I’m not sure how I ended up in Heartwood Lake. One minute, I’m trying to help a friend, and the next, I’m being shipped off to a small town. And the only person to blame for my predicament is Callahan Thorndale.

I shouldn’t be alive. I should’ve died in that plane crash. Instead, I survived. Thrived, even. After all, I’m a rock star and a billionaire. There’s nothing I can’t buy. Nothing, except peace. And when it all comes crashing down around me… The guilt. The pain. The sorrow. That’s when she appears. The one woman I’m not allowed to love. I needed her to fill the void after everything was lost. There she was, ready, and grieving too. Both of us are broken, shattered people.

This wasn’t the typical boy meets girl story. In our case, it was extraordinary: a boy met a girl and another boy. And he fell madly in love with both. Greyson was a gifted musician whose songs soothed even the most shattered souls. Aerin was a ballerina, exuding an elegance that could steal your breath away. They weren’t just my loves. They were my reason to breathe—my world. Until a tragedy broke us into a thousand pieces.

It’s 1969, and the world is changing. Men are on the moon, and American tourist Aurora Masters’ head is in the stars. The sensual sculptor she watches through a timeworn studio window is her favorite French piece of art. Gaston Lyon lives up to his name. He is a lion of a Frenchman, strong and confident, with a shoulder-length mane. The woman on the bench across the street has watched him for three days. It’s time to introduce himself to the one who calls without words.

I’d been in Curmudgeon Bakery for one of those lemon baby-Bundt cakes I’d been craving since I found out I was pregnant. The draw had nothing to do with the baker himself. Tall, tatted, and edgy, he looked more like a biker than a man who makes baked goods. I hardly knew him other than taking a tumble in a rainstorm in front of his shop... and then tossing myself at him after he rescued me. We shared a moment, but it’s not what you’d think. Months later, he delivered my baby among his cookies and cakes. Talk about a second chance encounter.

Unexpected. Alluring. Off-limits. But he can’t stay away. The last thing he expected from her was the one thing he’d never sought. Redemption.

Demi Crawford was Magnolia Falls royalty. I was the boxer from the wrong side of the tracks. She was the epitome of everything good, while I was broody and rebellious. We couldn’t be more different. Her family was enemy number one which made her guilty by association. I despised her before I even knew her. It was easier that way. But now she’d moved in next door to me, and she was everywhere I turned. I couldn’t avoid her no matter how hard I tried. She was beautiful and honest and sweet. Everything I knew I shouldn’t want. Shouldn’t need.

If practice makes perfect, I should excel at pretending that Heath Miller doesn’t affect me. That I’m immune to that wide jaw, taut body, and the unique woodsy-aftershave-engine-oil scent that makes my ovaries explode. Since before I could walk, he’s been my champion. My best friend. The one problem I can’t solve. Why? If I tell him I love him, I’ll lose him and his adorable daughter. Maybe the best Christmas gift I can give him—and myself—is to turn in the keys to my B&B and put some distance between us.

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world. As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

After years of working her tail off at her event-planning business, Maggie Mitchell is ready for a vacation. With nothing on her mind but R & R, she’s enjoying the warm weather of Bora Bora when in saunters Brody McFadden, her brother’s best friend and also her sworn enemy. Thanks to years of tension between the two—kicked off by a make-out session at her brother’s wedding that ended horribly—Maggie has sworn to stay away from the man. That is, until she finds out he’s in Bora Bora for his boss’s daughter’s wedding, hoping to use the trip to win a real future at the company.

The first time the local basketball star smiled at Elin, she was a goner. It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build. Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits.

I’ve slapped my cuffs on Luna Lancaster too many times to count and not a single one was for fun. As the sheriff of Starlight Cove, I shouldn't crave her, but I do. She’s chaos, mayhem, and sunshine wrapped up in too-tight yoga pants. The lawbreaker might have the town enamored with her free spirit, but she’s a thorn in my side, even if she is the sexiest woman I've ever seen. I want her out of my town and out of my head. Trouble is, she's made it perfectly clear she's not going anywhere.

My future and my heart shattered the day he died. Well, they say he died, but I still sense him. They call it ghost pains. It’s like my soul can’t live without him. And after seven years, I’m almost ready to let him go....

I expect my best buddy’s wedding to be a bust until the beautiful bartender asks me if I could use something stiff. Trust me, “getting something stiff” is the least of my worries. One touch of Jade’s silky-soft hand, and there’s a zing, just like in the movies. Somehow, I find the magic words that make her mine for the night.

Beckett Langfield is grumpy, rich and hates kids. I’m an overworked, overstressed, and overweight single mom. The only reason we’re getting married is because he needs to fix a PR disaster and I am available. As in sitting next to him, in a bar, when he has this brilliant idea. Considering I just got divorced, I’m not looking to do that again. But Beckett makes me an offer that I literally can’t refuse, so I don’t.

Eight years ago I fell into a secret summer fling with my best friend’s little sister before our lives went in different directions. Now, I’m the grumpy to Juliet’s sunshine on a popular dating podcast we host, and when a wealthy fan gives us a charming coastal cottage as the biggest thank you ever, we head to the town where I grew up to give it a makeover. And find the house has only one bed. Located under a mirrored ceiling.

Jane Austen fan Amelia Bennett sneaks away from a dull tour of an English country manor, only to run into a man more dashing than Mr. Darcy himself. About to lose his ancestral home to family debts, charming aristocrat Tom Calder invites his American guest to join him in drinking his way through the estate’s priceless wine collection. But when they wake in his bed the next morning, they’re convinced that in their drunken haze they witnessed a murder. Problem is, the body has vanished and no one believes them.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she? Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of 18. She's sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado.

Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives at the idyllic getaway, she’s pleased to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells—and he’s eager to introduce her to his easygoing way of life. But there are things Grace discovers that she’s not too pleased about: a lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn’t right with the ranch.

Liz: I’m an 18-year-old high school graduate who has just experienced my first...well, everything. I would give anything to hold on to Cooper, but we made a decision. After 30 hours of falling in lust, we’re parting ways. I’m starting college and can’t be distracted. Besides, he has his own life to get back to.

This wasn’t the typical boy meets girl story. In our case, it was extraordinary: a boy met a girl and another boy. And he fell madly in love with both. Greyson was a gifted musician whose songs soothed even the most shattered souls. Aerin was a ballerina, exuding an elegance that could steal your breath away. They weren’t just my loves. They were my reason to breathe—my world. Until a tragedy broke us into a thousand pieces.

I shouldn’t be alive. I should’ve died in that plane crash. Instead, I survived. Thrived, even. After all, I’m a rock star and a billionaire. There’s nothing I can’t buy. Nothing, except peace. And when it all comes crashing down around me… The guilt. The pain. The sorrow. That’s when she appears. The one woman I’m not allowed to love. I needed her to fill the void after everything was lost. There she was, ready, and grieving too. Both of us are broken, shattered people.

If practice makes perfect, I should excel at pretending that Heath Miller doesn’t affect me. That I’m immune to that wide jaw, taut body, and the unique woodsy-aftershave-engine-oil scent that makes my ovaries explode. Since before I could walk, he’s been my champion. My best friend. The one problem I can’t solve. Why? If I tell him I love him, I’ll lose him and his adorable daughter. Maybe the best Christmas gift I can give him—and myself—is to turn in the keys to my B&B and put some distance between us.

Overhearing my cousin's best friend confessing that she's never been satisfied wasn't my fault . . . but offering to help her change that definitely was. Her brother is a friend of mine, and while this has a bad idea written all over it, it doesn't stop us from becoming friends . . . with benefits. Palmer is gorgeous, off-limits, and stubborn as hell. For the first time, I'm the one left wanting more. I'm tired of watching her walk away. I'm ready for her to stay.

My guilt and his misconceptions made it so much harder. When he delivers my twins—our twins—that one icy night seems to seal our fate forever. I once drew hearts around his name. We pushed the boundaries of our fine lines, but he was my brother's best friend—off-limits and out of reach. Years later, the story hasn't changed. Derek is an OB-GYN at my new hospital, as sexy and self-assured as ever. Our stolen moments aren't just a PR nightmare. My heart isn't the only one I need to protect. And I refuse to be a pawn in a lovers' game.

Competing as a professional rodeo cowboy was everything he wanted. All that mattered. An opportunity he wouldn’t pass by. But it meant leaving his high-school sweetheart behind. Mae Wells was sweet, and innocent, and quiet. Not the kind of girl you dragged away from her family and home to follow you around the country. At eighteen it didn’t seem like a huge sacrifice. But at almost thirty, Boone’s lived enough and lost enough to realize he threw away something precious. Something he’s been chasing ever since.

Cleopatra Paige hates one thing in this world - just one - and his name is Zachariah Prince. In grade school, he pulled at her pigtails. In middle school, he spread false rumors about her. And in high school, he ruined her prom. She hates that his smirks are unfairly sexy. And she definitely loathes that his dark eyes seem to follow her everywhere. Sometimes, even in her dreams. It doesn't matter that he's rich and popular, or that he lives in a freaking mansion full of butlers and maids. He's rude and arrogant, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible

Lucas, the star quarterback, seems to have it all—superstar athletic abilities, expensive clothes, cars, and women who will stop at nothing to be his, if only for a night. Tessa is a young woman who lives her life always doing what is right. She tries desperately to hold herself accountable to the demanding expectations of her family, and everyone around her, while remaining virtuous. However, when two worlds collide, sparks fly and ignite in a fiery passion that neither Lucas nor especially Tessa are ready for. Will the fire and passion of first love win, or will it destroy them?

Remi’s had all she can take. Losing her dad nearly destroyed her, but she doesn’t have time to fall apart. She needs to run his business and finish college. Romance is nowhere on her agenda. And she especially doesn’t have time for the sexy biker who does bad, bad things to her concentration.... Steel wasn’t looking for love, either—until he saw Remi. He knew she was his at a glance. Now all he has to do is convince her of that. Easy, right? If only...

My mother kept me hidden my entire life, never hinting at the vicious crime family I was born into. Or the dangerous men who were out for my head. So when I finally step into the pageant stage’s bright spotlight, he’s there waiting for me.

The first time I met Damien Baxter, I told him to go eff himself. The second time I met him, I almost slapped him across the face after he made me cry. Third time’s a charm right? Wrong. But I have no choice. I’m stuck shadowing him at his company for the next two months. And if I want to achieve my dream of getting into the Ph.D. program I've worked toward my whole life, then I’m going to have to suck him up. It. Suck it up. If he has his way, though, the only thing I’m going to be learning from him is how to have my body utterly and completely ravaged and my heart broken.

I first met Theo Valentine in the women's bathroom. He was coming out, still tucking himself back into his jeans, a woman at his heel. He held the door open for me to pass and smirked. I rolled my eyes. Hard. Who cares if he smelled like excitement and trouble? Or that the proximity made my eye twitch like I was deficient in Vitamin D? Bad boys and their egos were something I'd spent my college years avoiding. I was this close to having all my ducks in a row.

My name is Sue O’Malley, and I’ve been keeping it awkward since 1996. Another thing about me? I might be in love with my bodyguard. Leo Mason is all I’ve been able to think about since he broke my heart and left me standing alone on my front porch six months ago.

Love can be ruthless, especially when you're a Hawke. You have to be ruthless to be a Hawke. Our empire in New Orleans has only grown over the years. And protecting it falls on my shoulders. Whether it's in the courtroom or in the streets, I do whatever it takes to get the job done. We've already suffered and lost enough. I won't let anything threaten my family or what we've built.