Showing results by narrator "AJ Ferraro" in All Categories

Life coach Elaine Raitt is educated, elegant, and dedicated to her profession. Blue-collar boi Joey Lang is too insecure to even approach her - that is until her well-meaning but meddling best friend Lisa decides to make Joey a life-coaching appointment with Elaine. A session meant to bring clarity only leaves them both feeling more confused about their purpose in life and love. Will Joey be able to find the strength to chase the woman of her dreams, and even if she does, will Elaine be willing to risk the life she loves for the woman who could be the love of her life?

Artist Clay Cahill retreats to her hometown of Pine Cone, Georgia, when she’s betrayed by a woman she thought cared, and the pressure of the New York City art world becomes too much. Setting paints aside, she takes a job at her grandfather’s garage, seeking the restorative comfort of small town life where women are sweet and life flows as slow as molasses. Manhattan art gallery owner River Hemsworth is informed her aunt has bequeathed her a local gallery in Pine Cone. En route to review inventory and unload the property, River wrecks her car, and Clay comes to her rescue.

An early morning hotel fire turns out to be anything but routine for firefighter Reid Webb, as her best friend and partner, Jimmy Grant, dies. Feeling responsible for the loss, Reid vows to look after Jimmy's young son - even if that means spending far too much time in the company of a woman she harbors feelings for.

Sawyer Drake has never known what she wants - except it isn't working in the family restaurant. In order to outrun her destiny, she bounces from job to job - and woman to woman. Nothing keeps her attention for very long. Nothing, that is, until she meets shy pastry chef Jori Diamantina. But Jori has no intention of risking the job she loves and a life she's comfortable with for a passing fling with Sawyer, no matter how strong the attraction. Sawyer has no idea what she wants from Jori, or from life, but she's about to find out - because Jori makes her want to stop running.

Valentina Rosas has always known what she wants. Mostly. Sort of. At least, she does now. And what she wants is the coveted staging role at Gia, San Francisco. With four years at the top of her class in culinary school and enough tenacity to fuel the entire Mission, no one doubts she is about to land the job of her dreams—including the three-person cheer squad made up of her best friend and adorably overbearing parents.

Cody Walsh leaves Arkansas for California...Lillie Ellis leaves New York to accept a post as a schoolteacher on the frontier near a small homestead she just inherited from her uncle...Cody rescues Lillie after a chance encounter in Independence, Missouri. Their destinies and desires become entwined as they face the perils of the untamed West. Despite their differences, they discover that love’s uncharted frontier is not for the weak in spirit or the faint of heart.

Sarah O'Shaughnessy, a high school counselor, is very good at taking care of others. What she hasn't mastered is how to take better care of herself. Four years after the death of her wife, Sarah's life has settled into a safe, solitary rut. That is until the arrival of a new student and her mom. Lauren Emerson and her teen daughter, Kat, move back to Lauren's hometown in Central New York, fleeing her unsupportive husband and Kat's traumatic bullying experience. Lauren is determined to create a better life for them both.

Police Officer Grace Booker’s life is good - but not quite everything she'd hoped. When a good deed goes wrong, she’s left with Dirty Harry, a raucous African parrot who really hates her. When Harry becomes louder and more neurotic, Grace takes him to the new local vet, Dr. Dani Wingate.

Facing summer with her two boys, ages 10 and seven, Pam Lobley was sifting through signups for swim team, rec camp, night camp, scout camp, and enrichment classes. Overwhelmed at the choices, she asked her sons what they wanted to do during summer: "Soccer? Zoo School? Little Prodigy's Art Club?" "Why can't we just play?" they asked. A summer with no scheduled activities at all. The thought was tempting, but was it possible? It would be like something out of the 1950s.

Izzy Calabrese wants to make her restaurant a success. She has a passion for cooking and life in general. Romance is the furthest thing from her mind when she finds Mel Thomas crying after being abandoned by her husband...again. She tries to distance herself from Mel, but she keeps showing up. Clients know Mel Thomas as the CEO of her own consulting firm. She's smart, engaging, and successful. Anyone who knows her would never think she's insecure, but she's more fragile than anyone knows.

Best-selling mystery writer Sam Torres loves jetting around the world, researching her next plot, and enjoying local culture, cuisine, and women. Her next stop: the Big Easy. Tess Arceneaux is a New Orleans native who likes life simple and uncomplicated. That includes shucking oysters for wealthy tourists and singing at the neighborhood bar-no pretense and no pressure. When Sam saunters in looking for company in addition to dinner, she sets her sights on Tess.

Maya Vaughn, the hottest young pastry chef to emerge from the reality television machine, takes a turn as a judge on the very show that launched her career, expecting to find a nice change of scenery and a little diversion. A late-bloomer at 42 years old, Shannon Hayes is finally on the precipice of achieving her dreams. She has one shot to prove she can compete with chefs half her age and with much more experience. Engaging in a fling with a judge 14 years her junior would almost certainly kill that chance.

Welcome back to Bay West, the NYC lesbian condo community bursting with friendships, romance, heartache, and girls - everywhere. Meg and Lexi are back with new friends, new romances, and new problems. California girl Tracy Allen has just dropped in on old friend Meg McTiernan to nurse a bruised ego and a broken heart. Will the lure of life at this lesbian-only development entice her to make a permanent move? Local resident Jennifer Betsy certainly hopes so. A Bay West Social Romance: Where there’s always fun, drama, and more than enough love to go around.

When Rachel shows up for an interview at a law office, she doesn't expect to be handed...a baby. But she embraces her new job - and her pint-sized sidekick - because if there's one thing Rachel's good at, it's having adventures. (Plus her new boss? Totally hot.) Bryce didn't even know he was a father until last week. Now he's behind on sleep and his organized office is sliding into chaos. Ordinarily, he'd hold out for an assistant with more experience and less attitude, but he needs help, and he needs it now.

This powerful essay collection is a natural extension of the #MeToo movement, revealing the interior experience of women after they’ve inevitably been underestimated or hurt—the epiphany that the world is different than they thought it to be—and how they’ve used this knowledge to make change.

In the 1990s American workplace, survival of the fittest is sometimes less about clawing your way to the top than developing good camouflage. And Audrey Rohmer is doing her very best to blend in as an undistinguished middle manager. Uninspired by her job and uneasy about her father's new marriage, Audrey coasts through the work week leaning on her “partner in apathy”–an admin assistant named Pooter–to keep her relationship with the married head of her department from becoming water cooler gossip.

Recent retiree Ruth Singer is reflecting on her life and wondering what direction it might have taken if she'd made different choices. What if she'd had her tubes tied before her difficult youngest child was born? What if she'd run off with Danny Fortuna when she'd had the chance? Not only does Ruth ponder these questions, she lives those what-if lives in her imagination. As the chaos of her real life swirls around her, she contemplates the roads she never took, the choices she never made, and comes to understand how she became the woman she is - and why.

Single mom Celia has three kids, two jobs, and a burning desire to build a better life for her family. To make ends meet while she takes classes in graphic design, she accepts a job as a nanny. Only problem? Her new boss, Richard, is arrogant and infuriating, but he’s also incredibly attractive, and his rare flashes of charm soon start to melt Celia’s heart.

Ocelot is a world-class assassin with a style all her own. She avoids connections, dislikes obligations, and would sell her own sister to the mob (but just that once) to avoid being drawn into someone else's drama. So, naturally, she is drawn in and finds herself working with a mage to prevent a major corporation from throwing the delicate balance of science, magic, and the law out the window.

It always starts out so innocent. A drink, a laugh, a bet. For 40-year-old Dee Harper, her humdrum life is about to become educated. When Dee's wealthy friend, Gail, makes her a ridiculous bet, she never dreams she'll actually go through with it. After all, dating 26 men in one year, from A to Z, is ludicrous. Right? Then Gail offers her $50,000 if she succeeds. Now that is an offer she can't refuse. From Adam the cocky limo driver to Kevin the klepto, Dee learns the hard way what sort of guy she doesn't want.