Stories by @clarajarl

A Million Tiny Pieces

Mia Cantrell is happy to be rid of her lying, cheating, ex-husband. With her divorce final, Mia is moving on, grasping the reins of life once more. She’s learning to deal with the shattered remains while putting one foot in front of the other, taking control of her own decisions, and ultimately living one day at a time. Too bad the universe has put a hiccup (or two) in her well thought out plan. Phoenix Pierce is putting the pieces back together after the death of his father. Between his multi-million dollar company, the NHL team he now owns, and the endless supply of women willing to share a bed for one night of uninhibited sex, he finds himself going through the motions. Until he meets Mia. Although he’s on a mission to win her, that doesn’t solve his problem of the other person he wants… the man he has denied himself for years. Tarik Marx doesn’t think anyone could ever fill the void in his life the way Phoenix unknowingly has. That is until he meets Mia. Thanks to a fractured childhood, Tarik has to face a bigger problem: he doesn’t know how it feels to be loved. His past adds additional complexity when Tarik finds himself trying to figure out how he can have them both. Is it possible for a million tiny pieces to come together again? And if they do, will that make the bond even stronger than before?

Redeeming 6

He's a boy made of fire, and he's about to meet his match. The second son in a broken marriage, Joey Lynch has spent a lifetime picking up the pieces of an unraveling family. When his older brother skips town, twelve-year-old Joey finds himself thrown into the role of protector to his mother and younger siblings, plagued by self-loathing and furious with the world. Soon, he finds himself teetering precariously close to a life of addiction that threatens to swallow him whole. The only light in his dark seas is Aoife. His boss's firecracker daughter. His classmate. And soon, something far more complicated. Aoife Molloy has always moved forward, not backward. Bubbly, strong, and self-assured, she's never feared being led astray, even by her own heart. That is, until her first day of secondary school, when she collides with a hotheaded boy who sparks a burning curiosity inside of her that only grows stronger by the day. But their friendship is tangled and complex, full of unwinding secrets and feelings simmering beneath the surface. Aoife wants to let Joey in. Joey desperately fights to keep Aoife out. But even if it takes years, what's between them is bound to combust. And their hearts will never be the same.

From Lukov with Love

If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything. Including Ivan Lukov.

Malibu Rising

Malibu: August 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit.