Magnolia Valley

Josie Wheeler isn’t a risk-taker. She likes her routine running the Morning Jolt cafe. The last risk she took was asking her dreamy friend Calvin out—and that failed miserably. But as her thirtieth birthday gets closer, that routine starts to feel like stagnation.

After his marriage went up in flames, Calvin Monroe knew love wasn’t for him. Since then, every relationship he’s had has been no-strings-attached. But Calvin’s not nearly as commitment-phobic as Josie thinks he is; he just can’t find anyone that measures up to her.

Josie is vibrant, funny, smart—and Calvin’s wanted her since they first met. But he knows he’s not her type. Josie goes for wholesome guys, not divorcees with bad reputations.

An overheard conversation changes everything. Calvin realizes Josie is—was—into him, but he was too dumb to see it. If he can convince her to take another risk on him, he’ll win her heart. So, he makes her an offer she can’t turn down: Two weeks to try out anything she wants.

Josie knows Calvin doesn’t do forever, but she says yes to his proposition, anyway—it might be just what she needs to get him out of her system and her life out of its rut.

What Josie doesn’t expect is their exhilarating chemistry entangling her wary heart. But when her cafe is threatened, she has to decide what she’s willing to risk for a love beyond her wildest dreams.

This is the first book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·        Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·        Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·        Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·        He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·        Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

·        Risking it all for Love (Augustus & Freya)

·        It was Always You (Margot & Simon)

·       They Started with a Kiss (Sebastian & Amelia)

When she kissed her ex-boyfriend at a wedding reception… it was just temporary insanity. There was no way she would be crazy enough to try to make it work with him again. Definitely not. She needs to stop thinking about that kiss and focus on the mystery she uncovered...

Journalist Astrid Jones returns to Magnolia Valley to cast off an atrocious year that started with a divorce and ended with getting fired. She needs her hometown to work its magic and get her life back on track. 

All she has to do is avoid her ex-boyfriend, Ethan Forrester, and focus on writing the story that will restart her career and get her back to the big city.

But avoiding Ethan isn't easy. He wants to know why she kissed him at their friends’ wedding reception, and she doesn’t have a good answer. And, even worse, she can't stop thinking about that heart-stopping kiss.

Even at eighteen, Ethan knew he'd found the one. So when Astrid turned down his proposal and left for college the next day, it broke his heart.

Since then, Ethan has focused on his veterinary work and opening an animal sanctuary. With the fundraiser weeks away, Ethan needs to stay focused and keep his distance. If he's learned anything, it's that a relationship with her doesn't lead to a happy ending.

But he’s never been good at staying away from Astrid. And when the conspiracy she uncovers puts her in danger, Ethan has to protect her, even as it puts his animal sanctuary, and him, in peril.

New and old troubles threaten to tear them apart, and they must decide what they're willing to risk for a second chance at happily-ever-after.

This is the second book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·         Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·         Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·         Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·         He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·         Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

Alek Novak didn't expect to find his personal chef even more intoxicating than her food. Nora is entirely wrong for him, but he can’t seem to keep his distance. A funny, opposites-attract romance.

She’s a chef who doesn’t cook... 

All the trouble started when Nora agreed to anonymously cater a fundraiser. She gave up cooking when her husband died and she had to sell their restaurant to pay the medical bills and return to Magnolia Valley. But when her friend asked her for a favor, she reluctantly agreed on the condition she remained anonymous. 

And that evening changes everything. 

It makes her want to start a restaurant again, unfortunately she doesn’t have the money. So, when the wealthy businessman Alek Novak offers to pay her lavishly to be his private chef for a few months, it seems like a dream come true.

He’s a billionaire businessman used to getting what he wants... 

Alek Novak is determined to hire the chef who catered the fundraiser—even if she doesn’t want to be found. He might be temporarily banished from society while a scandal dies down, but he does not intend to deny himself good food. 

What he isn’t expecting is to find his chef even more intoxicating than her food. Nora is entirely wrong for him, but he can’t seem to keep his distance. Soon she’s threatening his iron-clad control and he makes her an indecent offer that she can’t turn down—have a no strings attached fling before he goes back to Boston.

But their passion is beyond anything they've known and awakens their long-neglected hearts. But when all of the troubles Alek left Boston to escape arrive in Montana, it threatens to destroy their growing love… 

Will these opposites be able to defy all odds and find true love? 

 This is the third book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·         Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·         Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·         Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·         He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·         Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

She manages the lodge during the day and writes steamy romance novels at night…

Quinn Lawson manages the upscale lodge in Magnolia Valley, and she prides herself on running every aspect of it—and her life—perfectly. But now, with the lodge facing financial ruin after its owner fled the country, she’s forced to partner with the last person she wants to work with: Caine Wilder, the famous tennis player.

After his career-ending injury, Caine drinks too much and flirts with anything that moves. But the worst part is, Quinn can’t stop thinking about that shirtless Sports Illustrated cover he did.

When they have to pretend to be a couple to secure investors, Quinn sees beneath his playboy mask to the man beneath, and it becomes increasingly difficult to conceal her attraction and keep her well-guarded secret…

She’s Elois Montgomery, the popular romance author, and the sexy main character in her latest novel is based off of Caine Wilder.

He’s a famous tennis player with a recently ruined knee, forced to take over his family’s failing lodge…

Caine has never had any trouble charming women, but the lodge’s beautiful manager is immune to him. No matter what he does, she thinks the worst of him. Despite her open dislike, he can’t stop thinking about her.

Caine’s older brother confronts him and tells him he won’t subsidize the lodge anymore. Caine and Quinn have to make it profitable or the lodge will go under.

Caine is determined to show her that he’s not just a washed-up athlete and that he can help her pull the lodge from collapse. The more time he spends with Quinn, the more he realizes that she isn’t like any woman he’s met before, and the attraction he feels for her isn’t a fleeting infatuation.

For the first time in his life, Caine might have to learn how to play for keeps.

But as secrets and old grudges come to light, it threatens the love that neither of them thought they’d find and they’ve got to fight for their happily ever after.

This book is the fourth book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·        Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·        Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·        Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·        He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·        Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

For Wyatt Forrester, becoming a Marine and then getting on an elite team was a no-brainer. He was made for excitement and danger. But when a mission goes wrong and his friend dies, Wyatt goes home to get his head on straight.

His beautiful and meddlesome best friend Penny is determined to help him figure things out, and her methods are deliciously unorthodox. Wyatt’d be lying if he said he hadn’t ever thought about Penny as more than a friend. Hell, he spent most of high school trying to impress her, but she made it clear they were only friends.

But when they kiss, it blows all that “only friends” stuff out of the water. Wyatt can’t pretend anymore. He’s got to have her, consequences be damned. He might not know where he belongs, but he knows who he wants.

She’s the friend he’s always desired…

Penny Edgecombe lived a wild musician’s life, but now she’s devoted to her five-year-old son.  Now, she’s given up music, and she’s given up men. She doesn’t have the time or inclination to date seriously.

Her biggest fear is getting trapped in a relationship as loveless as the one her parents had.

The only man she’s ever let into her heart is Wyatt, but she even put boundaries on that, though those boundaries get pushed when their friendship careens into toe-curlingly passionate territory. Soon, Penny’s traitorous heart wants more.

But outside forces are determined to tear them apart. While Wyatt grapples with the ghosts in his past and tries to find a path forward, Penny has to face her fear and fight for the man who’s finally caught her wild heart.   

Do they have the guts to fight for their long-overdue happily ever after?

*****

This is the fifth book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·  Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·  Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·  Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·  He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·  Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

·  Risking it all for Love (Augustus & Freya)

He’s used to getting his way…

This new project will get the Wilder and Sons Logging Company back on its feet after Augustus Wilder’s father left the company in ruins. Or it would, if archaeologist Freya Carmichael hadn’t put her nose where it didn’t belong. Now he can’t move forward on the project until she’s done digging up some old pottery shards.

Well, he’s not going to take it lying down. He’s going to convince her to go dig somewhere else. If only he could be around her for more than two minutes without getting into an argument.

And when she moves into the house next door and he sees her morning yoga routine? Well… he starts to realize he’s in trouble. Soon, he’s risking everything to protect her, even the company that was always his first priority.

She’s the archaeologist in his way….

The last year of Freya’s life has been a dumpster fire—her father died, her mentor turned out to be a criminal—but this dig is going to be the start of a better chapter in her life.

And Freya isn’t going to let anyone intimidate her into quitting, especially Augustus Wilder. Not only is he the most infuriating man she’s ever met, he’s also the sexiest. After yet another blowup fight, she makes him a deal. If he visits her dig site, she’ll visit his work site.

But after spending more time with him she realizes he’s more dangerous than she thought. His rough exterior hides a fascinating man with a wicked sense of humor and a passionate heart. And he knows exactly what buttons to push to make more than just her temper flare.

When they finally give in to their electric chemistry, Freya knows she’s in over her head. She’s always been able to hold something back, but Augustus wants all of her. Her body. Her heart. Everything. And she isn’t sure she can deny him anything.

When their troubled pasts catch up with them, it threatens everything they hold dear—even their lives—and they have to figure out if they can trust a love that neither of them expected to find.

Can these two enemies find a middle ground and, maybe, even a happily-ever-after? 

*****

This is the sixth book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line. 

·  Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·  Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·  Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·  He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·  Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

·  Risking it all for Love (Augustus & Freya)

He needs a girlfriend…

Simon McCoy overheard Margot Banks claiming he’s her boyfriend and lawyer. A gentleman wouldn’t take advantage of her embarrassment.

But Simon isn’t a gentleman. Especially where she’s concerned. He makes her a deal. He’ll be her lawyer, if she’ll be his date to his sister’s wedding.

Margot is the one that got away, and this time Simon is going to catch her. A few weeks will get her out of his system. If what his exes say is true, he doesn’t have a heart to lose.

The problem with his plan? He realizes that maybe his heart was Margot’s years ago and he’s looking for more than a fling. As much as he knows about seducing women, that’s how little he knows about having a real relationship.

She needs a lawyer…

After a disastrous marriage, Margot’s done with fairy tales. She just wants to make a decent life for her son. But when her philandering ex-husband decides he wants custody of their son, she needs a knight in shining armor (and a law degree).

And Simon McCoy steps up.

There’s a problem with this simple and mutually beneficial arrangement. When Simon kisses her, he reawakens more than just her passion. He makes her want a life that’s better than just decent. But trusting anything, even her own heart, feels impossible.

If they want a chance for a fairy-tale ending together then they’ll have to battle the demons in their pasts and fight for their happily-ever-after.

Can this fake relationship lead to a real-life fairy-tale ending? 

This is the seventh book in the Magnolia Valley series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line.

Amelia has always tried to do everything right, having all the right friends and marrying her high school sweetheart after graduating college. But the thing with best laid plans? Sometimes they go to hell in a handbasket. Sometimes your perfect husband is gay and then your perfect friends bail.

Then Amelia does something crazy. She has a passionate night with Sebastian Wilder and then leaves while he’s still sleeping.

It's a wakeup call. She needs to get her life together, and she doesn't need to complicate Sebastian’s while she does it. Even if she can't stop dreaming about their steamy night.

But when she takes a pregnancy test and it says positive, she realizes she’s about to complicate Sebastian’s life in a big way.

She might have wanted to pursue something with him in the future, but the pregnancy makes that impossible. They need to be friends so they can co-parent their baby, and getting between the sheets again would jeopardize that. So, she definitely won’t open that door again. Definitely not.

But as she gets to know him, she realizes that Sebastian’s the whole package and maybe the biggest risk would be to let him get away.

He's going to prove to her that he’s more than a one-night stand, even if he has to dress up as Santa to do it…

While trying to open the ski resort he’s dreamed of opening for years, the last thing Sebastian needed was a distraction. And Amelia is a distraction from top to bottom.

But when she tells him about her pregnancy like she expects him run as fast as she did after their night together, he makes it his mission to prove her wrong. He isn't that kind of guy. He will be there for her and their child, even if he has to overcome every single one of her reservations.

Soon Sebastian realizes that beneath Amelia's reserved exterior is a passionate, sweet, and hilarious woman. A woman any man would be lucky to call his. And Sebastian is determined that it won't be any man. It'll be him.

And he’s got his work cut out for him between their meddlesome families and her determination to keep him in the co-parent zone, but Sebastian is hoping some holiday magic will work in his favor and he invites her to spend a week at his family’s lodge.

Sebastian is going to show her they have something meant to last long after the Christmas lights are packed away.

Can the holiday season work its magic and help these two find true love?

This book is the eighth book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line.

·        Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·        Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·        Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·        He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·        Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

·        Risking it all for Love (Augustus & Freya)

·        It was Always You (Simon & Margot)

·        They Started with a Kiss (Sebastian & Amelia)

·        Winning Her Guarded Heart (Joanna & Micah)

Joanna has seen first-hand with her parents’ marriage how a relationship can go sour. She isn’t interested in a relationship, but she would like to know what all the fuss in the bedroom is about.

No romance, just sex. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

So when her friend Micah figures out what she’s planning and offers himself—she should say “hell no.” He’s exactly what she isn’t looking for. He has “complicated” written on every delicious inch of him.

… but when he kisses her, “no” evaporates from her vocabulary. All she wants is more, more, more.

It only takes one night for Joanna to realize she’s miles out of her depth. If she’s not careful, she’s going to lose more than just her virginity to Micah. She’s going to lose her heart. And that’s something she promised she’d always keep safe.

He offers her one night, but one kiss tells him one night won’t be enough…

Micah is satisfied with his life. He’s got great friends. He loves his job as a park ranger.

But everything he thought he knew goes flying off the rails when he overhears Joanna’s plan to lose her virginity. He can’t let her climb into some stranger’s bed.

But once won’t be enough. Micah is already thinking about all the other firsts they could have.

Joanna is everything he wants in a woman. She’s clever and funny and she drives him wild. She makes him dream of a whole lot more than just a satisfactory life.

But when Micah’s investigation into a poaching ring on the national park puts both their lives in danger, he pushes her away. Once he realizes his mistake, will he be able to convince her to give him another chance?

Can he overcome her reservations and capture her guarded heart?

This book is the ninth book in the MAGNOLIA VALLEY series. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a larger story line.

·        Dreaming of You (Josie & Calvin)

·        Destined for You (Ethan & Astrid)

·        Fascinated by You (Nora & Alek)

·        He was Playing for Keeps (Caine & Quinn)

·        Catching Her Wild Heart (Wyatt & Penny)

·        Risking it all for Love (Augustus & Freya)

·        It was Always You (Simon & Margot)

·        They Started with a Kiss (Sebastian & Amelia)

·        Winning Her Guarded Heart (Micah & Joanna)