Up the Ante

Police detective Callie Burke returned to western New York after a bad breakup. She immerses herself in work as a way of avoiding any personal connections. But as her feelings for her sister’s boss and late friend’s widow move beyond friendship, she isn’t quite sure how to handle it.

Bar owner Taylor Fletcher lost her firefighter wife almost four years ago. Dating is the last thing on her mind. She gave her heart away once and isn’t willing to risk that kind of pain again. But now Callie, a woman she isn’t even sure she likes, is getting under her skin. 

Because of a threat on Taylor’s life, they spend more time together, and both begin to feel things they never expected. Callie’s never had the once-in-a-lifetime type of love. Taylor has, but Callie makes her wonder if it’s possible to find that kind of love twice in a lifetime.

Quinn Burke loves being a bartender. She meets new women every night and has her choice of bed partners. That’s fine with her because she isn’t interested in anything serious after having her heart shattered eighteen months ago.

Grace Everett is perfectly content owning a bookstore, but not so much in her personal life. She wants forever, but hasn’t had much luck with relationships. She’s hoping the newest woman in her life will be the one.

When Quinn’s mother falls ill, something shifts in the twenty-year-old friendship for both women. Quinn struggles with old feelings for Grace, and Grace is seeing Quinn in a different light. They know falling for their best friend is wrong, but could it be the right kind of wrong?

Homicide detective Kay Griffith never had a problem controlling her angeruntil murder suspect Tommy Rayne finally pushes her over the edge. After assaulting him, she's suspended from her job. She uses her unexpected time off to make some home improvements, but Kay has no idea Rayne is stalking her, and he's hell-bent on revenge.

Brenda Jansen owns Jansen Construction with her father. A routine job brings her to Kay's doorstep, and Brenda is blissfully unaware of the twists and turns her life is about to take. The instant attraction she feels toward her newest client is something Brenda's doing her best to ignore. Since her two previous girlfriends cheated on her, she's having a hard time putting her trust in anyone.

Brenda's indifference toward her intrigues Kay, who does everything she can to get Brenda to admit their attraction is mutual. As they grow closer, so does Tommy Rayne, until he finally threatens everything Kay holds dear.

Logan Swift has spent her life at her father's side learning the family business—Swift Funeral Home. She's seen how the death of a loved one affects the people left behind and has promised herself she'll never experience that kind of pain. But being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Brooke Collier believes she's responsible for her relationship failures. After a particularly bad breakup, she moves in with her aged grandparents in order to care for them. The last thing she expects—or wants—is the attraction she has to her new next-door neighbor, Logan Swift.

As Logan and Brooke find themselves growing closer with each passing day, Logan realizes that trusting in tomorrow isn't always easy when you deal with death for a living...

When faced with the loss of everything you hold dear, you run.

After a drunk driver took the lives of her lover and unborn child, that's exactly what Devon Conway did. Three years later when offered a business opportunity she can't pass by, she decides it's finally time to return home—even though she's far from sure of her welcome.

Katherine Hunter took a different path in the face of loss, throwing herself into her work to fill the emptiness in her heart. She doesn't have the time to date, even if she wanted to. But then fate drops Devon on her doorstep—literally—and Kat begins to question if the life she has painstakingly rebuilt is really enough.

Despite Devon and Kat's powerful attraction, the past stands between them—preventing them from taking a chance on the future. Will what is growing between them be enough to convince them that from this moment on, anything is possible, even love?

In this small-town second chance romance, Melissa Brayden’s Dream a Little Dream explores the pain of betrayal, the courage to face the unexpected, and the longing for a love that’s unforgettable.

Savanna Potter is having an off year. Her aunt died, and the woman of her dreams, who had agreed to meet her on the suspension bridge one year after their first amazing date, stood her up. Then, in news that rocks her, it turns out the dad she knew isn’t her biological father. So, who the hell is?

Savanna, angry and adrift, can’t believe it when Dr. Kyle Remington, the very woman who left her standing on that bridge like a fool, shows up in Dreamer’s Bay.

Not only has Kyle landed in Savanna’s small town, but she’s managed to charm every other person who lives there. Savanna has no plans to forgive and forget. There’s nothing between them anymore, even if Kyle’s sparkling blue eyes and shiny dark hair make Savanna’s pesky knees go weak. Life is too complicated for second chances. Or is it?