The wedding dress was made many years ago, and it came with a promise: The First Man You Meet… Shelly Hansen was horrified when her great-aunt's wedding dress arrived—because, according to family legend, she was destined to marry the next man she met. So when she tripped on an escalator and fell into Mark Brady's arms, she told him—and herself—that she wasn't interested in marriage. But then she started seeing him everywhere…. Coincidence? is The Man You'll Marry After her own wedding, Shelly sends her best friend, Jill Morrison, the dress—which is delivered to Jill's hotel in Hawaii. But at least the man she sat beside on the plane—gorgeous grouch Jordan Wilcox—can't be the man in question, can he? She met him before she got the dress!

If the legend is true, who will be my husband? Vacation in Hawaii! Jill looks out the window of her luxurious hotel and her eyes meet the man in the room facing hers. He’s the workaholic she sat next to during her flight! Then Jill receives a package containing a wedding dress from her friend. There’s a legend that states whoever receives this dress will marry the next man she meets. As long as it’s not the neighbor across from her!

Love in the Emerald City... The Playboy and the Widow She's a widow, practical and down-to-earth, living in Seattle with her two kids. He's a wealthy man who's always been attractive to women.... Diana Collins is put off by Cliff Howard's playboy reputation--but finds herself falling for him. More surprising, perhaps, is the fact that her daughters are crazy about him. And most surprising of all, Cliff Howard is changing his views about the kind of woman he could love. Ready-made family and all! Fallen Angel Amy Johnson is firmly anchored in Seattle, working as an executive for her father's oil company. Josh Powell is a self-described drifter, a man who's never called any place home. A man who's rejected the world of money and power... When they meet, Amy begins to question her own future. Does she really want to give up her long-standing--and long-hidden--desire to be part of a family, to love a man and raise a family with him? Josh, too, questions his life. Maybe it's time to stop running from his past--and to share his future with Amy.

Angels are all around us—especially at Christmas! Greg Bennett hates Christmas. Divorced, almost friendless and about to lose his business, he has no time for what he considers sentimental nonsense. It takes three irrepressible angels to show him the truth. Shirley, Goodness and Mercy shall follow him—until he learns what Christmas is all about! Those Christmas Angels come down to earth again to respond to Anne Fletcher's prayer request. She wants her son, Roy, to meet a special woman—and the angels contrive to throw Julie Wilcoff in his path (literally!). Another Christmas, another angelic rescue. The three heaven-sent messengers reunite a divorced couple, bring peace of mind to an elderly man and grant a little boy's fondest wish. Because there's always joy Where Angels Go. Three stories of hope and seasonal cheer from Debbie Macomber, Official Storyteller of Christmas!

Trading Houses. Trading Towns. Trading Christmas! Emily Springer, widowed mother of one, decides to leave Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston. Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. He figures a prison town should be nice and quiet over the holidays—except he's thinking of the wrong Leavenworth! Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston—and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth and discovers that it's not the prison town—it's Santa's village! The place is full of Christmas trees, Christmas music and…elves. Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her and instead finds Charles, an avowed grinch. Then Charles's brother, Ray, shows up at his home in Boston to discover that he isn't there—but Emily is. Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because everything changes at Christmas! A seasonal classic first published as When Christmas Comes

Knowledge of plant names can give insight into largely forgotten beliefs. For example, the common red poppy is known as "Blind Man" due to an old superstitious belief that if the poppy were put to the eyes it would cause blindness. Many plant names derived from superstition, folk lore, or primal beliefs. Other names are purely descriptive and can serve to explain the meaning of the botanical name. For example, Beauty-Berry is the name given to the American shrub that belongs to the genus Callicarpa. Callicarpa is Greek for beautiful fruit. Still other names come from literary sources providing rich detail of the transmission of words through the ages.Conceived as part of the author's wider interest in plant and tree lore and ethnobotanical studies, this fully revised edition of Elsevier's Dictionary of Plant Names and Their Origins contains over 30,000 vernacular and literary English names of plants. Wild and cultivated plants alike are identified by the botanical name. Further detail provides a brief account of the meaning of the name and detailed commentary on common usage.* Includes color images * Inclusive of all Latin terms with vernacular derivatives * The most comprehensive guide for plant scientists, linguists, botanists, and historians

It's not the wedding of her dreams—or is it? First Comes Marriage by Debbie Macomber Janine Hartman loves her grandfather but balks at his plan to choose her a husband. Zach Thomas, the intended groom, has recently merged his business with the Hartman family firm, and that's the only Hartman–Thomas merger he wants. But Grandfather has other ideas, ideas belonging to a different place, a different time. "It would be a perfect match," he insists. Zach and Janine don't agree. In fact, they agree on only one thing—that Gramps is a stubborn, meddling old man. But…what if he's right? There's no wedding in her dreams—or is there? Sweet Dreams on Center Street by Sheila Roberts (previously published as Better Than Chocolate) Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, but now it looks as if they're about to lose it to the bank. That would be a disaster, for the family and for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the eldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it? Unfortunately, the fate of Sweet Dreams is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It's enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake's also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there's something even better than chocolate!

The right person could appear anytime, anywhere, in these two stories of finding love and creating family. Father''s Day Robin Masterson’s little boy wants a dog more than anything in the world. And there just happens to be one right next door! But the friendly black Lab belongs to Cole Camden, the unfriendliest man in the neighborhood. Cole hasn’t always been so solitary, so aloof, but life has dealt him some harsh blows. Robin actually understands and shares his heartache, and soon Robin and Cole are looking at each other in a whole new way. They can make each other whole, and make a family again. Same Time, Next Year With a broken engagement behind him, James Wilkens decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas…where he meets Summer Lawton. She’s just suffered a painful betrayal, and James promises her that in a year, she’ll be over it. To prove his point, he makes a date to meet her in Vegas at the same time a year from now. Except it turns out to be more than a date—it’s a wedding! Reading a Debbie Macomber book is like wrapping yourself in a warm, cozy blanket. —BookLoons

BESTSELLING AUTHOR COLLECTION Reader-favorite romances in collectible volumes from our bestselling authors. HOME ON THE RANGE Rancher Lonny Ellison has never known a woman like Joy Fuller. She doesn’t seem very interested in him, and as a former rodeo cowboy, Lonny is used to being mobbed by women. It isn’t like him to get rattled, but Joy knows exactly what buttons to push. While he and Joy might argue constantly, Lonny can’t help but fall for her. Now he just has to convince her that opposites attract! No-nonsense schoolteacher Joy has no time for cowboys in her life. Especially not the bullheaded Lonny, who can’t seem to take a hint. Joy wants nothing to do with Lonny, yet she finds herself drawn to him when he begins to mentor one of her troubled students. But when Joy’s ex shows up in town, she will have to decide between the man she once loved…and the cowboy who’s lassoed her heart. FREE BONUS STORY INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME! The Horseman’s Son by USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen Ranchman Dylan Greer’s life was changed after he adopted a baby boy rescued from a criminal ring. Now cop Collena Drake has shown up to claim her son, but Dylan won’t give him up without a fight. Previously published.