Reggie Hawkins is used to living a lie. As the closeted lesbian daughter of a billionaire media mogul, the only luxury she can’t afford is being herself. She yearns to escape the toxic grasp of her family's global news empire, but her father’s latest demands once again threaten to plunge her deep into the corporate politics she despises.

Hannah Martin has an unusual job: she's a professional cuddler. While she has a big heart for her clients, she hasn't found someone special to snuggle up to in her personal life. Winter Sullivan isn't looking for love. She's an aloof workaholic who's built walls of ice around herself. She would rather drive toothpicks under her fingernails than cuddle, and she certainly doesn't want to share her space with anyone. When Winter's estranged father dies, he leaves her one last surprise: she and Hannah, a perfect stranger, will inherit a building together.

What if you fell for the most impossible woman: your best friend's girlfriend? Maxine "Max" Hallwell has spent her entire life making the safe, responsible decisions. It's not that she never had dreams, but while her childhood best friend, Joanna, risked everything to start her own delivery business, Max went to work at a call center. Now, their 40th birthdays are fast approaching, and Joanna is rich, high-powered, and happy. And Max is miserable.

Get in the holiday spirit as you read this collection of three romantic novellas featuring werewolves celebrating that most wonderful time of the year. Best-selling author Bridget Essex offers a trio of heartwarming tales of women transformed by love.

Sierra Chelsi is on the run from a sheriff and his deputies after murdering her abusive father. Stumbling through the woods of Northern Maine, the young werewolf falls into a shady grove and comes face-to-face with a dark monarch of Faerie. The Raven Queen Varella takes an unusual interest in the desperate shifter and offers her a seemingly simple bargain.

What if the woman you loved was the one person you could never be with? Elizabeth Grayson doesn't want a bodyguard. She's worked hard for her normal life, but her father, the founder of a booming seafood empire, is a prime target for his unethical competitors. When her father hires a bodyguard for Elizabeth, she's less than enthusiastic...that is, until she meets the mysterious Layne O'Connell. Sarcastic, charming, and secretive, Layne is hired to keep Elizabeth safe. But protecting her heart wasn't in the job description.

Meet Becca Swift! She's got the most overbearing family in the world - because she was raised by wolves. Literally. Becca is a werewolf, and she is part of a loud and crazy, up-in-your-business pack. In her day-to-day life, she tries to keep the fact that she's a werewolf a secret. But then along comes Loren. Loren has legs for days, the most gorgeous smile Becca's ever seen, and a sense of humor that's off the charts. Becca's smitten.

Erin McEvoy tries to be an optimist, but her life is in a downward spiral. Her job as a reporter at a small Boston news station and her love life are going nowhere, but the thing that worries her most is the fact that Erin has started seeing things. Specifically, a tall, winged shadow following her wherever she goes. Afraid that she might be losing her mind, Erin ignores the shadow - until she's nearly hit by a car. It's then that she realizes it's not simply a shadow but her guardian angel, a beautiful female angel named Gabrielle.

Sydney is haunted by her past. Raised by a strict, religious family, she was sent to gay conversion therapy as a teenager when she was caught kissing a girl. Now only 19, she's trying to start over with a new life and a new name, but you can't escape the past.... Caroline is the most stunning woman Sydney has ever seen. Every night, Sydney hears her singing from her apartment window, and every night, Sydney's heart aches with something indescribable.

Even a beast can be beautiful.... Bella has lived her whole life in the little town of Paris, Vermont. Her family's restaurant, the Rose Garden Diner, has been a point of pride...until they're forced to sell it. When mysterious Mel Grim makes her an offer she can't refuse, Bella goes to work for her. But it seems that everyone in Paris has their secrets, and Grim's secret might be the strangest one of all. Is their love strong enough to overcome the truth?

Guarding her heart was never part of the contract. Annie Bellfield is walking her dog early one morning when, from out of nowhere, a gorgeous stranger approaches her and starts to walk with her. The captivating woman's name is Nova, and Annie finds her intensely attractive. Until Nova pushes her into a black van with no windows.

Valeria "Lare" Máille is a gorgeous scientist working on cutting-edge genetics. She also just happens to be a vampire, and Courtney's new neighbor. Sparks fly from the very first moment Courtney and Lare meet, and their attraction is undeniable. But in a world where vampires have just "come out" of hiding, tensions between humans and vampires are running high. When Lare's co-workers begin to go missing, it looks like foul play may put Lare in danger, too.

Holly tells herself that the reason she hasn't asked her girlfriend to move in (after four years of dating) is that she's too busy - but it isn't true. A very book-obsessed librarian, Holly has buried herself in so many romantic and magical stories, that at night, she dreams of a woman who will sweep her off her feet - something her indifferent girlfriend has never done. But one night, during an unusually vicious storm, magic and romance appear in Holly's backyard in the form of a mysterious, gorgeous woman...wielding a sword.

Boston Homicide Detective Caitlin Reagan walks a razor's edge, propping up her life on emotional constructs designed to help her manage grueling PTSD. She keeps her mother, boyfriend, and work separated and controlled, all in service to one horrible, tragic act she committed amid the Iraq war.

When Deputy US Marshal Danielle "Danny" Martin was told she'd gotten a promotion, she expected to be leading her own fugitive retrieval team. Instead, she got transferred to Pontian, Florida, of all places, and assigned to a Superhero support detail for Focus, a seemingly immortal superhero who is also one of the most famous lesbian icons on the planet. Bad enough she's got to spend every day working with a woman she's had a crush on since she was five years old, but when she arrives at her new post, things start getting weird.

Mackenzie "Mac" Harris fled her hometown of Bluff Point, Maine after being left at the altar and seeking solace in the arms of her best friend's off-limits brother, Gavin. Seven years later, she's back to attend her best friend's wedding, and she figures she's safe now from the mistakes of her youth. But Gavin, the town's veterinarian, has never forgotten the woman who has always held his heart. And when Mac rescues a stray puppy named Tulip, only Gavin can help.

Hotshot sports editor Cole Sharpe has been freelancing for Oxford magazine for years, so when he hears about a staff position opening up, he figures that he's got the inside track. Then his boss drops a bombshell: Cole has competition. Female competition, in the form of a fresh-faced tomboy who can hang with the dudes and write circles around them, too. Penelope Pope knows all too well that she comes off as just one of the guys.

Former mean girl Dixie Davis is back in town, and it's payback time. Literally. Dixie is flat broke, and her best - make that only - friend, Landon, is throwing her a lifeline from the Great Beyond. Dixie stands to inherit his business...which is a phone sex empire. Wait, what? Plum Orchard, Georgia, is about to get even juicier.

Here come the (Barefoot Bay) brides! They’re experts at planning dreamy “I do’s” but haven’t found their own happily ever after...yet. Destination wedding consultant Willow Ambrose has fought a battle with the scale for much of her life, but she has finally won the war. She hasn’t just cut calories - she’s cut all ties to her past, too, and successfully carved out a new body and a new life. But when she comes face to face with someone who left an indelible mark on her heart years before, all that threatens to crumble.

Twelve years and too many pairs of stilettos later, Shaelyn Lawrence is back where she started: New Orleans. She's returned only to take care of her grandmother, and after that? She's out, hopefully long before she sees irresistible Brady Taylor, the boy who stomped all over her heart. But when a family member approaches her for help, there's only one person she can to turn to...and he's just as infuriatingly sexy as she remembers. Oh boy. New Orleans Detective Brady Taylor has his sights on the finish line: getting promoted to sergeant.

Reid Jackson - I’m a simple guy. There are only two things I love: my family and playing professional football. I may not understand why people get married, but I’d go anywhere for my brother, even his friend Camille’s wedding. Once I’m there, I realize our Bronx upbringing has left me unprepared for the world of old Southern money. Over 24 hours, I see scandal, threats, and lies. It’s a life I don’t relate to, a place I never want to belong. Even so, when the minister asks if anyone objects, I shock not only myself but also the beautiful bride when I stand up.

Forty-five, recently divorced and a certified hot mess. The last thing Fiona needs to start her vacation is a flooded hotel room and a broken-down car. Alas, that’s what she gets. She’s ready to pack it all in and go home - wherever that is - when her knight in a wet T-shirt strides in to save the day. Jaw-dropping, panty-melting Grant Greene takes the 'mess' out of 'certified hot mess' when he walks up to Fiona and offers her a room to stay. No strings attached. Great, right?

Enemies turn to lovers in this bad boy billionaire romance with a twist. I had a plan. Finish law school. Start a job. Stay away from men like Brandon Sterling. Cocky, overbearing, and richer than the Earth, he thinks the world belongs to him, and that includes me. Yeah, no. Think again. It doesn't matter that his blue eyes look straight into my soul, or that his touch melts my icy reserve. It doesn't even matter that past all that swagger, there's a beautiful, damaged man who has so much to offer beyond private planes and jewelry boxes. But I had a plan: no falling in love.

Jordan Carpenter thinks she's finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: firefighter Luke Elliott, a known player who's left not one but three brides at the altar. She ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It's not Manhattan, but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly...except for Luke, who's more intense - and way hotter - than the slick womanizer Jordan expected. Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York.

Olivia Bishop is no fun. That's what her ex-husband said. And that's what her smart bob and glasses imply. So with her trademark determination, Olivia sets out to remake her life. She's going to spend time with her girlfriends and not throw it all away for some man. But when an outing with her book club leads her to a brewery taproom, the dark-haired beauty realizes that trouble - in the form of sexy Jamie Donovan - may be too tempting to avoid.

When the Cavanaugh brothers return home for their father's funeral, they discover unexpected evidence of the old man's surprising double life - a son named Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. The eldest son, Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn't wait to leave the ranch and move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to stop Blue at any cost. He never expected the ranch's forewoman, Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way.

Brody O'Donnel doesn't believe in happily ever afters - at least, not for himself. But he wants the best for his vivacious, beautiful friend Gwen Danes, and he's tired of watching her pine for a clueless man. Figuring a little bit of jealousy will motivate the guy, Brody proposes a fake relationship. It's an outrageous plan, but Gwen figures there's no harm in it - until they share a passionate kiss she never saw coming. Suddenly, Gwen's fighting a growing attraction to a man she knows she can't have. After all, he's just faking it, isn't he?

Benjamin Chase is not my type. He's abrasive. He's arrogant. He doesn't take anything seriously. I'd die before I dated him, but he has something different in mind. He has to get married in the next nine months, or he loses his company to his ex-wife. And apparently I'm the most eligible bachelorette in town.

He was my older brother's best friend. He was never supposed to be mine. I thought we would get it out of our systems and move on. One of us did. One of us left. Now he's back, looking at me like he wants to devour me. And all those feelings I'd turned into anger are brewing into something else, something that terrifies me. He broke my heart last time. This time he'll obliterate it.

From Romance Writers of America comes a never-before-published collection of tales that showcases the breadth and complexity of the world's most popular genre of fiction!