At least that's what the men in my life have taught me. My dad ran off when I was young, and just when I thought I was getting my own happily ever after, my ex left me on my own with two kids. Trying to pick up the pieces, I move to a small town where I can have help from my children's grandparents. I think I know what to expect from small-town life. Until I meet my new neighbor. Knox Madigan. Local hero. Great smile. So hot I'm sure I'd be burned if I got too close.

A confident, plus size CEO running a billion dollar company and the country’s best professional quarterback… it sounds like the ultimate power couple, if it wasn’t all pretend. Fake dating was not in the plan this year. Especially since I hardly have time for actual dating. That is until Ford Madigan makes me an offer I can’t refuse: a fake relationship that will benefit us both. He’ll get away from the team owner’s entitled daughter while I score some points with members of the company’s board who love him more than they hate me.

The first time I see my high school crush since graduation, I’m a 30-year-old woman laying on the table for a pap smear. He’s the hot, newly single doctor who just moved back to his hometown, hoping to find some stability for his daughter. Meanwhile, I’m a hot mess, just fired from my job and ousted from company housing. I’m living in my old bedroom and trying to get my appointments in before my insurance runs out along with what little is left of my money.

What happens when the eternally single curvy girl becomes the blue-collar bad boy’s new obsession? I love my small town and having all my friends and family around. But I’m almost forty and still single. Clearly, my Prince Charming isn’t finding me here. Especially with my car continually breaking down and sending me to Hayes Madigan’s shop. The tatted mechanic acts like being a perpetual bachelor is the only point of life. He’s happy with his parade of one-night stands and regular hookups. But I want more.

By thirty, you’re supposed to have a home, a dog, a boyfriend or at least a string of lovers in the past. Instead, I’m a twenty-eight-year-old virgin living with my parents to save money. My job managing an apartment complex is the one thing I’m proud of–and that’s not just because a complete hottie just walked in the door. Tyler Griffen is here working on a construction project for nine months, which means we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Which I don’t mind one bit if it means getting more face time with those tattooed, muscled arms and his heart melting smile.

As a boss, Gage Griffen is intense, driven, and demanding. But under his layers of Armani and grumpy exterior, he’s also generous, kind, and treats my kids the way I wish their dad would. I need to keep my distance, because this job is our fresh start. And messing up this opportunity could ruin everything, including my heart.

Confession: I’m known for writing the best happily ever afters… but I don’t believe in love. But you’re not allowed to say that on live TV when you’re promoting the movie based on your book. The movie producers will get really mad and threaten to cancel the sequel. Unless you can prove to the public that you have a boyfriend. A real one not nestled in the pages of a book.

Let me tell the story of how I fell in love with a woman who had no idea that we were even dating. The ridiculousness started when she stole my beer, and trust me, my grumpy self doesn’t normally share. But somehow, Avery Wilson is the exception to every one of my many rules. Unfortunately, I’m not hers. Not only is she the daughter of the Rev’s coach who hates me, she’s also sworn off dating for the year.

I caught her staring at me from across the quad, eyes fixed on the football jersey stretched across my wide chest. And if I flexed my muscles, showing off the strength of a defensive tackle, it was just to see her blush. And then she did, and I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Her wide eyes. The freckles on her cheeks. I needed to know her. The girl who scampered away every time we bumped into each other—by accident and by design.

I've been dreading this for a year. Okay, that's a lie. I've been dreading this reunion since we graduated high school 10 years ago. So why am I here, standing outside the door like the eternal wallflower I am? I'd say it's because my younger sister browbeat me into it, but the truth is, I'm tired of being a nobody. Of never taking a risk with myself and my life. And...well...maybe I'm also hoping to see him. The tall, insanely gorgeous man walking my way now. Oliver Fritz is regarded as one of Boston's sexiest doctors. I know him as the former god of our school.

Only regret the things you haven't done. A cheap motel or the guest bedroom of Newport's infamous heartbreaker? Any sane person would run the other way after hearing a "move in with me" proposition days after meeting Theo Hayes. Not me. Having escaped a dark past and started over with only three suitcases, I'm not guided by pride but survival instinct. Taking the plunge, I soon find Theo's magnetic pull impossible to resist. I should keep my secrets, maintain my distance, and build a new life, but... with Theo, I don't want to have any regrets.

Bennett Fox walked into my life on one hell of a crappy Monday morning. I was late for the first day at my new job - a job I’d now have to compete for, even though I’d already worked eight years to earn it, because of an unexpected merger. While I lugged my belongings up to my new office, a meter maid wrote me a parking summons. She’d ticketed a long line of cars - except for the Audi parked in front of me, which happened to be the same make and model as mine. Annoyed, I decided to regift my ticket to the car that had evaded a fine.

Rule number one for having a one-night stand: Don’t fall for the girl. After a lengthy dating slump, I finally met someone who sparked my interest. Well, first the sparks flew when we argued. Later in the evening those sparks ignited into something more. I was drawn to Devyn, in a way I hadn’t felt in a really long time. Needless to say, I was disappointed when she abruptly left after our amazing night together. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But she hadn’t even given me her number. In a city with eight-million people, I figured I’d never see Devyn again.

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right? Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me. When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise. The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.

Box set contains Hostile Territory, Shot in the Dark, and Contingency Plan! Series contains a band of brothers unwilling to just stand by and watch a woman in need, a foul-mouthed parrot who gets in everyone's business, and a level of steam you may not be ready for.