California Dreaming
5 primary works
Book 1
Divorced mother Annie Gerhard meets rugged new bookstore owner John Johnson at the worst possible time in her life. Her high tech company is threatening to lay her off if she doesn't move from California to New Jersey and her 15-year-old son David is causing trouble. The recession has hit Silicon Valley hard and there are no jobs for a middle manager, even if she hates what she does. And this is no time for romance, no matter how good the man looks in his jeans.
John has escaped Montana memories of a deceased wife and betraying girlfriend by buying an independent bookstore in California. He's got bigger problems than falling for a spunky woman with control issues. Keeping a bookstore afloat in a recession and finding a home where he can stable his horse are all he can handle right now.
Unless . . .
John and Annie must both face their pasts in order to greet the future. Can they risk it?
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
John has escaped Montana memories of a deceased wife and betraying girlfriend by buying an independent bookstore in California. He's got bigger problems than falling for a spunky woman with control issues. Keeping a bookstore afloat in a recession and finding a home where he can stable his horse are all he can handle right now.
Unless . . .
John and Annie must both face their pasts in order to greet the future. Can they risk it?
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
Book 2
Single mother Elizabeth Ladina is done with men. From her father on down, all they want to do is control her life.
Deciding to take her life into her own hands, she ends her five-year relationship and goes to Italy to visit Liguria, her family's original home and rediscover the thrill of being on her own. A visit to an upscale skin care boutique in Italy inspires her. Dreaming she could create an upscale lotion line that is splashed across the pages of the best glossy fashion magazines, she's eager to get home to California and make her vision into reality.
Italian Marcos Gamari has one goal in life - to create the world's finest wine from the best vineyards in the world. His vineyards in Italy and France are producing prime wines that are already garnering awards and he has no time or desire for romance in his life. Emotional entanglements only lead to pain. His ex-wife had proved that.
Still, when he sees the pretty American eating alone in a hotel dining room in Liguria, he's compelled to strike up a conversation, which leads to dinner and Elizabeth's invitation to see the vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains near her home in California. She claims they are equal, and cheaper, than anything he'll find in Napa, his original destination.
Sparks fly when they meet again in Costanoa. Elizabeth and Marcos are determined to maintain their single-track focus on their businesses. But can they keep romance out of their lives forever?
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Deciding to take her life into her own hands, she ends her five-year relationship and goes to Italy to visit Liguria, her family's original home and rediscover the thrill of being on her own. A visit to an upscale skin care boutique in Italy inspires her. Dreaming she could create an upscale lotion line that is splashed across the pages of the best glossy fashion magazines, she's eager to get home to California and make her vision into reality.
Italian Marcos Gamari has one goal in life - to create the world's finest wine from the best vineyards in the world. His vineyards in Italy and France are producing prime wines that are already garnering awards and he has no time or desire for romance in his life. Emotional entanglements only lead to pain. His ex-wife had proved that.
Still, when he sees the pretty American eating alone in a hotel dining room in Liguria, he's compelled to strike up a conversation, which leads to dinner and Elizabeth's invitation to see the vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains near her home in California. She claims they are equal, and cheaper, than anything he'll find in Napa, his original destination.
Sparks fly when they meet again in Costanoa. Elizabeth and Marcos are determined to maintain their single-track focus on their businesses. But can they keep romance out of their lives forever?
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Book 3
Pregnant and alone, Sarah Ladina wants to regain her independence and do what’s best for her soon-to-be-born baby, but buying a run-down Victorian for an inn wasn’t her brightest idea. An inability to cook or fix a leaky faucet will make the job even harder. When a friendly golden retriever, disabled vet, and potential cook show up on the first day, she knows her life is going to get a lot more complicated. When her ex tries to get back into her life and her doctor orders modified bed rest, Sarah wonders if she’ll ever be able to stand on her own.
After returning from duty in the Middle East wounded in both body and spirit, Hunter Evans is in search of employment and a home. Finding a job has been tough and housing doesn’t come cheap in Costanoa, the town that he loves most on the California coast. His prosthetic leg allows him to run, but keeps him from his childhood passion, surfing. With a low-level job and a transient motel for a home, Hunter isn’t sure life is worth living.
But spring is coming in Costanoa and love is in the air. With the help of good friends, Sarah and Hunter may be able to get beyond the painful past and complicated present to find the love and respect they want and deserve.
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
After returning from duty in the Middle East wounded in both body and spirit, Hunter Evans is in search of employment and a home. Finding a job has been tough and housing doesn’t come cheap in Costanoa, the town that he loves most on the California coast. His prosthetic leg allows him to run, but keeps him from his childhood passion, surfing. With a low-level job and a transient motel for a home, Hunter isn’t sure life is worth living.
But spring is coming in Costanoa and love is in the air. With the help of good friends, Sarah and Hunter may be able to get beyond the painful past and complicated present to find the love and respect they want and deserve.
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
Book 4
Mandy Parker doesn't want to turn out like her mother, an aging actress desperate for the love of the crowd. Avoiding anything Hollywood related is vital for Mandy's sanity; however, a bad economy forces her to take a job catering to a movie crew.
Since the woman he'd loved married his best friend, James Lubbock has put women far behind his career in the movie business. The assistant caterer is attractive, but he's more focused on figuring out who's sabotaging his set.
Sparks fly between Mandy and James, but can they overcome their painful pasts to risk a chance on love?
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Since the woman he'd loved married his best friend, James Lubbock has put women far behind his career in the movie business. The assistant caterer is attractive, but he's more focused on figuring out who's sabotaging his set.
Sparks fly between Mandy and James, but can they overcome their painful pasts to risk a chance on love?
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Book 5
When Alicia Fuentes walks into Dr. Raul Mendez's treatment room, something about the plucky single mom stirs his personal interest. After he diagnoses her son, Luis, on the autism spectrum, Raul takes a chance and offers support beyond the doctor's office, hoping friendship might become more.
Grateful for the help, Alicia is tempted by her new pediatrician's kindness, consistency, and attractiveness, but she has no room in her life for a serious relationship. She's juggling a part-time job and classes at the local community college to get her life back on track and pursue a cosmetology career.
Between his busy medical practice and his desire to help his family, who was deported when he was a teen, return to the United States, Raul doesn't have time for anything or anyone else, either. But his heart won't be denied.
Hope of a new life arises for them both, but fate and prejudice could threaten their newfound bond. Can their blossoming relationship withstand the political and personal battles that lie in wait?
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors
Grateful for the help, Alicia is tempted by her new pediatrician's kindness, consistency, and attractiveness, but she has no room in her life for a serious relationship. She's juggling a part-time job and classes at the local community college to get her life back on track and pursue a cosmetology career.
Between his busy medical practice and his desire to help his family, who was deported when he was a teen, return to the United States, Raul doesn't have time for anything or anyone else, either. But his heart won't be denied.
Hope of a new life arises for them both, but fate and prejudice could threaten their newfound bond. Can their blossoming relationship withstand the political and personal battles that lie in wait?
Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors