Daniel had a young daughter with the flu and no place to live after flying to Vancouver from Australia. He thought he'd rented rooms from Karina, but Karina thought otherwise. A woman with a problem needs her space After a personal crisis, Karina had found that she was happiest living on her own, creating whimsical papier-mâché creatures and filling her house with music and friends. She was not hiding from her fears or so she told herself. A lonely child needs a family Karina couldn't say no to a sick child, though, and soon Daniel and Natalie had made their own place in her chaotic household and her heart.

From darkness to light… Marc Wilde once prided himself on living up to his last name. He was a respected foreign war correspondent and former champion snowboarder, but his life took a brutal twist when a bomb blast in the Middle East landed him in a wheelchair with only a tentative chance of recovery. Frustrated and back at home in Whistler, Marc finds himself turning to drink to obliterate his shattered reality. That is until Fiona Gordon–living with tragedy and responsibilities of her own–helps him understand his future is wide open, full of light…and even love. As hard as he tries, Marc finds it's impossible to remain cynical around Fiona. But as the reality of his life sinks in, Marc must decide to choose life–and overcome his greatest fear–or risk losing Fiona forever.

She has it all worked out Sarah Templestowe figures she'll take two weeks off work, fly to Australia and buy out the other owner of the outback cattle station her father left her. Then she'll return to Seattle, give the station to her mother as a retirement present and pick up big-city life where she left off. He has other plans But Luke Sampson is not about to let go of his dream of owning a cattle station. He's not about to let go of Sarah Templestowe, either. Warm, caring and frank, she stirs him the way no other woman has in years. Luke, though, is a man of few words, and he can't seem to tell her that. Now what? Sarah's trip Down Under turns her world upside down. Her short time in Australia provides endless surprises, especially where Luke is concerned. She loves him—enough to get out of his life forever.

Promises, promises… Maeve Arden had promised to love forever, but the marriage failed. Now, five years later, Maeve has finally found peace–peace she's promised herself to keep. The last thing she wants is a new man in her life. Her joy comes from her work–designing landscape gardens. Will Beaumont hires Maeve to design his garden. He, too, isn't looking to have anyone else in his life–no matter how much she attracts him. He's just agreed to a platonic marriage with another woman–and it's a promise he intends to keep. But circumstances conspire to remind Will of a second promise he's made. The most important promise of them all…

All right. So Jack Thatcher has experienced deep, personal tragedy. Dr. Sienna Maxwell gets that. But how can the man drop out of life the way he has, pretending to be happy hosting fabulous dinner parties and puttering in his back shed? That's something she will never be able to understand. Because he is only pretending, right? Sienna's a shoot-from-the-hip high achiever, who demands no less from everyone around her. Driven and determined to make her new medical practice—and everything she touches—a success, she wants a whole lot more from Jack than charm…and kisses. She wants nothing less than perfect.

How can she love him? He doesn't take her seriously! Hainesville, Washington, might not be glamorous, but it's the place supermodel Geena Hanson wants to be after she collapses on a Milan runway and has a near-death experience that sends her back into life with the promise of having a child. How can he love her? She's seriously offbeat! Dr. Ben Matthews is in Hainesville filling in for the local family physician. A man of science if ever there was one, Ben couldn't be more different from warm and intuitive Geena, his temporary receptionist. Opposites attract? Geena and Ben certainly do. The swift attraction blossoms and love looks as if it will endure. Until Ben's brother goes missing and Geena tries to comfort Ben with what happened to her "on the other side"...

A place called Hope Hayley Sorenson uses horses to help people heal. But when neighbor Adam Banks asks for her expertise with his teenage daughter, she says no. How can she get involved when all she sees is their past? And the attraction Hayley feels for Adam makes her anything but objective! Yet Adam isn't deterred, and in getting to know the woman they call the horse whisperer, he realizes that she's dealing with her own pain. As Hayley etches a place in Adam's heart, all he wants is to give her the home she truly deserves.

What does it take to become a family? Nina Kennerly has a full life, but she's always regretted giving her daughter up for adoption and losing Reid Robertson, her first love. Now her grown daughter has found her—with her own baby girl in tow!—and Nina must face Reid again. Nina and Reid are determined to be there for their new family. But spending so much time together brings back a lot of complicated feelings. And complicated is not something Reid, a widower with another daughter, needs. Are Nina and Reid just dredging up the past…or are they actually making a future?

Ally Cummings may be the only "normal" one in her family, but her love life is anything but. No sooner does she find a stable, secure, predictable guy than she wants out. She's through with romance until she can figure out what kind of man is right for her. Certainly not her new tenant, Ben Gillard, who is the exact opposite of everything Ally's looking for. Suits him just fine. He's sworn off a social life so he can be a full-time dad to his twelve-year-old-son, Danny. And he doesn't need any more women "organizing" his life, especially not the uptight and prim Ally. It's agreed—platonic friends is as far as this will go. Except it's not just his skill with a sauté pan that's creating the sizzle between them….

"You're being audited." That's hardly his most winning opening line, but Rafe Ellersley isn't here to make friends. He'd promised himself—and his boss—that this audit would be different. This time, he would be the consummate Australian Tax Office investigator. Cool, detached, professional. He'd bring Lexie Thatcher, tax-dodging artisan, to justice with ruthless efficiency. No more bending the rules. It's the only way to save his job. But Lexie proves a far greater challenge than he's been prepped for. Her world is a crazy canvas of chaos and confusion, complexity and color, unlike anything he's ever known. So who can really blame a tax guy like him for what happens next….

Ski patroller Aidan Wilde doesn't get too festive during the holiday season. Not since his wife, Charmaine, fell to her death off Whistler Mountain on Christmas Eve six years ago. Though the whole town had gossiped about his failure to save Charmaine, Aidan has been able to hide the horrifying circumstances of that day from his daughter, Emily. Until Charmaine's cousin, Nicola, returns home. While digging up the truth and finding some unexpected answers, Nicola works her way into Emily's heart and unexpectedly wins over Aidan, too. Might this single dad really be ready to let go of the past and give his daughter the one thing she really wants for Christmas—a mom?

But playing nanny to Gregory Finch's daughter wasn't exactly the Something Big Melissa had anticipated. And she would've turned down his job offer if it hadn't been for the family of fugitives she found hiding out in an abandoned cottage on Gregory's farm. They needed to stay hidden, and she was the only one who could help. Playing nanny is the perfect cover for Melissa until she can be sure these three lost souls are safe. Except Gregory can never find out what she's doing. And she can never let herself love a man she has to lie to. Besides, she can't find Something Big if she's busy taking care of Gregory and his sweet little girl.… Can she?

She'll bare everything...except the truth. Tina Borlenghi is a billionaire businesswoman, heiress to the Borlenghi fortune, and living la dolce vita. She's also a magnet for men who crave fame and celebrity. So while in New York City launching a new fashion boutique, Tina is more than intrigued when sports bar owner Luke Pederson mistakes her for a sales assistant. He's sexier than sin and only interested in her. What's the harm in a little steamy role-playing? Luke can't get enough of Tina. And yet, something feels...off. Why is she so secretive? As their role-playing encounters become more erotic, Luke's suspicions grow. The woman rocking his world is hiding something. Something big. He's ready to play for keeps, but finding out who Tina really is may just turn the tables on everything he thought he knew about love.

Ten years ago Nate Wilde's wife, Angela, left and never came back. Nate is now quite happy to spend his days on the rugged trails of Whistler, British Columbia. But when Angela returns to the resort town, the same old attraction flares to life between them. Nate realizes he never stopped loving Angela and hopes to change her mind about filing for divorce. They've both done a lot of growing up over the years and changed in ways neither expected. Will Nate be able to convince his wife to stay for good this time?

Renita Thatcher never imagined she'd see Brett O'Connor in town again—let alone in her office. Over the years, Renita has only caught glimpses of her old crush in the tabloids as Brett jet-set his way to football superstardom….Oh, who's she trying to kid? She'd followed his career religiously. And his marriage to the gorgeous, high-profile trophy wife. Ex-wife. Now Renita, the only loans officer in Summerside Bay, has something Brett wants. Just like in high school, she's in a position of power over him, but this time, she doesn't want to mess it up. Her next move is critical. Does she want revenge or does she want to surrender herself to a guy who looks even better than her best fantasy?

Going back to Red Hill, Australia, means coming to terms with Cole Roberts. Great. Jane Linden's high-school sweetheart had given her a child and offered her the security of small-town life…when all she'd wanted were the bright lights and a movie career. Now the town's charismatic real estate agent is a single parent himself. Not only that, it's clear Cole wants to make up for lost time with his daughter—whether Jane likes it or not. The young love they remember seems to have burned itself out. Until their kids find a way to turn back the clock.

He's raised one child who might not be his own. Does he have it in his heart to do it again? Fire chief Nick Dalton has a lot on his plate. He's had to move to a small town in Washington to get his twelve-going-on-twenty-year-old daughter away from the rough crowd she was hanging out with in Los Angeles. He's also struggling with the knowledge his late wife imparted on her deathbed—their child might not be his biologically. Erin Hanson has returned to the small town she grew up in to come to grips with a failed romance, and Nick is just the kind of man to make her quickly forget her woes. But suddenly she has a more wrenching situation on her hands—she's pregnant with her ex-fiancé's child. Erin knows Nick loves her. Now they both have to find out if he can love her baby, too.

A man she can't refuse… Accountant Cassy Morris knows she's putting her heart on the line when she agrees to move in with her best friend, multi-millionaire geek Scott Thornton. The arrangement is purely business: she'll manage his nanotechnology lab and find an angel investor for his revolutionary new product. But there's a problem: she's loved him forever even though he's only ever regarded her as a friend. She'll have to harden her heart to survive their arrangement. A woman he can't resist… When Scott is named Seattle's sexiest man, the unexpected attention from women threatens to get in the way of him meeting his project deadline. Once again, Cassy steps up to the plate, this time pretending to be his fiancé to keep the women away. But a lifetime of repressed sexual tension explodes within her and before long she and Scott are entwined in a passionate affair. Will Scott be able to convince Cassy to trust his feelings and turn their fake engagement into reality?

Never fall for your own deception... After a failed bid to be the first American designer at House of Borhlenghi, Layla Langham is crushed. She's certain she's perfect for their company, and she's risked all her savings to prove it. But Giorgio Borhlenghi's sisters think Layla's perfect, too—for the design house and their workaholic brother. They convince her they'll sway their brother into accepting her designs if she'll get him to stop working for a long weekend—by any means necessary. Giorgio Borlenghi suspects Layla's invitation for a relaxing lunch is something his sisters fashioned to lure him away from his desk. But instead of turning the sexy redhead away, he decides to teach all three ladies a lesson and "kidnaps" the beautiful designer to his family's yacht in Naples to see just how far the ambitious designer wants to take this ruse... Neither expected one kiss could lead to enough heat to burn up the sheets for days—nor make them want to give up work and never leave the bedroom again.

He Wants a Son Max Walker loves his daughters with a ferocity and depth that constantly surprise him. But in the deepest corner of his heart, in a place not even his wife knows about, he's always wanted a son. She Wants a Life Kelly Walker adores her children—and she adores her husband of thirteen years. But recently she's developed interests outside the home. They each get what they want…in unexpected ways

Falling in love was easy for Chloe. She met Evan, a handsome Australian doctor, and felt sure he was the man for her. But Chloe's whirlwind romance ended abruptly when Evan left to work overseas. For comfort Chloe turned to her new friend Daniel Bennett. When she discovered she was pregnant, Daniel married her, despite Chloe's feelings for Evan. More than twenty years later—twenty good years—Chloe finds herself once again torn between the two men. Daniel, with whom she's raised a daughter and shared the everyday problems and triumphs of life. And Evan, the man who—she believes—has always held her heart. Only now, after two decades of marriage and a crisis, does Chloe learn what true love is…and what it isn't.

When Mia Tempesta goes into labor during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, she stumbles into Will Jackson's cherry packing shed. As a war widow, she's lost everything–her husband, her home, and her job. But when Will, a caring stranger, delivers her beautiful baby boy into her arms, she has hope for a brighter future. After being betrayed and dumped by his long-time girlfriend, Will’s dreading the holidays, but when he helps deliver Mia’s son on Christmas morning, he gains a renewed purpose in life. The beautiful Mia and her child tug on his protective heart strings and he finds himself longing to help. They fight their growing attraction–Will’s on the rebound and Mia is still grieving. Will their reckless passion end in heartbreak? Can two damaged hearts find healing and happiness? One Christmas baby might just be the miracle they need to love again.

A birthday card out of the blue from his estranged father sends successful Seattle marketing man Alex Chernoff on a detour to Sweetheart in search of answers about his past. A day, maybe two, to tie up loose strings and he’ll be out of there, heading for Mexico, margaritas and blondes in bikinis. Emma Stanhope is all too familiar with hot, rich, entitled guys like Alex. They never hang around for long, especially not for a Plain Jane like herself. No problem. She’s smart and logical, like any good scientist, and knows better than to lose her heart. What Emma doesn’t count on is chemistry—of the romantic kind. What Alex doesn’t count on is meeting the girl who’ll make him want to change his ways. But when he learns that he’s a secret from his father’s real family, he can’t stay in Sweetheart… even if he wants to. Will love be enough to convince Alex to stay… for good?