All Zarinah wanted was to fall in love. Growing up, she had kissed her fair share of frogs. When an unconventional situation leads her to Lawson, her wishes might become reality. Lawson is the new CEO of his family's hotel casino chain. He's tired of aimless dating and women just wanting his money. When he meets Zarinah, he instantly feels like she's the one.

I always knew marriage for me would never be to a man of my choosing. As a young girl, I was all too aware of the power I wielded in a world where men were supposed to be the superior gender. To the underworld, I was just a mafia princess. To my family, I was an equal. To my soon-to-be husband? Well, that was yet to be determined. But I prayed Enzo Bianchi was ready for me because I was damn sure prepared for him.

The job offer she expected after taking an unpaid internship at a major shoe company didn’t come through. The friend who’d offered her a place to stay suddenly gave her 48 hours to vacate after a misunderstanding. And when she’s forced to move back to her hometown to live with her father and his mistress-turned-wife, it almost seems impossible for things to get any worse...until she runs into her former best friend, who’s only gotten fine with time.

She yearned for him. Nyla Mullaney couldn't shake her want for a man she knew could never be hers. He desired her. Asan Chamberlain sought peace and found it in a woman who he should've been avoiding at all costs. They formed a bond that had them treading in forbidden waters with no desire to escape. Nyla and Asan were never meant to be, history said so, but fate had other plans.

Advice columnist Amelia Reinhardt had been told her entire life that she was destined for greatness. After gracing the cover of a popular magazine that highlights Black professionals, Amelia knew she’d finally made it. Now that her career was taking off, she no longer had an excuse to ignore the storm brewing between her and the man she’s known her entire life.

Magnolia Baker could be considered the matriarch of her four younger sisters. They’ve endured tragedy and heartbreak together, with Magnolia protecting them no matter the cost. Her heart was made of solid gold and under lock and key. Shielding the part of her that had been broken by the one man who should have guarded it with his life is a top priority for Magnolia. No one has ever been able to penetrate the barrier until a smooth-talking, college English professor by the name of Lennox Clarke steps in to take a shot.

All Jerzey wanted was a family of her own. After things don't work out with her ex-husband, she takes matters into her own hands. Being a foster mom isn't easy, but having her best friend by her side to help makes it a little easier. That is, until the two blur lines and suddenly a friendship isn't enough.

Skylar Addison is one of the best sports attorneys in the city, so when the firm she worked for “reallocated” her out of a job, she felt as if the rug had been snatched from up under her. Finding out that her ex had her terminated after she decided that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship, only made matters worse. After a pity party at a local bar and grill, Skylar found herself falling for the type of man she swore she would never think twice about.

At twenty-one, Ason ‘Ace’ Williams Jr. knows all about inevitable endings. He’s formerly famous, a popular rapper’s muse, the son of a three-time NBA champ, and a little… complicated. After a disturbing scandal and loss rocks his world, he’s left to deal with both in a city that doesn’t quite feel like home. It’s a place filled with old family friends he’s never met, reminders of all the endings he’s had to endure, and even worse—he’s stuck there after his dad takes a job no one ever imagined him taking.

She’s an angel. And she doesn’t mind dancing with a demon. That’s why I’d move mountains, dry seas, and hydrate the desert if it made her happy. She brought goodness to the world. It was only right that I made it hers, along with the two tiny beauties that shared her hazel eyes and perfect smile. For them, I’d do whatever. For them, I’d become whoever.

Ashira, a belle from the suburbs, is the wealthy acting CEO of her father’s booming building firm. That's when she’s not the dancer on the Gram and TikTok, dating the latest Black Hollywood shooting star. To her, Jas, a construction laborer, is a walking conundrum. He’s fruitlessly ambitious yet steadfast in his spiritual convictions. He’s enigmatic, well-read, regimented, and poor. Oh, and a felon. An incredibly disarming parolee who wants no connection to her. Until he does.

Cassaundra Moore, event planner extraordinaire, never believed in fairy tales, only in creating them for her clients. Why would she believe something so magical would happen to her after being scammed by her ex causing her loss of business and social standing?

When souls are tied, it's never goodbye. A boy I was that summer evening I met you, pulling your belongings out of the truck and into your new home. I knew it was love then. A whole man I was the day that you met me at the altar and agreed to love me until death do us part. A shell of a man I've become since it did, unable to move on, move forward, or progress in any way until I discovered that not even death was permanent enough to keep us apart. A better man I'm destined to be, knowing that, at some capacity, you're still with me. Our love is one that never dies.

For Maleek Jones, hockey is his wife. Everything and everyone else is his mistress, an aside. When unexpected responsibilities land in his lap, the balance of his world is disrupted, changing the way he sees everything.

Zahi was young and living life to the fullest. Then, he was thrust into fatherhood and forced to change his outlook on life, love, and happiness. The self-proclaimed bachelor did not expect to be swept up in emotions he'd never felt. However, caring for his daughter, Zuri, charged a part of his heart that he thought was dead. The spark awakened a need for more out of life. From the moment he laid eyes on India, he was drawn to her. The pull was so intense, and no matter how many times he told himself to stay away from her, he just couldn't follow his own command.

August Hanson was the silent type, the kind who spoke through his actions and not his words. He possessed enough power to make me feel safe and secure. I was ready to open up and share the parts of myself I’d never shared with another, and then I got hit with a truth that changed everything. There was a slight chance he’d still want me, only he had to accept our baby, too.

I wasn't supposed to take on any new clients. All my current couples were already a handful. A marriage therapist with a failing marriage. If only they knew. That is until Kami Lynn walked into my office without her husband. I only treated couples. I was supposed to help save her marriage, instead I was the main reason for its destruction. I did everything the way I was supposed to. I graduated college. Went straight into my career. Got married and had a few crotch goblins and even accepted an outside baby for that man.

What started as a night out, letting her hair down, turned into a night Gianna would never forget. The moment she saved his life, she felt a connection with him. But when bad news hits her family, she might push away her future before it begins. Take a ride with the baby of the Parker sisters and see how one night changed her whole life.

When it comes to Jabari Hicks, competition is non-existent. With a keen focus on securing a championship ring, Jabari’s only competition is himself. On the court, he is deadly. Off the court, he’s a protector. And as a Lord, he’s fierce and loyal. Kinnidi Trent has a light that illuminates the dark spaces of her mind, but she can’t completely shine until she lands in a place of peace. When she escapes the restraints that stifle her creativity and happiness, Kinnidi finds herself in the right place at the right time.

Imagine this… You've planned everything perfectly for your sixth anniversary, hoping to make it a special day. But then your beloved stands you up, leaving you heartbroken and alone at home. Later, your best friend calls with some shocking news—she saw your boyfriend with another woman in his car while she was stopped at a traffic light. In a fit of anger, you grab your trusty bat and arrive at the scene to take out your anger on his car—only to realize later that it wasn't your boyfriend's vehicle after all. The owner happens to be a gorgeous gangsta, and he is pissed.

Airyon has always lived according to her parents' strict expectations, relentlessly pursuing academic success. But one fateful night shatters her carefully constructed world, when a passionate encounter with Zayne, a brilliant tech wiz, ignites an undeniable spark between them. Awakening alone the next morning, Zayne is left yearning for more, even as Airyon disappears from his life. But destiny intervenes, reuniting them when Airyon starts working under Zayne. They soon discover their night of passion bore unexpected fruit—Airyon is pregnant.

Sevyn Stephens spent her entire childhood on the outside looking in, watching her father and his family bask in wealth and privilege while she and her mother struggled to make ends meet. But when tragedy strikes, Sevyn is thrust into the opulent world of her father, forced to move into his mansion with her younger sister Ciara and her cold, calculating stepmother. In order to survive, Sevyn tries her best to remember and utilize every piece of advice her mom instilled in her, but will it be enough?

Life should be sweet for him and his wife, Malayah. However, the universe is throwing Lynx's world on its axis and stirring up trouble. Issues that were supposed to be buried resurfaced and could potentially threaten his happy home. Lynx also has to deal with the law trying to creep into his life. He rules his empire with an iron fist, and if he can be connected to any crimes within his organization, Lynx could be put under the jail and never again see the light of day.

Tripp believes it’s fate when his station house is called to a fire at the daycare Brylee works at. It's hard to manage being a full-time father to a newborn with the hours his job demands, so when he sees an opportunity to hire Brylee as an in-house nanny, he doesn’t hesitate.

Can a good girl find love in a thug? For Lei Fifer, that’s the hundred-thousand-dollar question. When Lei, an introverted homebody, invites her girls over for a spa day, she isn’t expecting their conversation to shift to men in prison. As an advocate for rehabilitated people receiving the love, companionship, and support those who haven’t committed crimes receive, Lei doesn’t hesitate to put her money where her mouth is and bet that she can find a good friend or great love with someone through the pen pal program her father created.

After seeing the man she’s been dating post an engagement announcement, Jahnae Greer is devastated. With the advice from her friends, she goes out and has a drunken one-night stand with a handsome stranger. Months later when she finds out her ex-boyfriend isn’t the father of her child, she has no idea how to get in touch with the man from her one-night stand. She vows to raise her daughter alone until two years later when she sees him on a news report that he’s been arrested.

Megatron Loric Manfield is the definition of perfect imperfection. He is not scared to love—he just knows that when it comes along, he wants it to be God-sent. When the right woman comes along, he will fall in line to receive his favor. Ruth Lindsay Gordon is saved, sheltered, and suffocated. Being a preacher’s kid is never easy and even harder when the preacher sometimes references himself more than the God he claims to serve. Desperately, she wants to be released from the hold that is her father, so she prays for God to send her Boaz. They say to be careful what you pray for.

If the plan doesn’t work change the plan not the goal. Those words become the anthem to Soraya Gault’s life in ways she never could have imagined. Soraya sacrifices a lot to secure her future and take care of her family but it never feels like enough. Zamaseon Hendricks works hard and lives by his own rules. There is only one woman in his life who he is willing to risk it all for. Even if risking it all means completely altering his life’s plan, what is required of him is as good as done.

In this collection are updated stories from some of your favorite Valentines.

For Nala Stanton, love has not always been kind. She fell in love with a façade, and now she's desperate to free herself before it's too late. When opportunity arises, she takes it, even though being found would surely bring her a death sentence. Armed with a new identity and half a million dollars in stolen drug money, she disappears to start a new life for herself. For six years, she's had the freedom she craved, but that is all about to change when he is on her trail.