Showing results by author "Monica Murphy" in All Categories

Spencer Donato. My brother’s best friend. My dirty little secret. We fell for each other at Lancaster Prep. Sneaking around. Not wanting anyone to find out. He was my first love, my protector, my knight in shining armor. We were made for each other, and I truly believed he was my forever. But then I did the unthinkable, and betrayed him in the worst possible way. I thought I lost him for good … Until I saw him at my brother’s wedding. Now he’s older. Crueler. Unbearably handsome. We’re drawn to each other still, but will Spencer be there for me when I need him the most?

Candice Gaines loves Christmas. Not only does she bask in the twinkling lights, sing Christmas carols, and go crazy with the decorations, she’s also in the giving spirit - donating much of her time and wealth to various charities in the local area. Charlie Sullivan despises Christmas. Though it keeps his family afloat, considering they own Sullivan Family Christmas Tree Farm, the main provider for Christmas trees on the Monterey Peninsula. He’d much rather work among the trees than deal with people.

Jackson Rivers. My not-so-secret crush. He’s popular. Gorgeous. Talented. Also my biggest weakness. I’ve stood by him for years. Been a friend every time he needed one, but he doesn’t see me. Not like I want him to. Move on, my friends said. Find someone new. Someone who sees your worth. Someone who gets you. I know they’re right. I’m only a friend to him. He’s never going to see me like I see him. So I take their advice, and try to move on. But Jackson is always right there.

Caleb Burke. Charming. Funny. Sexy. Major player—both on the field and with the ladies. I hate him. Well, not really. I resist his so-called charms because I recognize them. We’re a lot alike, Caleb and I. He’s afraid of commitment? Me too. A giant flirt? Same here. He knows how to party? I am the absolute queen of the party. Until I realize it’s time for me to grow up and become a responsible adult.

Our marriage may look like a fairytale, but outside forces threaten to tear us apart. Don't they realize that nothing will keep me apart from Charlotte? Not my family. Not hers either. What started out as a relationship in name only has evolved into something much more. Something deeper. And when Charlotte is taken from me, I launch into action, determined to rescue her. She's mine. Nothing is going to stop me from being with her. Not a damn thing.

Eli Bennett. Magnetic. Outspoken. Infuriating. Top-ranked college quarterback. Sexy. Funny. Oh, and now my ex-boyfriend. When he makes me choose between him or a once in a lifetime opportunity, I surprise us both and don’t choose him. He can’t tell me what to do. Besides, he’ll get over my so-called betrayal and we’ll be back together in no time. But when I return from my European study abroad program, Eli is still angry. He wants me to apologize for leaving him. I want him to apologize for giving me an ultimatum.

Designing wedding cakes is Maisey Henderson’s passion. She puts her heart and soul into every cake she makes, especially since she’s such a believer in true love. But then Tucker McCloud rolls back into town, reminding her that love is a complete joke. The pro football player is the hottest thing to come out of Cunningham Falls - and the boy who broke Maisey’s heart back in high school. He claims he wants another chance. She says absolutely not. But Maisey’s refusal is the ultimate challenge to Tucker.

Ace Townsend is the biggest player on campus. The sexy new quarterback on the football team. I should probably mention he's also a complete flirt. The life of the party wherever he goes. Someone I should avoid at all costs. It's difficult, though, when I'm on the social media crew for the football team, and we're out on the field during practice almost every day, filming them. On the sidelines at games. Hanging out with them at bars. The more I spend time with Ace, the more I'm drawn to him. The attraction is there, but it's more than that. I actually like him.

He’s always been off limits because I know a relationship with him could never work. Like, ever. He’s too perfect, too sweet, too good-looking. Taking what we have a step further has the potential to ruin everything, and his friendship is too important to me. So I keep it friendly, always with my feelings locked up tight. We talk. We date other people. Until the beginning of senior year, one night at a party. When lines are blurred and eventually crossed. It was the best night of my life. A night I will never forget. Or regret. It’s all I can think about. He’s all I can think about.

Eleanor Murray is tired. Tired of going on awkward dates. Tired of meeting men who just aren’t that into her. Tired of being set up on blind dates by her well-meaning friends. She is a believer of true love, of finding that happily ever after, and she wants it. She deserves it. But at the rate she’s going, she’s pretty sure it’s never going to happen. Until a friend creates a profile for Eleanor on a new dating app. At first, she’s reluctant. But then she makes a connection on Rate a Date, and this gorgeous, confident guy almost seems too good to be true....

Young heiress Scarlett Lancaster is turning eighteen and her dad has promised to hire a famous musician for her party . . .Delight turns to disappointment when it’s revealed that her dad hired Tate Ramsey, former lead singer of a band that hasn’t been popular for years. Tate, after years of alcohol- and drug-fueled partying, is sober and ready for a comeback and blows the audience away with his performance—though Scarlett herself still isn’t impressed. But when they talk after he leaves the stage, their encounter ends in a kiss that surprises them both—and immediately goes viral.

I'm in trouble. Again. And instead of facing my problems head-on, I've run away. Far away this time, and no one can catch me - not my two younger sisters, Violet and Rose; not my father, my grandmother, or that witch, Pilar, who wants to take control of my family's cosmetics company. Now I'm in Hawaii, enjoying the sun and sand and water, where nobody knows the hot mess known as Lily Fowler. And I'm loving every minute of it. But someone is watching me. Following me. He's gorgeous.

Kelsey Phillips is over the dating scene. All that time and energy perfecting your profile and taking just the right picture and articulating exactly what you’re looking for, only to get the same sleazy propositions? No, thanks. She’s doing just fine on her own, so there’s no point in a fruitless hunt for “the one” that doesn’t exist. Besides, she already has the perfect man in her life. Theo is the type of friend who’s always there for a laugh, a hug, or a drink - and no propositions.

In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed. The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she's never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her. There's something he isn't telling her. But there's something she's not telling him, either.

I knew from the moment I first saw her she was the one. The only girl I could ever want. The only girl I could ever love. She is light. I am darkness. She is innocent. I've done too much. She is good. I am bad. She is my every dream. I should be her every nightmare. We come from different worlds. She's...perfect. And I'm...not. Somehow she wants me anyway.

Ava Callahan. Love of my life. Wrecker of my soul. I would have sworn on anything that what we shared was real. But she broke my trust. And then my heart. I don’t think I can piece it back together without her, but I’m sure going to try. I’m better off on my own, anyway, right? Who needs girls when you have football? If only I believed that. Look, when you need someone in your life, you don’t want to let her go. And I can’t let go of Ava. I love her. She loves me. Nothing can convince me otherwise.

Amelia has no idea the guy she bumped into at her friend’s Christmas tree farm is the same one she’s been set up with at a wedding reception. Isaac Jones is a nice guy. A good looking guy. A much younger guy. No way could they be compatible—they have nothing in common. The more time Amelia spends with Isaac though, the more she realizes he just might be perfect for her. He makes her laugh. He’s a complete gentleman. And they’re definitely compatible between the sheets …

This was supposed to be the best year of Rowan Lancaster's life. Instead, thanks to a massive linebacker, his ankle is broken and his last football season at Lancaster Prep is done. Just like that. Now his days are dull and gray. Boring. Except for the days that include Arabella Hartley Thomas. She's the girl everyone wants to be friends with. Beautiful but approachable. Stylish. Quirky. Yet she gets under Rowan's skin like no other, and he doesn't understand why. Sure, they flirt and banter and give each other grief.

Stella Ricci is bored. Her overprotective family barely let her out of their sight, despite the fact she’s a grown woman. Yes, she loves her job at her family’s café, and she’s the best barista in the entire Monterey Peninsula, but is that enough? She’s thinking no. But what else can she do? Enter Carter Abbott. Burnt out after the never-ending grind of selling high-end real estate in Los Angeles, he’s returned home, unsure of what to do next. He needs someplace to crash temporarily until he gets back on his feet.

It's bad enough Jade Frost's boyfriend dragged her to a boring poker game. It's even worse that he actually threw her into the betting pot during an intense round - and lost. Talk about the perfect excuse for Jade to make him her ex-boyfriend. Now she supposedly belongs to the ultrarich, extremely gorgeous Shep Prescott. He could have anything he wants, yet he seems to be in hot pursuit of her. No matter how rude, how snarky, how impossible she acts, it doesn't stop him.