Showing results by author "Brooke St. James" in All Categories

Paige Spears was on her way to a job interview when she first met Diane Hunt. The two of them made friendly conversation while waiting for their breakfast, and Diane ended up asking Paige to come work for her for the summer. Paige was reluctant about beginning her corporate career anyway, so she jumped at Diane's offer. As luck would have it, her first assignment was to spend a week in Myrtle Beach with Diane and her family.

I was heartbroken and oblivious the first time I met Warren Manning. I wasn’t a fan of country music, so I had no idea who he was. We had a brief but heartfelt conversation, and Warren left my life as quickly as he entered it. A few months later I discovered just how famous he was. It was cool that I had met him once, but I figured I would never see him again.

I knew the Blair brothers. It was impossible to grow up in Astoria and not be familiar with them. There were four boys in the Blair family, and all of them had that certain something. They were smart, athletic, funny, and gorgeous. If I was forced to pick my favorite, it would have to be Henry. He was the wild one of the bunch - a rock star.

She's out of your league. It was a cliché term and one that no man ever wanted to hear. But it defined Micah's relationship with Claire Alexander. She was so out of his league that he had given up hope from day one. A relationship with Claire was not a possibility. She simply would never be his. He was broken and she was too good for him—out of his league in every way. Micah and Claire were friends. That's all they had ever been and all they would ever be.

It was a surreal evening when I finally got to see Micah Lacey live in concert. He played a sold-out show, and I had front row tickets. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Micah said some things to the audience near the end of the performance—some personal things about his own life. I wasn't normally the type of person to follow clues, but Micah's songs and his life before stardom seemed interesting.

I wasn't the only woman in the world who had been cheated on. I certainly wasn't the only woman who had sworn off men because of it. I was, however, one of the few who was willing to stick to my guns about it. Men would sometimes see that as a challenge, but before too long they would realize I wasn't interested.

I had always dreamed of falling in love. I was ready and eager to find my happily ever after, but there was just one problem. The man I so desperately wanted to fall for was not available. He was taken - spoken for. He wasn't married, but he had been with someone for a long time. It didn’t help matters that she happened to be my friend.

Every girl imagines meeting her prince charming. It's doubtful, however, that any of these fantasies include it happening when they're soaked with sweat and knee-deep in pond scum. Fate can be funny that way.

Lines had been drawn and sides had been taken years ago. The King family did not interact with the Elliot family, and neither did the Grahams nor the Castros. The Elliots had burned those bridges decades ago, and none of the Bank Street crew made mention of them. They certainly never ate at their restaurant. The Elliots didn't shop at King's Hardware, go to Bank Street Boxing, or the ballet studio on the corner. In fact, they didn't even go to Carson's Diner. The Elliot family stayed off of Bank Street entirely. Both families had a stake in Galveston, but they lived without supporting each other or interacting in any way.

Finding love was last on the list of things I needed to do. I had some personal things to work out before I could even think about searching for my soul mate. From where I stood at the moment, that seemed like something that might never happen. However, I couldn’t help but notice August. We had been friends since we were children. He had a crush on me years ago, but I didn’t feel the same way at the time. He was simply my friend. He had grown and matured recently, though. I felt something different when I looked at him now. The problem was, he had long since given up on a relationship with me.

Finding love was not on the agenda for John-Michael, but he knew there was no harm in taking a second to enjoy these warm, fuzzy feelings. As a single father, he ultimately had to put his son first, and a fleeting romance was simply not an option. Still, his heart raced as his gaze reached Sadie's mouth. He would never act on it, but he would love to kiss her. He was definitely attracted to this woman, there was no denying it.

I always wanted to live at the beach. It had been my dream since I was a little girl. I longed to experience the sand and sea. My heart's desire was to become a famous artist who painted scenes with palm trees and blue waters. Finally, I was moving to a coastal town. It was only three hours from where I grew up, but it might as well have been paradise with how excited I was. My sister was coming with me, except she didn't care about painting palm trees and beach scenes. She was only in it for the shirtless guys.

I was all set to embark on the most epic adventure of my life. I was ready for anything. My life had been filled with predictability since the day I was born, but that was about to change. I had devised a plan. Over the course of the next five years, I would live in five different cities. I would get to see, taste, and experience things I had previously only read about. I had been preparing for this moment for nearly a decade, and now it was time.

Theo Duval was born and raised in Montréal. He was only 10-years-old when he met a young American girl named Caroline at a public library near his home. Though there were some serious language barriers, the two of them quickly felt the first sparks of young love. Caroline's visit to Montréal was brief, and Theo was soon left with only the vivid memories of his first crush. They had haunted him for years, and he always felt like she was the one who got away.

Tabitha thought moving to New York City would be the chance of a lifetime, but now she was left wondering if she had made a huge mistake. The responsibilities of being a single mom and pursuing her career were becoming overwhelming. Needless to say, falling in love wasn't on her agenda. So when a handsome photographer named Drake Salinger entered the picture, Tabitha struggled with her budding affection for him.

Bad Medicine was one of television's most popular dramas, and Ethan Prescott was the show's biggest star. And somehow, Macy Tillman ended up sitting right next to him at dinner. Macy was a gifted artist and former resident of the Shower & Shelter Artist Collective. Macy made Ethan experience feelings he had never known. It was about more than just being attracted to her. Somehow, Macy inspired Ethan to want to be a better person. But those feelings were overwhelming, and they made it difficult for Ethan to decide whether or not he should follow his heart.

Zoe Etheridge packed her bags and said goodbye to her small-town Texas life. Her dad's dying wish was that she followed her dreams in New York City, and she was bound and determined to make that happen. It was only a day or so into her trip when she realized she might have bitten off more than she could chew. Zoe assumed that the Shower & Shelter Artist Collective was open to any artist who needed a place to live in the city. She had no idea that landing a spot in the house was highly competitive.

What do you do when your best friend calls and says she's getting married in a matter of days on a different continent? You hop on a plane and go to be with her, of course. Lu Osborne was doing precisely that. She boarded a flight that was headed for Ireland on only a few days' notice despite the fact that she had a lot of irons in the fire. Other than witnessing a fairytale wedding and maybe doing a little sightseeing, Lu didn't expect anything to come from the trip. She certainly didn't expect to fall in love with her best friend's brother, Joe.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Sarah Spicer took this saying to heart, at least where love was concerned. She had given up any hope in ever finding a decent man. She was convinced they had only one thing on their minds and were untrustworthy and unfit for relationships. This was exactly why she had a strict no-dating policy. That was before she met Collin Ross.

Evan Hunt had spent most of his adult life working as an environmentalist and living out of a duffle bag. It came as a total shock when his father suddenly confronted him about setting goals for his future. Evan wasn't much for following rules and his instinct was to simply ignore what his dad was saying. However, he decided it was time to set his sights on success just to prove to his family that he could do it. And that's exactly what he did. Just when it seemed like everything was coming together, Evan was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.