Welcome to Merritt, Alabama, where summers are lazy, tea is sweet, and guests are always welcome… Luke Avery needs a wife to help raise his motherless three-year old. Candy shop owner Lanie Heaven desires a child but can never have her own. When Luke moves into the apartment above Lanie’s shop, she can’t help falling for the sexy single dad and his sweet little girl. Luke’s not planning to fall in love ever again - but easing the ache of loneliness with pretty Lanie isn’t falling in love. Still, proposing to her could solve all his problems and give his child what she needs. Lanie believes her dreams of love and family are finally coming true. Until she’s faced with evidence that Luke’s heart is locked away tight. Can Luke learn to slay his demons and put the past to rest? Or will he lose Lanie - and any hope he might’ve had for a sweet life - forever? \\Previously published by Crimson Romance. New edition with a new epilogue. If you enjoyed the previous version, you do not have to buy this one.\\

Welcome to Merritt, Alabama, where summers are lazy, tea is sweet, and guests are always welcome. Thirteen years ago, Tolly Lee cost Nathan Scott his future in the NFL - and he’s never forgiven her for it. Tolly was only sixteen when she led college senior Nathan to believe she was older, but she never imagined he’d want to pursue a long-distance relationship. When he learned the truth, they both paid a heavy price… Tolly didn’t think she’d ever see Nathan again. Now that he’s returned, it’s only a matter of time before the good citizens of Merritt find out she’s the culprit who cost their hometown hero his future. When that happens, Tolly will lose everything. Again. Nathan wouldn’t have taken the job of high school football coach if he’d known Tolly was in town - but he can’t back out now. When an orphaned teenager needs mentoring, Nathan forms an uneasy truce with Tolly as they work together to ensure the boy’s future. But as old resentments resurface, so too do old attractions. After all this time, could the end zone finally be in sight?

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd . . . Four rising star authors celebrate the love of the game with these sweet and seductive baseball romances. Trade Off by Elley Arden: Traded and jaded, catcher Ben Border is considering stepping out from behind the plate. Then he runs into former flame Scarlett Dare. Turns out the sexy marketing executive still sends him into a fever pitch. But is she willing to trade Fortune 500 success for a happily ever after? Slugger Gone South by Alicia Hunter Pace: When New York Yankee Marc MacNeal comes to Merritt, Alabama, for a charity golf tournament, he’s shocked to be reunited with his ex-fiancée Bailey Watkins. It could be the perfect chance to get some long-awaited closure—or the start of a whole new ball game . . . That Ol’ Team Spirit by Bea Moon: Someone’s haunting the Sharks’ stadium and creating some major league mischief. So psychic Peg Noonan and her granddaughter Trish are determined to discover who’s menacing their concessions stand. With the help of Trish’s high school love, sportswriter Rob Hanks, they just might have a ghost of a (second) chance. Safe at Home by Leslie P. Garcia: Amanda Warner hates baseball, but knows it’ll take a swing for the fences to save her dad’s hardware store. Hoping his star power will bring the crowds in, she sets her sights on Scorpions’ All-Star Josh “Hotstuff” Arrevalos brings unexpected surprises. But is her heart ready to play ball again? Sensuality Level: Sensual

The last time Brantley Kincaid had an argument with someone, he was eighteen years old—and he regrets it like he will never regret anything again. If only he had not balked at going to pick up his grandfather that day, his mother would not have driven into the path of a truck and there would be two fewer graves in Merritt Cemetery. Though a frequent visitor, he hasn't lived in Merritt since burying his mother and grandfather. But now he's coming back and it might not be so easy to hide behind his wit and charisma. Outwardly, interior designer Lucy Mead is a beautiful, confident professional. Inside, she's the friendless, overweight girl who spent her life following her archeologist parents all over the globe. And who could forget those teenage years of turmoil and unrequited love? It would have been kinder if Brantley had not known she was alive rather than treating her like Robin to his Batman. She carries the humiliation to this day. Their friends and Brantley's family are delighted when he sets his sights on Lucy, though Lucy isn't so sure. She cannot deny the attraction, but something is wrong. Does he really love her, or does he see her as a refuge and another way to run from his grief? If she can’t find answers, what could be a simple, sweet life might go completely south.

No matter how many critics call him an artisan or how much money people are willing to pay for his handcrafted furniture, Will Garrett will always be the son of a drunk from Mill Town. Though he has admired Dr. Arabelle Avery ever since his teenage busboy days at the Merritt County Club, he has no aspirations where she is concerned. A boy from across the tracks doesn’t go calling on a state senator’s daughter. But he is stoic about all that. He has his work and the home he built with his own hands in the woods where he draws his strength and serenity. At one time, life was easy for Arabelle Avery. She was smart and pretty, with her sister-in-law and cousin as best friends. When her sister-in-law wrapped her car around a tree, Arabelle was devastated. The day her brother remarried was a hard day, and going to Will Garrett’s arms for the comfort was unexpected but easy. When she finds herself pregnant and hears, incorrectly, that Will is engaged, she flees to Switzerland to lick her wounds and have her baby. Desperate to do the best thing for her child, she allows her cousin to adopt him—a decision she immediately regrets. When a twist of fate reunites Arabelle with her child, she moves home to Merritt, where she is determined to keep her secret and raise her child in peace. But once Will gets a look at his son and guesses the truth, Arabelle’s life spins out of control. Can they find the path to what’s best for their son—and each other?