Falling in love with your fake fiancé is something that only happens in movies, not in midlife…

Mary Ellen
For eighteen years, Antonio and I have been best friends. We’ve shared everything: inside jokes, secrets, Cubs tickets, even an address. Everyone thinks that we’re secretly in love with each other, but that’s ridiculous. I mean sure, Antonio is charming and hot, and we almost kissed that one time, but I’d never do anything to risk our friendship.

Until Antonio pulls a stunt right out of a romcom…

Antonio
When my grandmother was on her death bed, I told a little white lie. I wanted her to die happy, so I told her I was engaged to my beautiful best friend. But Nonna unexpectedly recovered, and now she’s coming from Italy to spend Christmas in Chicago with me and my fiancée. She’s on a mission to get us to set a date for the wedding. Now I need to convince my best friend to move into my apartment, sleep in my bed, and pretend to be my fiancée.

I have an ulterior motive though: I want to finally break out of the friend zone and convince Mary Ellen that we have a shot at something better — love.

“Caught by My Best Friend” is part of the Midlife Crisis – Chicago contemporary romance series. If you like steamy midlife romantic comedies with wacky side characters, meddling grandmothers, holiday hijinks, and a sweet happily ever after, check out this book today.

Author’s Note: This is an expanded second edition of “Caught by My Best Friend” that contains over 3,000 words of new content. Enjoy!

I don’t allow humans in my territory.
I don’t shelter them.
And I sure as hell don’t lose control over them.
Then the cops arrive at my mountain with a terrified woman in the back of an SUV and tell me she needs somewhere to disappear.
One look at Alexandria and my beast knows it:
Mine.
She smells like fear and city rain and temptation. Soft skin. Smart mouth. Big eyes that watch me like she already understands I’m dangerous.
She should hate this place.
The isolation. The cold. My rules.
The way I track every step she takes like my body was built to guard hers.
Instead, she starts sassing me over breakfast, insulting my coffee and borrowing my clothes.
I tell myself this is temporary.
That I’m just keeping her safe until the threat passes.
But the longer Alexandria stays on my mountain, the more certain I become of one thing:
She’s not leaving.
Because once a grizzly shifter falls for a woman,
he doesn’t let her go.


If you love obsessed, possessive grizzly-shifter heroes, a heroine who refuses to be handled, and a mix of danger, tension, and snowbound isolation, you’ll love Gunnar and Alexandria’s story.

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Sky, an unforgettable golden retriever mafia romance set in modern-day Italy, bursting with violence, dripping with blood, and crackling with desire.

We spent weeks planning this trip to Sicily together. And I was damn sure going to enjoy it, even if my lying, cheating boyfriend just abandoned me.

I push aside self-pity to venture out and take photographs. Later, I lock eyes with a stranger at a bar. This tattooed god, Constantine, is way out of my league, but to my surprise, he’s all in—every inch. And up in his hotel suite, he claims me for his own. Over and over again.

Constantine’s touch helps take away the pain, and he possesses me like I’ve never known. I fall hard. But beneath his kindness to me, to his family, to his dog, I sense danger. How could I know that to the city of Rome, he’s a brutal enforcer?

When I trust the wrong man, I discover just how dangerous Constantine can be. He may call me sweetheart, but the Roman Republic calls him Emperor—and trembles at his feet.

Hockey superstar Corbin Knight is a recipe for trouble…and I’m ready to take a bite.

The sexy single dad is not only a world-class hockey player, but my brother’s best friend. Strictly off-limits, and always has been.

But when I inherit an old firehouse to transform into my dream bakery? The bossy, protective athlete also becomes my hero, buying in when the financing falls through.

I have to keep reminding myself – no more flirting with my new business partner… no matter how tempting he looks helping me paint.

It’s a good rule to remember when he starts making surprise shirtless appearances after each win.
Insists I wear his jersey to games.
Stands up for me when a celebrity chef is rude.

Soon, his heated glances make me feel like I’m the answer to his dreams.

Falling for the hockey player I work with could cost us everything: the bakery, his friendship with my brother, and my family who already thinks I’m a hot mess.

But when Corbin shows up after a rough game one night and tells me he can’t stop thinking about me and hasn’t been able to for years?

I’m ready to break all the rules.

This is Corbin and Mabel’s romance. Tropes include: Brother’s best friend, single dad, workplace romance, hockey, the one who got away, love letters

I ran from my wedding. Then the groom hunted me down.
So I made a vow: he could claim my body…
But he would never earn my heart.

My father traded me in a marriage built on blood and deceit.

Liev Demsky.
I met him only once before.
Nearly twice my age.
Cold eyes. Controlled violence.
The man they just crowned king.

I walk into a cathedral expecting to witness a deal.
Instead, I find a priest, a wedding dress, and a contract with my name on it.

So I run.
Big mistake.

He finds me before nightfall.
Corners me.
Touches me like he already owns me.

“I’ll f*ck you so hard, you’ll be begging to marry me.”

The more I defy him, the tighter he closes in.
The more I resist… the more he pleasures me into submission.

I should have walked away.

But enemies circle.
Blood is shed.

And I’m carrying his heir.

Should I tell the most dangerous man in the Bratva he’s going to be a father…
And lose my freedom forever?

Because if he finds out—
He’ll never let me leave.

And I’m not sure I want him to.

Wed to the Bratva King is Liev and Ryder’s story. It’s a scorching standalone, age gap romance that is guaranteed to make you fall for the ruthless Bratva boss. No cheating, no cliffhangers, ultra-hot HEA guaranteed!

Here’s something they don’t teach you in med school: if you save a dying man in a freezing alley, make sure he’s not a Bratva king first.

I’m a trauma surgeon. Steady hands. Cool head. Zero emotional attachment. That’s my whole thing.

So when I end up in the wrong alley and find a stranger bleeding out, I don’t hesitate. I kneel down, press my scarf into his wound, and tell him to breathe.

I try not to notice that even half-dead, this man is offensively, unreasonably hot.

When I walk away, I tell myself I’ll never see him again. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Three weeks later, I’m giving a speech at a medical gala, and there he is. Tall. Dark suit.

Very much not dead.

Now he’s not just the man whose blood is probably still on my favorite scarf. He’s Kiren Sovarin, CEO of a biomedical empire.

He doesn’t thank me. He crosses the ballroom and says three words:

“Dance with me.”

My brain says no. My mouth says, “One song.”

My pulse says you are in so much trouble.

Because the CEO title is just the surface. Kiren Sovarin runs one of the most powerful Bratva families in the city.

And I’m already in too deep to walk away.

I should run. It should scare me.

(It does something much, much worse.)

Especially when I see those two pink lines.

Start this bestselling Bratva duet now. His To Claim is a full-length mafia romance with a cliffhanger ending and a guaranteed HEA at the end of Book 2. Perfect for readers who love possessive Bratva heroes, fierce heroines, and the kind of tension that keeps you up way past your bedtime.

I’m Crew Malone, president of the Gravel Kings MC, and I’ve buried more bodies than I have regrets. At forty-five, I rule this Pacific Northwest territory with iron fists and a loaded Glock—leather cuts, roaring Harleys, and zero room for weakness.

Women? They’re a distraction I can’t afford. Not after Mia. Not with rival Reapers circling like vultures, ready to paint our streets red.

Then she walks into my bar. Sunshine Carter—twenty-three, all curves and cinnamon rolls, with a smile that could melt the frost off my black heart. She’s leasing the shop next door, baking her way into a life she doesn’t belong in.

Too sweet. Too young. Too fucking perfect.

I tell her to run. She flips her hair and offers me pastries instead.

One drive-by shooting later, and she’s under my protection—whether she likes it or not. Bullets fly, graffiti scars her bakery door with threats, and every instinct screams to claim her. Hard. Raw. Mine. But ghosts from my past claw at me, whispering I’ll destroy her like I did the last one.

And when the Reapers drag her into their hellhole trap, I unleash the monster she’s already tamed.

She’s my sunshine in this endless rain. My redemption. My everything. I’ll burn the world for her—but can I keep her safe from the darkness I drag in my wake? Or will loving her finally break us both?

This age-gap MC bite-sized romance delivers possessive alpha heat, high-stakes biker drama, and a hard-won HEA. No cheating, no cliffhanger. 1-click if you crave grumpy biker prezzes claiming their sunshine heroines.