Come What May

For as long as I can remember, Lachlan West has been my brother’s best friend and the love of my life. Trouble is, he kissed me four years ago and then never spoke to me again. I was doing great pretending he doesn’t exist until I was assigned to write an article about former college athletes and I learn that the sexy single-dad is my first interview. Determined to wow my editor with an amazing sportsball piece. (Have I mentioned I know nothing about sports?) I head to Ember Falls, ready to face my fears—and the man I love.

A full week without showers, a real bed, or Internet was bad enough. Spending it with my family’s sworn enemy—the unbearably smug, indecently handsome Miller West—is a bridge too far. I’m determined to remain enemies, even if sparring with him is my favorite thing in the world. Even if he’s hell-bent on protecting me, whether I need it or not, and surprisingly kind, no matter how awful I am to him.

Piper Mitchell needs one thing to go her way. Divorced, feeling stuck in her professional life, and terrified of reentering the world of dating, she's decided she's going to work on something she can control: learning how to be good in the bedroom. Enter Liam Sullivan. The star NHL goalie might not be a people person, but he's the perfect teacher. He knows what he's doing behind closed doors, and with a little convincing, he agrees to be Piper's guide.

He wants me to stay out of his way. I want to get under his skin. One look at single dad Callum Blackwood, and I know I messed up. I never meant to save a farm—or steal it from under the grumpy innkeeper who had already claimed it as his future. Now I’m the woman who swooped in on a whim and left him seething. Trouble is, I have no idea what I’m doing. Every smirk, every biting comment, is a reminder that he’s waiting for me to fail. But I don’t back down from a fight—even when the fight comes with a jawline that should be illegal and a scowl that sets my pulse racing.

Henley Holloway is my boss’s daughter, and I’ve been assigned to mentor her. The problem is, I’m not looking to babysit anyone. But I’m determined to make partner at the firm, and this is the final obstacle in my way. So, I agree to take the little princess under my wing. I’ll work her so hard, she’ll beg me to leave her alone. But from the first day she walks into the office and spills scalding hot coffee on my chest—I’m intrigued.

Emerson (Emmy) Hartwell has waited for a spot on an NHL roster since she became a professional hockey player, and this season, she'll finally get a chance to showcase her talents with the struggling D.C. Stars. Maverick Miller is the best player in the league, but he's never had a winning record. Team captain and desperate to turn things around, he agrees to play nice with the fiery new left-winger even though they're total opposites.

I should have known everything was going to change when she walked into my tattoo shop... Timid as hell and gorgeous to the extreme. I knew better than even thinking about touching a woman like that. My life is dangerous. My calling wicked. Willing to cross any line to protect the innocent. I thought I’d never see her again until my little boy tumbled and busted his lip, and I found her working at the doctor’s office. The woman who’d taken possession of my thoughts. When it becomes clear she’s in trouble, I offer up a deal.

Fifteen years ago, my best friend found salvation at the Triple Creek Ranch, transforming from an angry foster kid into a hockey legend. Now, with his adoptive father’s death forcing him home, Ryker’s trading his hockey stick for ranch life—and I’m not sure my heart can handle having him this close again.

At 18, I walked away from Willow Creek Valley for good. I was young, scared, and stupid, and it cost me the love of my life - Grayson Parkerson. Fourteen years later, a crash sends me back home to recover. Back to where we met, fell in love, and planned a future. Working at The Park Inn together gives us a chance to reconnect, and seeing him with his little girl makes me long for the days when he was mine. I’m not the girl I was - intimidated by his wealthy family and desperate to escape our small town. How can I convince him to give first love a second chance?

The scowl should’ve been my first clue to stay far away from Anson Hunt. The sexy smirk and the fact that he’s my brother’s best friend? Reasons two and three. Not to mention, he’s the new contractor working on my house. He’s everything I’m not: grumpy, rude, and more than a little attached to his solitude. It doesn’t matter how many times I try to kill him with kindness; the man simply won’t crack. Until he sees me shatter. Because when my world comes crashing down around me, Anson is the one catching me as I fall.

I’m just so exhausted—always living on the edge of desperation, one paycheck away from ruin. But this new job… It could be the fresh start I need. It could change everything. The contract is only for three months, but if I keep my head down, work hard, and prove myself, maybe I could stay longer. Maybe I could make Black Mountain Lodge my home. As I pull down the gravel drive, surrounded by the forest and mountains and bright blue skies, I feel something I haven’t felt in a while. I feel hope.

Ella Jones knows what to expect from the long, hard winters in the northern reaches of Maine. Mostly boredom and monotony, broken up with a bit of skiing or quality time spent with her family. Which leaves her utterly unprepared for the arrival of Benjamin Kakoa, an ex-football star turned advocate in need of a break from fame and notoriety. For Ella, it's crush at first sight. But with a rocky past and an uncertain future, Ben's walls are tougher to tear down than she ever could have imagined.

Lennox Kennedy is beautiful, loud, and the love of my life. She's also my ex-girlfriend. The first time I saw her after ten years apart, I slammed into the plexiglass minutes before our game was set to begin. The second time I threw up. The third time's a charm apparently because as my fiancée and I walked into an appointment to meet the woman hired to plan our nuptials—there she was again. Obviously, I did what any smart man would do—I called off the wedding. I don't have a plan per se, other than winning back the only girl I've ever loved.

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.

Our first kiss was a lie. Our second was a mistake. And the night we spent tangled up in each other? Hot as hell, but a complete disaster.