To Have and to Hold

The answer has to be no, of course. No way Griff Ambrose is going to help Becca Drake lose her virginity. Not only is she his friend’s little sister, but Griff doesn’t do commitment—not since the day he came home from war to find his house empty and his wife gone.

But he can’t get Becca’s request—or pretty much anything else about her—out of his head. What can it hurt, anyway? If it’s awkward afterwards, they can just avoid each other. Right?

Becca Drake has turned her life around, and she’s proud of how much butt she’s kicking. The shy girl with the self-esteem problem has been shown the door, and New Becca’s in the driver’s seat. There’s just one more demon she has to exorcise. Virginity is messing up her sex life. Guys who might be okay with giving her a test drive act like they’re being auditioned for marriage when they find out she’s never had intercourse.

Griff is the perfect candidate to do the deed: He’s her friend, he’s sexy as heck, and neither of them wants anything serious.

Then Becca’s job goes belly up and she takes a temporary position at the veterans’ retreat where Griff works. Now she and Griff can’t stay out of each other’s way—and their entanglement keeps getting messier—and sexier. Worst of all, it’s getting harder and harder for Becca and Griff to lie to themselves about what they really want... 

Military hero Jake Taylor has made a few terrible decisions, but none worse than the one in Afghanistan that cost him his best friend and his leg. Or so he thinks, until he comes home from war to discover a seven-year-old son he never knew existed.

Jake can't regret the blissful nights he spent with Mira in his arms, or the boy with his eyes, but he can leave them alone so they don't become yet another one of his mistakes. He'll rehab his body, figure out how to find purpose again--and keep things simple with the woman he once craved desperately. 

Except the sizzling attraction that drew him to Mira is still fierce, and staying away from her is a lot harder than he ever expected. 

Single mom Mira Shipley has promised herself that if she ever sees Jake Taylor again, she'll tell him he has a son. She isn't expecting to run into him at the physical therapist's office, where he's learning to live with an above-the-knee amputation. 

She can't blame him for being a grumpy jerk under the circumstances, but it would be a lot easier to ignore him if she didn't desperately need child care for her son. And if Jake didn't make her feel brand new and dazzlingly alive. 

She knows she needs to protect her son's feelings--but no matter how hard she tries, she can't forget the long, sweet nights she and Jake spent learning each other's bodies and each other's secrets.

Nate Riordan came home from war hurting—everywhere.

Alia Drake can touch him and make it all better.

Nate craves her touch, and not just the professional, physical therapist version. But he needs to keep his eyes on the prize and his feet firmly on the path he’s chosen: His buddy, J.J., died, and Nate lived, which means he has promises to keep. Plus, Alia hurt him once, and he’s afraid she’ll do it again.

Alia knows she has to ignore her feelings for Nate. Her job is to take care of him professionally, so she has to keep her hands on the parts of him she has a right to touch. Besides, when she lied to him two years ago, she forfeited any claim she could ever have to his heart.

Now she just has to find some way to stick to her guns, leave him alone, and do her job. Even—or especially—when he’s shirtless on the table in her office…

Graciella Jefferson, SEAL widow and single mother, is wary of the man who sits for hours on the sand by the Point Dume rocks, staring at the ocean. But her nine-year-old son, Santos, is increasingly curious about the dog that wears a vest and stays next to the tall, dark-haired man in the baseball cap. When she finds out Cluny was saved in Iraq by her late husband, a friendship begins between them that quickly heats up into something much more. But Graciella has been burned before. Can she lower the walls around her heart and learn how trust again?

Keywords: military romance, contemporary romance, service dog, interracial romance

Country Music’s Superdiva, Kaycee Starr, is done with the music biz. After a terrifying encounter with a crazed fan, she goes underground and answers a help-wanted ad in a place the paparazzi would never think to look. Prairie, Kansas. While she finds solace and healing among the horses, handsome ranch hand Cash Aiken lights her up in ways she only wrote about in songs. He’s the only person she’s met who seems to ‘get’ her.

Cash and Kaycee fall hard and fast for each other, but when their secrets are exposed, will they have the courage to trust each other? And more importantly, themselves?

Luci never expected to have fun. She also never expected to wake up next to a man she just met, or for this man to be the new attorney at her firm.

Landon Summers is done with drama. After an ugly separation and even worse divorce, he has no desire to jump into another relationship.

When his sister Trinity drags him to a New Year’s Eve party, he doesn’t plan to stay long. One drink, a few hellos, and he’s out. Until he meets Luci, the first person in months to draw his smile and incite his passion.

Neither Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely didn’t plan on love. But the New Year means a fresh start, and eternal possibilities neither could deny . . .

The answer has to be no, of course. No way Griff Ambrose is going to help Becca Drake lose her virginity. Not only is she his friend’s little sister, but Griff doesn’t do commitment—not since the day he came home from war to find his house empty and his wife gone.

But he can’t get Becca’s request—or pretty much anything else about her—out of his head. What can it hurt, anyway? If it’s awkward afterwards, they can just avoid each other. Right?

Becca Drake has turned her life around, and she’s proud of how much butt she’s kicking. The shy girl with the self-esteem problem has been shown the door, and New Becca’s in the driver’s seat. There’s just one more demon she has to exorcise. Virginity is messing up her sex life. Guys who might be okay with giving her a test drive act like they’re being auditioned for marriage when they find out she’s never had intercourse.

Griff is the perfect candidate to do the deed: He’s her friend, he’s sexy as heck, and neither of them wants anything serious.

Then Becca’s job goes belly up and she takes a temporary position at the veterans’ retreat where Griff works. Now she and Griff can’t stay out of each other’s way—and their entanglement keeps getting messier—and sexier. Worst of all, it’s getting harder and harder for Becca and Griff to lie to themselves about what they really want... 

Military hero Jake Taylor has made a few terrible decisions, but none worse than the one in Afghanistan that cost him his best friend and his leg. Or so he thinks, until he comes home from war to discover a seven-year-old son he never knew existed.

Jake can't regret the blissful nights he spent with Mira in his arms, or the boy with his eyes, but he can leave them alone so they don't become yet another one of his mistakes. He'll rehab his body, figure out how to find purpose again--and keep things simple with the woman he once craved desperately. 

Except the sizzling attraction that drew him to Mira is still fierce, and staying away from her is a lot harder than he ever expected. 

Single mom Mira Shipley has promised herself that if she ever sees Jake Taylor again, she'll tell him he has a son. She isn't expecting to run into him at the physical therapist's office, where he's learning to live with an above-the-knee amputation. 

She can't blame him for being a grumpy jerk under the circumstances, but it would be a lot easier to ignore him if she didn't desperately need child care for her son. And if Jake didn't make her feel brand new and dazzlingly alive. 

She knows she needs to protect her son's feelings--but no matter how hard she tries, she can't forget the long, sweet nights she and Jake spent learning each other's bodies and each other's secrets.

Nate Riordan came home from war hurting—everywhere.

Alia Drake can touch him and make it all better.

Nate craves her touch, and not just the professional, physical therapist version. But he needs to keep his eyes on the prize and his feet firmly on the path he’s chosen: His buddy, J.J., died, and Nate lived, which means he has promises to keep. Plus, Alia hurt him once, and he’s afraid she’ll do it again.

Alia knows she has to ignore her feelings for Nate. Her job is to take care of him professionally, so she has to keep her hands on the parts of him she has a right to touch. Besides, when she lied to him two years ago, she forfeited any claim she could ever have to his heart.

Now she just has to find some way to stick to her guns, leave him alone, and do her job. Even—or especially—when he’s shirtless on the table in her office…

Then he shattered my heart into thousands of pieces.

I can’t let him back in. It was hard enough surrendering my heart the first time. If he hurts me again, I’ll never survive. No matter what he thinks, we’re beholden to our past.