A Bride Worth Waiting For

In two weeks, Lacey McCade was supposed to walk down the aisle and say "I do" to the man of every woman's dreams…except her own. So when she heard about a short-term position at Black's Bluff Ranch, Lacey knew the live-in-job would give her time to think. But think was all she could do…about Ethan Black, her very sexy employer….

From the tender way he cared for his little charges to the tough way he tended to the land, Ethan made Lacey's heart stop, swell and swoon. But the proud, half Native-American rancher had closed his own heart to loving again. Still, something in Ethan's searing, soul-searching gaze dared Lacey to hope he'd make her wedding dreams come true….

TWO STUBBORN HUMANS, HIS DOG, HER DONKEY...AND A BRAND-NEW BABY

A donkey with a penchant for breaking and entering...in search of alfalfa? Cort Wells had never heard of such a thing, until he and his dog moved into Mule Hollow. And the donkey's eight-months-pregnant owner was Lilly Tipps, raised by her man-hating grandmas. So when Lilly wound up in his barn--and his arms--Cort began to think the donkey was going to be the least of his worries....

Dedicated social worker and adoption expert Maggie Sullivan had put everyone else's needs above her own. Now, as her biological clock ticked, she decided to focus on herself and the growing ache to have a baby. Would fate--and a sexy collision--grant her secret wish. Enter daredevil construction foreman Luck August, who had no use for commitment or safe living. No way would he settle for anything serious...that is, unless serious meant Maggie and her stealthlike way of sneaking into his heart. Suddenly, love seemed like the most exciting and dangerous risk of all--and he was ready for a wild ride.

Yes, Jamie, there is a Santa Claus…

Or at least that's what Beth Cavell desperately wants her orphaned nephew to believe. Beth figures the least she could do is fulfill Jamie's Christmas wishes, since he only has two-snow…and a daddy! What is the recently dumped but devoted aunt to do? Rent a cabin in the Canadian wilderness for starters.

Which is where she finds Riley Keenan. Unfortunately, Riley has the same tolerance for Christmas that he has for little boys and their beautiful aunts-none. But bit by bit, the lovely Beth and the adorable Jamie melt the ice around Riley's heart. And as the snowflakes gently fall, Beth starts to wonder if Jamie's second wish is about to be granted, too.

HE NEEDED A WIFE. AND HE NEEDED HER TONIGHT, IF NOT SOONER.

Enter Zara Lovett. His ex-fiancée's best friend. Her hair was a spill of honeyed silk framing on whiskey eyes. Zara, who'd strode into Alex Carlisle's life on killer legs and lit up a powder keg in his gut. It was chemistry, the kind of powerful, explosive mix Alex made a habit of avoiding--until today. Because the fireworks between them changed nothing. He still needed to satisfy the terms of his father's will.

That was his goal. That was his duty. That was what mattered.

And he'd make sure Zara said yes.

The sexual tension between Ellie and wealthy Australian Brett Spencer is overwhelming, but Ellie is dismayed when he proposes a marriage of convenience. How can she marry a man she is so sure could never love her?

At first Ellie refuses to put her heart, and that of her son, on the line. But she doesn't know how long she can resist Brett....

Damsel in Distress

Audrey needed someone on her side for once and Elliot Knight appointed himself. But playing gallant rescuer for someone as vulnerable as Audrey- fresh on the rebound and tempting as sing.

Audrey knew she was deliberately playing on Elliot's capacity for compassion, but she couldn't let him walk out of her life, good deed done. The oh-so-brief feel of his lips on hers had been heaven. Somehow she had to convince her enigmatic hero that this was no fairy tale-but the real thing.

Always…

Dedicated to her husband and their work at a rural Australian outback clinic, Suzanne had rejected the temptation Leith Carew had offered.

But he'd taken away her inner peace, just as she'd taken his. And when their paths crossed again, the longing that coursed through Suzanne's body could no longer be denied. Except this time, Leigh was not free….

The Magic Was Still There

But was the gap between them too wide to bridge after all this time! Alec Neville thought so, but Cassie wasn't sure what to feel. The overwhelming mutual physical attraction came flooding back-as did memories of that long, hot summer ten years before, when she'd fallen in love with a wilder, younger Alec.

She'd had to break off their relationship, and it had broken her heart. Since then, she'd fought hard for her independence and her success as a crime writer.

Now Alec had come back. It was so tempting to love him again-but was she only trying to relive the past, or did they have a future together?

A Business Arrangement?

Attractive divorcée and single parent Julie Ferris had problems with a succession of men who were interested in her body, not her mind.

Successful lawyer Teal Carruthers shared her concerns. A widower with a small son to bring up, he was targeted by every woman he met as a potential husband. Should feelings get in the way-when the solution seemed an obvious one…?