Showing results by narrator "Lu Banks" in All Categories

When I sign with the Tennessee Thunderbolts, I have two goals: prove my injury hasn't benched my career and get back to New York. But then, I meet Mila, the enigmatic therapist tasked with rehabbing my shoulder. With her long ponytail, professional demeanor, and girl-next-door look, Mila is nothing like my usual type. She's better—a good girl with sad eyes and a tragic past our small town loves to dissect.

Lillian came into my life swinging. Mistaking me for my abusive twin brother, she greets me with a swift kick to the balls and a busted lip. Then she really shakes up my world. She needs her job, but she needs a break just as much. And nothing silences my demons as efficiently as playing the hero. To protect her from my jerk twin—her boss—I take her on a business trip and quickly learn that she's different. Blunt. Honest. Intriguingly strange. I'm transfixed, so when she unknowingly sinks a multimillion-dollar deal, I don't speak up. Something my family won't forgive.

I'm a man who knows what he wants and what I want is Birdie. It hurt like hell to watch her leave our small town to set off and chase her college dreams. I let her go once, I'm not letting it happen again. Now she's home for good, and I'll stop at nothing to keep her with me, always. Even if that means tying her to me in every way possible.

A teenage girl with my eyes and a familiar glare, strolls into my life and she's calling me Dad. Vanessa was my high school girlfriend and the smartest person I knew. She had a plan, a future, and she swore nothing would get in the way. Until she became pregnant. I thought we agreed on our plan. I sent her the money. Then she disappeared. Her parents told me she was in South America for a year. They told me she needed space. I never heard from her again.

Tory Baker presents Book 4 in the Rowdy Johnson Brothers series.

Publicly fighting with a man for an oversold airline seat—embarrassing! Realizing he was the quarterback for the Atlanta Arrows—awkward. Knowing he was your friend's older brother and teenage crush but didn't recognize you—humiliating. When I stormed out of the airport after throwing a...

It's not every day you get asked to be a bridesmaid for the wedding of your ex and your ex-best friend. Call me lucky? My grandmother thinks I'm crazy for agreeing, but I can't let those so-and-sos know they've pummeled my self-worth . . . even if it's true. Then my grandmother goes off the deep end and tells everyone that I have a boyfriend. A pediatric surgeon boyfriend. Worse, she's shown them his photograph. The guy in question? He's a hot piece of bad news. He may have befriended my grandmother, but he's far from being in my good graces. 

When the man who swindled Esme Castillo out of her business is murdered, she is the prime suspect. Now, her attorney, Maureen Gould, must uncover the secrets and lies behind the conspiracies that targeted Esme. Who set up Esme to take the fall. And why?

I never claimed to be a saint. But it wasn't until I found myself in cuffs that I learned the damage I was capable of. The only sunshine on those gray prison days came in the form of letters from a hopeful teenager with a quick wit. But the letters weren't addressed to me. They were meant for my bastard cellmate, who'd sooner toss them on the floor with the rest of his trash. So, I picked them up, read them, and wrote back, signing each letter, Love, Dad.

Healing takes time. Whether it's a broken bone or a laceration, patience is potent medicine. The same goes for relationships. I moved back to town hoping to patch things up with my son. Imagine my surprise when I meet his gorgeous best friend on the exam table at my OB/GYN office, hell-bent on ditching her V-card as quickly as possible. That's not going to happen.

I wasn't prepared for Delilah Taylor. Settling down was never on my radar. Almost getting caught with my mouth and hands on her body were definitely not in my plans. Now that I've had a taste of her, I'm rethinking every single f*cking thing.

Until now, college has been fun and games—all girls and hockey, all the time. It's senior year, though, and I'm still undrafted and unsigned. If I plan to play professional hockey, I need to prove to my critics that I can be a leader and take my hockey game seriously. But that doesn't mean I need to get serious in my private life. As the team captain, I'm expected to compete in a campus dance competition, and I get partnered with Ivy Deveraux. She's beautiful, no-nonsense, hyper-focused on her dance career . . . everything I'm not. 

Lioness. That's the first word that comes to mind when I see the brilliant redhead selling cupcakes at the hockey arena. With the soul of an artist and the spirit of a nomad, Bea Turner is gorgeous, quirky, and refreshing. She's also my teammate's little sister. As the Tennessee Thunderbolts' Rookie, I should steer clear. I'm here to play hockey and provide much-needed financial security for my family. To do that, I need to avoid distractions.

I did a dumb thing. See, Teenage Me accidentally summoned Azazel and locked him into a marriage contract with Present-Day Me. I never thought he'd actually go through with it, though. Until he does. But because he doesn't want this supernatural marriage of inconvenience any more than I do, he dumps me at his estate and tries to ignore me. Joke's on him, because I hate being ignored.

One of the perks of being one of the best wide receivers in the league was having my pick of cleat chasers looking for a good time. Unfortunately, the only one to hold my attention was the feisty brunette who wanted nothing to do with me. Did I still try to flirt with her—you bet I did. Did...

I've never been the kind of girl to take the easy way out. Happy endings never came to people like me. The tarnished ones. I'm surrounded by a group that knows sadness too well. We know what it's like to lose and be tossed away like last night's trash. We are easy to blame for all the wrongs, because when others look at us, they see our scars. Most of our stories are told in the ink we bear, but we wear those tales proudly.

There's only one woman I truly care about: my daughter. Until Maisy Stratford flounces into the front office of the Tennessee Thunderbolts with a heartfelt smile and a tray of baked goods. As the Bolts' newest hire, Maisy is optimistic, enthusiastic, and a goddess at manifestation. Everything I'm not. Known as Brawler, I'm a gruff, quiet, rough-around-the-edges, NHL defenseman. I haven't dated in decades. I've never been married and my daughter's a twenty-one-year-old mischief maker. I don't know how to talk about feelings or place my trust in the hands of a woman. 

Life is good. I have great friends, a supportive family, and a job I love. Sure, there are ups and downs, but nothing could have prepared me for the return of Mac Evans—the one man who has always gotten under my skin. I haven't spoken to him since overhearing a conversation I wish I could forget. I would never fall for a professional athlete. Mac isn't my type, and I'm definitely not his. Or at least, that's what I've always believed. But now he's back, and everything feels different. I keep reminding myself he won't be here for long, and he'll be out of my life for good.

Nothing comes easy. Nothing is given but must always be earned. The problem is I'm too tainted and broken to have anything good. That was a lesson I was taught early. A lesson I carried throughout my life, and into every relationship I had.

I stopped believing in the good a long time ago. My childhood was stripped from me one dark night and I was forever changed. Everywhere I looked I saw evil. Everyone I met, I looked at them as the enemy. It took a long time for me to open up and when I did I found my family. The only people I could count on. I never imagined I'd have a family. Because having a family gave me something to lose and I never wanted to feel that pain again. I never wanted to feel weak.