Return to Coal Haven

Alder Duke was my high school sweetheart turned husband, then he became a stranger who wanted his freedom. I gave it to him.Fifteen years later, I'm a single mom who desperately needs a place to live. He's a powerful CEO who needs a wife in order to get the house he grew up in, thanks to a trust his grandma left behind.He makes a deal with me: get married to him-again-and live with him for a year. Once the house is in his name, we can divorce-again-and he'll rent the place to me. Just one year. No strings. No feelings. Simple.But nothing about my ex-husband is simple. Gone is the man who wanted to stay out all night drinking with his buddies. This Alder cooks and cleans and unclogs sinks in gray sweatpants. He gets my stubborn daughter to like him. And with me? He looks at me like I'm the only woman in the world. I can't fall for his sweet daisy whispers. I know how it ends. This time we planned it. My life was already derailed by him once, and I barely came out intact. He's had my heart forever, but he only gets one year. Marie Johnston is an award-winning, best-selling writer of paranormal and contemporary romance, and a RITA® Finalist. Marie decided to pursue her passion for writing and traded in her lab coat for a laptop to write her first book ever, Fever Claim. She lives in the upper Midwest with her husband, four kids, and old kitty. Other than hanging out with her family, Marie enjoys reading, movie dates with her hubby, getting outside on sunny days, and the all too rare - girls' night out.

I need a husband. Jensen needs a business makeover. A marriage of convenience should solve both our problems. Moving back to Coal Haven should have been simple-start my tutoring business, settle into the historic house my grandmother left me, and move on from my past. But there's a catch: I can't claim the house unless I'm married. Jensen Hollis. My childhood rival. The guy I spent years trying to outdo. The one who married our mutual friend while I watched from the sidelines. Now he's divorced, a single dad, and-somehow-my only option. It's a perfect arrangement. A temporary marriage. One year with no feelings involved. At least, that was the plan…until playing house starts to feel a little too real. Marie Johnston is an award-winning, best-selling writer of paranormal and contemporary romance, and a RITA® Finalist. Marie decided to pursue her passion for writing and traded in her lab coat for a laptop to write her first book ever, Fever Claim. She lives in the upper Midwest with her husband, four kids, and old kitty. Other than hanging out with her family, Marie enjoys reading, movie dates with her hubby, getting outside on sunny days, and the all too rare - girls' night out.

I went to Vegas to get married and ended up saying "I do" to my fiancé's brother. My dream wedding in Las Vegas turns into a scandalous nightmare when my fiancé gets married-to another woman. Pregnant, unemployed, and dangerously close to losing a house that was supposed to kickstart my next phase of life, I'm out of options.Until Sullivan, my ex-groom's black-sheep brother, makes an offer that changes everything: marry him instead. I get to keep the house, he gets to work on his start-up in peace, and we just have to cohabitate for a year. I don't expect playing house to feel so natural. Or to see Sullivan for who he truly is without baseless comparisons to his brother. I definitely don't expect to wish I could see what he's like as a dad beyond our year together. Then there was that one time in the laundry room with him…and in the bathroom…and on the kitchen table. I could go for much more of that.As the calendar pages turn, I've been wishing this was the beginning and not the end. But I was let down in the most humiliating way possible. I can't waste my clover dreams on a man who could devastate my heart worse than before. Marie Johnston is an award-winning, best-selling writer of paranormal and contemporary romance, and a RITA® Finalist. Marie decided to pursue her passion for writing and traded in her lab coat for a laptop to write her first book ever, Fever Claim. She lives in the upper Midwest with her husband, four kids, and old kitty. Other than hanging out with her family, Marie enjoys reading, movie dates with her hubby, getting outside on sunny days, and the all too rare - girls' night out.