It's no secret that I love life. And Dr. Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I'm all in. I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove. It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off-putting, reclusive guy I've ever met. It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year's Eve.

A woman does her very best to avoid at least one of the following people in her life: an annoying coworker, her brother’s best friend, and her first kiss. Unfortunately, for me, all three happen to be the same person—Brandon Cassidy. I’ve done my best to avoid the man, even if it means working in the ladies’ room whenever he visits the main office. Sadly, my days of hiding are coming to an end because I’ve been assigned to assist Brandon through the end of the year. The holiday season is already hard for me, but this . . . this is just the icing on the fruitcake that is my life.

Eli Hopkins has it all—almost. A hockey career with the wildly popular Appies. Teammates who are like brothers. The only thing he's missing is someone to share it all with. Oh, and correctly filed visa paperwork. Due to administrative error, Eli is about to lose everything. Unless he can find someone to marry him in the next thirty days. He might have the perfect woman in mind. The only problem? He'd like to marry her for real, not simply for legal purposes.

If Renn Brewer would’ve asked me to marry him, I would’ve said no. Why? One, his reputation precedes him. His name is in the headlines at least once a month. Two, he’s not just my brother’s best friend. They’re teammates. And three, I’m in my self-care era. Unfortunately, a version of me equates self-care with bad choices.

Rule number one for becoming an NHL team’s social media manager: Don’t hook up with the star center in an elevator a week before starting your new job.

I made a deal with my brother a long time ago to never date his teammates. Technically, Rowan Landry, the hot as hell center for the Chicago Falcons, is no longer my brother’s teammate. Or his best friend. Their college days are long behind them, and they barely talk now. Also, I’m not dating him—we’re just sleeping together. There’s a difference.

I’ve always been a wild card–the first to start a fight on the ice, and the life of the party off it–but appearances can be deceiving. Being traded to the Boston Rebels could not have come at a better time. With serious family obligations to fulfill and a contract renewal with a new hockey team on the line, I have no time for anything else. I return to Boston knowing I need to buckle down and focus on what really matters.

There are a few things that life doesn’t prepare you for. Like what to do when a super-hot guy catches you sneaking around in his basement, or what to do when a mysterious package shows up with tickets to a hockey game (because, apparently, he’s a professional athlete). Nor how to handle it when you get to the game and realize he’s freaking famous, since half of the 20,000 people in the stands are wearing his jersey.

Yes, I’m a single dad who needs a nanny for the summer. But hiring the stranded runaway bride who shows up on my doorstep in a wedding gown with no references, no skills, and no experience? No one is that desperate.

A forbidden romance with my brother’s hockey teammate wasn’t on my to-do list when I moved across the country… Neither was getting locked out of a friend’s place wearing next to nothing. Or spending the night with the sexy stranger who rescues me. But I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone so getting out of the rest of my clothes with him seems like a good way to start. In the morning, I learn the filthy-mouthed man with the talented hands is not only the hotshot new hockey player on my brother’s team: he’s also–wait for it–my brand new roommate.

Going home to her twin brother’s house in Charleston with her tail between her legs is the last thing Dani wants to do. But when she walks out on her fashion house dream job, she doesn’t exactly have a choice. Living in New York City is anything but free. But going back to Charleston...Alex is in Charleston. And facing down her ex? Her ex who just happens to be stepson to her former boss?

A little white lie never hurt anyone . . . or so I thought. One fake date and we’d go our separate ways, at least that’s how hockey’s hottest golden boy—Nixon Sinclair—convinced me this would work. But it turns out, Nix had other plans. Now I’m sneaking around with my brother’s teammate, refusing to admit he’s everything I want but never knew I needed.

Trying not to fall in love can be…challenging. One might think that, as an ER nurse, I live a full and exciting life. If you think this, you are sadly mistaken. I’m pretty sure there's hardly a soul more boring than me. Ask my best friend, she’ll agree. Which is why she's come up with a 30-day plan to transform me from boring Lucy to, well…the real Lucy. The Lucy before the accident. Each day, I have to complete some ridiculous challenge, usually involving something embarrassing or new. That includes getting my coworker, Dr. Graham Shackwell, involved.

Shaw Daniels is the bane of my existence. Always has been. Always will be. When we were kids, he annoyed me to no end by being good at everything. He didn’t have to study or really even try. Meanwhile, I tried too much and still lost to him. Then when we were teenagers, our rivalry became twisted. He started sabotaging all my relationships. I retaliated by doing the same to him. Now, we’re adults and we should be able to move on. But when I become a physical therapist for his professional hockey team, it seems as though we can’t let go of our rival tendencies.

All Maddie wants for Christmas is to stick it to her cheating ex. But how? Enter Sebastian Slater, the NHL’s most infamous player. On a drunken night out in Vegas, Maddie asks the superstar athlete to pose as her new boyfriend. She’s kidding, mostly. But Seb shocks her by making a counter offer: he doesn’t want to date Maddie for the holidays…he wants to marry her. Show up at her ex’s cabin alone or with a surprise new hockey-playing husband? Maddie opts for the ultimate level-up.

It’s the flight before Christmas and Molly just got an unexpected gift: a free first-class upgrade on her plane trip home for the holidays. Bring on the complimentary cocktails! But after one too many, she spills all her secrets to the hot guy seated next to her—only to wake up mortified when her buzz has worn off. At least she never has to see Liam again ... or so she thinks. When Molly arrives at Christmas House, the festive rental home that she and her family are sharing with her sister’s fiancé and his wealthy family, she discovers that Liam is one of the new in-laws. Oops.

When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.

Living in a year around Christmas town has its drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It's why I like to hibernate away in my cave - I mean housekeeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits. And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest - which she was determined to win.

There's no place like home for the holidays ... especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn't her jam and now she's back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and ... er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

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.

Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.

Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.

After a snowstorm grounds her flight, Lucy makes a last-ditch effort to get home for Christmas using a rideshare app. She thinks she’ll be taking a road trip with a stranger...but the guy who shows up is someone she knows all too well. He’s the hookup she ghosted a few months ago, and now she’ll be stuck in a car with him for the most awkward road trip of her life.

After a bad breakup, Nola wants nothing to do with Christmas, especially in her quaint hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine. Infuriatingly charming and cheery, Nola’s surroundings only worsen her sour mood. To make matters worse, Caleb, the boy who broke her heart years ago, is all grown up and still living in town. While doing her best to avoid him, Nola bumps into the local mailman, who gives her a mysterious letter. And when she finds that the writer is a fellow Scrooge, she can’t help but feel her spirit lifting.

Shaw Daniels is the bane of my existence. Always has been. Always will be. When we were kids, he annoyed me to no end by being good at everything. He didn’t have to study or really even try. Meanwhile, I tried too much and still lost to him. Then when we were teenagers, our rivalry became twisted. He started sabotaging all my relationships. I retaliated by doing the same to him. Now, we’re adults and we should be able to move on. But when I become a physical therapist for his professional hockey team, it seems as though we can’t let go of our rival tendencies.

West Brooks stands for everything I despise. He's a meathead jock whose silence says it all: He only cares about himself and his football season. So, why can't I say no when he offers me his help? I should run the other way. I should tell him exactly what I think of him for ruining my life. Instead, I agree to his terms because he might be the only person who can get me what I want.

Football is my everything. I live, eat, breathe the sport. But when I transfer to McKee University to escape the distractions that nearly cost me my future in the NFL, I’m faced with another consequence: retake and pass the writing class I failed at my last college, or lose any chance I have at making it big. That’s where fellow senior Beckett Wood—gorgeous, stubborn, and just my type—comes in. She’s the key to my success in this class… but the price of her help is a fake relationship, and I never do things halfway.

I always thought of Silas Rush as my biggest rival on the track and a stuck-up loner off of it. He and his fancy pro career left our crappy hometown in the dust before high school even finished, and then I didn't think of him much at all. I was too busy trying to keep my little sisters from turning into addicts like our mom, and myself from turning into a rage-junkie like our dad. All while keeping food on the table. Now he's back, reminding me of all the things I don't have, just like he always did.

Aspiring investigative reporter Des Cleary had dreams of a better world—one more accepting of people like him—when he broke the story of Orion Broderick’s relationship. A story that kicked Orion out of the soccer halls of fame and sent him careening into obscurity. Racked with shame, Des abandoned his own career for good.

An NHL star player pucked up my life, and now I have one rule: Avoid all ice hockey players. When I run to my hometown, desperate for a fresh start, I find that it's easier said than done. My dad is the coach of the newest team in the NHL and offers me the job of PR Director to these gorgeous players who are walking disasters. They say that cocky hockey players are obsessed with their sticks. It turns out that three of them are also obsessed with me.

It was supposed to be a simple assignment: stake out the golden boy hockey player Cole “Mac” Mackenzie as he exited the arena after a Los Angeles Blades game. Follow him. Get dirt on his personal life—something salacious to please the money-hungry gossip rag I worked for. But I missed the moment Mac left the building. Or so I thought… Twenty minutes later, I saw actual Mac exit after the media left. Apparently, he’d used a decoy to throw off the press—waiting until everyone left to make his getaway in private. I started following the real Mac, and got more than I bargained for.

Grayson Cole was my brother’s best friend. He was all of my firsts. Then he went away… Drew Harris was just a kid, a senior in high school, my best friend’s little sister. They said she was too young to know her feelings. I was too old to have them, so I left to join the military. Four years passed. Loss, injury, angry words I can never take back. I’m home, but I’m not the same. Neither is she.

After being dumped on her 21st birthday, Bailey James rebounds right into the arms of her ex’s biggest competition... Chase Carter: antagonizer, womanizer, and infamous left winger for her college’s rival team. Following a string of scandals and substandard grades, Chase is on thin ice with his teammates and tyrannical coach. The last thing he needs is to have his focus and loyalty called into question by fraternizing with his team’s #1 competition, but a beautiful stranger who throws herself at him one night is too tempting to pass up...until she throws up on his shoes.

Being a firefighter isn’t easy. Especially for a Black woman. Working with family helps a little. But when somebody from your company doesn’t come back from a call, it’s brutal—as in, “How’m I supposed to go on?” brutal. And one death took me to a really dark place. A year later, I’m at the Pirates’ hockey training facility. Just another day on the job. Until I find a charred journal. I look inside for the owner’s name, but the words on the page punch me in the gut. It’s like reading my own thoughts. Reliving my own pain.

Eli Hopkins has it all—almost. A hockey career with the wildly popular Appies. Teammates who are like brothers. The only thing he's missing is someone to share it all with. Oh, and correctly filed visa paperwork. Due to administrative error, Eli is about to lose everything. Unless he can find someone to marry him in the next thirty days. He might have the perfect woman in mind. The only problem? He'd like to marry her for real, not simply for legal purposes.

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.

Aiden Slate. Pro hockey star. Captain of the Redville Saints. And the bane of my existence. All it takes is a little liquid courage to storm his castle. Or, in this case, a cushy five-star hotel suite. I'm supposed to give him a piece of my mind. To unleash a decade of pent-up anger. What I'm not supposed to do is sign an NDA meant for another woman. He thinks I'm here to relieve his stress. Well, he's in for a rude awakening.

After my ex crushed my dreams in the music industry, I’m done with getting my heart broken. Working as an assistant for an NHL player was supposed to be a breeze, but nothing about Jamie Streicher is easy. He’s an intimidatingly hot, grouchy jerk who can't stand me. The guy has a massive ego. Keeping things professional will be no problem, even when he demands I move in with him.

I’ve always been a wild card–the first to start a fight on the ice, and the life of the party off it–but appearances can be deceiving. Being traded to the Boston Rebels could not have come at a better time. With serious family obligations to fulfill and a contract renewal with a new hockey team on the line, I have no time for anything else. I return to Boston knowing I need to buckle down and focus on what really matters.