The World of True North: Speakeasy Series

When Phoebe Stevens’ life implodes in a spectacularly public fashion, she’s desperate to escape Manhattan. So the offer of a job setting up a new Vermont gastropub couldn’t come at a better time. Driving a U-Haul on winding mountain roads is Phoebe’s personal version of hell. But when the caretaker of her guesthouse answers the door tousled, shirtless, and baking cinnamon rolls, her first impression of Vermont dramatically improves.

My new job as a chef in a small town was supposed to be my ticket to peace and quiet. I didn’t expect to run into the former hockey star who gave me the hottest nights of my life. And, oops, he’s sort of my new boss. So much for keeping my past where it belongs. Ty still thinks I’m the fun party girl. He has no idea how much things have changed. One thing that hasn’t changed: the spark between us. It’s hotter than the blowtorch I use on my crème brûlée.

I don’t have time for distractions, which is a huge problem since my new next-door neighbor Rosalie Wentworth is very distracting. She’s kind, beautiful, and makes me laugh like no woman ever has before. Unfortunately, the two of us add up to one really sad country song - I’m nursing a bruised ego following a broken engagement, and she’s suffering through a messy divorce - so I vow to set my attraction aside and focus on being her friend instead. That’s easier said than done, however, since her mom is convinced Rosalie and I are perfect for each other.

She’s a political princess and media darling. There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Yeah, right. Tell that to the public relations firm that handles Tracy’s very prominent political family. Now pushed by scandal from Boston to the boondocks, she’s on the other side of the serving tray, dishing up beer and burgers, hoping no one recognizes her. But there’s something very familiar - and maddeningly tempting - about the new caterer at Speakeasy. 

Juliana Burton needs a medal at Speakeasy’s beer festival to push her brand-new brewery into the spotlight. She thinks she knows how to do it, too - with a beer made exclusively from Vermont hops, barley, and the best honey in the state. Too bad the only thing standing in her way is a six feet tall, smokin’ sexy secret high school crush.

It’s my last night in New York, and the woman of my dreams is three feet away, expertly twirling a bottle of vodka behind the bar and making the perfect pour. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as Melody, with her enigmatic eyes and a gorgeous smile. All I have to do is introduce myself. And then...I choke. And my chance for something - anything - with her is gone. Months later, I think I’m dreaming when I see her doing bartender tricks here in Vermont. Now all I can think about is having those long, beautiful fingers performing their magic on my body. 

Darren Reade builds stone walls in Vermont - and around his heart. Women don’t stick around, so it’s better to put up “no trespassing” signs and focus on raising his adopted son. Grace Hollings indulges her love of old-school jazz by singing nights at the Speakeasy Taproom and spends her days training service dogs, connecting small humans with smart pooches. One evening, Grace and Darren don’t exchange names, but they do engage in a single night neither of them will forget. Is once all there is?

Randall Dickson is coping, sort of. An upcoming medical evaluation, one that could end his military career, has him stressed and making bad choices. So when a concerned friend issues a strongly worded “invitation” to Vermont, R. D. is all in, for it’ll be a change of scenery, a temporary job as a bartender, and the opportunity to shake himself out of his self-destructive routine. 

Jilted. Living in a glorified closet. The world’s worst bar waitress. I just need to keep a roof over my head and make tuition payments until I can finish graduate school. Then my real life will start. But right now, long nights at the Speakeasy have me burning the candle at both ends and the wax melting all over my fingers. When a bar manager offers me a job taking care of his adorable five-year-old daughter, it seems like the perfect solution. I get a quiet place to study. Matteo gets a reliable sitter.