Whisper Sweet Nothings by Laura Pavlov is now live!


 


A Small Town, Single Dad, Nanny, Age Gap Standalone Romance from USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, Laura Pavlov.

Winnie Smith is the perfect nanny.

She’s reliable, warm, and my daughter adores her.

She cooks like a pro, styles pigtails like a fairy godmother, and knows her way around a car engine better than most mechanics.

She’s made life easier.

The house feels full again.

And maybe… so do I.

But living under the same roof has its challenges.

Like catching her in the kitchen after midnight… barefoot, in tiny sleep shorts, eating ice cream straight from the tub.

Don’t even get me started on the way that her lips wrapped around that spoon.

I digress.

It shouldn’t mean anything.

She’s a decade younger. I’m her boss.

She’s off-limits.

And yet, it’s all I can think about.

I was just looking for a nanny—not nightly cold showers and definitely not feelings.

But the more we blur the lines, the harder it is to keep pretending.

We say it’s temporary. No strings. Just one harmless arrangement.

But what if she’s not just what my daughter needs…

What if she’s exactly what I’ve been missing too?



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Paperback: https://amzn.to/4aE3n96

Hardcover: https://amzn.to/4aGlBqx

Audiobook: https://geni.us/WSNAUDIO

Narrated by: Sebastian York & @savannahpeachwood


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ACE

Kat Mizera

Release Date: February 23

AVAILABLE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED





He lives in the shadows.
She’s the one he never forgot.

Life as a CIA operative is full of danger but it’s also painfully lonely. Living under the radar doesn’t leave room for relationships, let alone the white-picket-fence future she wanted.


There was someone once.


I walked away.


And I never stopped regretting it.


Now my years of service are catching up with me, and I’m finally ready for something different. I just never expected that change to be Shannon—or that she’d be in serious trouble.


One kiss. One mistake. One feeling I can’t shake.


The man in me still wants her.


The soldier in me will protect her at all costs.


She doesn’t want my help. She doesn’t trust the life I live. But I’m done walking away—especially when someone is watching her, closing in, and pushing us toward a confrontation neither of us is prepared for.


Even if saving her means losing her… again.

This romantic suspense features second-chance love, a protective alpha hero, high-stakes danger, and a woman who may be the key to his redemption—or his undoing.

Author's Note: Ace falls into the Royal Protectors series as book 1.5 and was formerly published under the title "Cocky Protector" as part of the Cocky Heroes Club series.





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Meet Kat Mizera:


USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of Wanderlust. She's lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is. A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.


Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Lauderdale Knights. The library of novels she's penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, bodyguards, rock stars, and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.

To find out about Kat Mizera’s upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here


For more information on Kat Mizera and her books visit: https://katmizera.com/



Connect with Kat Mizera:

https://katmizera.com/pages/contact-kat






Title: Taylor's Father
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap (17 Years), Best Guy Friend's Father
Single Dad, Forbidden, Second Chance
Protective Hero, Sassy Heroine
Release Date: February 22, 2026




BLURB

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance…

When my best friend Taylor gifted me a vacation at a resort owned by his grandparents, the last thing I expected was to bond with a man seventeen years older.
Tate was also vacationing alone.
He’d come to Midnight Key to clear his head and reevaluate his life.
I’d come to get over my high school sweetheart who’d dumped me.
I’d spotted the brawny, tattooed Adonis in the lobby on the first day and thought he had to be someone’s hot dad.
But then we matched on an app that paired single men and women by proximity.
The problem was? At nineteen—almost twenty—I’d lied and said I was twenty-nine.
Tate outed me on our first date, and I fessed up to my real age.
But we continued to run into each other.
And eventually we found our connection was too magnetic to deny.
While we agreed to only use first names and to part ways at the end of the trip, I’d really fallen for Tate.
I never forgot him and knew he was the one who got away.
Remember that guy friend who gifted me the trip?
Well, four years later, Taylor got married.
He’d been estranged from his dad for years, though recently they’d reconnected.
What I didn’t know was that the man I’d had that torrid affair with at the resort would be standing next to Taylor in the receiving line.
My dream man Tate? Was Taylor’s father.








PURCHASE LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

FREE to read in Kindle Unlimited
 
ALSO AVAILABLE
 
 
A model-cover paperback will be live on release day.






WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

17-YEAR AGE GAP
BEST GUY FRIEND'S FATHER
SINGLE DAD
FORBIDDEN
SECOND CHANCE
PROTECTIVE HERO
SASSY HEROINE






AUTHOR BIO


Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With millions of books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.


AUTHOR LINKS



OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD




 

These books feel like a weird kink I never knew I had. Aside from the whole princess fantasy when I was 10 that is. And after becoming slightly obsessed with the first one I have been dying to get my hands on this one.


And once I finally did I didn't want to put it down to adult. Because …… Jack. Honestly, for a bastard Duke he stepped up and got things done. And once he met Grace he was so sure that she was what he wanted, while still trying to convince himself it was temporary. So watching him fall so hard and fast was just yummy.


Grace had lived such a hard life and was so street smart and secure in her own abilities. But she had zero self-awareness and kind of did my head in a lot of the time. Because despite the book being so hot the will they / wont they lasted the whole damn book and i just wanted them to start their HEA before 90 bloody percent.


The overall story kept me flipping pages like crazy. Even if I did have to remind myself it was fiction a time or two. And the chemistry was so freaking hot. These guys lit up the pages and I ate it up. Seeing the OG Duke there as a friend made my day. I can’t wait to see if we get more from this world but either way I know hubby’s going to be happy with whatever this author writes next 😉



https://amzn.to/3OQNEME





Title: Taylor's Father
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap (17 Years), Best Guy Friend's Father
Single Dad, Forbidden, Second Chance
Protective Hero, Sassy Heroine
Release Date: February 22, 2026




BLURB

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance…

When my best friend Taylor gifted me a vacation at a resort owned by his grandparents, the last thing I expected was to bond with a man seventeen years older.
Tate was also vacationing alone.
He’d come to Midnight Key to clear his head and reevaluate his life.
I’d come to get over my high school sweetheart who’d dumped me.
I’d spotted the brawny, tattooed Adonis in the lobby on the first day and thought he had to be someone’s hot dad.
But then we matched on an app that paired single men and women by proximity.
The problem was? At nineteen—almost twenty—I’d lied and said I was twenty-nine.
Tate outed me on our first date, and I fessed up to my real age.
But we continued to run into each other.
And eventually we found our connection was too magnetic to deny.
While we agreed to only use first names and to part ways at the end of the trip, I’d really fallen for Tate.
I never forgot him and knew he was the one who got away.
Remember that guy friend who gifted me the trip?
Well, four years later, Taylor got married.
He’d been estranged from his dad for years, though recently they’d reconnected.
What I didn’t know was that the man I’d had that torrid affair with at the resort would be standing next to Taylor in the receiving line.
My dream man Tate? Was Taylor’s father.








PRE-ORDER LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Will be FREE to read in Kindle Unlimited


The current paperback pre-order is for the special-edition cover only. A model-cover paperback will be live on release day.



WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

17-YEAR AGE GAP
BEST GUY FRIEND'S FATHER
SINGLE DAD
FORBIDDEN
SECOND CHANCE
PROTECTIVE HERO
SASSY HEROINE





EXCERPT

Copyright © 2025
By Penelope Ward

The next morning, I woke up happier than I’d been in a long time.
The prospect of seeing Tate again filled me with anticipation. It was a wonder I’d gotten any sleep.
His words from last night still replayed in my head over and over.
“A responsible person wouldn’t be struggling with whether to protect you or eat you.”
God, I hoped he ultimately chose the latter.
We hadn’t even exchanged phone numbers, so I was pleased to see a message come through the dating app from him.

Tate: I’m heading down to breakfast in a few. Care to join me?

Blair: Only if you order me four different kinds of beverages to choose from. BTW, it’s never too early for an espresso martini.

Tate: You’re about two years too early.

I laughed as I typed.

Blair: Very funny.

Tate: See you in a few?

Blair: Maybe…

Tate: Brat.

Blair: You like that about me.

Tate: You’re not wrong.

My mouth hurt from smiling.
When I got downstairs, I saw Tate before he saw me. He sat at a table with a huge pile of food spread before him. How did this man look even more hot today? He wore his baseball hat backward, which was absolutely my weakness. The way pieces of his hair poked out the sides? Scrumptious. Every look he’d rocked was sexier than the last.
I walked over to where he was sitting. “Hey, you.”
He gave me a once-over, and his eyes filled with something that seemed a hell of a lot like desire as he appraised the floral sundress I wore, the top of which was held up by two skimpy strings. My current look wasn’t as dramatic as last night’s, though. Today I had gone for fresh-faced and sassy.
“Well, hello.” He smiled. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby…”
“No comment.”
“You’d better not.” I took the seat across from him. “How did you sleep?”
“Best sleep I’ve had in a while, actually.”
“Must have been the company you kept the night before.”
“I did have an amazing time with you last night.” Tate smiled.
He seemed genuine, and I felt myself blush. “Likewise.” I gestured to the food. “Hungry much?”
There were eggs, bacon, a huge stack of pancakes, home fries, and fruit.
“All of this is for both of us. Have you seen that buffet line? I waited for like twenty minutes. Didn’t want you to have to do the same.”
“Well, I guess I win for being fashionably late. Thank you.” I grinned. “Between the variety of drinks the first time we met and this private buffet, I’m starting to think this is your thing—hoarding food.”
He gestured to the plates. “Eat up.”
How I wish I could.
For some reason, I wasn’t all that hungry—at least for food. But it was amusing to watch this big, strong man devour his breakfast.
“What are your plans today?” I asked as he munched.
“Depends on whether a certain girl wants to hang out with me.”
“I wasn’t gonna be presumptuous. You’re the one who’s been resistant.”
“Only to certain things and for your own good,” he clarified. “I’m not resistant to your company in the least. I quite like it.”
“So what’s another safe activity we can do so you don’t have to feel like a creeper?”
Tate stopped chewing for a moment. “I was thinking maybe we could go kayaking, if you’re up for it.”
My mouth curved into a smile. “I would love that, actually.”
In truth, I could take or leave kayaking. But any activity where I’d be in close proximity to Tate today was fine by me.
“Cool. I already booked it.”
“Now you’re the one being presumptuous.”
“Maybe, yeah.” He winked before stuffing a big piece of pancake into his mouth.
Never thought I could be jealous of a pancake, but here we were.
I reached my fork across the table and began eating off his plate. As I leaned forward, I accidentally rested my foot on top of his at one point. To my surprise, he didn’t move it away. The contact sent a rush of desire through me.
I popped a piece of pineapple into my mouth. “Do anything interesting when you got back to your room last night?”
“Not particularly.” He chewed.
“After what you said about contemplating eating me, I think you might be lying.”
He stopped mid-bite and shook his head. “Even if I did do what you’re implying, I wouldn’t admit it.”
“I’m pretty sure you just did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your face is red. You’re fidgeting. The signs are all there.”
I strategically selected a banana, holding it firmly in my hand as I slowly peeled it and took a big bite. Tate’s eyes remained fixed on me the entire time. “It was the only way I could sleep,” I added.
He nearly choked on his coffee.
“What you said riled me up,” I told him.
“Some things can remain private.” He glared. “You know?”
“So, you don’t want to know about my soothing Epsom salt foot soak?”
Tate reached across the table, grabbed my banana, and took a frustrated bite.






AUTHOR BIO


Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With millions of books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.


AUTHOR LINKS



OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD




 



THE HOCKEY PROBLEM

Off the Ice Book 1

Kendall Ryan

Coming March 26th!



About the Book

He’s the NHL’s most guarded single dad.
She’s the one woman who can’t afford to fall for him.

Tori Wells didn’t fight her way into the NHL just to become another cautionary tale. As a team physical therapist, she lives by strict rules: heal the players, protect her career, and never—ever—cross the line with a hockey player.

Then she’s assigned to Zayden Bishop.

On the ice, he’s untouchable—a French-Canadian superstar with a reputation for being cold, private, and impossible to read. Off the ice, he’s a devoted single father running on discipline, stubbornness, and too little sleep. Until a serious shoulder injury threatens his season—and the stability he’s built for his six-year-old daughter.

Tori is in charge of his rehab. Full oversight. Daily sessions.
No room for mistakes.
No room for attraction.

Except Zayden isn’t what she expected.

The more time they spend together—early mornings, quiet road trips, late-night conversations—the harder it becomes to pretend this is just professional. Because Zayden doesn’t just need his shoulder fixed. He needs someone who sees the man behind the jersey.

And Tori is dangerously close to becoming that someone.

Crossing the line could cost her everything she’s worked for. And Zayden can’t risk bringing anyone into his daughter’s life unless he’s certain they’ll stay.


💙 Single Dad
💙 Hockey Player
💙 Forced Proximity
💙 Workplace Romance
💙 Emotionally Guarded Hero
💙 Slow Burn Intimacy
💙 Competent Heroine
💙 Touch-Starved Hero
💙 Caretaking Trope (Injury Recovery → Caregiving)
💙 He Falls First / He Falls Harder
💙 French-Canadian Hero



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