Valentina Burns

For three years, Ivy Harrington has been running from one horrible night. She moved to the City of Roses, built a career, made connections. But her past still haunts her, and she's tired of the hold it has on her life...especially on her love life. So, she comes up with a plan. All she needs is a friend she trusts to get her back into the intimacy game. Easy-going Sean Thompson tries to roll with the punches, but this time he doesn’t know what hit him. One minute, Ivy’s his best friend, work partner, and neighbor. The next she’s kissing him and asking him for the impossible. She wants casual and no-strings. All action with no commitments. Not exactly what he had in mind with the woman who’s held a piece of his heart since she arrived in Portland, Oregon. There’s something there, though, hiding behind the cool determination of her eyes. He just can’t quite figure out what. Can he give her what she wants and keep his heart out of it? Or will this arrangement destroy their friendship and expose every secret they have?

When a family secret shatters her world.... Hope Morgan thought she had it all—a fancy business degree, a reliable family, financial stability, and a secure future in sunny California—until she discovered her parents’ best kept secret. With her trust destroyed she abandons her old life and heads to Portland, Oregon seeking a new identity built on independence. Except now she’s broke, unemployed, and one step from becoming a burden on her best friend in their apartment above a bar. But Hope’s never been a quitter, and she’s determined to make it on her own. She just needs an opportunity. His life was just fine, until she blew into it. Grumpy bar owner, Gabe Walsh doesn’t have the time or patience for the spoiled rich girl slumming it above his bar. He’s busy raising his six-year-old daughter and running his business. The wealthy construction magnate’s daughter can go “find herself” somewhere else. But Hope keeps surprising him, and the more time they spend together, the more Gabe finds himself drawn to her determination and sweetness. She’s motivated to make it on her own, and he respects that. Not only that but she’s come to his rescue more than once, and when she steps in to be his daughter’s nanny, she quickly starts becoming a lifeline too. Maybe she’s exactly what his little family needs. The glue to piece them back together. Can two opposites overcome their differences to build an unbreakable family? Or will their fears, and haunted pasts destroy their chance to find a home together? Find out in Hope and Gabe's search for truth and forgiveness in this steamy, heartfelt story of redemption and love.