Better sometimes than never...

I honestly do mean to post more. I mean to do a lot of things, but somehow, life gets in the way. At this time of year, that includes report cards, awards nights, year end activities, and pretty much general chaos. Still, I always mean to blog more often. Tonight will be short and sweet. In honor of Father's Day, I'm going to share my favorite romances where the hot hero also happens to be a dad. There's something about writing or reading a hero who shows another side of himself as a father. When I wrote Falling for Kate, I think Elliot's appeal was largely based on how good a dad he wanted to be and was. Being a parent gives the hero (or heroine) an extra layer of vulnerability. 

My favorite romance reads featuring dads 

When you lose everything, anything is possible.

Lauren Grahame needs a whole new life. A simpler life. After leaving her cheating husband, she moves to Carnal, Colorado, takes a job as a waitress, and realizes she might have finally found the hometown she'd been searching for. Except things are about to get a lot more complicated . . . 

Lauren's fresh start does not include her growing feelings for her boss, Tate Jackson. She'll take the new friends, the new job, not to mention the incredible banana bread from the local coffee shop, but love is not on the agenda.

However, the people of Carnal know chemistry when they see it, and they're not about to let Tate and Lauren miss their chance.

Both Lauren and Tate are reluctant to believe they can find love again, but they do, in each other and with Tate's son, become a family. 

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When California girl Hope Spencer arrives in Gospel, Idaho, she gets more than she bargained for—including a long, lean sheriff by the name of Dylan Taber. And when an unsolved local mystery involves them both--and when their flirting gets the better of them--Hope and Dylan know it’s time to make some true confessions . . . to each other.



I love Dylan and Kate's adorable back and forth banter.

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At long last, Seattle Times columnist Jane Alcott has a shot at a full-time assignment. She badly needs the income, but unfortunately, the opening is for a sports reporter traveling with the Seattle Chinooks hockey team and she knows nothing about the game. To add to her difficulty, the team doesn't want her, especially Luc "Lucky" Martineau, the Chinooks $33 million goalie. The team stonewalls when she tries to interview them and they haze her mercilessly; it isn't until the superstitious Luc decides that she brings good luck that Jane gets a shot at being a real journalist. But when her acceptance by the team leads to spending more time with Luc, Jane finds, to her dismay, that he’s more than a handsome, empty-headed sports jock and her heart is in danger.
For his part, Luc learns that behind "plain Jane's" boring dark clothing and black-rimmed glasses lies a quick wit, nerves of steel, and a personality that charms him. And when Jane appears at a team banquet with a new haircut, makeup, and a killer red dress with matching sexy stilettos, Luc's affection fast-forwards into a major case of serious lust. But if Jane lets herself fall in love, she'll have to find a way to explain the secret she's hiding before it becomes public knowledge and Luc's passion turns to hate. Can she bring herself to tell him the truth? And if she does, will he forgive her?

Luc is an older brother, not a single dad, in this story, but he plays the protective, vulnerable hero well and definitely gets a little flustered when dealing with teenage hormones. 

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Grace never thought she'd be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh's lovable mutt to caring for his rambunctious son. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad . . . 

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family-until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "good bedside manner." Josh and Grace don't know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day . . . 

This is such a sweet one and Grace comes to Josh's rescue more than once. 
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And one I'm eagerly awaiting...

Ready or not…love will find a way 
Single dad Hogan Guthrie is getting his life back on track, and working as the "barbecue master" at a local diner is just a temporary detour. He and restaurant owner Violet Shaw constantly butt heads…until one night they end up mingling other parts instead. Hogan thought he had the recipe for happiness all figured out. But loyal, carefree Violet is daring him to trust his impulses…and see just how sweet small-town living—and loving—can be. 
Nathan Hawley traded his SWAT team credentials for a sheriff's badge, but a gorgeous new neighbor is shaking up his orderly life. Nathan has a hunch there's more to Brooklin Sweet than meets the eye—but given her caution about getting involved, he has his work cut out for him. Still, there's something about the elusive beauty Nathan can't walk away from—and helping her come to terms with her past might pave the way to the future they both secretly long for.


We meet Hogan and his son in book one, Don't Tempt Me, and I cannot wait to see Hogan get his happily ever after. 

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What are your favorite single dad romances? 

Hope everyone has a lovely Father's Day.