Showing results by author "Jennifer Peel" in All Categories

Every person has that one thing they’re known for, and it doesn’t matter what you do, that one thing—whether good or bad—follows you around like a bloodhound for the rest of your life. Tragically for me, it’s a story I wrote when I was 15, based on a real person, Reece Cavanaugh. And guess what? He grew up to be a pirate—okay, lawyer. Same thing. To make matters worse, the man is representing my ex-fiancé. But the more I get to know Reece—the real version, not the imaginary one who ravishes me—I can’t help but wish we could roll around in the sand together.

A woman does her very best to avoid at least one of the following people in her life: an annoying coworker, her brother’s best friend, and her first kiss. Unfortunately, for me, all three happen to be the same person—Brandon Cassidy. I’ve done my best to avoid the man, even if it means working in the ladies’ room whenever he visits the main office. Sadly, my days of hiding are coming to an end because I’ve been assigned to assist Brandon through the end of the year. The holiday season is already hard for me, but this . . . this is just the icing on the fruitcake that is my life.

One red eye flight and 10 years of marriage later, Carly Bishop had what she considered a practically perfect life. Her journalist husband and her two adorable children were everything to her. But soon she would find out that her dream life didn't fall in line with her husband's expectations. Left alone to sort out the pieces of her crumbling life, Carly finds strength in her children and her growing relationship with her in-laws.

I, Emma Loveless, have a destiny. It's not the greatest of destinies, but when you have a name like Loveless, what can you do? I'm cursed to always be the friend, never the girlfriend. Unless you count my love affair with Duncan Hines, Dr. Pepper, and the ever-lovable Pillsbury Doughboy. It doesn't help that I have a meddling, albeit wonderful, mother who can't help playing matchmaker. Thanks to her, I can say I've been on a date with a felon. Now she swears she's found the one for me, her new optometrist, Dr. Sawyer King.

She's getting back in the game, one blog post at a time. Samantha Higgins never thought driving her husband's car would forever change her life. But one conversation later, heard through his Bluetooth, and Samantha is changing her last name. While trying to figure out who Samantha Decker is, she writes what she thinks is the final post on her blog, announcing her divorce. When the post goes viral, she finds herself with a new title, The Sidelined Wife, and an unbelievable following.

At 17, Charlee Jensen packed her bags and left her beloved hometown of Loveland, swearing she would never have anything to do with the men that left her heartbroken: her father, the man who taught her heroes can fall; and Ryan Carter, her much older neighbor and teenage crush.

Once upon a time, people called me the holiday queen. But catching my husband under the Christmas tree with another woman kind of did something to me. Like make me digitally crop him out of all our wedding photos and post them online. Thanks to all the requests I received to do the same for other jilted partners, I started a new business called the Holiday Ex-Files. Then along comes my ex-husband’s best friend, Noah Cullen. He has a plan to help me believe in the magic of holidays again. Maybe, just maybe, it will be a very merry Christmas after all.

Charlee Jensen-Carter has been looking forward to her first Christmas with her new husband, Ryan, and her adorable stepson for weeks. Not only is her dad tying the knot, but she's looking forward to two weeks of no exes, no drama, and especially no trouble. At least that's what she thinks. First, she gets talked into wearing red hooker heels again. Next, she finds herself trying to save her dad's wedding. And if that isn't bad enough, more than one ex shows up, and she's suddenly in the middle of more trouble than she ever bargained for.

Very few in Aspen Lake expected that I, Calista Monroe, their most notorious wild child, would ever amount to anything besides being a model prisoner. So, imagine their surprise when I returned as the hospital’s newest ER doctor. Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am. I had vowed to never return, even if it was the last safe haven during the zombie apocalypse. But when my niece Quinn begged me to come home, I couldn’t say no. My plan is to stay out of trouble this time, and, above all, avoid Quinn’s uncle Tristan—the man I love to hate and the reason I left Aspen Lake.

A word of advice? Never fall in love with an Englishman in New York. If you do, chances are that he’ll captivate your soul and never let you go. Take me, for instance. For the last thirteen years, I’ve heard “So This Is Love” on repeat every time I think of Simon Harrison. If this is love, it kind of sucks. Especially given that Simon only ever saw me as his friend before proceeding to marry my supposed best friend.

Kasie Baldwin’s life is not turning out how she expected. Separating from Jake, her husband of 17 years, and living back home with her momma were not in her plans. She for sure never saw herself getting mixed up in a reality TV show.

I, Charlotte Valentine, am mostly of sound mind. Typically, I make really good choices. I went to college, never did drugs...I even brush and floss every day. That’s not to say I don’t make poor decisions - believe me, I do. They always seem to involve men - everything from gluing my eye shut to falling in love with my boss. Did I mention he was famous? Oh, Drake Foster, you beautiful creature. My sister told me not to accept the position as his personal assistant. Apparently, she thinks it’s emotionally unhealthy for me to work for the object of my desire. What does she know?

If Ariana Stanton has learned anything in life, it’s that men leave. She’s been taught this lesson well from the father she’s never met, who sends her a mysterious letter once a year, to her ex-fiancé, who left her for another woman. So, when she meets the charming and seemingly perfect Jonah, she promises him they will never be more than friends. It’s a promise she can’t keep. But before he has a chance to leave her, she sends him away.

So . . . I signed up for something. Not a gym or Costco membership, which probably would have been wiser. Oh no, I signed up for a social experiment. You heard me right. I, Lanie Davenport, am going to be the subject of a scientific study. Do I know what this study is for? Not exactly. But I know it means I have to live with a stranger for twelve weeks and do a video diary once a week, answering the researchers’ questions.

All I want for Christmas this year is to be able to spend more time with my son and to finally move us out of our cramped apartment. I have the perfect plan to make my holiday dreams come true. All I have to do is convince my boss I'm the right person for the manager position that's available at the resort I work for. It finally seems like Santa is going to grant my wish, until one Jace Petersen, the owner of a national chain of sporting goods stores, walks into my life. More like literally falls on me. Worst first impression ever.

After suffering a very public humiliation, Kenadie Marshall realizes that love shouldn't be left only to personal judgement. Instead of wallowing in her misery, Kenadie creates Binary Search, the perfect balance between a software application and human intuition to help others find true and lasting love, all while personally swearing off relationships for good.

My parents warned me to never date a coworker, but did I listen? Oh, no. I thought Jackson Montgomery and I had a forever kind of thing going. We even have the cutest couple's name, PB & J, short for Presley Benson and Jackson. I guess he didn't think it was all that cute because he just broke up with me. To make matters worse, he's the newly appointed vice principal for the school where I teach drama, which makes him my boss. That probably means he won't want to make out in the prop room anymore.

Doctoral student Holland Reeves may have aced every class she's ever taken, but when it comes to life outside her lab, she's beginning to realize she doesn't have one. In fact, she has more meaningful relationships with test tubes and pipettes than with people. Wishing to change that, she reluctantly agrees to attend an old friend's wedding. The only problem is, it means she has to return to Paradise. The small coastal town that once upon a time lived up to its name, that was, until he—Porter Clairborne—left her without even saying goodbye.

With a name like Isabelle Valentine, one would think I was destined to find true love and believe in the ridiculous notion of soul mates. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all about love. I even own an inn with my sister where each room is named after our favorite romantic couples. But soul mates? It seems highly implausible there is that one person, your person, meant only for you. My sister, of course, would tell me I’m dead wrong and that the very inn we own calls to such lovers. So, what if she did find her own unlikely happily ever after here with one of the most famous men alive?

I promised myself ten years ago when I left Bella Port that I would never look back at the town that made me feel invisible—that is until the unthinkable happens and Aunt Mitzi, the person I love more than anyone or anything, suddenly passes away and leaves me everything. We are talking a beautiful beach house, more money than I know what to do with, and of course her beloved bookstore, Paige’s Turn, named after yours truly. Not only that, she thinks she’s left behind something else for me. Or is that someone else?