Cat Carmine

Never make a bet with a man who plays to win... Especially not a man like handsome, arrogant Connor Pratt. AKA the huge PITA who's currently crashing in my spare room. AKA my brother's best friend since they were about six. AKA the one guy who still makes me feel like an awkward tongue-tied loser.But when Connor moved in, I got a glimpse of another side of him. Because, like me, Connor's going through a nasty break-up. And, like me, he's just doing whatever he can to get through it. Unfortunately, his method involves drinking alarming amounts of whiskey and watching a lot of, um ... movies ... that make every inch of my skin flush. I'm just trying to be helpful when I tell him that he should try my method: copious amounts of baked goods, sappy romantic comedies, and late nights spent whining with girlfriends. But I should have known Connor would take that as a challenge. Now, he says he'll try my way of dealing with a break-up ... but only if I agree to try his. Six month's rent to the person whose method works best. We call it the break-up bet. And I'm going to win. Except right now, it feels like there's a whole lot more at stake than just rent money...

The Break-Up Bet

Be careful who you spill your secrets to...Some women just have it — that combination of stunning looks and sexual confidence that brings men to their knees.Not me.My last boyfriend once fell asleep while we were … you know. Not my proudest moment.And my crush on my hot, arrogant and oh-so-unattainable CEO? Never going to happen.But one night, after too much wine, I find myself online, creating a profile for a sex kitten called SweetVixen. Safe behind my computer screen, I’m suddenly the seductive goddess of my wildest imagination.Next thing I know, I’ve spent a month sharing every filthy fantasy I’ve ever had with a man I know only as Mister Bigshot. A man who can make my toes curl with just a few keystrokes. A man who brings new meaning to the eggplant emoji.A man who now wants to meet in person.Dressed in my rarely-used little black dress and heels higher than my expectations, I gather my courage and cross the restaurant toward the stranger who’s been teasing me mercilessly all month.But then I come to a dead stop. Right in the middle of the restaurant. Frozen in place like a deer in the candlelight.Because the man sitting there waiting on me is no stranger.The man I’ve bared everything to — and I do mean everything — is none other than my hot, arrogant, and oh-so-unattainable CEO.Mister Bigshot is … my boss.And trust me, there’s no emoji for the way he’s looking at me right now ...

Bigshot Boss

When my father died, I lost a hero and a role model — and inherited a floundering furniture company. So I do what any dutiful (and slightly guilt-ridden) daughter would do — I leave behind my burgeoning fashion label and come home to Chicago to sit at the helm of Bailey Living, the company my father spent his life building. But righting a sinking ship is hard work, so when I meet an unbelievably hot guy at an industry party, it seems like a perfect (and perfectly innocent) way to let off a little steam.

A Steamy Romantic Comedy

Red Hot Rival

A good-girl lawyer walks into a bar... Throwing muffins at my ex in the office break room wasn't exactly on today's agenda. Neither was getting asked to take a not-so-voluntary leave from my job as a corporate lawyer. Just until I could get my personal life in order, they said, which you know is code for get your sh*t together. But when life hands you lemons-well, you make for the nearest dive bar and drown your sorrows in wine and gooey grilled cheese. Of course, it doesn't hurt if they're being served by Manhattan's hottest bartender, Jace Whittaker. Taking him home with me wasn't on my agenda either, but hey ... those are some lemons I don't mind squeezing. But it turns out Jace wants more than a one-night stand. He needs a fiancee-for a week. Just long enough to put on a show for his estranged brother's wedding, and convince his family he's cleaned up his act. Going to Chicago for a week with a man I barely know is yet another item that wasn't on my to-do list right now, but the week of mind-blowing pleasure Jace promises in return in something I can't turn down. So against my better judgement, I agree to help him out. All we need to do is not get caught. And not let any pesky feelings get in the way, of course. Because falling for this bad boy bartender-even one who serves up such earth-shattering ... cocktails-is definitely not on the agenda. Then again, maybe it's time I let my life get shaken, not stirred ... and maybe Jace is just the man to do it.

Filthy Fiance

Working for my ex-boyfriend? Sure. But falling for him again? That’s a deal breaker.Dancing around my office in my bra isn’t exactly the way I’d have chosen to run into my ex for the first time in twelve years, but what can I say? Wes Lake has always had a knack for showing up at the most inopportune times. Unfortunately, he also has a knack for leaving. That’s why I’ve made every effort to put him out of my head — and my heart. But this time, he needs my help. Wes Lake, head of Manhattan’s preeminent real estate development firm, needs my tiny little marketing start-up to take on a special project at his company. The money’s too good to turn down, so even though I’m leery of working for my ex, I accept.There’s just one problem:I can’t stop kissing him. I know better. I swear I do. But that doesn’t stop my lips from being magnetically drawn to his every time we’re in the same room. Can you blame me? He’s gorgeous, wealthy, powerful — and he still remembers how to push all the right buttons.So to keep things professional, Wes and I strike another kind of deal. - No kissing. - No talking about the past. - No seeing each other outside of work. - Did I mention no kissing?Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Except I might have underestimated Wes. Because when it comes to business — or pleasure — he’ll do anything to seal the deal. Even if it means breaking my heart in the process.

The Deal Breaker

He's the bad boy ... but I'm the one breaking all the rules. I've always been the quintessential good girl. I don't just follow the rules - I write them. As an advice columnist, I'm always telling people how to not screw up their lives. So you'd think I'd know better than to bang some random guy in a bar bathroom. But nope. Apparently not. Now I've got even bigger problems, though. Because it turns out that wasn't just some random guy. It was Tyler Grant. Rich. Playboy. Devastatingly gorgeous. Oh, and the publisher of my new dating advice book. All my instincts are telling me to run like hell. It's what I'd advise anyone else to do. But nope. I've had a taste, and I'm hooked. Now I'm calling him at ungodly hours and showing up at his house drunk and begging for sex and tacos. In other words, breaking every rule in my own damn book. Of course, you don't have to be an advice columnist to know a bad boy and a good girl are never going to work out. Someone's going to get their heart broken. And my guess? It isn't going to be him.

The Rule Breaker

One bad boss. One regrettable night. One laugh-out-loud romantic comedy!I moved to New York to prove to everyone that I could — that I wasn't the baby they all thought I was. So landing a plum job working for Logan Cartwright at the prestigious Cartwright Diamonds should have been a dream come true. Then I show up for my first day, and my new boss has no idea who I am. He thinks I'm the Muffin Girl (whatever that is.) Turns out, he only hired me because he thought I was a guy. (Thanks Mom and Dad, for naming me Blake. #notawkwardatall) But I'm not letting go that easily. I need this job, and I'm damn well going to fight for it. Even if Logan Cartwright happens to be the boss from hell. Even if he keeps looking at me with those smoldering blue eyes. Even if he kisses me in his limo. And again in his office. Even if he happens to drive me equal parts crazy and wild.Logan Cartwright might have a reputation to uphold — heartbreaker, tycoon, jackhole — but I have something to prove, too. Let's see who breaks first.

Cat Carmine

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