On the inside Mara Simon might still be the sweet, sensitive girl TJ McCloud remembers, but the face she shows the world is that of a beautiful, high-powered Hollywood producer with a movie to make and a schedule to keep. There's too much riding on the success of her film to let her first and only love rattle her when he turns up on her set.TJ McCloud didn't even recognize Mara when she walked into his office. The girl he once knew had been replaced by a sizzling bombshell. But underneath the paint and glitter is the girl he used to love, the one with an incredible mind and a loving heart. He needs to shut down her movie set for the sake of national security, but he can't ignore the fact that her presence makes him rethink everything he thought he wanted out of life.Now, to win her back, he must show her the difference between Hollywood artifice and real happiness...

Pippa Cochran flees an abusive boyfriend only to end up in a small California town working for Seth Wyatt, a man everyone calls the Grim Reaper - and not just because he's a bestselling author of horror novels. His fame and fortune make him an imposing presence, but he's battling more inner demons than even an indefatigable caretaker like Pippa can handle. Still, she can't resist the emotional pull of his damaged son or the chance to hide in the fortress he calls home.Although Pippa's generous nature begins to alter Seth's world in ways neither of them could have imagined, something goes disastrously haywire. Nearly lethal accidents oddly similar to the one that crippled Seth's son threaten to destroy the new love that Pippa and Seth have dared to discover. Is it time for Pippa to move on before one of them is hurt beyond redemption?

An ambitious MBA with a genius for opening her mouth when she shouldn't, Aurora Jenkins wants nothing more than to fix her accident-prone family so she can leave the suffocating rural culture of her hometown and run back to the big city where she belongs.Considered an eccentric hermit with no more ambition than to repair the courthouse clock, Clay McCloud has withdrawn to his brother's South Carolina island home to rethink his wasted corporate life. After giving up his million-dollar lifestyle to pay back the investors devastated by his treacherous, MBA wielding ex-fiancée, all he wants is to be left alone. The last thing he wants is another woman with an MBA and strong opinions.A real estate scam that threatens the island and both their families, and a million dollar bottle cap that can save only one of them, forces these two brilliantly stubborn people to recognize what's really important as they fight for the island, their families, and the chance to love and live again.

Bostonian Evelyn Wellington has always worked in her father's prosperous warehouse. After his death, she has no choice except to continue her masculine occupation to feed her family. But the discovery that one of her major suppliers is shipping smuggled goods to avoid the new taxes endangers her family and livelihood. Alex Hampton, heir presumptive to the Earl of Cranville and the earl's shipping partner, has reluctantly left his comfortable London home to uncover the traitor using his ships for smuggling. He's quite prepared to rake the complaining warehouse owner over the coals...until he's stunned by a highly improper beauty in breeches. How can a freedom-loving American beauty and a luxury-loving rake uncover smugglers in a country on the brink of revolution—while fighting a fierce attraction?

To the citizens of Mineral Springs, Janice Harrison looks like a dowdy schoolmarm. Then, Peter Mulloney catches a glimpse of Janice's silhouette and is surprised by hot desire. But, he has no time for a woman. He's working to finance the purchase of a mountain of gold and proving he has no need for his wealthy, corrupt family. All Janice cares about is supporting and caring for her fragile little sister Betsy—and keeping her own secrets hidden. But beneath the silvery Texas moon, rugged Mulloney introduces excitement and danger and tender kisses. A man like Mulloney could keep her and Betsy safe... or shatter her soul, leaving her worse off than before. Previously titled: Paper Moon AWARDS: 4 1⁄2 stars – Romantic Times REVIEWS "An intriguing romance filled with passion, corruption, and hidden secrets." ~Rendezvous "Ms. Rice uses her delicious, subtle sense of humor to reunite us with her zany cast of characters... A definite keeper." ~Romantic Times TOO HARD TO HANDLE, in series order Texas Lily Texas Rose Texas Tiger Texas Moon ABOUT PATRICIA RICE: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Patrica Rice is married to her high school sweetheart, has two children and is a firm believer in happily-ever-after. Her emotionally-charged romances have won numerous awards, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards. A native of Kentucky and New York, and a past resident of North Carolina, Patricia Rice currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

Laura Kincaid had loved Cash Wycliffe, the tenant farmer's headstrong son, since childhood - even though she knew he was the last man on earth she should want. A ruggedly handsome gambler and shameless womanizer, he was everything a well-bred Kentucky lady should avoid. And while Cash —who had sought his fortune in the West and returned a wealthy man— was more exciting than ever, his eyes were fixed on Laura's aristocratic cousin Sallie, a Southern belle as dazzlingly beautiful as she was coldly calculating. But Laura let her heart rule her fate...and amid the tumult of the Civil War and its aftermath, she surrendered to her desire for a man who made no promises beyond the pleasure of the moment...armed only with a woman's sense that love was destined to flower where passion flamed...

Cleo Alyssum has a plan: stay sober, keep her job, and bite her tongue until Social Services relents and returns her little boy.Then Jared McCloud, a celebrated cartoonist and bull-headed extrovert, shatters Cleo's carefully constructed serenity by demanding that they help their drug-dealing neighbor's neglected children.Cleo knows Jared is right.Risking everything they thought they wanted, the pair join forces to save the children and face a new realization: there's more to life and love than either of them ever planned or dreamed.Previously titled: Almost PerfectREVIEWS:"A love story and a story of personal growth." ~Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times, 4.5 Stars, Top Pick"highly recommend... a true high five!" ~Deborah Barber, Escape to Romance Reviews"...a must read..." ~Kathy Boswell, The Best Reviews"Captivating, well-written... almost impossible to put down. A Perfect 10." ~Susan Lantz, Romance Reviews TodayTHE CAROLINA MAGNOLIA SERIES, in...