"My best friend Sophie was gorgeous, at times uptight and desperate. Her biological clock was ticking and after yet another failed relationship she pulled me aside.
'Listen Chase, you know I adore you and you know I need you. Historically, you always come through for me.' She swallowed hard while I listened. 'It's no secret that I want a baby, the semi old fashioned way.' I nodded not really believing what I was hearing.
'I want you to do it.'
'You want my swimmers?'
'Yes, through natural injection.' Sex with my best friend. The best friend I had once upon a time wanted in a bad way.
'Don't worry, I've got this covered,' I assured her. She looked relieved and maybe even a little excited. Seven Days, six nights, and lots of sex. What more could I want? Oh right. A way to turn this into forever so I could raise my child too.
Contains mature themes."
"You don't realize how the small day to day struggles of family life combined with running a successful business can affect your marriage, until it's too late. They leave you too exhausted to deal with the big things that truly matter.
I knew things had been strained between Hope and me. So, when she suggested going away for our tenth wedding anniversary I couldn't say no. She'd planned for weeks and after a couple of hours together we were just beginning to get intimate. That was when my phone began blowing up. There was an emergency with two of my clients and I had no choice but to put an end to our getaway. I figured she would understand, she always understands, but it didn't hit me just how far we'd fallen until I saw the disappointment line her face.
I offered to take her with me, that we'd celebrate our anniversary together there, but she refused. Instead, as soon as the wheels of the plane touched the ground, I found a text message from her accusing me of having an affair. Now doubts, fears, and uncertainties of the past resurface while I rush back home to save what is left of my crumbling family and repair the rocky ground we are treading.
Contains mature themes."
"I was in the middle of the biggest merger of my career when my love life took a nosedive. My now ex-girlfriend wouldn't leave my apartment, so I moved into my office, only to be caught by my brothers one morning after I'd gone on a bender.
Angry and bothered that I'd violated company policies more than once, I was put on a two-week forced vacation effective immediately. One week into what was supposed to be peaceful solitude to get my life back on track, I decide to cut my trip short and return to work. Instead, I end up stranded at the airport during the worst snowstorm of the year.
That was when I saw her. Mia, my best friend's sister, all grown up and intoxicatingly beautiful. It had been twenty years since we'd laid eyes on each other, yet the chemistry still crackles between us. Soon, one thing leads to another and we find ourselves riding out the storm in the most enticing way, tangled in bed sheets.
The girl who held my attention all those years ago, now holds my heart. But when we are forced to go head-to-head in the boardroom will our second chance be over before it even begins?
Contains mature themes."
"I'd never needed a week away with my brothers so bad until I'd broken up with my girlfriend. The female persuasion was the farthest thing from my mind . . . that was until I lock eyes with the stunning brunette sitting on the other side of the bar.
It didn't take me long to figure out that she was there alone, even though every time she'd make eye contact with me, she'd glance over her shoulder like she was waiting for someone.
My brothers and I had decided to move the party from the bar to my hotel room. Things got loud, and before I knew it she was standing on the other side of my door. Only she wasn't here to join the party, instead she was raging with anger at the fact we'd kept her up half the night.
As she walked away from me, pulling her t-shirt down to cover herself it was then I decided I was determined to show this uptight, but gorgeous woman how to have a little fun. As vacation ends, we agree to keep seeing one another, but soon I find her pushing me away. Scars from her past have her terrified of the future, and I fear our love will be over before it even begins. I just need to figure out how to convince her that we are worth fighting for.
Contains mature themes."
Join our community for the latest bookish news, reading recommendations, exclusive opening extracts, author events and competitions. It\'s all free. And enter a monthly draw to win a £50 Gift Card. See past winners here
