When Vincent Alesi's estranged father dies, he gets on the first plane from New York City to Rome to be at the memorial service. Even if he has to max out his credit card. Even if he hates the man for leaving him. Even if it's a day before Christmas. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and Vin ends up trusting a complete stranger with all his secrets, even the ones he didn't know he had.

Opposites attract, but heaven help these two. Tattoo artist Seth Wheeler thinks he's struck gold when Darren Romero rents the apartment across the hall. The new guy is gorgeous, witty, and single, plus he's just the right blend of bold and flirtatious. Perfect. Except then Darren reveals that he moved to Tucker Springs to take a job as the youth pastor at the New Light Church. Seth is not only an atheist, but was thrown out by his ultra-religious family when he came out. He tends to avoid believers, not out of judgment but out of self-preservation.

This collection includes the charming London-based novellas of the With a Kick series - A Twist and Two Balls and Slap and Tickle. Also included are two short stories featuring the characters in these titles.   

Simon Burke has always preferred animals to people. When the countdown to adopting his own dog is unexpectedly put on hold, Simon turns to the PetShare app to find the fluffy TLC he’s been missing. Meeting a grumpy children’s book illustrator who needs a dog walker isn’t easy for the man whose persistent anxiety has colored his whole life, but Jack Matheson’s menagerie is just what Simon needs.

When you’re competing, the last thing you should do is fall in love...especially with your rival. Wren turned up out of nowhere and now he’s my boss...kind of. He’s also a straight, closed-off, emotionless icicle. Who cares if he’s also drop dead gorgeous, with eyes you could get lost in? Tom is beautiful, colorful, strong, creative, and my eyes can’t stop following him everywhere he goes. He also works for my parents, which means he’s off limits. That, and I haven’t told them that I’m bi yet.

Summer Hemlock never meant to come back to Omen, Massachusetts.... But with his mother in need of help, Summer has no choice but to return to his hometown, take up a teaching residency at the elite Albin Academy - and work directly under the man who made his teenage years miserable. Professor Fox Iseya. Forbidding, aloof, commanding: psychology instructor Iseya is a cipher who’s always fascinated and intimidated shy, anxious Summer. But that fascination turns into something more when the older man challenges Summer to be brave. 

Smokejumper Lincoln Reid is speechless to see Jacob Hartman among his squad’s new recruits. Linc had promised his late best friend he’d stay away from his little brother. And yet here Jacob is...and almost instantly, the same temptation Linc has always felt around him is causing way too many problems. Jacob gets everyone’s concerns, but he’s waited years for his shot at joining the elite smokejumping team, hoping to honor his brother’s memory. 

Derek is facing yet another Christmas where his life feels out of control. He has a new career that doesn’t feel like his, and parents who would just love to see him settled down. All he needs is a temporary buffer for the parties he has to attend, and for his parents to leave him alone. Enter, Luke. Luke is 20,000 dollars short for the renovations on Halligans, his family’s bar in New York’s Financial District. A favor for a buddy has him agreeing to play the part of boyfriend to a guy with more money than sense.

Beneath the famous Brooklyn landmark, love is hidden but not denied: All his life, Alexi Kharpov has dreamed of traveling to exciting places instead of working at his family’s frozen custard stand on the famous Coney Island boardwalk. Every year is the same until a gorgeous man picks a spot in front of his stand to sing, captivating him with his beautiful voice. After two summers of listening, it might finally be time for him to cross that boardwalk and take a chance.

Alexandre Bonfils, a rich and spoiled second son, is tired of being ignored and decides to help when the family’s exclusive wine business is in trouble. Going undercover in the warehouse, he loves the adventure - and the chance to be close to the sassy and sexy manager Tate Somerton. Tate is hardworking and financially struggling, bringing up his siblings on his own. A suspected saboteur at work is his latest challenge, but now, he also has a clueless, though very attractive, new intern.

Declan has commitment issues. He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar. And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think that maybe it’s time to start working on his issues. When Declan meets Sidney - a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show - an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode. The dates are…sort of blah.

A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night, he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn't seen in years.

Can a priest and a rock star obey love's call? Seventeen years ago, Jasper Hendricks and Nicholas Blumfeld's childhood friendship turned into a secret, blissful love affair. They spent several idyllic months together until Jasper's calling to the Catholic priesthood became impossible to ignore. Left floundering, Nicky followed his own trajectory into rock stardom, but he never stopped looking back. 

Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge - life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time. Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved.

After zero-gravity heroics left astronaut Nicolas Rogers injured, his new job as a hermit — er, park ranger — seems perfect. Until he ends up babysitting rock star Deen Jayse, sent to the Smoky Mountains by his manager for image rehab. Behind their personas, they’re startlingly similar. Yet Deen can't just drop everything to go live in the mountains, and Nico can't abandon them. After a taste of being together, how can they face a future apart?