"Are you... lost?" Someone asked, her tone impatient. I stopped scanning the room to find the woman behind the voice. I blinked. She had the most luminous blue eyes I had ever seen. Even in the dim glow of the bar they glowed brightly, like her pupils were some type of smooth stone at the bottom of a clear blue ocean. Within her blue there flickered tiny speckles of silver, which gave her an icy, somewhat stony appeal. But it was her slight, lopsided smile that erased any signs of wanting to be alone. No wonder this bar was so popular. "Uh, no," I said, holding up the Help Wanted sign I had snagged from the front window. The woman's cool eyes flickered between the sign and me. She didn't say anything, only looked slightly thoughtful as slender fingers raked through her long blonde hair. "What can you do?" She finally asked, definitely not expecting me to be able to do much of anything at all. She'd be right. "Anything and everything," I answered-lied-instantly, hoping I didn't look too desperate, didn't sound too eager. To be perfectly honest, I hadn't worked a day in my life. My hands were used to weekly manicures not hard labor. But desperate times call for desperate measures. The blonde appeared thoughtful again. Those magnificent eyes gave me a once over, slow and steady. You could see the cogs turning in her head as she considered it. I decided to try and sound more convincing. "I have many skills," I added. Okay, so I stole that from Xena, but I was hoping it worked as well for me as it did for her. The blonde lifted a sculpted brow and the smile was, once again, back on her lips. She seemed amused. Maybe she was a Xena fan? "Alright... I'll start you off cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping the floors, doing the dishes..." Crap.

~The SEQUEL to 'Alex's Girl' is finally here~ It has been seven years since the events of 'Alex's Girl', where Alexis Sterling loved then lost Valerie Greco, a troubled but selfless young woman who managed to sneak her way into Alex's heart when she wasn't looking. Though Alex still misses Val every day, she has tried to move on with her life. She has become an emergency room doctor, she's moved into a beautiful new home, and she's even made some new friends. She also spends a lot of her time witnessing firsthand the ripple effect her actions seven years ago have caused her beloved city, with mob violence growing increasingly out of control and the hospitals quickly filling to capacity with more and more victims. Tensions are high as the Costa crime family are more powerful than they have ever been before, bringing the city to its very knees. And to make matters worse, Alex has unwittingly befriended the daughter of her most hated enemy, Ciro Costa, the man responsible for Val's death. The Grecos, on the other hand, have been laying low the last seven years, their illegal operations mostly cloaked in shadows... that is... until now. The Grecos are back, and they're back with a vengeance that demands blood. Their sudden comeback as a powerhouse crime family has Alex asking, how? Or perhaps the question she should be asking is, who?

Temptation had always been Lily's hamartia... Just starting her final year of high school, never did she expect to plummet so deep and become so sinfully bound to someone so narcotic yet maliciously heavenly as her. Consequences so seemingly inconsequential, it was futile for Lily to ignore the allure of such an elegant woman. After all, how could she defy a connection so transcendent beyond what words can fathom, and something so... 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵. 𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐱 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. [tw: sex, violence, mature themes, drugs, mental health, self-harm, death.]

A stranger to her own existence, Kayla moves to a small town with the hope of finding comfort in a fresh start. But as she steps inside the unfamiliar classroom on the first day, standing in front of the class is a mysteriously familiar face, one that rouses memories of a time she believed had gone by. With past baggage catching up in the most intrusive ways, she stumbles upon unexpected comfort of friendship, unconditional love of found family, and a beautiful yet complicated bond between two hesitant souls. "This book was like a warm hug, and I might believe in love again." "I would give everything, especially my soul, to have the opportunity to read this book for the first time again." ────── CW: Substance abuse, harsh language, sexual content, mention of self-harm and suicide. ────── Started in January 2018. Re-published in November 2022. First draft finished in April 2023. ────── Copyright 2018 © Renee Steinberg All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, copied, translated, or republished in any form without the author's permission, except for brief quotations or reviews with proper credit.

There is only one thing that we can never change, and that is the place from which we come. Though she tries to control everything else in her life, there are three things that Counselor Carrie Everett just can't tame: her growing caseload, her weakness for police personnel, and her increasingly serious relationship with Detective Jenn Carver. While trying and seemingly failing to manage her personal life, Carrie's work life takes a turn for the chaotic when a brand new case threatens the safety of a close friend and coworker, Detective Kim Hayden. A case this serious is mentally taxing for a prosecutor, but that's the least of Carrie's worries. Now, it's personal, and when the detectives of Green Falls seek legal help to solve their case, life becomes a ticking clock for all involved. This is the sequel to my last piece, Black Tie Event, taking place two years after the first story's conclusion. You definitely do not have to read the first one to understand the second, though it may help and make the second piece slightly more enjoyable. You could even read them backwards if you so chose, though it might give some plot away to do it that way. Some new characters are introduced, among the familiar faces, and the situations are brand new. Rated R, just because of its intensity. Enjoy! Cover art again by perfect human @halieghk

Ewa finds herself stepping into the unknown, navigating a world that feels entirely foreign to her. Yet, as she slowly finds her footing, she begins to realize that this unexpected opportunity is far more than just an academic challenge. It introduces her to people who will reshape her perspective, push her beyond her limits, and ultimately turn her entire life upside down in ways she never could have imagined.