Showing results by narrator "Holly Warren" in All Categories

Some of North Carolina's finest fiction and nonfiction writers come together in Every True Pleasure, including David Sedaris, Kelly Link, Allan Gurganus, Randall Kenan, and more. Within the volume - featuring writers who identify as gay, trans, bisexual, and straight - are stories and essays that view the full spectrum of contemporary life though an LGBTQ lens. These writers, all native or connected to North Carolina, show the multifaceted challenges and joys of LGBTQ life, including young love and gay panic, the minefield of religion, military service, and more.

Oliver Steele is supposed to be my knight in shining armor. He's tall, handsome, and as cocky as he is rich. With his good looks and charm, no one's going to suspect a thing. No one's going to believe our engagement is fake. But he's taking this thing way too far. The way he wraps his arm around me like I'm his. The way he kisses me and presses his hard body up against mine. I almost believe that it's real. Almost.

Custom demanded that Prince Urban get a love mark tattooed to the side of his left eye as an infant, just like the rest of his people, but to him, the stupid things have only brought on the scorn of his father, the misery of his siblings, and caused his entire kingdom to go broke from fighting so many wars over the irritating ink stains.

When his former hockey coach passes away, Declan Cadell is shocked to learn the man left him a cattle ranch. Well, not exactly. He's got one little hurdle to jump first. He has to win a trivia contest against the man's estranged daughter. Oh, and there's a caveat: he's only in the running if he lives and works with the spoiled princess who blew off one of the greatest men he's ever known. As if it wasn't hurtful enough that Seraphina Crutchley's biological father replaced her with a bunch of sweaty hockey boys, now he's forcing her to vie for her inheritance with one of them.

Zombies are on the loose in New Orleans and of all the end-of-the-world scenarios, Alexis Winter wasn't prepared for this one. But, an apocalypse is an apocalypse and she should have this covered. She has been "prepping" for the last three years. The problem is, she's stuck downtown and she has to get to her house on the outskirts of the city. Luck comes in the form of the ridiculously hot Blake Miller. The two team up in unexpected ways as they find they can't keep their hands off of each other even when the world is falling down around them.

Lorelei Calloway was on top of the world. A world-famous pop star, she relied on her inner circle to keep her grounded—until she found out the truth. They'd been betraying her all along. Refusing to break down in front of the paparazzi, she asks her manager to rent a cabin where she can escape to heal her wounds. Booker Hayes is a good man in a world of sharks. When his boss demands he choose money over his conscience, he takes off for Christmas break to his cabin.

College graduate Valentina never expected to fall for the hot as hell and intimidating Derek Cole when she accepted his offer to rent his property. From cottage to mansion, Valentina is certain she doesn't deserve the fairytale unfolding. But Derek gets what he wants...and he wants her. He’s “the one” for her, but before she says I do, she has to survive a month long trip to his family’s estate in Atlanta. Gaining approval from four brothers and an over-protective mother might just be her hardest test yet.

After growing up in Nashville with two musician parents, I promised myself one thing—I would never, ever fall in love with anyone who had anything to do with the music scene. I will take my stable, albeit boring, accountant boyfriend, thank you very much, and live securely ever after. At least, that was the plan. Who knew one ridiculous party where boy band sensation Finn Thatcher showed up would turn my life completely upside down.

When runaway bride Grace Giordano needs somewhere to regroup, groomsman Jaime Dupree offers her a guest house on his ranch. It's no skin off his nose—she's only in town a few days. Besides, between his daughter and his professional hockey team, he's got his hands full. Surely, their paths won't cross. But when Grace gets the opportunity to run a food truck at the town's annual music festival, she decides to stay all summer long. The singing baker's a hit—at the festival and on the ranch.

Some days, Everly still thinks she sees him. In the food court at the mall, or in a car speeding past as the light changes. It only lasts a second, but when it happens, she slips back to a time when she was ruled—and nearly ruined—by August Kincaid. And it doesn't matter that she's moved on, that she's about to marry another man. In those moments the only thing she can do to regain control is take a deep breath and remind herself that August can't hurt her—because he's in a coma. Except that he's not anymore.

After two years in a coma, August Kinkaid has forgotten the darkness in his past. But his past hasn't forgotten him. His beautiful former fiancée, Everly, remembers every tumultuous moment of their stormy relationship. The sizzling passion. The web of lies. And the terrible secret Everly's been hiding since her last fateful night with August. Now the truth is out and August remembers everything. As his long-buried memories come flooding back, he begins to understand why Everly would want to move on with her life.

It's one thing to be dumped by the huge Hollywood star you thought you were going to marry. It’s quite another to move back to the small town you're both from. As a booby prize for being shown the door by Dex Ryder, everyone is trying to set me up with their son, their nephew, or their long-lost cousin’s gardener. Either that or they’re throwing me pitying looks that say, “You’re a big loser.”

Jesse Johnson is a man everyone assumes will be a general. Everyone, that is, but Jesse himself. He isn’t sure if he wants to give that much to the military. His father has spent most of his life surviving a lonely existence with only his work for comfort. Jesse doesn’t want that—he wants it all: The woman who tempts him to misbehave.

The Semper Fi Marines Collection includes three novellas of hot military love. TEASE ME: Bran Johnson finds true love with his best friend, Tess Keller. TEMPT ME: Jesse is the man who could be general, but he doesn’t want that if he can’t have Zoe Jones. TOUCH ME: Jack Johnson came back from a mission with memories he would rather forget, and he thinks Hannah Richmond can definitely help him with it.

Noah Grant was my first. He was the guy who went from childhood friend to teenage love. The guy I spent one heady, intoxicating summer with, only to have my heart snapped in two—not by him, but by me. Fast forward 12 years and just when I think I’m finally over Noah, he’s back. Older, wiser, hotter.

Cast in a reality dating show, Emma Brady isn’t looking for love. She knows it could be the big break her new activewear line desperately needs. But is putting up with a Mr. Darcy wannabe worth it? Sebastian Huntington-Ross is straight out of an Austen novel, and his looks are perfect for the show’s spotlight. But it’s hard to focus on his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and wickedly sexy accent when all Emma can see is his pride, arrogance, and smug demeanor.

Grace Lafferty only feels alive when she's dangling 500 feet above ground. As a post-World War I wing walker, Grace is determined to get to the World Aviation Expo, proving her team’s worth against flashier competitors and earning a coveted Hollywood contract. No one’s ever questioned Grace’s ambition until Henry Patton, a mechanic with plenty of scars from the battlefield, joins her barnstorming team. With each new death-defying trick, Henry pushes Grace to consider her reasons for being a daredevil.

For years, I’ve loved him. Not that I ever told him, or that he would ever be able to tell. I hid it from him…from everyone including my best friend. Travis Fillmore is my best friend’s brother and the object of my infatuation. He’s also my cohost for our home improvement show and we are zooming to the top right now. Unfortunately, I can’t work with him any more.

One thing I’ve learned this Valentine’s day is that fake fiancés should remain just that: fake. Pretending to be engaged to James Brody, the hot, single London deputy mayor who graces gossip columns, is just a business deal. Nothing more. I’m his appropriately demure fiancée that makes him look like he’s not the playboy the media thinks he is, and he’s my ticket to getting my pushy mum off my back about not being married and producing her two perfect grandchildren. The problem is, I’ve started to enjoy being with James. Then there’s that kiss we shared. Yeah, that.

After a disastrous family Thanksgiving, all I wanted was to avoid anything holly and jolly this year, so an unexpected business trip seemed like the perfect escape plan...until I landed smack-dab in the middle of a freaking winter wonderland, otherwise known as Carole Cove, Montana. It’s merrier and brighter than the North Pole. The town even comes with its own Mr. Holiday - Noel Holiday, that is. Not only is he holly and jolly, but he’s hotter than the lattes he sells at his café. And for some reason, he would love nothing more than to share the magic of the season with me.