Our Little Secret

“I was in a relationship with two men, and neither were giving me up.” That thought flashed through Charlotte’s brain like a bright neon light as she followed her husband out of her marriage counselor’s office. The office where she’d sat twice a week as she tried to repair the glaring problems in her marriage. The marriage that she’d fought hard to save to a man that wasn’t fighting alongside her. She’d been lied to, ignored, and used as a pawn to climb his ladder to success. Charlotte was broken, not just her marriage.

I was only four years old when I experienced the worst day of my life. When I watched my father take his last breath at the hands of someone else. Instead of letting the hate consume me, I found a safe haven in the arms of the only person who understood, our shared trauma bonding us in a way that taught my heart that I was incapable of ever loving anyone else. And over the years, our codependency transformed into something deeper. Something forbidden. Something no one would accept.

Theo Graham is charming. Sweet. Absolutely gorgeous. But I’m not a little girl anymore. I shouldn’t want him. I can’t have him. I should know better than to want my best friend’s dad. My best friend is Theo’s son, who may or may not have had feelings for me on and off for the past eight years. Wanting my best friend’s dad was the one secret that was never supposed to come out. Except now, he wants me too.

Love. Sucks. I don’t know where I went wrong. Whether it was letting a man convince me that suddenly, the things I’ve never wanted are right for me, or if simply believing the best in the person who I wasted three years of my life on was what lead me here.

Growing up, Wilder Ashburn was the hero I worshipped. I was the pigtailed pest who never left him alone. Everything changed the day I gave him a poem. For the first time, he saw me...And then he reached for his guitar. From that moment on, we were entangled. Bound by music and a shared dream. Along the way, we made vows: To always stay the same, To never let anything come between us, And above all, to never, ever fall in love.

Whip King cannot be the man for me. Cocky, pierced firefighters are perfect for late-night rom-coms, but in real life they’re nothing but trouble. Especially when you find out they work for your dad—after you’ve already slept with them. Moving to my parents’ small town was supposed to be the fresh start I was looking for. When a disastrous Valentine’s Day leads to an unexpected encounter with a sexy stranger, and ends with the hottest night of my life, I didn’t think I would ever see Whip again.

Rowan Kincaid hasn’t dated in over a year. Not since the mother of his children unexpectedly passed away leaving him to parent their three children alone. Exhausted, overworked and feeling like he’s failing at every turn he’s desperate for help. The help that shows up? A gorgeous woman almost twenty years younger than him. She’s compassionate and charming and the kids fall for her instantly. And despite the fact that she should be off limits, he falls for her too.

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 had one thing on my mind and that was never going to change: The game. The only goal I had was beating the records set by my family. I didn’t have time for anything else. Until she walked in the room. The earth shifted, just like the stories said it would. I said it wouldn’t happen—not to me. I didn’t have the time, but now she was the only thing on my mind. I knew it was her. Now I had to convince her.

I’ve spent the better part of the last few years successfully avoiding my brother’s best friend, Weston Aldrich. As CEO of Andes Inc, the infuriatingly handsome and incessantly grumpy Weston also happens to be my new boss. It shouldn’t have been hard to continue avoiding him. After all, he’s on the executive floor, and I’m one of many copywriters. Weston has his own ideas about how things should go between us. He’s in my emails, leaving notes on my desk, and as if that’s not enough, he arranges for me to accompany him on a business trip.

Three years ago, Jacob Price walked away. After a whirlwind steamy affair, my father's best friend broke my heart. He told me things were too complicated. Messy. Wrong. That we could never be together. I knew he loved me, but the fear of ruining our family was too great. With too much at stake, he sacrificed our hearts and ended it. Now, he's back, and he still wants me. He still loves me. But now, I'm engaged to another man.

Brutal, cold, and illegally gorgeous, Dante Sartorre isn't just mafia royalty. He's also the tyrant owner of the infamously deviant and members-only Club Venom. He's also my new husband. In my defense, I wasn't supposed to be the bride. But I sealed my fate when I saved my friend by signing the Venom Devil's marriage contract myself. Now, he owns me. All of me…

McKay: I wasn’t the one who broke her, but I helped. She came to us when she was 10. I raised her. I loved her. I taught her how to survive in a world of evil men. But it wasn’t enough. Adam: I wasn’t the one who saved her but I did my best. Bought and paid for on the auction block. But not for the reasons you think. She was my weapon. Donovan: I wasn’t the one who lied to her but I hid her truth. She was broken before I got there. Wild and angry. Defiant and bratty. But she trusted me most. She loved me best. So I set her free.

Charming, captivating, seductive—and a cold-blooded killer. I married the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva anyway. I had to, it was part of the deal. Now, I’m faking marital bliss as I tremble with fear, and I cannot wait to be out of the clutches of this ruthless man.

She's back. We were kids the last time I saw her, but my innocent crush from childhood is full-grown now. And it's not so innocent anymore. She's a breath of fresh air from the series of one-night stands since being drafted into the NHL. I've only got one shot with her, and I'm not taking it for granted. I may give her the passion she's been craving, but she's the intimacy I've waited for my whole life.