playing with heart novel Audiobooks

They say librarians are old-fashioned. I’m anything but. As a 23-year-old woman I have my whole life ahead of me, and I’m in no rush to settle down. But my favorite patron of the Golden Creek Library has a different opinion … and at 72, Charles McArthur is hard to argue with. He wants to set me up with his grandson and I don’t have the heart to say no. When my date comes to my door, I am oh-so-glad I said yes. Chuck McArthur is a tall, dark, and handsome man who happens to love books as much as I do. He calls me Cookie, just like his gramps, and I’m more than eager for him to have a taste. Luckily for me, he likes a woman with some curves, and lucky for him, his dirty talk is quickly becoming my favorite sound. Best part? Chuck and I want the exact same thing: a no strings attached relationship But when tragedy strikes, everything changes. I may like it when he talks wordy to me … but maybe I need more than talk. Maybe I need forever.

Good friends and healthy friendships are crucial to women's well-being at every stage of life. But what happens when a friendship turns toxic? When a friend becomes hurtful or mistreats another? When a friend abandons another in a time of need? Here, Suzanne Degges-White and Judy Pochel Van Tieghem explore such toxic friendships and how women navigate the ups and downs, as well as how broken friendships can be mended and bad friendships ended. Explaining and illustrating the "rules of friendship" at various stages of life, the authors reveal what it takes to be a good friend, how to identify bad friends, and how to move forward when friendships turn sour. Vignettes of toxic friendship behaviors are shared, as well as tips on how best to respond to these rule-breaking friends in order to rebuild damaged relationships and repair a friendship's foundation (when appropriate) and how to decide when it's time to let go of a relationship that is bringing you down versus keeping you afloat. Information for parents is also provided, to aid them as they help their daughters navigate their friendships. We all need friends, but knowing when and how to let go can help us all be better friends--to ourselves, and also to others.

When photojournalist Liliana Richardson, agrees to go on assignment in Arizona, she has no idea it could cost her everything. But one wrong picture at the right moment puts her on a lethal drug cartel's hit list. Kidnapped and held prisoner in a border town, she is certain her life is over, until the bad boy from her past shows up. Now she's on the run with the only man who ever made her want more. Problem is: She knows she can trust him with her life, but not her heart. Security specialist and former Marine, Jesse James Calhoun, follows a strict code. Work hard, play hard, and never get too involved. When he gets information that the wild girl from his past needs help and fast, he's ready, willing, and able to neutralize the threat. But the spoiled girl he knew is all grown up and has a secret that someone is willing to kill for. Can he keep them alive long enough to uncover her secret? Or will she leave before he can stop a killer, taking his heart with her.

Alcohol and heartbreak are definitely not a good combo. Too bad I learned that a little too late. I’m Tessa Beckett and I painfully got dumped by my boyfriend of three years. That led me to get drunk at a bar and have a one-night stand with a stranger. Before he would see me as a slut the next day,I paid him for the sex and deeply insulted his ability to please me. But this stranger turned out to be my new boss!

A swoony, slow-burn rom-com, Melonie Johnson's Too Wrong to Be Right features a true romantic on a mission to find her happily ever after. After her latest jerk of a boyfriend dumps her (and ditches her with his pet hedgehog), florist Kat Kowalski is done chasing after Mr. Wrong. With her two best friends moving on to more serious relationships, she’s ready to stop repeating the same mistakes that are leaving her stuck in the single lane. Armed with a list of qualities for her perfect Mr. Right, Kat swears off dating until she finds him. Then in a meet-disaster involving a corpse and a salty cockatoo, she stumbles across Mick O’Sullivan at his family's funeral home. Their immediate chemistry warns Kat to keep things platonic; after all, following her heart never worked out in the past, and this time she’s determined to listen to her head. But can Kat and Mick be just friends? As she gets to know him better, the lines blur, and Kat starts to wonder if she’s gotten it wrong and Mick is exactly who she’s been looking for...

Imagined by one of the world's leading experts on Buddhism, this fictionalised conversation presents the essential biography of its famously wise founder. A relaxed chat with the Buddha tells us what he thought about impermanence, karma, mindfulness, compassion, love, and everything else that leads us toward a true understanding of ourselves and the cosmos. We know him as the Buddha, the "Awakened One". Born Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years ago in northern India, he became one of the world's greatest spiritual leaders. He suffered as we do, then by his own efforts found the key to liberation from the bonds of desire, hatred and ignorance. As Westerners living in relative prosperity, we can identify with this man who had it all - love, success, money, talent, privilege - but set these things aside to search for something deeper and more enduring. This book presents an account of the Buddha's life followed by a series of plausible and illuminating but imagined conversations, which probe all aspects of his philosophy for living. The insights he conveys here offer us practical wisdom for a better life.

After years of violent battles, Kalliopee agrees to sacrifice her freedom by marrying the prince of the enemy kingdom in order to bring peace. In a world where women are treated as slaves rather than wives, she is still delighted to be reunited with her first love, Karel. However, life is unpredictable, and the horrors of war have transformed Karel into a tough and ruthless heir to the throne, who despises the Viridians more than anything. While he has no qualms about mistreating Kalliopee, his determination wavers when confronted with her striking eyes. In the midst of desire and animosity, schemes and plots, dreams and disillusionment, will the princess’s heart endure the price of her liberty?

Evie Bell is the white sheep in a family of black ones. Bookish and quiet where her sisters are showy and brash, she doesn’t understand her darker needs that resulted in the catastrophic end to her last relationship. Frederic d’Estang, a stage performer with Byronic dark good looks, is famous for playing villains that women adore – the Phantom, Claude Frollo, Mr Hyde. Facing a distressing premature end to his career due to developing Reinke’s edema, a chronic voice disorder, he recalls how someone took a chance on him when he was just starting out which launched him into stardom, and desires to do the same before his power and influence wane. His agent wants him to write his memoirs, and when he meets Evie Bell, an autobiographical writer with a penchant for gothic anti-heroes, he sees his chance: she has talent, but lacks the confidence and experience to make something of herself. She also has interesting, unexplored tastes, which Frederic discovers when her sister gives him a link to her anonymous fan-fiction archive – much to Evie’s mortification.

After being secretly married for three years, Holly Sinclair's husband suddenly asks for a divorce. She hides the pain and leaves after taking the money he gives her. From that day on, her life goes uphill. She restores precious masterpieces and determines their authenticity. The world of vintage pieces is her oyster.After the divorce, a certain ex-husband is filled with regret when he sees Holly on TV, showing off her skills. He turns into her loyal fan and chases her around the world. "I'll give you my heart and soul, babe. Please, come back to me."Holly says, "Sorry, but I'm busy. I have too much to do!"Later, she meets the man who saved her when she was younger. On the day of her wedding, she receives some horrible news. She leaves her groom at the altar and mourns her ex-husband's supposed death. Pain is all she feels.Then, her ex-husband suddenly shows up, wounded but alive, and gets on one knee before her while holding out a diamond ring. "Let's remarry, babe!"

The Coyote Cowboys each made a vow to a fallen comrade and have one year to carry out their task… Local hero Remington Cross has only painful memories of Marietta, Montana. He may want ranch work, but he’ll take it anywhere but here. Still, loyalty brings Remy to Marietta determined to locate Jace’s godchild, ensure his physical and financial security, then close this chapter for good. But a smoldering encounter with a beautiful bartender threatens his timeline and heart, and when he discovers Jace’s godchild is at risk, he enlists the aid of the enigmatic beauty who’s more no-strings than he is. Shane Knight is no stranger to secrets, and she can tell the haunted ex-soldier is hiding plenty. She’s finished trying to fix wounded bad boys, and after her broken engagement, her heart’s permanently off-limits. When Shane jumps boots first into a red-hot one-night stand, she never anticipates getting tangled up with a sexy cowboy and a child who needs them. It’s a chance for love, family, and a fresh start for them both, but will secrets break the fragile thread of their new beginning?