Showing results by author "Lauren Layne" in All Categories

Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny's suddenly one of the town's biggest stars - and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she's barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering - and serious heat.

When Parker Blanton meets Ben Olsen during her freshman year of college, the connection is immediate - and platonic. Six years later, they're still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland's trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker's boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben's no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can't seem to get the hang of casual sex - until she tries it with him.

When Lucy Hawkins receives a job offer in San Francisco, she can't wait to spread her wings and leave her small Virginia hometown behind. The cross-country trip comes with a traveling companion: her older brother's best friend, a.k.a. the guy who took Lucy's virginity hours before breaking her heart. After spending the past four years and every last dime caring for his sick father, Reece Sullivan will do just about anything to break free of the painful memories - even if it means a two-week road trip with the one girl who ever made it past his carefully guarded exterior.

Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career - a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and "I do" (she'll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.

Lincoln Mathis doesn't hide his reputation as Manhattan's ultimate playboy. In fact, he cultivates it. But behind every flirtatious smile, each provocative quip, there's a secret that Lincoln's hiding from even his closest friends - a tragedy from his past that holds his heart quietly captive. Lincoln knows what he wants: someone like Daisy Sinclair, the sassy, off-limits bridesmaid he can't take his eyes off at his best friend's wedding. He also knows that she's everything he can never have.

Brit Robbins knows that dating in New York City is hard - she just hoped to have it mastered by age 30. But after yet another promising suitor says they have no sparks, Brit decides it's time to torch her dating game and try a new plan. And who better to coach Brit through the art of seduction than the guy who first gave her the "let's be friends" card? Hunter Cross has always figured there's nothing his best friend Brit can do to surprise him. But Brit's request is a surprise he doesn't see coming - and one he's definitely not prepared for.

Fresh off being named Citizen magazine’s Man of the Year, New York City’s youngest mayor, Robert Davenport, decides it’s time to strategize. Next move: a bid for the governor’s seat. In his way: an incumbent with a flawless reputation. He also has an Achilles’ heel: an estranged wild-child daughter with a past so scandalous it could be Robert’s ticket to victory. And a charm so irresistible it could be Robert’s downfall. Rebellion is a thing of the past for Adeline Blake. As New York’s premier event planner, she’s all about reform and respectability.

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.

Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she's pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn't exactly Ethan Price's type, either. He's probably got his eye on some leggy blonde . . . or does he?

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.

Cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton doesn't exactly have a life plan. She's perfectly happy being everyone's favorite party girl. But when a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry and an uptight businessman mistakes Sophie for a prostitute . . . well, Sophie wonders if it's time to reevaluate her priorities. Swearing off her thigh-high boots for good, Sophie slinks back home with damaged pride—and a jackpot of a hangover.

Charlotte Spencer grew up on the blue-blooded Upper East Side of Manhattan, but she never wanted the sit-still-look-pretty future her parents dictated for her. Enter Colin Walsh, her brother’s quiet, brooding, man-bun-sporting best friend, and with him, a chance to escape. He's far from Charlotte’s dream guy, but they need each other for one thing: marriage. One courthouse wedding later, Charlotte’s inheritance is hers to start a business in San Francisco, and Irish-born Colin has a green card. Ten years later, Colin drops a bombshell.

Violet Townsend has always been a people pleaser. Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, she always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. Violet would do anything for the people closest to her, especially her beloved grandmother. So when she asks Violet to teach the newly discovered grandson of her friend how to fit in with New York City’s elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her goal? To get Cain Stone ready to take his place as heir to his family company.

Discovering her fiancé is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin's business - and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she's found it with her first bridal client, a sweet - if slightly spoiled - hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who's holding the purse strings.

When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she's being the kind do-gooder she's always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn't about charity—it's about penance. Only, Olivia's client isn't the grateful elderly man she's expecting. Instead, he's a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia's path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.

Vincent Moretti is one of the NYPD's top homicide detectives - and one of the most eligible bachelors in town. His family, however, thinks he should date his longtime partner, Jill - a sassy, sexy, smart-mouthed blonde who drives him absolutely crazy. Behind the quiet authority, tough-guy demeanor, and dark aviator glasses lies a man with a big soul-and a hard body that can soften any girl's heart. After years as his coworker, Jill Henley has given up hope that anything could happen between her and Vin.

Katherine, an ambitious New York City attorney, gets diagnosed with a concussion and must be monitored for forty-eight hours to make sure it doesn’t get worse. Unfortunately, she forgot to update her emergency contact, so the person they call is her ex-husband, Tom. Unable to be left alone, Katherine reluctantly agrees to travel to Chicago with him for the holidays. But thanks to a blizzard, what should have been a quick plane ride turns into an antagonistic overnight misadventure that stirs up old feelings even as Tom prepares to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve.

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite - the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strong-minded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants - but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

As the youngest physics professor at her university, Miranda plans her life with minute precision. But that’s before she’s denied tenure and the promotion she thought was guaranteed. Suddenly, her tidy life is anything but constant. Overdue for a sabbatical, Miranda takes some time to look towards the stars—only this time, she’s not looking for black holes. With her faith in science shaken, Miranda turns to a practice she’s long dismissed as preposterous: astrology. Determined to figure out why her life has suddenly gone sideways, Miranda commits to a year of letting her horoscope guide her.

When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she's determined to make it as one of Manhattan's elite Wedding Belles. Unfortunately her first client demands an opulent black-tie affair at the Plaza in five months' time. Heather's days quickly become a flurry of cake tastings, dress fittings, RSVP cards, and bridal tantrums. But what she's really losing sleep over is the live music blaring from her playboy neighbor's apartment all night.