Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

"It's so simple," I say. "All we have to do is pretend we're in love with each other. You know, hold hands, share Eskimo kisses and all that crap. And at the same time, we'll destroy Jackson and Kristina's relationship. Make them think that their not right for each other. And next thing you know, you'll have Kristina, and I'll have Jackson, and everything will be how its supposed to be. Are you with me?" "Fine, I'll do it." He leans in close to my ear. "But don't get too attached. Remember this relationship is strictly business."

Emilie Grey and Jared McKingsley have been dating three years now and everything is going good for them. But what happens when a new guy comes into the picture? What is he really up too besides trying to befriend Emilie? And what happened to Emilie that make her nights so horrible? I suck at descriptions but the story will be better, promise! *Sequel to Bad Boy Kisses. You really should read that first or you will be confused reading this one!*

**Third Book in the"Arranged Marriage to a Jerk" series** Allison Danielson finally has her life under control. She has friends she can trust, two beautiful children, and a loving husband. She's become a full-time partner at a vet clinic and Connor is nearly ready to take over the family business. But then Allison gets the news that her parents are dead-- on her birthday. As if that isn't bad enough, they've left her specific instructions for their funeral, complete with a guest list including evil ex-lovers, psycho ex-friends, and some crazy relatives. Meanwhile, Allison is holding a secret of her own, and can't seem to find the time to tell Connor. How can she come to terms with her parents loss, deal with the insane guests, plan a funeral, and deal with her own crisis all at once?

In life there are things that are said, and then there are those that remain unsaid. For Keely Staub, her life mostly remained in the latter category. She kept the one true love, music, hidden from even her best friends. But when one song changed the world she lived in, shaking it to it's very core, everything she knows is about to change. Her future and a past even hidden from her collide as she wades through a world she'd never dared to dream of, allowing her half heart to maybe find an equally broken one in the unlikely source of Seth Ryan.

Charlotte Everley and her best friend had a tradition. Every summer on June 26th, they call one number--one random number of the same area code, purely for entertainment. When Charlotte's best friend Stella found love with the help of their 'tradition', she added another reason. To find Charlotte a boyfriend. After three years of endless match ups, set ups, blind dates. and not to mention two calls to, thankfully, female receivers, the summer of eleventh grade comes rolling by, and so does the fateful day of June 26th. The only difference is that, this time, the stranger behind the phone is most definitely male. And the president's eighteen year old son.

Gold is an extremely popular boyband consisting of three gorgeous young men; Rian, Luke, and Noah. When they choose to attend the private academy Oakwood, most of the students are besides themselves with excitement. Then there's Iris. She likes the band, sure. But she's not as starstruck as some of the others. Having a famous brother will do that to you. Which is why Gold takes notice of her and why she's suddenly entangled in their shenanigans... and in some cases, their love lives.

Chase Evans may be a notorious playboy, but he’s always known he’d fall hopelessly in love one day. So when he meets Spanish beauty LaCienega [Lah-cie-Ena-ga] Perez and falls head over, he knows for sure she’s what he’s always been waiting for. Except LaCienega is already engaged by the time he meets her and to none other than his childhood best friend Jace Waite who Chase hasn’t seen since high school graduation. Meanwhile, he meets Krislynn Reimer who has a strange attraction for bad boys and imperfection. She's not interested in the pretty boys who are complete jerks like he is. She wants the real bad boys, the ones with addiction problems, family problems, money problems, woman problems, any problems! It’s her favourite hobby to take them home and put a Band-Aid over their hearts and nurse them back to health. Except when they make a full recovery, they always abandon her and always in the cruellest ways. The two utterly can't stand each other so how in the world did Chase end up as Krislynn's boyfriend and how in the world did Krislynn end up as Chase's maid?