Forever Her Cowboy - Silver Creek Ranch - Contemporary Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #Giveaway

Peyton Banks is here to tell us about Forever Her Cowboy, Silver Creek Ranch, contemporary romance.

There's also a great giveaway.

______________________

Forever Her Cowboy

Peyton Banks

(Silver Creek Ranch)

Publication date: September 22nd 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

He came to Silver Creek Ranch planning to drift on.

A fearless diner owner gave him a reason to stay forever.

Trent Lawson has spent years drifting from one job to the next.

Since leaving the Army, staying in one place has never felt possible… until he discovered the Silver Creek Ranch, a healing ranch for military veterans.

Then he met Frankie Carpenter.

The beautiful diner owner with the tempting curves, a stubborn streak a mile wide, and a smile that will make a hardened soldier start thinking about things he hasn’t allowed himself to want in years.

But when wealthy developers start pressuring her to sell the diner that’s the heart of the town, things quickly turn dangerous.

Frankie refuses to back down.

And Trent refuses to let her stand alone.

Protecting Frankie was never part of his plan—but the more time he spends with her, the more he realizes Ironhaven might finally be the place to put down roots.

Because some things are worth fighting for.

Forever Her Cowboy is a steamy small-town romance featuring a protective cowboy, a fierce heroine, and a love worth fighting for at Silver Creek Ranch.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

She loved what she did.

Even when she was tired.

Even when her feet throbbed and she desperately wished she had someone to rub them when she was at home.

She loved knowing people chose her place to start their day.

“Order up for table nine!” Chris called out.

She grabbed Trent’s plate before Tabby could. She didn’t know why. Maybe she did. She carried it out carefully and set it in front of him.

“Now this should keep you going,” she said. She rested her hands on her hips and smiled at Trent. “Or are you planning to nap in the barn after this?”

The corner of his lips lifted. “Depends. You offering to tuck me in?”

She blinked.

The laugh that erupted from her came from the gut. She hadn’t expected such a response.

“Well, now. A big strong man like you needs help?” she asked.

His shoulders relaxed. His eyes crinkled in the corner as he reached for his fork.

“Figured I’d try something new.” He shrugged.

Her pulse skipped a beat.

Try something new.

Was he talking about her? It had been a long time since she’d been in the dating pool. She bit her lip and leaned slightly closer to him. She watched him take his first bite of the biscuit and gravy.

“I’m sure you’ll be okay. The food will give you energy you need. Buck’s been running y’all hard this week.”

His eyebrows rose as he chewed. He swallowed and motioned to her.

“Keeping tabs on me, are we?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she said softly.

The air between them shifted.

This was dangerous and exciting.

She’d dated here and there since moving back, but nothing serious. Most of the men in Ironhaven were either married, uninterested, or too eager in ways that made her wary.

Trent was different.

He appeared to be a good guy. The others from the Silver Creek Ranch spoke highly of him. Melah, one of the female hands, had been in the other day, and from what she’d said, Trent was single.

Not that she’d asked.

Okay, she had. She was just curious. She knew he wasn’t from Ironhaven and she didn’t know if he commuted back and forth since Ironhaven had ample ranches and farms that needed good workers.

She couldn’t remember the last time a man’s gaze took her breath away. That happened almost every time Trent looked her way.

“Dinner tonight,” she heard herself say before she lost her nerve. “The special is chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and honey butter rolls.”

His eyes widened. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. You should come back.” She tilted her head.

There was something about watching a man enjoy a good meal. Trent was steadily packing away the food that was on his plate. She couldn’t tell where it all went. He was solid muscle and fit.

Her? All of the food went to her hips.

“Unless you are scared of a food coma,” she teased.

“I can handle it.” He huffed a laugh.

She just about fell over at the sound of it. She knew he smiled, but it wasn’t often she heard him laugh when he was here eating.

“I’ll even throw in a slice of cheesecake, on the house.” She lowered her voice just a bit.

He stared at her like he wasn’t sure if she was serious. Her stomach flipped. Was she really flirting this openly?

Apparently, yes.

Was she failing at it?

“Hard to turn down free cheesecake,” he said.

“Good.” She straightened to her full height. “Don’t forget we close early on Mondays. I’ll be expecting you around six.”

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded.

“I’ll be here at six.”

Her heart slammed into her ribs. Behind her, Libby called her name. The place was filled to capacity. She stepped back and, before she could stop herself, she winked at him.

“Don’t be late.”

She turned and walked away so she couldn’t see his reaction. The second she reached the counter, she sucked in a deep breath.

What on earth had she just done?

Author Bio:

USA Today best selling author, Peyton Banks, is the alter ego of a city girl who is a romantic at heart. Her mornings consist of coffee and daydreaming up the next steamy romance book ideas. She loves spinning romantic tales of hot alpha males and the women they love. She currently resides with her husband and children in Cleveland, Ohio.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok / Newsletter

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Forever Her Cowboy Blitz

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In the Frame: A Fake Dating Queer MM Romance - The London Arts Club #2 - Contemporary LGBTQ+ Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #LGBTQ+Romance #ContemporaryRomance #MMromance #Giveaway

Hayden Stone is here to tell us about In the Frame - A Fake Dating Queer MM Romance, the London Arts Club #2, contemporary LGBTQ+ romance.

There's also a great giveaway.

________________________

In the Frame: A Fake Dating Queer MM Romance

Hayden Stone

(The London Arts Club, #2)

Publication date: August 29th 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

An artist. A developer. And an art gallery which they both want—for very different reasons.

When recent uni grad Matty Gowen-Smith, a talented painter and not so talented bartender, spills a tray of drinks on a hot-shot investor, Florian de Ligt, he’s left with no choice to make amends. Especially after Matty ruins Florian’s suit on a big night out for Florian’s birthday.

Trying to make things right, broke artist Matty offers Florian his only suit in a desperate effort to not get fired from his job. Conveniently, Matty is flat sitting around the corner, where his one prized suit awaits his friend’s wedding next weekend. Not so conveniently, they are soon trapped together in an elevator at Matty’s flat, and things rapidly go from bad to worse until landing on an uneasy truce.

Which is where a pact is born to come right from this mess. Florian needs a date for an upcoming art gala, a world he knows little about. Matty desperately needs a respectable date for his friend’s Brighton wedding to prove he’s a success in his new London life.

Two fake dates and an unexpected kiss later, fake feelings begin to feel a bit too much like real feelings. Which wouldn’t be a problem if Florian wasn’t so determined to dismantle Matty’s art community by redeveloping a popular local art gallery into luxury condos. An art gallery which may give Matty the solo exhibition he’s dreamt of to launch his art career. And now Matty must choose between his community or what might be a real chance at love…

In the Frame, the second book in the London Arts Club series, features forced proximity, boy next door, and fake dating in a fun new adult romcom.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

The fact is I’m kind of a shit bartender in a not-so-shit London bar. A popular bar full of discerning hipsters with deep pockets and others who want to be seen. It’s my first Saturday night working here at my new job. Which is exactly what I need to be doing to bring in some cash, and not spending money I can’t afford on supplies from the local art shop around the corner in Soho.

Forget that my new boss has all the makings of a tyrannical dictator—one who already has me nestled comfortably in his crosshairs. It’s not all smooth sailing despite the luxurious queer glamour of Ivan’s. Dramatic high-coffered ceilings soar overhead with gleaming chandeliers, and chic paintings from highly successful contemporary artists hangs on dark walls. The last part’s like artisanal sea salt in a career-shaped wound.

I have no idea why they hired me. Aside from me technically being qualified for the job. And also technically having the right references.

I mean, they obviously needed another bartender, after one of their old ones left. Which is a reasonable thing for a bar to want to keep running smoothly and keep their customers in suggestively named cocktails, like Get Your Freak On or Banger Baby or classics like Sex on the Beach. But just because I gave them my resumé doesn’t automatically mean I’m the best man for the job.

Never mind. I’m here now and I need to get on with it. The paycheck will make up for my current suffering, and, at best, low-key competence.

Around me, the upscale bar glows with burnished wood counters, gleaming glassware, and a stylishly imposing pink neon display (saying you have arrived and it reminds me a little of Tracey Emin’s works in neon), accompanied by a thousand bottles of premium, backlit spirits on the brick wall behind me that the finest of London’s equally premium queers will enjoy. Backlighting optional.

Clenching my jaw, I wring the bar cloth into the sink, rinse it, and give the counter in front of me a quick wipe, because I inadvertently slopped some ale when I should have slid the glass over with a certain panache expected of a bartender in a place like this. With every last drop of said ale staying within the confines of its glassware.

Except I panicked, because nerves.

Because Saturday night. Because there are hot men everywhere, where the hotness per capita rating is off the charts—to the point there should be a public health warning and an exclusion zone for the susceptible to distraction, like me. It’s definitely the sort of hotspot in London where people go when they want to be noticed. The occasional celeb makes their way through here too, tipping off the paparazzi who wait outside. There’re regularly high numbers of influencers in Ivan’s, all vying for social media clout.

Meanwhile, the remaining froth I missed looks obscene on the walnut bar. I wring out the cloth one more time for luck.

People in the queue for drinks are thankfully looking at the mess and not at me. In my crisp white shirt and black waistcoat and pressed trousers, I at least look the part like the rest of the wait staff, if not the clientele. In fairness to me, I do tidy up quite nicely when I try. Except I’ve got no chill, especially not tonight.

Author Bio:

More animal than mineral, Hayden Stone (he/him) is a writer of fun queer fiction, especially with kissing. Hayden is the author of the When Snow Falls, Being Royal, and The London Arts Club romcom series. He currently lives in Victoria, Canada, and has previously lived in Vancouver, Canada and London, UK. You can find out his latest news on Instagram or his website: haydenstonebooks.com

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / TikTok

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In the Frame Blitz

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This is Halloween - A Blue Spruce Hills Novella - Contemporary Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #Giveaway

Sarah Branson is here to tell us about This is Halloween, A Blue Spruce Hills Novella, contemporary romance.

There's also a great giveaway.

_____________________

This is Halloween

Sarah Branson

(A Blue Spruce Hills Novella)

Publication date: September 17th 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Midwife. Halloween. A Pennsylvania hill town. A ghost with an agenda. A historian with patient eyes.

Jules Lockwood, nurse-midwife and family nurse practitioner, wants two years of loan forgiveness and a one-way ticket to Australia. Her obstacle: a town that keeps finding reasons to need her.

Eli Matthews, Blue Spruce Hills town historian, is the kind of man who came back when it mattered and stayed. He brings coffee every morning without being asked.

Agnes Bell, midwife, 1856 to 1931, has been waiting in Blue Spruce Hills since her death for the right pair of hands to pass her work to. She has found them. She is not subtle about it.

On Halloween night, when the veil between past and present is at its thinnest, everything Jules came to Blue Spruce Hills to avoid arrives at once.

This Is Halloween delivers the satisfaction of a woman choosing herself and her work on her own terms, a slow-burn romance that earns every moment, and a ghost story that will make you wish you could have known Agnes Bell.

• small town romance

• ghost mentor

• found community

• slow burn

• woman finding home

• past and present collide

• reluctant to stay

• Halloween setting

• professional woman romance

• haunted by the past (literal)

• second chance at belonging

Heat level: closed door

Series: Blue Spruce Hills, Book 1 — standalone, complete story, no cliffhanger

POV: third person limited, Jules

Tense: past

Setting: small Pennsylvania town, October through May

Comp titles: The House in the Cerulean Sea; Beach Read; A Discovery of Witches

Content notes: pregnancy and birth depicted (clinical, not graphic); brief mention of historical pregnancy loss (off-page); deployment/absent spouse (minor character)

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Juliet “Jules” Lockwood had sworn exactly six times since leaving the highway and crossing the Blue Spruce Hills town line. All six had been silent. All six had been necessary.

She pulled her Subaru into the gravel lot beside the Blue Spruce Hills Community Clinic and sat there longer than necessary, hands wrapped around the steering wheel like the car might attempt escape without her. Outside, the October sky was an intense blue with a few white clouds scudding across it. A carved pumpkin grinned from the clinic’s front step. Orange lights shaped like leaves were looped around the porch railing. Just up the street, a plastic skeleton swung from a telephone pole, rotating haphazardly in the wind.

Jules stared at the skeleton. The skeleton appeared to stare back.

She opened the car door, stepped out onto the gravel, closed her eyes, and took a deep inhale. Wood smoke and baked goods, harvest-sweet with cinnamon and nutmeg. It was, Jules thought grimly, aggressively charming. She took a step and nearly collided with a man holding a cardboard tray of coffee.

“Oh! Sorry!” he said, immediately steadying both the tray and her elbow with equal care. He was tall and laid back, with dark hair that the wind had done something unrequested to and kind brown eyes, soft and patient, the sort of eyes that suggested the person behind them listened when you talked. He wore a canvas jacket the color of cedar bark and was smiling with the easy confidence of someone who had nowhere to be and was fine with that. “You must be Jules.”

She froze. This was… unfortunate. Because those eyes were going to be a problem. She recognized his type immediately, the way one would recognize a load-bearing wall, structural and quiet, that the whole room organizes itself around without anyone quite noticing. Those eyes reflected the sort of steadiness that belonged to men who stayed. She had believed that about someone once. Believed it comprehensively and inconveniently, and at considerable personal expense. Never again.

“I’m Eli Matthews,” he said, and held out the coffee tray. “Town historian and unofficial town greeter. I brought options. Decaf, regular, and one with oat milk, because the clinic called ahead and…” he paused, reconsidering his own sentence, “okay, I asked Margaret at the post office, who asked Clara at the bakery, who said she had heard that you’d mentioned oat milk to someone at the gas station in Lehighton.”

Jules stared at the tray. “That’s a significant intelligence operation for a cup of coffee.”

He smiled, a little sheepishly. “Small town. We have patterns.” He glanced at the pumpkin on the porch. “Also, it’s October. We take hospitality seriously in October.”

She reached for the oat milk coffee. Behind her, someone cleared their throat very distinctly — the throat-clearing of someone who had been waiting a respectable amount of time and was now done waiting. Jules’s hand tightened around the cup.

She recognized that sound. She knew it the way she knew a change in barometric pressure, in her teeth, at the base of her skull, in the specific cold that moved along her spine when something was present that had no business being present.

Absolutely not. I am not doing ghosts again.

She turned slowly.

Author Bio:

Award-winning feminist speculative fiction author Sarah Branson spent close to thirty years as a midwife before turning to fiction, writing tales of action, adventure, revenge, and romance rooted in the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. Her New Earth universe imagines a future where diversity of identity is simply the texture of life, with honors including the 2022 Kindle Book Award for science fiction, the 2025 Wishing Shelf Book Award Gold Medal for A Pirates' Pact, and a Foreword Indie Award Honorable Mention for For the Love of Glitter. Her two newest releases expand beyond New Earth: This Is Halloween, a cozy women's fiction novella in the Blue Spruce Hills series (September 17, 2026), and Life Ends, Love Remains: A Revolutionary Ghost Story, a literary paranormal novel set in Ridgefield, Connecticut (early October 2026). Sarah lives with her husband in Connecticut.

Website / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

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Love Next Door: A '90s Anthem Duet - Contemporary Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #Giveaway

Eve Kasey & Melanie A. Smith are here to tell us about Love Next Door: A '90s Anthem Duet, contemporary romance.

There's also a great giveaway.

____________________

Love Next Door: A ‘90s Anthem Duet

Eve Kasey & Melanie A. Smith

Publication date: September 1st 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

One volume, two steamy interconnected romances set in 1995 Seattle

Come to My Window

Hazel Bell has lost everything — her job, her apartment, and her future in Seattle. Now her whole world is a thrift-store wardrobe, a family of houseplants, and a stranger in the opposite window who knows exactly what to say.

They exchange notes instead of names. Confessions instead of introductions. And somehow, the man she’s never met becomes the one person she can’t live without.

Gideon Sarkis knows the truth would end them before they ever begin.

He knows exactly who Hazel is. But she doesn’t know him — or how badly he once hurt her. The more notes they write, the harder he falls. But with his obligations pressing in and her options disappearing, their time is running out.

Some windows are meant to be opened.

But some secrets can shatter everything.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Ben Pedersen is a ghostwriter stuck crafting someone else’s thrillers when a misdelivered package introduces him to the mystery of unit 203 — and its elusive occupant, Heaven Lee.

Lee is a software engineer burning the candle at every possible end, helping build one of the first online bookstores. She doesn’t have time for nosy neighbors. She barely has time for sleep. But the guy upstairs keeps getting her mail, and he’s funny, patient, and her dog likes him more than the UPS guy. So maybe one coffee not-date won’t kill her.

The neighborly arrangement that follows becomes something neither of them planned. But Lee won’t admit what’s in the misdelivered packages, and Ben’s writer brain won’t let a mystery rest. When curiosity crosses a line, both must decide what matters more: protecting their secrets or fighting for what they’ve found.

Love Next Door is two warm, witty nostalgic love stories about the secrets we keep, the walls we build, and the people worth tearing them down for.

Goodreads / Purchase

EXCERPT:

Hazel is parked in a chair in front of her window, arms around her knees as if she needs the extra support. Our gazes collide across the space between us. Even with the tiny smile she offers, she looks small and lonely, and it breaks my heart.

There is no note. Just her.

After a long moment in which we just share space, she unwinds her arms and turns to her kitchen table. Her hair falls across her face as she scribbles out a note. I watch as she tucks long locks behind her ear, and wish it’s my fingers instead.

Coffee shop? her note says. She’s drawn a steaming mug beside the words.

I nod.

And wait.

Her next note is unexpected. I saw you at the grocery store yesterday.

My stomach flips. Seriously? In the same building twice in as many days? I wonder how often that’s happened without our knowledge. Maybe we’ve been circling around each other for months, just out of reach.

And? She’d seen me and done nothing about it. Why?

A bit of her sparkle returns as she shares a small, sly smile. And I still think you’re incredibly handsome.

I chuckle softly, but I won’t let her slide. Talk to me, Picasso.

Her smile fades. Nodding, she turns her attention back to her art supplies. Her words against the glass are navy blue and stark. It’s been an invisible day. Ever feel invisible?

I don’t. My size and coloring make me stand out. I’ve never felt invisible, but I’ve never truly felt seen, either. Not until eye contact with my neighbor was all I had.

I shake my head before bending down to write the next note. I may not have seen you, but I see you. I make the last three words bold, going over the letters several times. Then I make a second sign. You shine, Hazel. Even in the dark.

Thank you, she doodles out, including leaves and buds around the letters. Then another. You have a way of helping me heal. A broken heart held together by stitches.

“Killing me, Picasso,” I breathe. That is the greatest compliment she can give me, especially knowing what I do.

You get me through the day, Hazel. Even before I knew you, you were the reason I smiled.

She puts her hand on her heart, and I swear I feel myself fall.

Smiling, Hazel writes another note and holds it up to the window. Do I get to know your name?

With those words, I hit the earth.

I refuse to let my panic show on my face. Thinking quickly, I scrawl out a desperate reply. If you’ve named all your plants, I know you’ve named me, too. What do you call me?

She visibly cringes, and heaves an exaggerated sigh I can see across the alley and holds her confession up to the window.

Fred.

I blink. As in Flintstone? Why?

Hazel is slow to reply, but I don’t mind because I have her pursed lips and another peek of her clavicle to focus on. Because you’re too sexy for your shirt.

It takes a few seconds to process her words. Then I burst out laughing, harder than I have in weeks. Not Flintstone, then. Right Said Fred. The guy with the truly obnoxious song.

Still chuckling, I glance down at my exposed abs, loving that she appreciates my hard work, loving even more that “too sexy” is how she thinks of me.

Despite the crazy day, despite the secret I’m holding in my heart, I make sure that Hazel knows that the feeling is mutual.

I let desire take over every part of me, slowly, like a trickle of light rain. I allow heat into my gaze. Leaning forward on the shelf, I let my muscles pop and eyes roam. I take her in as I share my more lascivious thoughts through body language.

For her, I strip myself bare, deeper than flesh. I stop hiding how I see her. And I drink down what I witness across the way.

A flower opening in the sun.

Author Bio:

Eve Kasey writes for a design firm by day and reads (and writes!) indie romance novels by night. Her contemporary romances balance swoon and steam while aiming to teach readers something new. She loves romance for the hope the genre conveys as well as the amplification of the simple truth that everyone everywhere deserves a happily ever after - however that looks to them. Eve lives in and loves the Pacific Northwest.

Melanie A. Smith is an award-winning, international best-selling author of steamy romance with smart, self-sufficient heroines and strong, swoony book boyfriends with hearts of gold. A former engineer turned stay-at-home mom and author, when Melanie is not lost in the world of books you’ll find her spending time with her husband and son, crafting, or cross-stitching.

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Play Along, Sweetheart - Contemporary Romance #Romance #ContemporaryRomance

Nancy Pirri is here to tell us about her contemporary romance Play Along, Sweetheart.

Read on for details...

___________________

 

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: August 10, 2026

Their relationship is fake. Their chemistry is not.

Chicago social worker, Maggie O’Hara, arrives at the Minneapolis airport where she awaits the arrival of her family to pick her up and take her home with them for Thanksgiving. She’s nervous, due to the surprise she has for them in her arms—her newly adopted baby girl from Korea. With little thought, Maggie grabs a stranger getting off the same airplane, and asks him to portray himself, temporarily, as her fiancé. She knows that her old-fashioned family will disapprove of the adoption because she’s not married. What Maggie doesn’t count on is falling in love with Dr. Nick Capra, who does more than a passable job of posing as her fiancé that day, and over the holiday week.

From the moment Maggie snags Nick, a confirmed bachelor, his gut tells him his single days are over and that she’s the woman for him. While posing as her fiancé he tells her he wants to be a permanent part of her life. While Maggie has fallen in love with Nick, she has a secret that could ruin their chances of being together, though she refuses to divulge the secret to him—until the choice is taken out of her hands.

 

About the Author

 

 Nancy Schumacher is the owner-publisher of Melange Books, LLC, writing under the pseudonyms, Nancy Pirri and Natasha Perry. Being a publisher doesn’t allow much time for the creative process of writing and publishing her own works, but every once in a while it happens.

She is an associate member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). She is also one of the founders of the RWA chapter, Northern Lights Writers (NLW), in Minnesota.

 

Contact Links

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Satin Romance

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The Champagne Crush - Les Femmes Series - Contemporary Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #Giveaway

Caroline O’ Connell is here to tell us about her contemporary romance The Champagne Crush, Les Femmes Series.

There's also a great giveaway.

____________________

The Champagne Crush

Caroline O’ Connell

(Les Femmes Series)

Publication date: August 20th 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Perfect for fans of Emily in Paris—with the sophistication of the wine world and a slow-burn, opposites-attract love story. A glitzy PR expert and a traditional wine president clash on a high-stakes global launch—where rivalry, reinvention, and romance collide.

AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION DETAILS:

• Format: Unabridged Audiobook
• Performance: Single Narration by acclaimed British stage actress Karen Gundersen
• Audio Features: Fully voiced character accents and deep emotional range
• Primary Tropes: Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract, Slow-Burn
• Audiobook Vibe: High-tension with a romantic, high-heat fade-to-black intimacy level (the intense build-up is on the page, but the camera pulls away before explicit details)

Goodreads / Amazon / BookBub

EXCERPT:

Chris McDermott’s Family Ranch in Napa, CA

(Dinner after an all-day TV shoot in the vineyards)

When they were finishing the fig tart dessert with freshly whipped cream from their dairy, his dad leaned over to Chris. “Why don’t you show Catherine our current operation? It’s not much yet, but she’ll be able to say she saw a world class winery in its early stages.” He stood up and grabbed his plate. “I’ll help Maura clear the dishes. You two can take off.”

Chris didn’t need prompting. He was feeling inexplicably drawn to Catherine. The temperature outside dropped quickly, so he bundled her up in one of his warm leather jackets. It was three sizes too big, which only made her look more adorable.

They stepped onto a moonlit path and walked a short distance to the temporary winery: an aluminum-sided structure that held rudimentary winemaking equipment next to cases of empty bottles. A walk-in cooler held samples of the wines they’d already produced laid horizontally on racks. On the far end of the room, a partial wall separated the “office”—an old metal desk, a long table with office equipment and a computer, one file cabinet, shelves brimming with books and magazines, and a large bulletin board with articles and graphs clipped on it.

“I know it doesn’t look like much yet,” Chris said. “But it’s the genesis of our dream. My dad and I have been working toward this moment for many years, the chance to create our own family wine.”

He held out his hand. “Let’s go sit outside. It’s such a clear night, we should be able to see the stars.”

They sat on hay bales near the barn, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm. He pointed up to the sky. “Most nights you can see the constellations and major stars, unless there’s cloud cover.” He pulled her closer. “There’s Venus . . .”

“Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty . . .” Catherine chimed in.

Seems the beauty is right here, sitting next to me. “How about you, Catherine Reynolds? What are your dreams?”

She tucked her hands into the jacket pockets. “Unlike you, my dreams have changed over time. When Vanessa and I were teenagers, we went into modeling.” She made a face. “It’s not as glamorous as people think. Now, I’d like to pursue a career in the hospitality sector.” She sighed. “Still working that out.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you in the beginning. I think you’re a wonderful asset to the company.” And to my life.

He stood up and silently offered his hand, pulling her up to face him. An owl hooted nearby, momentarily jarring him from his intent to steal a kiss. He took a deep breath and gazed into her upturned face. Her long-lashed eyes blinked as she looked into his questioningly.

“We’d better get going.” He turned her around and draped his arm over her shoulders as they walked back. When they reached the guest cottage, he gave her a warm hug and walked off. She’s too appealing. I’m falling fast.

Author Bio:

Caroline O'Connell is the author of numerous travel guides, including Affordable Paris Hotels. The Champagne Crush is the first novel in the Les Femmes Series. In conjunction with the launch of the audiobook version, the ebook is discounted to $1.99 (from $9.99) on all platforms. Her website is https://carolinestraveltips.com/.

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His Beautiful Game - Lanark Soccer Club #1 - Contemporary Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #Giveaway

Peyton Lux is here to tell us about His Beautiful Game, Lanark Soccer Club #1, contemporary romance.

There's also a great giveaway.

______________________

His Beautiful Game

Peyton Lux

(Lanark Soccer Club, #1)

Publication date: August 11th 2026

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

My childhood crush is my injured captain… and I’m the physio secretly keeping him on the pitch.

Rafe Calder is everything I learned not to want: flashy, reckless, adored, and far too beautiful. He is also hurt, lying about it, and somehow mine to fix.

I catch the limp no one else sees, then make the dumbest deal of my life. Private rehab, locked rooms, my hands on him daily, and one rule I keep pretending still matters.

At first, he pushes because he hates being handled. Then he listens when pain scares him, lets me see the lonely man under the captain’s armband, and looks ready to break when Donovan Reid makes me smile.

Somewhere between treatment lights, late-night checkups, and one reckless after-hours mistake that turns into more, I fall. Not for the fantasy I used to worship, but for the man who finally stops performing.

Then his injury truth explodes, and protecting him could cost me everything.

Worst of all, loving him might end his career.

Tropes: Childhood crush, star player x physiotherapist, secret injury, forced proximity, forbidden workplace romance, jealousy triangle

Spice level: High / explicit

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Jealousy

I watch every second of that embrace. Her face when he lifts her off the ground, her laughter, the ease of it. Nothing between Tess and me has ever been easy.

He was a good player. I said that myself. But tonight he saved the game in my place, and thirty thousand people cheered him while I stood there feeling like a man who had started the match and somehow still lost it. Then I see him holding Tess, my Tess, and she’s smiling up at him like she doesn’t know exactly what that does to me.

I find her in the hallway outside the locker room. She doesn’t slow when I fall into step beside her, but I catch the way she worries at her lip.

“Great game,” she says.

“Is that what you said to Reid when he had his hands all over you?”

Her head jerks toward me. “I thanked him for the hug, yes.”

I stop her with a hand around her wrist. “I saw the way he looked at you.”

“He was thanking me. I cleared him to play on a calf knock.”

My throat tightens. “I saw the way you looked at him.”

Her expression hardens. “And what about you? What about the pictures of you with that woman? So it’s fine for you to do whatever you were doing, but I can’t accept a thank-you hug from a player I treated?”

“That was weeks ago,” I snap. “Before you and I—”

“I saw you at Halo.” Her voice goes cold. “The night after I came to your house.”

I stare at her. “I was with the lads. We go for beers all the time.”

“From where I was standing, you had a woman on your arm. Then you went off with her afterward. And you’ve got the gall to stand here and act jealous over three seconds in a football stadium?”

“Why were you watching me at Halo?” I demand.

“I was out with Donovan and Layla,” she says sharply. “I wasn’t stalking you.”

The room seems to tilt. “You were out with him?”

“With him and Layla. As friends.”

That lands like a punch. She steps closer and jabs a finger into my chest, and I let her. “Besides, you have no claim over me. You said mine into a mirror after a quick fuck in the gym and then showed up in the press with some other woman. And you know what? You’re right. We’re nothing, officially, so don’t stand here making me feel guilty for doing my job.”

“Don’t say nothing,” I say.

“What are we then?”

The anger in her face cracks for a second, and there’s fear underneath it. “I’ve been lying to my employer about you. I’ve filed false assessments. I’ve let you into places that were supposed to be professional, and you—”

“I haven’t touched anyone else,” I say. “Not since you.”

That stops her.

“The photos were nothing,” I tell her. “What you saw at Halo was nothing.”

Tears gather at the corners of her eyes. “You told me—”

“And I meant it.”

I cup her cheek. “You’re mine, Tess.”

She shudders when I kiss her. She lets me pull her against the wall, lets me kiss her hard enough to make the hallway disappear. But then she presses a hand to my chest and pushes back, just enough to stop me.

I break away, breathing hard. “I haven’t wanted anyone else. Not once.”

Her jaw tightens. “You’re injured, Rafe. Publicly now. I have to file a real assessment this week, and whatever this is, I can’t let it affect that report.”

“It doesn’t have to.”

“It already does,” she says quietly. “Every decision I make about your hip, your minutes, whether you play the Founders’ Cup or Donovan does—it’s all compromised because I have feelings. About both of you. And I can’t fix that, so I need you to give me some room.”

Room. For him, too.

I take a step back. Then another.

“Okay,” I say.

Her face flickers. “Rafe—”

“I heard you.” I keep backing away. “Do your job, Montgomery.”

She turns and walks off, leaving me standing in the corridor with the feeling that I’ve just done the right thing, and somehow lost anyway.

Author Bio:

Trading boardrooms for bedrooms (of the fictional kind!), Peyton Lux is now fully dedicated to writing steamy workplace romance that leaves readers utterly satisfied.

Her former life in marketing taught her how to craft compelling narratives – a skill she now devotes entirely to her steamy workplace romance novels.

Peyton lives and breathes romance, infusing her stories with undeniable heat and fiercely earned happily-ever-afters.

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