Welcome to Willoughby Close...a charming cluster of cozy cottages, each with a story to tell and a happy ending to deliver.
Emily David didn't want to move to Willoughby Close. She was perfectly content in London, but when her boss, Henry Trent, asks her to relocate, she's left with little choice. Emily prefers living on her own and finds comfort in her routines. But the well-meaning residents of Wychwood-on-Lea are determined to include her in their friendly circle-a prospect Emily finds utterly alarming.
When sparks fly with local pub owner Owen Jones, Emily's safe and fragile world threatens to shatter. She has too many secrets to keep, and Owen's gentle understanding could be her undoing. But as Owen persists, Emily's heart softens, and she begins to discover the wonder of trusting friends-and falling in love. That is, until she discovers Owen has a secret of his own.
Can Willoughby Close work its charm and magic once more? And can someone who has been determined to stay lonely find-and trust-love right on her doorstep?
'I love you. Of course I do. But we haven't any choice in the matter, do we? If our little boy's health, even his survival, is at stake, we have to do whatever it takes.'
1928, New York City: Ellen and Lucas Lyman have made a heart-wrenching decision to leave their beloved Amherst Island behind in search of a new life. The island was once the home of their hearts: where they had met as children, become friends, and over time found love.
But New York City was calling, and it was everything they'd hoped for and more. With Lucas making money on the stock market, and Ellen finding fulfilment as a mother, at first they are happy raising their family, together, in the most exciting city in the world.
Until their beloved son Jamie becomes perilously ill, and Ellen is given an impossible choice. With Lucas unable to leave his job, it is down to her to take Jamie to a place he might recover even if it means making the journey across America without him.
Ellen knows what she must do. What every mother would do to save their child. Even if it takes her further away from the man she loves-and every place she has called home-than ever before.
Welcome back to Willoughby Close, with four new residents and happy endings to deliver.
Laura Neale is grieving. A year after her beloved husband's death, she is still left with far too many questions and is struggling with feelings of guilt, anger, and grief. Hoping to rebuild her life and her children's, she moves to Wychwood-on-Lea with her two troubled kids-an eleven-year-old son with too much energy and a fourteen-year-old daughter flirting with the same depression that afflicted her father.
The warm community of women who have lived in Willoughby Close welcome her with open arms, and their friendship helps Laura find a semblance of peace. But when she finds herself with an entirely unexpected attraction to her son's teacher, James Hill, Laura is gobsmacked. James is charming, funny, and ten years younger than her, thus completely unsuitable. Besides, her husband Timothy was her soulmate-wasn't he?
As revelations about everything she once held dear surface, Laura wonders if she is reckless or maybe just brave enough to try for love a second time.
When Lucy Bagshaw's life in Boston falls apart thanks to a scathing editorial written by her famous artist mother, she accepts her half sister Juliet's invitation to stay with her in Hartley-by-the-Sea, a charming seaside village in northern England. Lucy is expecting quaint cottages and cream teas but instead finds that her sister is an aloof host, the weather is wet, windy, and cold, and her new boss, Alex Kincaid, is a disapproving widower who only hired her as a favor to Juliet. Despite the invitation she offered, Juliet is startled by the way Lucy catapults into her orderly life. As Juliet faces her own struggles with both her distant mother and her desire for a child, her sister's irrepressible optimism begins to take hold. With the help of quirky villagers, these hesitant rainy day sisters begin to forge a new understanding and find in each other the love of family that makes all the difference.
After her father left, Rachel had to dedicate her life to managing her household: her two younger sisters, her disabled mother, and her three-year-old nephew. When Rachel's not struggling to look after all of them, she makes her living cleaning the houses of wealthy families-including the Wests, where a surprise now awaits her . . . A lifetime of drifting in other people's currents has finally left Claire high and dry. First it was her parents, then the popular crowd in school, and finally her fiance. Now she's returned to Hartley-by-the-Sea to recover. But running into Rachel brings back memories of past mistakes, and Claire wonders if she now has the courage to make them right. Soon Claire's brother, Andrew, asks Rachel to keep an eye on Claire, which is the last thing either woman wants. But as their lives threaten to fall apart, both Claire and Rachel begin to realize what they need most is a friend. The kind of friend they once were to each other, and perhaps can be again . . .
Welcome to Willoughby Close ... a charming cluster of cozy cottages, each with a story to tell and a happy ending to deliver ...
Ellie Matthews has come to Wychwood-on-Lea to find a new start for her and her daughter Abby. But, life there doesn't start out as idyllic as she had hoped. While Ellie loves her cute cottage in Willoughby Close, the Yummy Mummies at the primary school seem intent on giving her the cold shoulder, Abby has trouble fitting in, and her boss, Oliver Venables, is both surprisingly sexy and irritatingly inscrutable.
But miracles can happen in the most unexpected places, and in small, yet wonderful ways. Slowly, Ellie and Abby find themselves making friends and experiencing the everyday magic of Willoughby Close. When Oliver's nephew, Tobias, befriends Abby, the four of them start to feel like family ... and Ellie begins to see the kindness and warmth beneath Oliver's chilly exterior, which awakens both her longing and fear.
Ellie knows all about disappointment, and the pain of trying too hard for nothing, while Oliver has his own hurts and secrets to deal with. When the past comes rollicking back to remind both of them of their weaknesses and failings, will they be able to overcome their fears and find their own happy ending?
Welcome to Willoughby Close ... a charming cluster of cozy cottages, each with a story to tell and a happy ending to deliver ...
Alice James has been a drifter her whole life, working her way through several foster homes before ending up in Wychwood-on-Lea, feeling anchorless and invisible. When a chance encounter leads to Alice accepting a position as a caretaker and companion to Lady Stokeley, she starts to feel as if she might finally be able to put down some roots and live the way other people do.
Then, Lady Stokeley's nephew, city banker Henry Trent, storms into Willoughby Manor, seeming to find fault with everything, including Alice. As the next in line to the manor and title, he threatens to upturn everything she's started to build. But Henry is hiding his own secret fears and weaknesses, ones he's desperate for no one to discover.
A surprising and inconvenient attraction that simmers between them leaves Alice feeling more confused than ever, and Henry torn between duty and desire, fear and love. When circumstances become even more difficult, both Alice and Henry must decide who they really are, and what they are willing to fight for. Could Alice possibly be the next Lady of Willoughby Manor?
Welcome to Willoughby Close ... a charming cluster of cozy cottages, each with a story to tell and a happy ending to deliver ...
After her husband unexpectedly dies, Ava moves to Willoughby Close, trying to keep her chin up and herself to herself as she's always done-not answering questions, not making friends, and not seeing much of a future. Her marriage was far from perfect, but it offered her a much-needed security that has now been ripped away. She's not sure what to do now that she's thirty-five, widowed, penniless ... and unexpectedly pregnant with her late husband's child.
Jace Tucker is the over-the-top sexy caretaker of Willoughby Manor, and he can see beneath Ava's glamour girl act to the hurt she's been hiding for so long. She has secrets for a reason-and so does he. The last thing she needs right now is a fling with a man who hides a past as regrettable as her own.
But with a baby to think about, and neighbors determined to be her friends, Ava finds herself starting to change and even more alarmingly, beginning to hope. Can Willoughby Close work its everyday magic on a woman like her? And when the past comes calling for both her and Jace, will they have to answer for their previous mistakes?
Welcome to Willoughby Close ... a charming cluster of cozy cottages, each with a story to tell and a happy ending to deliver ...
Harriet Lang had the perfect life, so she's left reeling when everything is taken from her in one fell swoop. Suddenly, Harriet learns her beautiful farmhouse in the Cotswolds is double-mortgaged, her husband Richard's been unceremoniously fired-and he's become a little too close to his young, sexy assistant.
Harriet moves into Willoughby Close with her three children, trying to hold her head up high. With the help of her neighbor and newfound friend Ellie Matthews, Harriet starts to rebuild her life-but dipping a toe in the dating pool feels strange and meanwhile her children are struggling in different ways. She wonders if starting over is really possible ...
Then Willoughby Close begins to weave its healing magic on both her and her children, and Harriet begins to see a way forward. But when Richard reappears in her life, wanting to make amends, Harriet must make the painful decision about how much of the past can be forgiven-and what kind of future she is fighting for.
He didn't want complications. She was looking for a miracle.
Quinn Freeman has spent his life avoiding the dangers of commitment, but his reluctant return to his home town that's in tragedy for his family stirs up memories and emotions he'd intended to leave buried. His arrival lights hope in many hearts including one long dormant.
Meghan O'Reilly, the town's only plumber and solo caretaker of her dependent sister, is weighted down with responsibility. She only sees in Quinn a careless charmer who isn't used to hard work-but she still can't keep from imagining his kiss ... and longing for his touch.
Surely some things, like a fling between them, can be simple ... Or is it possible for a fling to become forever?
Welcome to Creighton Falls, New York ... a town time forgot where miracles happen ...
Glamorous city girl Hannah Ford wasn't thinking when she walked out of a Christmas party and drove three hundred miles into a snowstorm; she just needed to escape. Thankfully local carpenter Sam Taylor comes to her rescue, and the unlikely pair are forced to spend a snowed-in Christmas together.
All Sam planned for Christmas was to get drunk alone. The holiday has always been something to be endured, until Hannah tumbles into his life, making it magical. Now Hannah and Sam have a chance to have a Christmas together ... and make it the best one either of them have ever had.
But can one night out of reality turn into something that's lasting and real?
Always the baker, never the bride ...
Olivia James has always been happy running a tea shop and bakery in the Cotswold village of Wychwood-on-Lea, and helping her friends find their happily-ever-afters, topped by the perfect wedding cake. But as Christmas approaches, Olivia is home alone and questioning her choices while eating too many of her own specialty confections.
When Simon Blacklock, a handsome, whimsical stranger, breezes into her shop and buys a cupcake and then returns the next day and the day after, Olivia begins to dream. Can romance blossom amidst the sugar and flour? And after a lifetime of living on the side lines, is she brave enough to star in her own story?
Simon may be hiding a painful secret, but Olivia harbors secrets of her own. If they can dare to risk their hearts, this Christmas might be the most magical yet!
