Better Than Before Lynn Painter Novels & Stories

Adam Ocampo is a premier world-class painter who went back to his hometown in search of a perfect place for his art and a home for his heart. His search for Teresa Milan draws him closer to long-lost memories, past grievances, and the closure of forgiveness.

"My will to live is weak.By all accounts, I should be dead, but somehow I made it through. Broken, battered, and barely hanging on, I’m forced to rely on the man who destroyed me. Recovery is a long road, and I’m not sure I can take it by his side, so I punish him, refusing to grant forgiveness.But it’s still there—the spark. That incessant pull that I can’t escape.The deepest scars of our hearts spill out. All the secrets we kept locked away are laid bare.Everything is different. Time is running out.All the infractions are catching up to us."

"My life was ash. Burned to the ground. Razed with no chance of rebuilding.Empty.Alone.Just as I had to be.No one else was going to get hurt because of me. No more deaths.For years I’ve secluded myself, stayed in the darkness, and tried to melt into the background. Hiding in plain sight.Taking a new job, working in close confines with a new partner, is risky, and I thought I was up to the task. So I hide behind a mask of my own making, a façade for the world.The problem is, I can’t stop thinking about my new partner. I hate her, but I crave her like she’s the most intoxicating thing I’ve ever encountered.It’s maddening, but I need to stay away. I have to stay away.I can’t love anyone ever again."

As a CEO, Logan knows better than to get romantically involved with any of his employees. Unfortunately for him, his wolf won't accept anything less than Emory's everything.

Irene was in a relationship with her fiance Perry for seven years. On the day before her wedding, she witnessed her bestie having sex with her fiance in her wedding room. To take revenge on Perry, she had one-night stand with Perry's boss--Nathan. Nathan was super-rich and irresistibly attractive. Obviously, he was much better than Perry in all aspects. Coincidentally, Irene ran into this shameless couple in the shopping mall. Her bestie teased her that no one would fancy a girl like her. She happened to see Nathan and made a hint to him. Then Nathan went by and kissed Irene, "Sweetie, why do you leave me alone in bed this morning?"

In my past life, right before sitting for the college entrance exams, my best friend, Lily Shaw, and I made a pact. We promised that once we got into college, we would study finance and make a fortune. But because my exam went smoothly and I was the first to leave the exam room, I ended up on camera for an interview. Somehow, I blew up overnight. Years later, I became a top celebrity, while Lily was sent to prison for financial fraud. When she got out, I gave her a million dollars to help her get back on her feet. She repaid me by quietly forging lies about me, whipping up a wave of online hate, and doing everything she could to destroy me. I traced the truth and confronted her, but she snapped back at me, "What gives you the right to stare down at me from your lofty throne and throw me scraps, Hannah Linden? I'm prettier than you, and my grades were better than yours. Why did you get the better life?" She laid out a plan to get back at me. She knocked me out and slashed my face. She also gouged out my eyes and cut out my tongue before stuffing me into a freezer, leaving me there to freeze to death. When I open my eyes again, I find myself reborn in my senior-year classroom. There's just over a month left for the college entrance exams. I look at Lily, who sits to my left and whispers to me. I smile at her, my eyes glinting with ice and venom.

The last thing Willow expected is to be rejected by her boyfriend; Asher, the beta of Blue Moon pack, minutes before his coronation party. Drunk and heartbroken, she ends up in the Alpha's son's bed, and not only did she get wild, she also asked him to marry her. Carter is the future heir to his father's business and there's one problem; he can't take over the pack without a Luna. Literally out of options, he takes Willow up on her offer. What better way for her to get revenge on her ex than for her to become Luna? After much conviction, she accepts, but is that really the right choice?

Hollywood is fast, ruthless, and it chews up girls like Lara Bello before breakfast. So when broke, struggling Lara is offered a chance to fake-date Leonardo Knight — a dangerously charming, scandal-ridden A-list actor — she knows better than to say no. It’s a simple, transactional deal: she gets a hefty paycheck, and he gets to clean up his wrecked reputation. The rules are clear: No real feelings. No crossing the line. Smile for the cameras and pretend to be in love. But Hollywood isn’t the only thing with teeth. Because Leo is hiding a deadly secret... he's a werewolf. And by the time midnight comes, Lara won’t just be pretending to be his mate… she might actually be the one.

Eliza's whole life is turned upside down when she crashes and rolls her car. A mysteriously beautiful man walks into the wreckage and saves her, but as she gets a better look at her hero, she knows he is more than just a human. Now it seems as though she is connected to this sexy demon and their fates are tangled together somehow, but humans don't bond to demons, do they? In search of answers, they adventure out together on a journey to find someone who may know and to escape the demons that are following them, threatening to get to Eliza before Ash can keep her from all the dangers that lurk in the shadows. Will Eliza be safe with Ash or is this love too dangerous even for a demon.

A small-town mayor. A stranger with a sketchy past.Two weeks before Christmas, Katie is kicked out of her apartment. Again. Rather than wander the streets and continue to work for a dirty cop, she escapes, determined to disappear for good. Until her car breaks down in a small New Mexican town, and everything is threatened when she falls for the charming mayor.Sam Freedman is the first bachelor mayor of Amor. After convincing the locals that having a mayor without family responsibilities means he can dedicate all of his time to the community, they watch his every move. Then Katie Andersen shows up. Against Sam’s better judgement, he hires her to replace his former event coordinator. Now he can barely think straight, let alone run a town. In the midst of half-truths and outright lies, Katie and Sam desperately search for the place where honesty and trust lead to love. But they have to find it before the past catches up with them.