2025 Anthology Stories

Workaholic retail CEO, Kenneth Tyler, is minding his own business when he receives a plea for help from an unknown number. Unable to ignore it, the last thing he expects is to discover that the number belongs to his best friend’s son. (His best friend’s very off-limits son.)�

Of course, Cody Barratt is infatuated enough with his dad’s best friendbefore the man swoops in and saves his drunken self from a handsy Grindr date. It’s even harder to kick those feelings to the curb after that, even if he knows he should. They’re just not compatible.

The silver fox won’t ever reciprocate his interest. Especially not when 45-year-old Kenneth is a notorious playboy and Cody is, embarrassingly, still a virgin at 26.�

But, after unexpectedly bonding over a fantasy TV series, Ken and Cody discover that friendships can come withmultiple benefits and, if they get their heads out of their butts, possibly even love…all in time for Valentine’s Day.

When rodeo cowboy Jake Greenbriar reaches the end of his rope, he gets liquored up and calls his best buddy to bitch about it. Or at least he thinks he does. How embarrassing is it that, instead, he calls the man he’s complaining about. Treat Halloran.�

Once Treat gets that rambling, unhappy call, he knows Jake still wants him. That cowboy haunts his dreams, and Treat is going to go get him and bring the man home.�

Nothing in their history together has ever been easy, though, and Treat can only hope it’s not too late to get Jake back. And get him back in one piece.

I’m Kobe—a tattoo artist, inked head to toe, and rocking a basketball jersey I didn’t pick. The number on my back? Not my brother’s. Nope, it belongs to a hotshot college player with zero ink and a smirk that makes me want to commit all kinds of sins.

Blame my brother for setting me up. Malik, his best friend, is everything I’m not: clean-cut, smooth-skinned, and burning me alive with those intense, wide eyes. He’s awkward one second, cocky the next, and I can’t help but wonder what he looks like when he’s truly undone.

We’re opposites in every way, but something tells me this game is about to get interesting—on and off the court.

Can “You’re in my seat” turn into “You’re in my heart”?

Danny

I’m not into hockey. Like, at all. But when my uncle can’t use his tickets to one of his beloved Pittsburgh Penguins games, I can’t pass up the opportunity for a little escape from my bummer of a retail job and the homophobic parents I’m forced to live with.

But the arena is confusing, and I end up in someone else’s seat. Someone I recognize—it’s Mike, my high school crush. Now older, hotter, and just as out of reach as I remember. Except he seems into me too.�

It doesn’t matter, though. I don’t have the cash to move out, and my family will never accept us. Mike and I are doomed before we even get started.

Mike

I love being a mechanic. The troubleshooting, working with my hands, all satisfy something deep inside me. And the pay isn’t bad. I just wish my coworkers weren’t such a nightmare.  Penguins hockey is my escape from the grind. When I find a cute stranger sitting in my seat, I figure I’ll let him stay. Turns out he’s a sweet guy I went to school with. Sparks fly, and soon we’re connecting over shared memories, laughter, and nachos.

But just as things heat up, my job takes a turn for the worse, and an enticing offer to start fresh on a family farm in Oregon becomes hard to ignore. Now I’m torn between a second chance at first romance with Danny, and the possibility of a new life.

Wrong Place, Right Time is a Valentine’s Day novella about reconnecting, taking chances, and finding where you belong.

Maybe I should’ve just gone to Margaritaville….

I was already super nervous about my trip to Palm Springs. What was a forty-five-year-old doing trying to hook up with men for the first time anyway? As if that didn’t already have disaster written all over it, I grab a suitcase from the wrong luggage carousel in baggage claim when I change planes in Vegas.

Luckily Zachary, the owner of the suitcase, has mine, and we agree to swap clothes for the week. Problem solved. Until I get a look at what I’ll be wearing.�

Not only are the outfits much tighter than I prefer, they’re obviously meant for someone much younger than me. And let’s not get started on his lace underwear.

But Zachary encourages me to step out of my comfort zone, checking on me periodically to ensure I’m not waffling. He’s sweet, and inspiring, and somehow the sexual adventure I was looking for changes. Because now Zachary is all I can think about.�

I can only hope that once we get back home he’ll give me a shot. Or else it’ll take all the margaritas in Texas to drown my sorrows.

Last Mango in Palm Springsis a low-angst wrong number novella featuring drag queen bingo, bike tours, Jimmy Buffett songs, and cute pets!

Spencer Cline is tired of being alone, but he also loves his job and works way too many hours. Something he’s not ready to change.�

Jake Raines owns his own restaurant and knows what it’s like to put time in to make your business a success. Now he’s trying to learn how to balance the time he works with time to meet someone.�

Spencer and Jake are drawn to each other instantly when they meet at a New Year’s Eve mixer. When a wrong number ensures they’ll have a little extra time together, they’re more than willing to take a chance on each other. Can two workaholics find time for each other in their busy schedules? With a little help from a wrong number they just might.

It all started with my forgetful ass messing up my locker at the local gym. Then it was broken locks, broken hearts, and befriending an eel-shifter. That’s right—thanks to my stupid mistake, I have to spend my Valentine’s Day with a monster.

It doesn’t help that he’s beautiful in his human form. And his maritime monstrous form isn’t so bad, either. He’s unique, nerdy, and charming. Ardsley has me wanting to explore my bisexual side for the first time, and I don’t even care that he’s a monster.�

I might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but can a smart shifter like Ardsley fall for a boring human like me?

I’m back in my hometown with two goals: to give my parents the best anniversary party possible and to prove to the town that I’m no longer the awkward twenty-two-year-old who ruined the county fair.

But accidentally requesting a spicy pic from my dad’s best friend is not the way to prove I’m an adult. To be fair, Brad Rathborn, hot silver fox and my high school wrestling coach, texted me first. Though it was by mistake…and I didn’t correct him.

As Brad and I work together on the party and a community project, it gets harder to ignore the sparks between us. Especially when Brad reminds me just how much fun adulting can be.

Keeping secrets in a small town isn’t easy, and the anniversary party might not be the only surprise my parents get.�

A Crush on Coach is a dad’s best friend, age-gap, small town, mm romance with awkward texting, lots of kissing, too many secrets, and a town’s obsession with a certain orange soda video.

What happens when the world’s unluckiest man meets a drop-dead gorgeous hunk, born with perfect good fortune? Does their luck, or lack thereof, magnify or cancel out? Dale has no idea, but when he inherits a house next to Aaron, he intends to find out.

The only goal I have for my trip to Vegas is to make my brother smile again. After the worst break-up to ever break up, he’s talking about running away and never setting foot in our home town again. So like the rational adult I am, my first instinct is to fly us both to the City of Sin so our older brother can knock some damn sense into him.�

Yeah, I’m mature like that.�

What I never saw happening, though, was me finding love because I knock on the wrong room in our hotel.�

I’m an accountant, for God’s sake, numbers are my thing.�

Still, the second I see the pretty gray-green eyes of the man who opens the door, I can’t help but thank all the heavens for my mistake.

Nolan

To say last year’s Valentine’s Day went badly is an understatement, so this year I’m hiding away in a cottage in a small village where I can’t be reminded of it. But it seems that’s not on the cards for me because a guy appears on my doorstep with a huge bunch of flowers that are definitely not intended for me.�

Ulrich

Bringing joy with flowers is one of the reasons I started my floristry business, but the guy who’s just opened the door to my bouquet delivery looks anything but joyful, in fact he looks like I’m the last person he wants to see on the day of romance. But something about him gets my attention and even when I discover I have the wrong address, I don’t resist the pull to him or the burning curiosity about why he seems to hate Valentine’s Day so much.

When fate keeps throwing someone in your path, at some point you have to pay attention.

Usually the most thrilling part of my day is when I’m elbow-deep in a spreadsheet trying to make magic with budget numbers. The last thing I expect is to be interrupted by a singing telegram crooning a break-up song at me. I don’t even have a boyfriend.

Turns out it was just a funny mix-up, but I can’t forget the adorable man with the killer voice who looked better than he should’ve in a foam heart costume. No really, I can’t forget him, because I run into him everywhere.

Either Cupid’s aim is off, or it’s serendipity. I’ve never been one to believe in abstract ideas like fate, but I can’t deny the hard facts of how I feel each time we meet.

And with my best friend’s Valentine’s Day wedding coming up, I hope I can make the next meeting with my singer a planned one.

1995 is going to be my year.�

I didn’t mean for the letter I wrote to my hot neighbor to end up under someone else’s door…but once it does, I figure it can’t hurt to grab a coffee with Nico. After all, my New Year’s Resolution was to finally get a boyfriend, and I could do way worse than a handsome Italian guy. But after bonding over Ferraris and French horns, I want more than just a fling. Too bad Nico doesn’t know this was all a big mistake.�

Start this sweet, sexy novella set in San Francisco now!

When Morgan finally agrees to go on the blind date his brother’s fiancé sets up, he doesn’t have high hopes. But then Dmitri walks in the door of the restaurant, and Morgan quickly changes his mind. After a fantastic dinner, the two share a scorching kiss, only for Dmitri to tell him, “I know where to find you” and take off. The mystery only continues when Morgan gets a text from his brother asking him why he was a no-show for the date.�

It’s no better on Dmitri’s side when he calls the escort service to compliment them on the impeccable young man with whom he just had dinner only to discover his actual date canceled at the last minute. So who is this man he can’t stop thinking about? And how is he ever going to find him again? Dmitri isn’t one to accept defeat, but after a month of looking, it’s becoming increasingly clear that only a miracle is going to bring Morgan into his life.�

Having the wrong numbers on a lottery ticket can still lead to winning the jackpot…

Leland Page has a lot to prove as the Hawthorne Community Arts Center’s resident chef and cooking instructor. Planning and executing a massive Valentine’s Day supper is high on his lists of things that could make or break him. Everything is going well until he heads to the shops for eggs and flour and comes back with his former best friend’s little brother…

 Ean Jones has been living rough since his family kicked him out. He has nothing but the clothes on the back and a lottery ticket that’s supposed to make him rich. But when he discovers he was duped and the ticket has the wrong numbers, he has no choice but to let Leland take him home. Leland Page, who he’s had a crush on since he was a kid.

 Will Leland be the best thing that ever happened to him or will Ean’s troubles bring them both down? And can they work together to create the perfect Valentine’s Day feast?

Jeb can’t believe his ears when he answers his sister’s phone, and their mutual friend lets the cat out of the bag. His omega ex is having his baby. And he had no idea, since they broke up over a stupid argument a few months ago.

Owen was scared to death that when he got pregnant because Jeb always said he wanted to be footloose and fancy free. But now Jeb is back in the picture, but is it for him, or just for the baby?

It all started with a text from an unknown number.

A little harmless flirting with a guy named Ben turned into a plan to meet for lunch the next day. But when Ben didn’t show up, I figured it was over before it even began.

Then he texted again. Apologized. Made me laugh. And somehow convinced me to give him a second chance.

Now, one dinner date, one unforgettable kiss, and a whole lot of texts later, I’m starting to think this might actually be going somewhere. Ben’s sweet, funny, and our connection can’t be beat. I’m starting to realize…

Sometimes, the best love stories begin by accident.

My crush shows up to my dorm room singing about love and how he wants me to be his valentine. Then, I learned he accidentally delivered the singing telegram to the wrong room. Of course Lance wouldn’t like someone like me, or does he…?

Demons made great keepers. I’d know, I had one…

When I accidentally texted the wrong number asking for leniency on my overdue rent, I had no idea it would be the best accident ever.

Ten was everything I never knew I needed in a partner, and even when he revealed the truth about himself, my decision didn’t change.

Ten saved me in more ways than one, and he was the sweetest, kindest man I’d ever met.

It might be a Valentine’s miracle, but I was sure I’d found my forever in him.

My Demon Keeper is a 20k words MM paranormal romance featuring a human in trouble, the demon who wants to rescue him, and a sweet, angst-free HEA.

While My Demon Keeper can be read as a standalone, it’s a part of the Demon Debacles series. Each book in the series features different main characters.

Casimir Costas has spent the last two years settling into his life in Philly and building his cookie empire one late night order at a time. But he’s learning that insulating himself from a chaotic world has isolated him too. When an order mixup brings him together with a tall, dark, and handsome man, Casimir takes a chance, casting off his caution to explore their connection.

Blaze Santora expects his birthday to be like any other, but Casimir and his cookies turn the ordinary into the unexpected. The brewery owner hasn’t let himself loosen up in years, spending more time crafting beers than cultivating romances, and the sweet baker brings out the sense of fun missing in his life.

The last thing either of them is looking for is a relationship, but with Valentine’s Day so close, are they drunk on infatuation, high on sugar… or could this be the beginning of love?

When five wrong lottery numbers lead to Evander not only winning the money, but being reunited with his late best friend’s older brother, it seems pretty great. When old feelings start to rise as they end up being housemates, maybe this Valentine’s Day will end up better than ever.

When I get a late-night, drunken phone call from my coworker Rozen late on Valentine’s Day, demanding I come pick him up, I’m absolutely delighted. Rozen is drunk and definitely meant to call somebody else, since we really don’t like each other. For the two years we’ve worked together, he’s been charming and fun with everyone else but me and I have no idea why. I can’t wait to show up and see his reaction when he finds out that he called the wrong Henry.�