Showing results by author "L.B. Dunbar" in All Categories

Meeting Bolan Adler, professional baseball catcher and single dad, is a complicated story. One involving a one-time kiss when I was young and silly. And a two-time tryst as some kind of midlife breakdown moment. Anyway, in the game of baseball, three strikes mean: you're out. I thought my third one might happen when Bolan Adler is the newest client of the sports management agency I work for. The same business that just promoted me to agent status when I hadn't asked for the position.

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.

Meeting Ross Davis, professional baseball coach and my sports crush, is a funny story involving a stalled elevator, the potty dance, and an attempt to get into his hotel suite. In my defense, that last one was an accident. He came to my room instead with a bottle of scotch and a sad soul. My one night was not a stand, but more like a lie-in. As in, we snuggled and talked and not another thing happened. So, nothing surprises me more than seeing him again when he becomes the manager of the Chicago Anchors, my hometown pro-team, and our paths intersect once more.

Love was a losing battle for this country music darling and a single dad, baseball star until one night brings them together and one small town sets the playing field for a possible winning streak. They call me Lady Boss. Maneater. Queen. But beneath the makeup, blond wig, and glitzy costumes, I’m just a country girl who likes to sing. I don’t hate men, I’m just struggling to find a good one. I’ve learned my lesson. Fool me once, and it will never, ever happen again. So I’m baffled when I meet Ford Sylver.

That’s my name, my birthright, and my curse. I didn’t always hate being a Harrington. At one time, I took it as a privilege. I used it to my advantage. But a name doesn’t stop you from losing everything, and after six haunting years, that everything is back forcing me to face the past or give up a future.

Breast cancer survivor Edie Williams is ready to live. Divorced. Mother of two. She's planned the vacation of a lifetime for a reboot, only to encounter an awakening adventure - Tommy Carrigan.

These former friends might be faking their engagement, but revealed crushes prove there might not be anything fictional about their arrangement.

Naomi Winters will be 40 soonish, and she’s only been with one man. One night. One time. Long ago. She believes everything happens for a reason, and the universe spoke about Nathan Ryder. Nathan Ryder isn’t the same man who hightailed his bike out of Green Valley, 18 years ago. As a rule breaker, women are one area he acts a fool. Case in point, the local librarian. He can’t get a read on her, but she’s one risk he’s willing to take. Again.

When a mysterious silver fox becomes intrigued with this small town’s most disliked society woman, he finds she’s more than a little trouble and possibly a whole lot of heart.

Brut Paige needs a life break. As caretaker to his brother, his business, and his son, he's used to being the man to get things done. Lily Warren deserves a vacation. She's worked hard to establish her bakery, a lifelong dream. She's proud of her accomplishments. A broken heart tore them apart. A little matchmaking forces them together...Twenty-two years later.

Midge Everette: I'm 41 today. It's my birthday, and I'm crying over burnt toast. That's not some euphemism. Literally, I'm sobbing over crusty bread, so I call a crisis center. I just need someone to talk to about life. Only I recognize the smoky voice of the man on the line. Sweet cheese, don't let it be... Hank Paige: As a former rock star, I once had it all. Fame. Fortune. Females. Except for the one thing I wanted most. Then I lost everything. I fix cars now and restore other people's dreams. I just want to be somebody's someone.

Olivet Pierson needs his land. Name your price, Mr. Harrington. She has her reasons, and this muscular mountain of masculinity isn’t going to get in her way. However, her heart has a different plan after she accepts his crazy conditions: three nights up on the ridge. George Harrington is a quiet giant of a man. No sale, Cricket. He’s a war hero, a widower, and COO for the family brewing company, but his life lacks spontaneity. Then, she arrives, chirping away at him, roaming his body with those sky blue eyes and negotiating for something on which he won’t put a price.

Sometimes it takes an outsider to force us to see who we are. The real struggle is accepting what we learn. For Beverly Townsen, nothing could be closer to the truth. Virtually a shut-in, Beverly has pulled back from Green Valley’s community, preferring the isolation of her farmhouse and her daily routine of viewing home improvement television shows. When the opportunity arises for her own home improvement and a personal re-assessment, she’s not so excited about the reality of real life versus DIY programs.

Surely, my older sister has lost her mind. There is no way I’m driving her insufferable - albeit sexy silver fox - boss 2,000 miles. This is my spirit trip. The Mother Road is intended to help me reclaim myself. Letting go of my past, I’m only looking forward to the path ahead of me. But my gaze keeps wandering to the rearview mirror, wondering what secrets my grouchy passenger keeps and how that silver scruff might feel blazing a trail on hidden parts of me.

Anna Kulis has lost her husband. Their love was a perfect kind of love; a once in a lifetime experience. She never intended to fall for anyone again. Never expected to have this attraction stirring inside her. And she never thought her emotions would run wild for the one man she shouldn’t be attracted to—her late husband’s best friend.

When the divorced mother of the groom goes head-to-head with the single father of the bride, they might be the next couple experiencing a heart-to-heart. When my son asked me to take his ticket for the honeymoon that didn’t happen, I balked. What would I do on a 10-day vacation in Belize? More importantly, what caused my son and the love of his life to call off their wedding? I didn’t have an answer, and he wasn’t sharing, so I traded places with him. Over a week of sunshine and me-time was on the docket, until he arrived.

Autumn Kulis wants a baby. It’s that simple and that complicated because one thing stands in her way: She doesn’t have a man in her life. And at almost 40, she isn’t getting any younger. On a two-week trip to her brother’s lakeside cottage, a plan forms. Make a list of three men. Sleep with each of them. Allow nature to take its course. Only, a certain someone gets in her way.

I hate Christmas. I don’t know who thought every female must love shopping, wrapping, baking, and hosting, but I’m missing the memo. On top of that, I manage a top-end department store. Sprinkle in the fact I’ll be turning 40 during this holiday season, and my life is a Christmas cookie recipe gone wrong. And every year I become a little more Scrooge-ish. But the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year (insert sarcasm) seems to have a plan for me and my midlife-crisis attitude.

Over 40, with zero filter, Rita Kaplan loves her coffee, her hiking boots, and her law practice. Life hasn't always been carefree, though, and Rita's past holds the scars of poor decisions after deep loss. She survived, though, and no smirky silver fox is going to get in the way of her happiness. Even if he knows how to use his drill, screwdriver, and every other tool in his box to tempt her....

I’d been in Curmudgeon Bakery for one of those lemon baby-Bundt cakes I’d been craving since I found out I was pregnant. The draw had nothing to do with the baker himself. Tall, tatted, and edgy, he looked more like a biker than a man who makes baked goods. I hardly knew him other than taking a tumble in a rainstorm in front of his shop... and then tossing myself at him after he rescued me. We shared a moment, but it’s not what you’d think. Months later, he delivered my baby among his cookies and cakes. Talk about a second chance encounter.