Series: Proposals and Promises (Book 3)

To: My assistant

From: Scott Prince

Re: Will you marry me?

Bachelor Scott Prince knows he wants a family -- so it's time to find a wife. But for a workaholic construction company owner with no time for romance, the perfect woman may just be his very loyal, very pretty assistant Tess Miller. For Scott, their engagement is a practical business deal…with a bonus.

Scott's proposal is exactly what Tess needs to prevent another holiday season alone. And then he kisses her -- and she realizes she's not as immune to her sexy boss as she thought. But this is a business deal, with no room for emotion…right? Or can Tess find a real happy-ever-after with her "Prince"?

Good friends to lovers/boss and employee story. Tess has worked for Scott for six years and has become indispensable to him. She loves her job and doesn't mind the long hours and frequent interruptions to her personal life. Her personal life isn't all that great anyway. She's got some good friends, but her romantic life just doesn't exist.

Scott is the head of his construction company and has worked hard to make it the company that it is. He's thirty seven years old and feels like it is time for a family of his own. He was engaged a few years earlier, but it hadn't worked out. His fiancee didn't like his hours, and constantly complained about his lack of romance. This time he's going to pursue it in a more practical manner. As soon as he lists out what he's looking for, he realizes that Tess is a perfect match.

Scott caught Tess at a bit of a low point. It's the holidays and she's alone again except for her older sister. Her sister is constantly trying to fix her up, and she's getting tired of it. She's tried online dating and has struck out there too. She just wants a family of her own. When Scott comes to her with his "marriage plan" she says yes. 

I loved seeing these two together. They've known each other for six years, so there aren't a lot of secrets between them. As they begin attending events as a couple instead of as boss and employee, things start to change. I loved seeing Scott begin to see Tess as a beautiful woman. Tess had always seen Scott as a sexy man, but buried any feelings because of her job. Their "just a test" first kiss hit them each harder than they expected, and the physical attraction between them grew. Though their relationship is built on friendship, and emotions such as love have never been mentioned, Tess realizes that she wants more than Scott seems willing to give. It was fun to see Scott move away from the practical without realizing it until it was almost too late. There were a couple great scenes with Scott's brothers as he sees their love for their wives but believes he doesn't need that, then later seems to envy what they have. When Tess confronts him with what she needs from him, Scott has to make a decision. I loved seeing Scott's confusion and then realization that he had loved her all along, but hadn't recognized it. I liked the ending and that Tess made him work for his happy ending.

I liked the secondary characters a lot. Tess's friends were great sounding boards for her and there when she needed them. I really enjoyed seeing them help Tess pick out her holiday dresses. I also liked seeing more of Stevie, and am looking forward to her story. I suspect that her neighbor is going to be part of it. Tess's sister was an interesting character. She drove me as nuts as she did Tess, with her attitude and her digs, but I loved that she was there when Tess really needed her. Scott's family was great. I loved the way they made Tess a part of them so easily. I also liked how Scott's brothers gave him a hard time, but were an example of what marriage should be.

Series: Proposals & Promises (Book 1)

Someone's sleeping in my bed

Needing to ponder a marriage proposal, play-it-safe Jenny Baer escapes to an Ozarks cabin—right into bed with a naked man! What's a recuperating Officer Gavin Locke doing in her rental amid a raging storm? He's the last thing she needs—the man she loved…and left.

Trapped with Jenny in his cabin, with no power and too many memories, Gavin knows nothing's changed. She can't accept his dangerous career, and she's about to marry a powerful politician. But when one little kiss brings him to his knees, Gavin can't deny the attraction never died. Nor can Jenny. Once the flood waters recede, Jenny will wear a ring… But from whom?

Good book. Jenny has braved a storm to get to an isolated rental cabin where she can be alone to think about her future. Exhausted when she arrives, she discovers a naked man in the bed she was about to occupy. Not just any man, but Gavin, her college sweetheart and the man she left behind. Gavin owns the cabin and is there recuperating from an injury received on the job. He's not any happier than she is to be stuck together until the storm passes. 

I liked Gavin quite a lot. Though he's not exactly thrilled to have Jenny show up, he does his best to be polite. He also discovers that the attraction between them is as strong as ever, something that he is determined to resist. It isn't easy to do when he catches glimpses of the old Jenny underneath the sophisticated surface she has now. I liked the way that he stood up for her against one of his friends when the guy was being obnoxious. I also really liked the way that he is happy with the choices he has made in his life. He's honest with her about the doubts he'd had when he was younger, and how he'd allowed people like her and others to try to change him, but eventually realized that he had to be true to himself.

Jenny irritated me through a good part of the book. First of all, to have to get away to think about the pros and cons of accepting her boyfriend's proposal tells me that she doesn't love him, otherwise there would be no doubt. She spent way too much time thinking about what her grandmother's opinions would be. Looking at her past, I hated the way that she let Gran influence her attitudes so much. Gavin had a really good point when he called her a snob. I liked the way that she loved her work, and her unhappiness at the idea of having to give it up to be with Thad should have told her something was wrong.

I loved seeing the sparks that Jenny and Gavin still had going between them. Those sparks made it impossible for Gavin to just walk away after seeing her again. Jenny also had to face the fact that her feelings for Gavin were so much stronger than what she felt for Thad. I liked seeing them get to know each other as who they are now, and the difference it makes to the way they see each other. Gavin makes a point of telling Jenny that she needs to be true to herself if she's going to be happy, no matter what her decision is about Thad. I liked the scene where Gavin is driving Jenny home and stops to help someone, giving her a small taste of what he does. I loved how that influenced something she said later at an event she attended with Thad. I really liked the ending, with the conclusion circling back to the cabin where it all started.

I still have a little one running about the house but in therory I well old enough to have an empty nest. 

Lots of my freinds do. Lots of my single friends to do and let me tell you Romance as a full grown up with a grown up around that you have rasied makes for some interesting momentts. 

Here are some great Romances that explore that dynamic and do it well. 

My list are never in any order. They are all great. Give them a try!

1. Apples Should Be Red by Penny Watson

ecipe for Thanksgiving Dinner: 

Start with 62-year old politically incorrect, chain-smoking, hard-cussing curmudgeon. 

Add 59-year old sexually-repressed know-it-all in pearls. 

Throw in a beer can-turkey, a battle for horticultural supremacy, and nudist next-door neighbor. 

Serve on paper plates, garnished with garden gnome. 

Tastes like happily ever after.

2. Hearts and Swords by Robin D. Owens

Heart Story:  Blush (Arabusca) daughter to the deceased poisonous former Grandlady Willow, finally gets her happily-ever-after with the Heartmate denied her, but both Blush and the man she has longed for have to overcome the anger and hurt born of the machinations that kept them apart.

3. Sun-Kissed by Laura Florand

They called her the Ice Queen. 

Anne Winters. Self-made billionaire. Household name. Divorced single mom. Convicted felon. She didn’t let anyone or anything get to her. No one was allowed to breach the walls around her heart except for her own son. She had only one trusted friend: her vacation house neighbor. They’d been walking the beach together for twenty years. Not that this gave him access to her heart, of course… 

They called him a man who got what he wanted. 

Mack Corey. Self-made billionaire. Dominant world player. Widowed father of the bride. No felony convictions yet, although his daughters had come close. He’d transformed his family company into one of the top 500 by the age of thirty. He’d raised two daughters who dumped him for idiot arrogant French chocolatiers and went off to live in Paris. Hell, he even managed to tolerate his dad. But that Ice Queen act Anne Winters had going was really starting to get to him… 

They’d been best friends for twenty years. Could they become lovers? 
Could a frozen heart be kissed by the sun?

4. Feral Heat by Jennifer Ashley

Jace Warden is sent to the Shiftertown in Austin to find a way to free all Shifters from their Collars. But pulling off the Collars can cause Shifters to go mad or kill them outright.

In Austin, Jace meets Deni Rowe, a wolf Shifter with troubles of her own--she was deliberately run down in the road, and while her body has healed, she still has episodes of total memory loss during which she retreats into her pure animal self.

Jace has never met anyone like Deni. Courageous and beautiful, she volunteers to help him test the Collar removal. And as Deni and Jace work together, they feel the mate bond begin. But can Jace help Deni believe she can heal enough to be anyone's true mate?

5. Dockside by Susan Wiggs

With her daughter grown and flown, Nina Romano is ready to embark on a new adventure. She's waited a long time for dating, travel and chasing dreams. But just as she's beginning to enjoy being on her own, she finds herself falling for Greg Bellamy, owner of the charming Inn at Willow Lake and a single father with two kids of his own.

Greg lost his first marriage to a demanding career. Now he's determined to make a new start before it's too late. Juggling work, raising his young son and helping his nearly grown daughter face life's ultimate challenge, he has no time to fall in love. Still, with Nina Romano, love feels just right this time around.

6. A Proposal at the Wedding by Gina Wilkins

You are cordially invited…as the bachelor father of the bride falls for the sweet and single wedding planner! Don't miss the latest installment of Gina Wilkins's new Special Edition miniseries, Bride Mountain! 

It's the perfect place for a wedding…and Paul Drennan's lovely daughter will make a beautiful bride. But Bride Mountain Inn co-owner Bonnie Carmichael only has eyes for the father of the bride. Too bad she's already married—to the inn itself. Still, if anyone could make her think of her needs, her wants, it's this sexy single dad…. 

Marrying off his only child, Paul can taste freedom for the first time in two decades. What's not on his agenda is falling for a young woman with commitment for a middle name. The only aisle Paul wants to walk is on the arm of his daughter…until spending time with Bonnie makes him rethink his future plans. After all, the strangest things happen at weddings….

7. Fly Away Home by Kimberly Cates

Eve Danaher's eye for beauty has earned her renown in the fine-art community. But for all her success, her life feels empty without the love of her estranged eighteen-year-old daughter. Determined to discover the peace and happiness that has been missing in her life, Eve books a trip to rural Ireland. There she meets Michael Halloren, a handsome horse trainer who introduces her to the troubled children he cares for at Glennamura Farm. 

For years Eve has buried her emotions, but in the healing beauty of the Irish valley she opens herself to the warmth and compassion that surrounds her. And as Michael Halloren teaches her how powerful love can be, she becomes ever more determined to find her way back -- into her daughter's heart, and to the life she knows is her destiny.

8. Baby, It's You by Jane Graves

With only the wedding dress on her back and her honeymoon luggage in the car, Kari Worthington is running away. Determined to put her controlling father, her rigidly structured life, and the uptight groom she left at the altar in her rearview mirror, she escapes to the Texas Hill country . . . and lands on a tall, dark, and gorgeous winery owner's doorstep. All she needs is a job and a place to live until she can get back on her feet. So why is she fantasizing about losing herself in his powerful arms?

For Marc Cordero, freedom is so close he can taste it. He's devoted his life to managing the family business and being a single dad. Now with his daughter away at college and his brother taking over the winery, Marc is ready to hop on his Harley for parts unknown-until a runaway bride bursts onto the scene. Free-spirited and tantalizingly sexy, Kari excites him like no other woman has before. But when irresistible passion turns into something more, will Marc give up his future to take a chance on love?

9. Let Love Be by Melissa Collins

For Lucy Crane, the answer is simple: her daughter. When her husband is killed in a tragic accident, Lucy loses her desire to live, but only one thing keeps her going – her unborn daughter. Focusing on being a mother helps Lucy cope with her loss, but kids grow up and they leave home, eventually. Eighteen years after losing her first and only love, Lucy is faced with the opportunity to find the happiness for which she’s always longed. Her own fears become her worst enemies as she learns how to embrace love once again. 

Evan Donovan is also facing his own struggles. Forced to retire from the FDNY because of lung damage caused by 9/11, Evan moves to upstate New York where he hopes to find a little peace and quiet. Old habits die hard, and Evan’s hero complex and survivor’s guilt constantly remind him of how difficult it is to be vulnerable. But for the first time in his life, he’s tired of being alone. 

Drawing strength from one another, Lucy and Evan discover how beautiful it is to let love be a part of their lives. 

10. Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl

Some men are off-limits. Close friends of your ex-husband, for instance. Or firefighters who work in the same building as you. Yet despite her best judgment, librarian Lauren Foster can't help noticing fire captain Jake Davis whenever he jogs by…shirtless. They've always been friends, but all it takes is one not-so-chance meeting at a local bar and one not-quite-innocent walk home to ignite a fierce, uncontrollable desire between them.

Widower Jake Davis has tried to ignore the spark he feels whenever Lauren's around, but once he sees her curves in a little black dress, there's no turning back. No matter how often she says she's all wrong for him, the sexy, outspoken divorcée is driving him wild in the best possible way. Maybe she's just blowing off steam. Or maybe he can convince her to fan these flames into something deeper, hotter and truer than they ever expected….

Do you have any recommendation? Gimme!

Check out and vote on my Goodreads list: Empty Nest: Romance Novel Leads with Adult Children

Pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and ghosts...fun! Here are more ghost romances for your spooky pleasure! These romances have ghost as leads, haunts, or secondary characters in an otherwise normal contemporary world. 

1. Trouble in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon 

Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law’s death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana.

Unfortunately, death doesn’t slow down Helena one bit.

DEA Agent Luc LeJeune is wondering what his undercover assignment investigating the sexy scientist has gotten him into – especially as it seems someone wants her dead. Keeping his secrets while protecting Maryse proves to be easier than fighting his attraction for the brainy beauty.

2. A Wish for Love by Gina Wilkins

Bailey Gates is tired of picking guys loaded down with emotional baggage—her "Dear Bailey" days are through. But one look at the fascinating, sexy Ian Cameron and she can't help falling hopelessly in love. However, Ian has a problem that even Bailey isn't ready to take on. Because seventy-five years ago Ian Cameron was shot down in cold blood….

3. Body and Soul by Susan Krinard

Jesse Copeland, an expert in mountain rescues, has returned to Manzanita after years in the Peace Corps. Despite an indomitable courage that sent her rappelling down cliffs, she is haunted by the nightmares and shadowy half-memories surrounding her mother's mysterious death. Now she is determined to find out if her mother's "accident" was murder. What she finds instead is a man as transparent as air--sensual, muscular, his blue eyes burning into hers as she cries out one word from a place deep within her: David.

David Ventris, Lord Ashthorpe, late of His Majesty's Light Dragoons, is, simply put, a ghost. He's waited two centuries to be called back to earth by the woman he wronged. He knew her as "Sophie," a wondrous lady who sparked a passion so blazing that time could not dim the flames. Now he is being given the chance to guard her from danger and get back his soul--if only she will believe him real and not madness. If only she will love him enough to create a miracle...and give him life again.

4. Seeing is Believing by Erin McCarthy 

Ever since Piper Tucker was young she wanted to be like everyone else, but her uncanny ability to see ghosts always put her on the other side of normal. And the apparitions are showing up now more than ever, desperately seeking help. But what can she possibly do for them? They’ve already been dead for years. Besides, she has a personal concern of her own right now. A real flesh and blood concern—named Brady.

He’s Piper’s childhood crush, and no sooner is he back in town than sparks start giving off heat. For Brady, it’s hard not to notice the sexy young woman Piper’s become, or forget the special gift she had as a girl. And right now it could come in handy, because a long-forgotten murder has been keeping a restless spirit from finding peace. All Piper and Brady have to do is solve the crime to put the specter to rest. But the passion brewing between them is just as restless, and could prove twice as dangerous.

5. Haunted Warrior by Allie Mackay

Kendra Chase is exhausted from her work as a ghost whisperer, so she's been looking forward to her vacation in Edinburgh. But work awaits her as the tiny fishing village is being excavated, and supernatural uprisings have been reported.

Graeme MacGrath knows the source of the psychic trouble. The excavation is disrupting the protective veil between this world and darker, more ancient ones. He hates to admit it but he will need the fetching Kendra and her paranormal abilities to save the town he loves from unspeakable evil.

6. Freudian Slip by Erica Orloff

Everyone loves shock jock Julian Shaw…except the guy who shot him.

The raunchy radio DJ expects the dark tunnel, white lights—even his late grandmother greeting him at the pearly gates. Instead, he gets a coma, a spirit guide named Gus and a pushy demon with a deal. His assignment: Katie Darby.

Katie Darby's best friend just stole her guy! Now she's losing her mind.

All she really wants to do is stay in mope mode, but it feels as if someone is watching her, whispering strange thoughts into her head, making her say and do things she would never normally consider. And it's actually making her life better!

Now Julian wants another chance to prove he's a good guy. But he just might have to sell his soul to the devil to get it….

7. Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas

Alex Nolan is about as bitter and cynical as they come. One of three Nolan brothers who call Friday Harbor home, he’s nothing like Sam or Mark. They actually believe in love; they think the risk of pain is worth the chance of happiness. But Alex battles his demons with the help of a whiskey bottle, and he lives in his own private hell. And then, a ghost shows up. Only Alex can see him. Has Alex finally crossed over the threshold to insanity?

Zoë Hoffman is as gentle and romantic as they come. When she meets the startlingly gorgeous Alex Nolan, all her instincts tell her to run. Even Alex tells her to run. But something in him calls to Zoë, and she forces him to take a look at his life with a clear eye and to open his mind to the possibility that love isn’t for the foolish.

The ghost has been existing in the half-light of this world for decades. He doesn’t know who he is, or why he is stuck in the Nolans’ Victorian house. All he knows is that he loved a girl once. And Alex and Zoë hold the key to unlocking a mystery that keeps him trapped here.

Zoë and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow. But sometimes it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark, and sometimes love can reach beyond time, space, and reason to take hold of hearts that yearn for it. .

8. Crazy For The Cowboy by Cindy Spencer Pape

Tough-as-nails Sheriff Fitz Hall has learned the hard way that transplanted city girls are not to be trusted, so he plans to steer clear of the new arrival in town. Rhiannon Jakobowski has lived a staid, regimented life. Inheriting a bookstore in Shirley, Wyoming, is her first chance at independence, and she?s determined to make the most of it. Within days of arriving, however, she wakes up to find the handsome sheriff in her bed. Pretty soon she?s talking to ghosts. Is she losing her mind? Or is she just crazy for the cowboy?

9. The Ghost and Cheri by Jacqueline Diamond 

Former child star Cheri Louette, who retreated from the world to raise her orphaned nephew, wants to help the seven-year-old recover from his parents' deaths, but now he's hearing voices in the night. Is it possible that their old house came with resident ghosts?

When bookish college co-ed Alexis heads to the laundry room in her new apartment, she runs into Ian Reese, the chem lab partner she crushed on all last semester. And the guy who stood her up on their first date. But she’s down for an awkward reunion, and no better place than her creepy laundry room.

Ian has every intention of making amends, but just when Alexis begins to trust him again, a new threat calls more than their future together into question. A ghost from the apartment’s past is hellbent on revenge, and if he wants to get his girl, he’ll have to get the ghost first.

Let me know your favorites on this list and if any didn't make it!

To vote for the best of the best go to the Goodreads list: Beyond: Contemporary Romance with Ghosts.