Marley Valentine

Deacon was the elusive boy next door, the older brother who had no time for his family, the man who moved away. I never imagined a world where he would also be the love of my life. The man who breathed air into my struggling lungs. But against all odds, here we are, five and a half years later.

Duty, honor, and sacrifice. Dedicating my life to these elements, for family and country, leaves little for myself in return. It's why I indulge in a no-strings hookup with a handsome stranger mere days before heading half-a-world away.

Julian was the boy next door. My brother's best friend, he fit with my family in ways I never could. While he and Rhett went on to play house, I left the only life I knew, desperate for a fresh start. Until everything changed....

I couldn’t tell you when I fell in love with Gael Herrera, but I wish I knew how to make it stop. Falling in love with a straight man is a rookie mistake. But falling in love with my soon-to-be-married-to-a-woman best friend is nothing but heartache....

Two halves of a whole, Arlo Bishop and I were both unwanted kids brought together by the foster system. Dealing with the aftermath of neglect and abandonment, we grew up side-by-side and found solace in one another. But somewhere along the way, Arlo wanted and needed and loved drugs more....

I thought I had my life all figured out. But after a college football accident leaves me deaf, I was learning how to live all over again. I expected the anger, the frustration, and the struggle to readjust, but what I didn't expect to happen amongst the chaos, was to fall in love.

When I met Leonardo Ricci, he was determined I would only be a fling, while I was certain he was my forever. Seven years later, we’re the perfect couple. Happy, married, and in love–in sickness and health, till death do us part....

One night with Reeve Hale wasn't enough. I knew it when I kissed him, I knew it when I slept with him, and I was certain of it when I walked out of his motel room the very next day....

Attending King University was at the top of my bucket list. Falling in love with my professor wasn't....

Raising my sister's autistic son was an unexpected plot twist in my own life. But I loved every minute of it. Even if those minutes meant everything ran on a rigid schedule with little time for anything else. I lived my life for him: software developer by day, bartender by night....

At twenty-four, I'd already lived a thousand lives. I was a daughter. An orphan. A foster kid. A sister. Someone to everyone, and yet I was unrecognizable to myself. I spent my time keeping everybody else afloat, while I was slowly drowning. Until I met her.