Diya90

Not everyone has a sweetheart nor wants one.  They say you can't meet anyone nice in a bar. Who says you want someone nice?  Who says you are nice? :) 

Happy Valentine's! 

Here are some great romances that started in a bar!

My lists are never in any particular order.

1.  Truly by Ruthie Knox  $2.99

May Fredericks hates New York. Which is fair enough, since New York seems to hate her back. After relocating to Manhattan from the Midwest to be with her long-distance boyfriend, NFL quarterback Thor Einarsson, May receives the world’s worst marriage proposal, stabs the jerk with a shrimp fork, and storms off alone—only to get mugged. Now she’s got no phone, no cash, and no friends. How’s a nice girl supposed to get back to safe, sensible Wisconsin?
 
Frankly, Ben Hausman couldn’t care less. Sure, it’s not every day he meets a genuine, down-to-earth woman like May—especially in a dive in the Village—but he’s recovering from an ugly divorce that cost him his restaurant. He wants to be left alone to start over and become a better man. Then again, playing the white knight to May’s sexy damsel in distress would be an excellent place to start—if only he can give her one very good reason to love New York.

2. Her Best Shot by Shannyn Schroeder Free! 

With college graduation looming, three childhood friends vow to make spring break their last blast of pure fun. But at least one of them didn't count on such incredible heat...Layla Sharpe is definitely more math ninja than bikini babe, and her future has been calculated with razor precision. Convinced to let loose over spring break, Layla is finally ready to party--until her car breaks down halfway to her destination, leaving her stranded in Georgia with a mouthwateringly hot pool shark. She knows more than enough about angles to learn the game, but this week she wants him to appreciate her curves...
Phin Marks has never met a girl like Layla. She's more Star Wars geek than seductress, and when he offers her a place to stay while her car is in the shop, he's counting on the attraction between them to set the nights ablaze, no strings attached. But every moment he spends with Layla makes it harder to let her go. Can he persuade her to gamble in the most dangerous way possible...on forever?

3. Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun

Newly divorced Lacey Meyers wasted too many years yawning through sex in the missionary position. Now she's looking for a hookup with a man who can make her shatter. What she gets is a hot younger cop with handcuffs. . .and he's not afraid to use them. Hunter Anderson knows the score-though classy, successful women like Lacey might play with guys like him, at the end of the evening, they walk. But when one night leads to another and then another, he finds himself getting too attached to a woman he can't have. Lacey knows Hunter-gorgeous, hard-edged and eight years younger-won't want anything permanent. No matter how hot and daring he makes her first public sex, quickie, backseat encounter and secret fantasy role-play, she can't mistake adventurous sex for emotional involvement. They both know it's got to end, and soon, or someone's going to get hurt. But can either of them go back to life without the other?

4. Enemy Within by Marysol James

hen Emma Cartwright gets some very (very) bad health news, she handles it in just about the last way that anybody who knows her would expect. Namely, she heads out alone to a bar on Friday night, intent on having her first-ever one-night-stand. A single night of escape with a scorching guy, and then she’ll focus on her treatment and recovery. After all, what’s one night, really?

Ever since coming back from Afghanistan two years ago, Dean Jessop’s life is all about ‘just one night’. No commitment; nothing permanent; nothing long-term. He meets Emma and one night of hot sex later, she sneaks out of Dean’s place while he sleeps – and they both think that’s it. Neither expects to see the other ever again.

A month later, a chance encounter brings them back in to each other’s lives. They strike an agreement which includes: casual sex only, nothing too personal, and they can end it anytime with a single word. What Emma and Dean don’t count on is developing strong and real feelings for each other, despite Emma hiding her disease and Dean running from his guilt.

When Dean finally tells Emma what happened in Afghanistan, she wonders if she can confess her own dark secret. But can she really expect him to forgive her for hiding her illness from him? If she tells him the truth, will he be there for her through it all? And can she help him make peace with his own demons?

5. The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson

It's the one day each year when being single is a sin . . .

The Trouble With Valentine's Day?

It just plain stinks!

Kate Hamilton should know. Dumped by her boyfriend, burnt out by her job, she's returned to Gospel, Idaho, where a Mountain Momma Crafters' original poetry reading is about as good as it gets on a Friday night. Then her first attempted seduction of a hunky stranger is completely rejected. So much for her self-esteem!

It turns out that Rob Sutter, former ice hockey madman, owner of Sutter's Sports—and the hunky stranger who told her to get lost—has been more than burned by love and isn't looking for a relationship. But then he and Kate find themselves in an ultra-compromising position in the M&S Market after-hours, giving the phrase "clean up in aisle five" a whole new meaning, and causing a whole lot of gossip in Gospel . . .

6.  Blue Skies  by Catherine Anderson

Carly had to wait 28 years to see what a man looked like. Born with Lattice dystrophy, Carly's sight has only recently been restored; and to celebrate, she accompanies a friend to a bar. Unused to alcohol and the attention of a handsome cowboy, Carly lets Hank Coulter take her to his truck, but that humiliating experience not only leaves Carly not caring if she ever has sex or sees Hank again but pregnant as well, which threatens her sight. As soon as Hank finds out, he tries to convince Carly to let him help her. The two agree to a marriage in name only to solve Carly's financial problems, but Hank realizes that he's in love and sets out to do whatever it takes to turn their temporary arrangement into something permanent. Readers might need to wipe away tears as they read Anderson's latest contemporary romance featuring another of her Coulter brothers, since few will be able to resist the power of this beautifully emotional, wonderfully romantic love story.

7. One Hot Texan by Jane Sullivan

HE NEEDS A WILLING WOMAN…

Rebel Cole McCallum is back home, but not by choice. If he doesn't get married soon, he's going to lose his inheritance. But who would want to marry a complete stranger? Lucky for him, he has his pick of women. What this bad boy didn't plan on, though, was choosing the least likely candidate…and finding her irresistible.

SHE'S WILLING TO OBLIGE…

Wallflower Ginny White is ready to break free of her prissy reputation. When she discovers sexy Cole McCallum has returned, she knows he can teach her a thing or two. She's sure she's hit the jackpot when he asks her to marry him, even if it's only temporary. Six months is more than enough time to make this one hot Texan hers…!

8. Keeping Her by Kelly Lucille

Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot, he's sexy, and what started as a no-names-exchanged night of passion has blossomed into a year and a half-long pleasure fest. Sure, it's a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night, but Gwen is so sure he's the one, she just can't turn him away...

Hawk Delgado knows more about Gwen than she could ever imagine. She's gorgeous, headstrong, and skittish about relationships. But Hawk is facing his own demons, demons that keep him from connecting with anyone. Yet when Gwen is drawn into Denver's lethal underground scene, Hawk's protective nature comes out full force. The problem is, when Gwen gets a dose of Hawk's Alpha attitude in the daylight, she's not so sure he's the one anymore....

10.  His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey 99 cents!

Homicide cop Troy Bennett had a reputation with the Chicago PD for being fearless and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.

Reckless and stubbornly independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she walks into the pub he’s at with his new coworkers and blows his carefully laid plans to hell, Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?

Vote for the best: Met in a Bar: Romance Novel Style