Bøger af Susan X. Meagher

After years of slowly working her way up the ladder, Emily Desjardins is finally poised at the next step-cooking at the kind of restaurant she'd love to one day own.Her new boss is classically trained, has stunningly high standards, and effortlessly designs delicious, creative cuisine. She's also demanding, inflexible, ridiculously confident and so hot it's almost silly.Emily is determined to spend her time learning all of the tricks and tools she'll need to keep moving up. But keeping her mind on the job with the enigmatic Blake Chadwick pervading her thoughts and her dreams proves much harder than she could have ever imagined.

Timing is critical in so many of the events that make up our lives. Your dismal scores on the SAT forced you to attend your safety school, but you met the people who formed the peer group that has loved and supported you for your entire adult life. If it hadn't been raining, you wouldn't have dashed into the coffee shop and met the cute barista you spent your thirties with. Small decisions, some almost inconsequential, each producing big results.When Hennessy Boudreaux's boss asks her to talk an insolent young woman into leaving the limo she's commandeered, she never could have guessed that day would change her life. But meeting Townsend Bartley does indeed change her life, for better and worse. Through the years, their lives float together, then drift apart, always with the promise of love just out of reach.Obstacles, some of them massive, continue to trip them up and make their dreams seem insurmountable. But patience, hard work, and timing can work together to produce a love too strong, too vibrant and too fulfilling for any woman to resist.

They say there's no going back, but Jill Henry gives it a try when she's invited to a once close friend's birthday party.The Davises were her family of choice, helping her flourish despite her emotionally arid home. They're ready, willing and able to welcome her back. But Jill doubts that welcome will remain warm if she acts on her urges to pursue a member of the clan.Jill has created a very good life for herself, one that's almost perfect. But when you finally meet the right woman you might just have to jump-no matter the consequences.It's tough to mend a frayed emotional tie, and even tougher to trust it to endure. Is creating a family, whether new or renewed, a reward worth any risk?

Plan ahead, work hard, play by the rules, and you'll be justly rewarded. The maxims that had been drummed into Darcy Morgan were the backbone of her orderly life.But as she stumbled down the streets of Brooklyn-bruised, battered, and beaten-she began to think she'd been led astray. It didn't do a damn bit of good to play by the rules if the other guys had the game rigged.Darcy wouldn't survive the night if she didn't find shelter. A chance meeting with a kind-hearted woman could pluck her from the fire just in time. But pulling an innocent into her suddenly tumultuous world was wrong. Thoroughly, unquestionably wrong. But right and wrong didn't seem as clear as they'd always been. The keystones of her life had been shattered, forcing her to care only about survival-her own.

In Washington, DC, a town hungry for gossip, it's political blogger Kit Travis's job to feed the beast.A failed relationship with a high-profile politician taught Kit the beast has claws. For self-preservation, she retreats into the shadows of the internet.At a charity dinner, Kit meets Bailey Jones, a strikingly pretty software engineer who turns heads with her androgynous sense of style. Bailey challenges Kit's priorities and her preconceived beliefs about herself. As they begin to fall in love, Bailey reveals that being out and proud as a couple is integral to her happiness.But once Kit gives up her cherished privacy, there's no turning back. Can a woman who values her anonymity like a treasure abandon it for the sake of love?

High school reunions. Nearly everyone is mildly curious about their classmates' fortunes, but for some, the promise of soothing past hurts proves irresistible. Living in her native England, Jemma had largely forgotten about her traumatic senior year. But now that she's back in America, that damned invitation keeps nudging her...reminding her of the unexplored path she'd been sure she was hers for the taking.Shelby hasn't fared as well as Jemma. Or maybe she's just not been able to vanquish the past. No matter what has gotten her stuck-she feels like she's fallen into quicksand. Maybe going to the reunion will let her connect with some old friends, to free herself from whatever is stopping her from living the life she was called to experience.To most, the potential of meeting your old classmates again promises an evening of shared memories. For Jemma and Shelby, this reunion will change their worlds.

Aldo Bagnolesi finally has what he's long wanted. Control of the family winery in Tuscany. The only little detail is that someone has to manage the place for a few years. He's far too involved in his company to leave on such short notice, but his daughter...Despite her worries, Nicola agrees to step up to the plate, even though her interest in Italy and wine is sorely lacking. Her father will relieve her in two years. How bad could two years in one the prettiestplaces on earth be?The transition is tough and she's achingly lonely. Nic knows nothing about running a winery and can't talk to the workers or the wine maker. She's desperate for connection; for any semblance of her formerbusy social life. The closest gay bar is in Florence. She heads out--determined to at least talk to someone she has one thing in common with. To her delight, she finds not just a willing lesbian, but a sexy one--who seems equally interested in her.It's crazy to put so much importance on a chance meeting. But sometimes, you have to throw your doubts to the winds and see what the universe has in store for you.

Opening a new theme park is not for kids. Laurie Nielsen is so overworked and overstressed that she's forced to take a vacation--on one of her companies' kid-centric cruise ships. It's a slow torture, but she eventually makes the best of it and gets off the boat in St. Maarten. There, Laurie meets and insultsKaatje Hoogaboom, a woman who has very little of Laurie's work obsession. But they still manage to hit it off--to her great surprise. Once Laurie returns home they stay in touch, getting to know each other via phone calls and e-mails. But Laurie isn't an ideal girlfriend. Work is at the top of her priority list and toppling it might be more than Kaatje is able, or even willing to do. Kaatje and Laurie both have to do a lot of soul searching; what do each of them want and need, and how far is each willing to compromise? They're both strong-minded women who've adjusted to being single. The adjustment to being coupled can be just as, if not more, trying.

Most adult women can manage to wake up on time for work. It turns out that Brooklyn York is extraordinary. Yes, she has to be at work at 6 am, still...when you have to pay a perfect stranger very good money to be a human alarm clock it might be time to reassess. But Brooklyn isn't the most introspective person in town. She's much better at aiming pointed barbs at politicians and celebrities during her mornings on talk radio and her evenings on the college lecturecircuit. Kiri Klein rides to the rescue. She's very adept at helping celebs stay out of jail and rehab. Actually, Brooklyn is the easiest client she's ever worked with. The only problem is how to keep things strictly professional. Brooklyn is charming, generous and kind and Kiri begins to lose the battle. Maybe theycould have sex but keep it casual. That wouldn't be hard, would it? Well, would it?

Mary Frances Fitzpatrick was perfectly content to keep things the way they'd always been. She'd grabbed onto the tiniest shred of the American Dream, and wasn't about to let go. The crumbs the establishment threw her way seemed like they might, one day, be able to sustain her. All she had to do was work twice as hard as a man and keep her opinions to herself.Courtney Ashcroft on the other hand, came from a long line of socially and economically entitled people, yet she wanted to upset the apple cart in the worst way. No matter the group, if they'd been shut out, Courtney was on their side. Social justice, women's rights, and pacifism were her main causes, but she quickly adds gay rights to her list when she and Mary Frances meet.Despite their political and social views, the women strike up a friendship. Courtney's sympathetic, encouraging, and genuinely concerned with Mary Frances's plight. She's so interested in gay rights, it almost seems personal. But that has to be wishful thinking on Mary Frances's part. Or does it?In Chicago, during that steamy, unpredictable summer, improbable dreams can, and do come true.

Trying to figure out the rules of her first lesbian relationship is a difficult task for Callie Emerson. She and her lover worked long and hard on coming up with a set of rules that both of them could live with. But her lover is having a very hard time keeping her end of the bargain. Regan Manning and her lover have a very traditional relationship, built on a foundation of monogamy. Or so Regan thought. She's devastated when she learns the truth, and she's unwilling to forgive or forget. Cheating partners brought Callie and Regan together. Not as lovers, but as friends supporting each other through tough times. They both come to realize that they could be more than friends. But they each have to get past their insecurities before they can try to take that leap. It's not easy for either of them: the path to true love rarely is. But their friendship can be a bridge to commitment if only they'll let it.