Nandini Varma owns the only bookstore in town and is content with hiding her awkward self behind bestsellers. What she doesn't know is that her favorite author has moved near her, and that perhaps she could finally have a love story of her own, even if it's an awkward one. ***** Ryan Callahan wants to move on from his writing career and just work for the police. It's hard though, when the town's book lady happens to be a huge fan of his. She's smart, funny, beautiful, and kind - a lethal combination. He wants to get to know her more, but something seems to be holding her back. Who is this mysterious woman that Ryan can't stop thinking about? Content/trigger warning: This story contains themes of sexism and verbal abuse. [[word count: 70,000 - 80,000]] Cover designed by Joe Resch

Forced into marriage by duty and obligation, The Duke and Duchess of Rothbury parted ways a week after saying their vows under the explicit understanding that theirs was a marriage in name only. There would be no expectations of love, fidelity, or romance. The Duke hates the American Heiress who married him only for his title, completely unaffected by the senseless tragedy that had made their marriage necessary in the first place. When an illness forces him to retire to the country, he makes sure to choose the property where his wife wouldn't be. Except that she is, and she is still as insufferable as ever. The Duchess resents the man who killed her youthful dreams of love and abandoned her to live his bachelor life unencumbered. When she is jilted by her lover, and faced with inevitable ridicule, she decides to retire to her beloved estate in Cornwall, where she runs an orphanage. Never once does she expect to run into her cold, selfish, insufferable arse of a husband! Forced into each other's company by circumstance, the couple begin to unravel their individual prejudices. Resentment turns into respect and friendship. Respect and friendship soon turn into attraction and affection. Was love closer than either one of them could ever have imagined? And that begged the question; can the Duke win his wife's favor, or is it far too late to make their marriage a love match? Cover by MuniWilliams.