I always wanted to live at the beach. It had been my dream since I was a little girl. I longed to experience the sand and sea. My heart's desire was to become a famous artist who painted scenes with palm trees and blue waters. Finally, I was moving to a coastal town. It was only three hours from where I grew up, but it might as well have been paradise with how excited I was. My sister was coming with me, except she didn't care about painting palm trees and beach scenes. She was only in it for the shirtless guys. Abigail and I packed our bags and headed south to Galveston Island where we'd stay for the summer. In the fall she would return to college, but if I liked Galveston enough I would stay. From the moment I got off the ferry I was sure this island would be my new home. I knew I had finally found my muse. What I didn't know was that I would also find my soulmate.

The first time I met Daniel King, he had a busted nose. He was also a couple of years younger than me, which seemed like a lot back then. I had always thought of him as more of a little brother or friend. I was so preoccupied with other guys that I never realized he had deeper feelings for me. By the time I saw the error of my ways, it was too late. Daniel had outgrown me and it seemed as if he had even outgrown Galveston. I had blown my shot with him. Now it was time for me to decide how far I would go to earn a second chance.

I hit a bit of a rocky patch during my childhood. My little brother, Phillip, and I were young when both of our parents died. We were shuffled around to different foster homes, and none of them were good situations. Eventually, a wonderful couple adopted us and treated us like we were their own. It was smooth sailing after that. I went through middle school and high school like a normal girl with a normal family. My parents had another child, a son named Evan. So I was the oldest with two younger brothers. I was in high school when I fell in love with Bradley Clark, the star of the football team. Things happened with us, and I ended up being homeschooled during my senior year. I am now the single mother of a three-and-a-half-year-old boy named Mac whose football star father has never so much as met him. I was as happy as a single mother could be. Bradley was never there for us, so I didn't know anything else. My life was what I made it, and I made it good. I had settled into a nice routine where I took care of my responsibilities and made time for writing children's books, which was a passion of mine. I didn't think I was lacking anything. Until I met Drew.

Get cozy with the crew from Bank Street in this short and sweet Christmas romance! Laney King had been in a relationship with Michael Elliot since they were in high school. Everyone in Galveston assumed they were destined to be together. Michael wasn't true to her, but he never thought she’d find out he had been unfaithful while he was out of town. Things didn’t turn out like Michael planned. Laney had an unexpected hero looking out for her. Though James barely knew her, he felt compelled to set things straight. He just couldn’t sit back and watch Michael mistreat her. Laney knew she was thankful to him. She knew she owed him a debt of gratitude. But she had no idea that she was about to fall in love.

How do you know when you’ve met the one? For some, it's love at first sight. But things don't always work like that. Sometimes people take time getting to know one another before sparks begin to fly. And people can even fall in love with someone they once considered their enemy. I, Tara Castro, could for instance, get all caught up in the magic of finding a secret room and fall madly in love with someone who I initially despised. It could be possible for me to find a soulmate in someone I once thought was heartless. I wouldn't expect to do that, but stranger things have happened.

I had a crush on Evan King when we were kids. If I’m being totally honest, I had a crush on him all throughout high school, too. I hadn’t seen him in years, and then out of nowhere, we had a chance encounter on the beach in Galveston. I was anxious to see him, but we connected under less than ideal circumstances. Evan had been through a lot, and I considered getting in touch with him after that. But in the end, I decided not to. It was a twist of fate, an act of God that brought us together over a year later. I was convinced it was destiny this time. Thankfully, so was he.

This standalone romance is book 6 in the bestselling Bank Street series. Lines had been drawn and sides had been taken years ago. The King family did not interact with the Elliot family, and neither did the Grahams nor the Castros. The Elliots had burned those bridges decades ago, and none of the Bank Street crew made mention of them. They certainly never ate at their restaurant. The Elliots didn't shop at King's Hardware, go to Bank Street Boxing, or the ballet studio on the corner. In fact, they didn't even go to Carson's Diner. The Elliot family stayed off of Bank Street entirely. Both families had a stake in Galveston, but they lived without supporting each other or interacting in any way. A romantic match between members of these two families would be impossible. It wouldn't just be frowned upon, it would be terrible, disastrous, absolutely forbidden. That was exactly why two of them could never fall in love. It's a good thing love doesn't play by the rules.

Mac Klein had made a series of disciplined life choices. He was now thirty years old and a successful professional athlete. He lived in a beautiful mansion in Seattle with plenty of room to surround himself with family and friends. He devoted all his time and energy to his career, and he had no interest in starting a serious relationship with a woman. He certainly would never think of looking up his childhood crush on social media so he could contact her in an effort to reconnect. Mac would never do that. He wasn't even the social media type. His sister, Katie, was, but she wouldn't do something as bold as reaching out to Morgan Lake on his behalf (and without his permission). Or maybe she would. After all, sometimes a little family interference was necessary when love was on the line.

A true to life fairy tale and happily ever after dream come true that will leave you feeling warm and happy long after it's over. My mother wrote a young adult novel that eventually became a Hollywood blockbuster hit. Somehow, during production of the movie, I became friends with the star. Heath Vick was Hollywood's favorite leading man—a heartthrob, for sure. We instantly hit it off, but he was in a long-term relationship, so we ended up being friends. Then, out of the blue, Heath decided to leave her and set his sights on me. He was rich and famous, and he assumed he would have my undivided attention the second he wanted it. But by the time that happened, my heart already belonged to someone else. Katie Klein followed her brother, Mac, to Seattle, WA. She was enjoying her career and life there when a chance encounter connected her with super-star actor, Heath Vick. He was every girl's dream come true; famous, wealthy, handsome, and now—available. When Heath took an interest in Katie, she quickly realized that Heath didn't have much to offer beyond those temporary, worldly things. Justin Teague was one of Mac's teammates on the Seattle Seahawks. Much like Heath, he had wealth, fame, and fortune. But he wasn't interested in women who were interested in that. Katie and Justin had been friends for quite some time, but a simple sequence of events leads them to realize they both wanted something much more than a friendship.

Back to Bank Street is the ninth and final book in the bestselling Bank Street Stories series. We recommend that you read the stories in order, but they are all standalone romances. Ozzy Abramson had made a name for himself as a photographer. His specialty was portraiture, and he built beautiful scenes around the people he photographed. He had a gift for saying just the right things to get his subjects to look their best. Ozzy worked with famous actors, models, and musicians all the time. He was extremely talented and easygoing, and that only served to increase his popularity. He was obsessed with finding ways to make people look even better in photographs than they did in real life. But then he met the woman who made that task impossible.