Tropical Modernity

When Charlotte Page first met Leo Westbrook, she was a shy, skinny teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. The moment the naked, chiseled Adonis mistakenly walked into her room, she was lovestruck. Leo was perfect in her eyes, and he proved it by helping create a billion-dollar business with Charlotte's brother. Even before he became a billionaire, Leo always had women throwing themselves at him. But the only woman he really wanted was the one he couldn’t have. Because Charlotte was his best friend and business partner’s little sister, he couldn’t afford to let her get too close. Yet he found himself unable to resist her. With each passing day, her charms threatened to overcome his defenses. After a decade of being his friend's blushing, stuttering little sister, the man of Charlotte's dreams finally noticed her. After one tropical kiss and a night of passion, her fantasy finally seemed to be coming true. However, when a lie from Leo's past caught up with him, it prompted her to question everything she thought she knew about the man she loves. Leo always knew that being with Charlotte wasn’t meant to be. Even if she could forgive him for his decade-long deception, he knew it would be better for her if he walked away. Yet sometimes, love is stronger than lies. Will Charlotte and Leo find a way to be together, or will they be left with nothing but memories of their waterfall kisses?

“If I had to choose again, I’d still choose our story. I would still choose you.” These were one of lines he read as his tears came out without warning. As he traveled in the Philippines, he found himself on a tropical island in the province of Palawan, where a certain incident led him to a woman who has something from her past that connects them. Looks, money, fame? He thought he had it all. Until one day, he found himself right outside her house. Jace Park, one of the famous Kpop idols, is ready to risk everything just to win her woman back.

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

A recent nursing graduate named Gia Blythe McKenna is being transported by her grandfather to an island where her mother established a medical mission. She doesn't have any issues with assisting people because it's her line of work, but the one thing she wants to avoid is being in the same location as her mother. Even though she must obey her devoted grandfather and remain on that island, she does not anticipate it to be a place where she can find respect, adoration, pleasure, contentment, love, and most importantly, satisfaction. She has always yearned to experience the fulfillment she misses when her family disintegrates. She discovered love there, despite her initial reluctance to stay, and now she views the island as a tropical haven thanks to him. She was broken when she realized that the love story she was experiencing with the man she believed to be the right one for her had turned out to be a toy narrative since love can't be expressed without suffering. Years had passed since she had left the island when she unintentionally took the wrong turn and ran across the man once more. Even though a lot has changed, she still feels anguish, and because of this, she planned to exact retribution. She'll bring that man down. She'll entice him to love her once more. But is she capable of doing that? Is it possible for her to cause him to fall without also falling again? Can she win over the billionaire Bryce Phoenix Huxley?

Ralantsoa Andriamifidy a tout sacrifié pour sa carrière. À 34 ans, elle est cadre dirigeante dans l’une des plus grosses entreprises logistiques de Tamatave. Brillante, rigoureuse, et intransigeante, elle fait peur autant qu’elle impressionne. Ses collègues la surnomment “le Dragon du 5e étage”, et personne ne s’attarde à percer la carapace de celle qui vit pour l’efficacité et méprise les bavardages. Mais l’ordre parfait qu’elle a instauré s’écroule doucement avec l’arrivée de Ny Aina Andrianisa, le nouveau directeur du département, transféré depuis Tananarive. Lui, c’est le soleil. Charismatique, chaleureux, un mot gentil pour tout le monde. Il serre des mains, rit aux éclats, et transforme les réunions en cafés-débats. Et surtout : il est bon. Très bon. Trop bon. Entre eux, c’est un duel silencieux. Une guerre de principes, de regards, de silences lourds et de remarques feutrées. Ils sont tout ce que l’autre déteste. Pourtant, quelque chose crépite sous les apparences. Et si cette tension cachait autre chose que de l’agacement ? Dans un décor tropical entre mer et béton, dans un monde où les apparences sont tout, Ralantsoa et Ny Aina vont devoir choisir entre le contrôle… et le cœur.

Selena Collins leads an unremarkable life or so she believes. As an overworked and underpaid secretary at Vermillion Cyberspace, she’s long accepted the monotony of her days and the brooding presence of her enigmatic boss, Theo van Gogh. But everything changes the moment she collapses from exhaustion and hits her head on his desk. Upon waking up in the hospital, she begins seeing things that shouldn’t exist... ghosts, demons, angels, and creatures that seem far too aware of her presence. Then comes the impossible. Theo visits her with a revelation that completely made her brain reboot. Theo isn’t just her boss now. He’s her familiar. And Selena—confused, concussed, and utterly unprepared—is the next chosen successor of a forgotten land god. Theo bows 90 degrees, coldly defiant. "I do not acknowledge you as my master. So if you die in the process of completing your missions, it would bring me joy." Now thrust into a world where mythology bleeds into modernity and ancient contracts awaken from dormancy, Selena must uncover why she was chosen and survive long enough to earn her own name in a realm that remembers everything.