot women flying across the country to marry a man they’d never met. That’s what I did. I responded to an ad in a newspaper that I found on the train. And now I’m trying to find Horseshoe Ranch so that I can marry some cowboy I’ve never even seen. And no, this isn’t the 1800s. I’m just desperate. To make matters worse, the cowboy doesn’t even know I’m coming. I figured life couldn’t get any worse in Montana. I was wrong.

No one knows Freya is actually the daughter of the Cross-Cut Killer, America's most notorious serial killer. Living under a false identity as a detective is isolating but at least Freya's safe. That is until she falls onto the radar of Special Agent River Park and his team. River, Oz, Elijah, and Jude have been chasing the Cross-Cut Killer for years. They're the best the FBI has to offer, not to mention unfairly attractive. They know exactly who the killer is but he's always one step ahead of them. Freya is about to change that.

Edgewood Elite rule this town, but that doesn’t mean they can rule me. After my dad goes missing, my family falls apart. News of an inheritance from a long-lost relative gives us the restart we need. At least, that’s what I think until we get there. Edgewood Academy is ruled by the town’s four heirs. Wes, broody and stuck up, wants me run out of town. He never misses an opportunity to tell me he thinks I’m trash and don’t belong. Wyatt, the jokester who wants to possess me, doesn’t take no for an answer. From day one, he told me I would be theirs.

Book lover Addison Thornrose can match you with your next perfect read. Unfortunately, she can't match herself with a good man. Her latest just dumped her. Worse, she's learned that unless she marries, and quickly, her family will lose their witch magic—forever. Feylin, king of the fae, has no interest in romance. In fact, the only thing he's interested in is getting revenge on the Thornrose family for ruining his life. So when he learns that they're holding a Bridgerton-style ball to marry off their oldest daughter, Addison, he sees an opportunity for vengeance.

All my life I knew I'd come of age during the Hundred Year Reaping. According to the ridiculous treaty, two human girls are sent to the faelands as brides for the fearsome fae king and his devilish younger brother. Not me. I was supposed to be safe. Two girls were chosen from my village already. But when they are executed for offending the king, my sister and I are sent in their place.