Joan Elliott Pickart

The dollhouse collection was spectacular, antique dealer Victoria Blair admitted -- worth every mile of her trip from San Francisco to Sunshine, New Mexico -- but she never expected the hostile reception rancher Sage Lawson gave her. Suspicious of her sudden appearance at his grandmother's request, Sage decided this city girl was just like the ex-wife who'd abandoned him and their young son for the bright lights. But Victoria breathed a fresh vitality into the sleepy little town -- and Sage was hopelessly seduced by her warmth and sweet energy. Victoria, who'd grown up all alone, adored her new surroundings and blossomed in the heat of Sage's passionate caresses. Could life at the Lazy L restore the childhood dreams she'd put away forever -- dreams of belonging, of being loved by a man who'd never let her go?

A ROYAL AWAKENING Born a triplet -- and eternally uncertain of her individual identity -- Alice MacAllister avoided family gatherings like the plague. Until duty demanded she attend a two-week wedding party, complete with visiting royalty. There, Alice met handsome, irreverent royal Brent Bardow, who tickled her funny bone, seduced her out of her shell and almost made her believe she could find herself in his blue, blue eyes. Well, what the heck? For two short weeks they could laugh, love and ignore the future they'd never have. But running out of time, Alice couldn't help wondering what it would be like to be this magnificent man's royal bride....

A reunion with the father who had abandoned his pregnant mother has unexpected repercussions for Andrew Malone as he encounters a family that regards him as an enemy and a beautiful doctor, a former runaway rescued by the MacAllister family, who is attracted to him despite her best intentions.

Patrick Mullaney was a hunk of a heartbreaker, a gorgeous specimen with tanned muscles and a lethal smile -- and a bum knee that had probably ended his brilliant football career. When Lux Sherwood appeared at his door almost hidden behind a six-foot-tall teddy bear, he was in a rotten mood... until he saw the lovely lady hugging his present and longed to take the bear's place in her arms! Lux felt heat curl inside her as Patrick's gaze caressed her; then she nearly fainted with pleasure as his coaxing kisses reddened her cheeks and warmed her heart. Spellbound with desire, but unsure of her feelings for this handsome rogue, Lux pulled away, but she couldn't escape her sizzling attraction for the powerful but vulnerable man who'd needed her tenderness, yearned for her touch. He'd learned that was worth fighting for, but could Patrick convince her that he'd met his match, that he wanted her always and forever?

Shep Templeton was alive! The award-winning journalist, the only man Emily Templeton had ever loved, hadn't died in the Pataguam jungle, but was coming home - only to learn his wife had divorced him. Eight months before, after a night of reckless passion, he had left for his next dangerous assignment. She'd vowed then it was the last time Shep would leave her. Love for Emily was all that had kept Shep going, had made him want to live through months of pain and recovery. Now he had to fight for a new start, had to prove he'd changed, but would Emily beleive he wanted a family and a future together more than he needed his freedom? She was seared by his kisses and ached to be cherished, but how could she trust a man who broke promises as easily as he made them? Sharing secrets and spending time with Shep filled Emily with hope, but so many doubts remained. Could he convince her that he'd always be her best friend, that he was home to stay?

It was one thing to select pillows for America's number-one movie heart-throb -- and quite another to fall asleep while trying them out! Paige Cummingham blushed when her client Kellen Davis discovered his decorator in such a compromising position, but the handsome actor did his best to banish her embarrassment. — Paige had declared herself unsusceptible to the man whose blue eyes made millions of women swoon, but she couldn't deny the sensual longing his nearness aroused in her. Kellen's love life was a creation of the gossip columns, designed to fuel the macho fantasy his roles demanded, but he'd never yearned for a woman in his life beyond the cameras -- until Paige made him dream those sweet dreams....

Alison Murdock tried her best to remain proper and professional, but how could she describe her unusual inheritance to the most handsome and exciting man she'd ever seen? Tucker Boone was rugged, tanned, with sky blue eyes any Texas cowboy would be proud to call his own, and then there were those kissable lips . ... Allison felt her composure slip, her temperature rise and her heart pound-she was supposed to deliver an English butler to this wanderer but how could a "gentleman's gentleman" fit into Tucker's life? Tucker swore he was no gentleman, and then did his best to prove it, stunning the lady lawyer with kisses that made her forget work and long to play. Alison had spent years reaching for the top-why did being with Tucker satisfy her so? And now Tucker waned roots, a future with this beautiful, complicated woman, but he needed a plan... and the help of his knowing butter to pull it off. Could he make Alison see she couldn't settle for less than love?

How could she believe he loved her, when deception was the name of his game? — Men just didn't enter the door of Amnity Ames's crafts shop -- especially not breathtakingly handsome hunks like Tander Ellis! He made her stomach flutter, her mouth water, and her heart tap dance like Fred Astaire. Tander told Amnity he'd decided to try needlepoint as therapy while his knee healed from surgery, but she couldn't know he suspected her of being involved in the smuggling of stolen diamonds -- and he never imagined he'd succumb to the most alluring eyes he'd ever seen! Amnity felt mesmerized and wanted to lose herself in Tander's strong arms, but caring for such a tantalizing man was dangerous business. Desperately hurt by those she loved best, Amnity had built walls to protect her heart, but nothing could keep the man for whom she'd waited a lifetime from fighting his way inside. Tander dared her to believe in tomorrow, to vanquish the ghosts that divided them, but could he show her that rainbows would follow the storm they'd been through?

Blaze Holland had a delicious secret identity, friends she adored, a perfectly contented life -- so when she shared a ride during a blizzard with roguish visiting professor Taylor Shay, she was definitely not looking to fall in love! There was no denying the attraction between them, though, and Blaze and Taylor drafted a perfect plan: They'd be lovers and friends, nothing more. Their game had only one rule: if either fell in love, it was all over between them! But could they bend the rules a bit and still win?

Everyone in Harmony, Oklahoma, called her Miss Annabella, the librarian who dressed in drab browns and resembled a sparrow, but when gorgeous blue-eyed ladykiller pilot Terry Russell heard her sultry, sexy voice, he sensed the vibrant woman underneath the prim exterior. — Back for the summer after years of working in New York, he knew what it was to be lonely, and something in him wanted to discover the woman whose passion sizzled just beneath the surface. But getting Annabella to try her wings meant courting her, awakening her to the wonderful pleasures a man and woman could share... and Terry was stunned to feel his heart respond when he kissed her trembling lips. Annabella thrilled to his touch, and reveled in the bright colors and wild emotions he brought to her quiet life, determined to gather what memories she could to cherish once Terry had gone. But when he confessed his love, how could she believe him? Did he love the woman she truly was, or simply his creation?

THE WRANGLER, THE RICH GIRL AND THE MISSING BRIDE-TO-BE Man-of-the-land Max Carter didn't care for the pampered princess who came searching for her brother's intended bride. Besides, he didn't know where his cousin Sabrina was. But when socialite Josie Wentworth fell and got amnesia, he suddenly became her keeper -- and her lover. Max couldn't resist the temptation. And he couldn't believeJosie's transformation. She actually seemed to love working the land, riding the range and cuddling in his arms. Max knew he owed Josie the truth, but he feared losing her -- and the child she now carried.