Del Ray Brothers Series by Cleopatra Margot

Former foster child Ember Bryant is content with her pouring lattes at the local coffee shop, volunteering at the library, and happily devouring romance novels to share about on her bookstagram account. She has other aspirations, certainly, but it’s not until an opportunity to take on an interior design project for a well-known figure in Balsam Falls that she decides to take a risk... moreFormer foster child Ember Bryant is content with her pouring lattes at the local coffee shop, volunteering at the library, and happily devouring romance novels to share about on her bookstagram account. She has other aspirations, certainly, but it’s not until an opportunity to take on an interior design project for a well-known figure in Balsam Falls that she decides to take a risk. The catch? Doing the project will mean working alongside Graham Del Ray, a man as gorgeous and successful as he is gruff and elusive. Since becoming the VP of Del Ray Development, work has been Graham Del Ray’s primary focus. If his childhood taught him anything it’s to keep life neat and orderly, and then retreat to his country home with its wildflower field to unwind. Until a curveball is thrown at the offer of a contracting job he can’t say no to. The downfall? The project’s interior designer is the pretty girl from the coffee shop, who he hasn’t been able to get out of his head for the past four years. Despite their best efforts, they develop an unlikely friendship—the whimsical romantic and the no-nonsense developer. But as they begin to learn who the other truly is, encouraging one another to reach for their dreams, denying the chemistry between them becomes impossible. Without the restraints of their pasts, will they open up enough to build a life together, or will time shed too much light on their differences? less

Following a family tragedy, Sydney Adair has compartmentalized her life into reliable, predictable routines and stuck to them. Dreams like opening her own yoga studio or the possibility of having a family pale in comparison to what she lost nearly a year ago, comfortability becoming the only constant she wants. Having six-feet-three-inches of wounded, broody detective living in her backyard—along with his precious daughter—does not fit within her parameters... moreFollowing a family tragedy, Sydney Adair has compartmentalized her life into reliable, predictable routines and stuck to them. Dreams like opening her own yoga studio or the possibility of having a family pale in comparison to what she lost nearly a year ago, comfortability becoming the only constant she wants. Having six-feet-three-inches of wounded, broody detective living in her backyard—along with his precious daughter—does not fit within her parameters. Detective Jordan Del Ray has been running from his mother’s abandonment and his father’s workaholism since he left his hometown fifteen years ago. He’s made a life for himself and his daughter, until a shooting leaves him with two bullet holes in his shoulder and the PTSD he hasn’t been able to shake since his discharge from the Marines, forcing him to move back to the place that started it all. And lands him only steps away from the fiery blonde barista he met briefly over the summer, who is just as determined as him to block out the darkness from her past. Between their painful pasts and the mutual agreement to keep their arrangement strictly business, feelings shouldn’t be a problem. But when distrust turns into baking gingerbread cookies, and self-defensive banter shifts into searching conversations, will Jordan and Sydney find the courage to face their own respective ghosts—and find out just how powerful their connection is? Or will the tangle of mysteries they find themselves caught up in sever the fragile family they’ve begun to build? less