She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle toward him, he knows that she’s the one. Then, she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry.

When Rome Pierce moved to Bear Bottom, Texas, it was his intention to lay low. To find a way to heal his body and soul - as well as his son's. Nobody would know by looking at him that he used to play professional football. Not with the Bear Bottom MC cut covering his back. Nobody knows what drove him to leave the game he loved - nobody but her. She's the one person who has helped him make it through the dark days and even darker nights. She's the bright and shining star in his pitch-black sky. And he doesn't even know her name.

Sometimes you need to crash a funeral to experience happiness. At least Kissimmee Singh, aerial artist for Singh Circus, the most sought-after traveling circus of all time, keeps telling herself that’s why she crashes funerals. In reality, she’s lost and confused. Sometimes it’s nice to experience other people’s grief and be reminded that life isn’t as bad as it could be.

Baseball is life - the rest is just details. Everyone who's played the game has heard those words a time or two. But Hancock has heard them his entire life from his parents. His family has lived and breathed baseball even before he started little league. Hancock "Parts" Peters has a name that inspires grins across many faces, but the moment those faces get their first look at him, those grins slide away. Hancock is gruff, filterless, and doesn't give a crap who he offends. He is the only man in baseball who doesn't care if he gets an endorsement or not. He's there to play the game.

Her: I wanted to have a pity party of one when I went for that beer. I never imagined I would meet a dark and dangerous man. That man took me on the wildest ride of my life. Literally and figuratively. He quickly became my entire world. Him: I didn't know I was looking for her. I saw her warming that bar stool and knew she would be mine. A man like me doesn't deserve the likes of her. But damned if I didn't take it. Her: When we met for the first time we didn't know that we already had a connection.

"I’m kind of a lady, but definitely more of a weirdo." Hearing the woman at the table behind him say that to her friend should’ve turned Logan Gibbs off. It doesn’t. In all honesty, it only makes him listen harder. He’s had enough weird in his life to last a lifetime. The last thing his complicated life needs is a woman in it who has no clue what color you get when you mix yellow and blue together. Yet, her obvious blonde moments aren’t enough to deter him. Nor is her lack of finger-painting skills.

The problem with Wake was that he was understandable. He was the type of villain who literally scared the absolute shit out of you because you knew that under the right circumstances, you could end up exactly like him.

After a horrible marriage, Haggard has zero plans of ever finding a woman again. One-night stands not counting, he adores his life as a single man. There are no expectations. No "where are yous" and "are you coming homes". The life he chooses to live is a simple one. Until he makes a huge mistake, and he steps over that line between "daughter’s best friend" and "a woman he desperately wants". Before long, he can’t stop thinking about her. Can’t stop wanting her. Can’t stop feeling things for her that a man 20 years her senior should never feel for a girl he watched grow up.

Taima, a.k.a. Tai, is the last person people come to for help. He’s the fuck up...the bad boy...the guy that only looks out for himself. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s fought hard to become the man he is today. He’s a hero in the public’s eye. A firefighter that the young all the way to the old turn to for help at the lowest point in their lives. What people don’t know, though, is that he’s no hero. He’s the reason his sister is dead, and he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to right that wrong.

When Mr. January himself tells Rowen to do what a gunman says, she’s had enough. Rowen has never really been a girl that does what she’s told. Mr. January won’t have to save her. She can dang well save herself.

Keifer Vassago, the Prince of Dragons, has enough on his plate without adding a brunette with a bad attitude to the mix. Fate has a way of screwing all his plans, though, whether he wants them screwed or not. One second he's fetching his brother from yet another situation that could possibly compromise the Vassago name, and the next that brunette is grabbing his assets - or so he thinks. Blythe isn't after anyone's assets, though. She's a good girl. All she wants is to graduate from nursing school, get a job, and move out of her hell-hole apartment.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her twin. Too bad for Naomi, her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with a niece she didn’t know she had. Now, she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no home - and an 11-year-old to take care of. Since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least Knox can do is help her out. And just as soon as she's out of trouble, he can get back to his peaceful, solitary life. That’s the plan, until the trouble turns to real danger.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes best-selling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Trying to put past hurts behind you is hard when your ex is a fool, but buoyed by child support and alimony, Jo Walker is moving forward with her life, pursuing a career, raising her little girl, and trying to live in peace. She believes she has all the bases covered in her world. But what about her heart? Rap legend Everett "Big South" McClain is divorced, too, knows all about failed relationships, and has relegated his love life to casual connections rather than pursuing something real. That is, until he lays eyes on Jo.

What happens at book club doesn't necessarily stay at book club. Welcome to Fortuna, Texas where the men are dared to love as big as they live. The men of widower Brad Davidson's book club, the Fortuna Dare Society, are dared to act out a trope, setting, and character with a significant other. That poses a problem for Brad, who hasn't had serious relationship in over 20 years. He likes the town librarian, but it might not amount to anything more than a strange, costume-staged, musically-enhanced meal. Then again, he married the last woman he went out of his way to date.

Evander Lennox doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. At least, that is, until he's sent to prison. The four years he's incarcerated, he's had no choice but to do the things he's asked to do. And now, if he doesn't, it will mean a one-way ticket straight back to hell. Once he's free, it takes him 24 hours to get his old job back, his dog at home where he belongs, and an understanding that people aren't as forgiving as he once thought them to be. He's just about given up hope of ever integrating back into society when a woman slams into his heart, literally and figuratively.

Imogen is a smart girl. A girl who doesn't always make the best decisions. Her heart is in the right place when she walks into that prison, but it doesn't take long for her to realize that her heart shouldn't have had any say so in the matter. Especially when one wrong move lands her in the arms of a scarred man that looks frightening enough to scare any sane woman away.

Luke Roberts came to the small, lazy town of Kilgore, Texas, with one thing on his mind: forgetting. He wanted to forget why he left. Forget those emerald green eyes that haunted his dreams. And forget how it felt to have his heart ripped out of his chest by a woman who didn't like the fact that he had a child. It was something he'd been doing a damn fine job of doing, too. Until Reese smashed through every one of his defenses and made him feel again.

After a horrible marriage, Haggard has zero plans of ever finding a woman again. One-night stands not counting, he adores his life as a single man. There are no expectations. No "where are yous" and "are you coming homes". The life he chooses to live is a simple one. Until he makes a huge mistake, and he steps over that line between "daughter’s best friend" and "a woman he desperately wants". Before long, he can’t stop thinking about her. Can’t stop wanting her. Can’t stop feeling things for her that a man 20 years her senior should never feel for a girl he watched grow up.

Kettle had it all. Until he didn't. He lost it all in a moment. One heart stopping, soul shattering moment, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. From that day forward, he stayed away from relationships. Then he responded to a possible fire and there she was, rocking his world when he didn't want it to be rocked. Adeline was just a schoolteacher. She lived a boring life. Until she stole something. And it didn't have anything to do with the sexy firefighter's heart. Oh, she stole that, too, even if he didn't want it to be stolen.

When Rome Pierce moved to Bear Bottom, Texas, it was his intention to lay low. To find a way to heal his body and soul - as well as his son's. Nobody would know by looking at him that he used to play professional football. Not with the Bear Bottom MC cut covering his back. Nobody knows what drove him to leave the game he loved - nobody but her. She's the one person who has helped him make it through the dark days and even darker nights. She's the bright and shining star in his pitch-black sky. And he doesn't even know her name.

She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle toward him, he knows that she’s the one. Then, she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry.

Baseball is life - the rest is just details. Everyone who's played the game has heard those words a time or two. But Hancock has heard them his entire life from his parents. His family has lived and breathed baseball even before he started little league. Hancock "Parts" Peters has a name that inspires grins across many faces, but the moment those faces get their first look at him, those grins slide away. Hancock is gruff, filterless, and doesn't give a crap who he offends. He is the only man in baseball who doesn't care if he gets an endorsement or not. He's there to play the game.

"I’m kind of a lady, but definitely more of a weirdo." Hearing the woman at the table behind him say that to her friend should’ve turned Logan Gibbs off. It doesn’t. In all honesty, it only makes him listen harder. He’s had enough weird in his life to last a lifetime. The last thing his complicated life needs is a woman in it who has no clue what color you get when you mix yellow and blue together. Yet, her obvious blonde moments aren’t enough to deter him. Nor is her lack of finger-painting skills.

Taima, a.k.a. Tai, is the last person people come to for help. He’s the fuck up...the bad boy...the guy that only looks out for himself. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s fought hard to become the man he is today. He’s a hero in the public’s eye. A firefighter that the young all the way to the old turn to for help at the lowest point in their lives. What people don’t know, though, is that he’s no hero. He’s the reason his sister is dead, and he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to right that wrong.