Beau Slater sure brings the fireworks. Too bad they’re not the good kind. My brother’s best friend was so smoking hot, he blew up our small-town graduation night with one humiliating almost-kiss. It took me five years, one potential dream job, and three thousand miles to diffuse that horrifying memory. So when my worst enemy and I are forced together by our meddling mothers for a first-ever Christmas in July, I can’t risk Beau reigniting my heart. Which means I’m probably supremely stupid to enlist him in my plot to teach our manipulative families a lesson.

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.

As I struggle to stay afloat in the housekeeping hustle, a handsome guest and I have a magical night sneaking into the pool, making wishes under the stars, and spilling secrets. But at midnight, I risk turning into a pumpkin, er, my not-so-fancy self, compared to the pro hockey player with the expensive watch. Time is slipping through my fingers as the bill for my dad's care comes due.

Lauren Foley and Jack Fletcher already tried to be amicable once—on a blind date that ended in complete disaster. Now, years later, they have to put up with each other for the sake of her sister and his best friend, who are eloping on a cruise to the Bahamas. But that’s not the worst of it. No, Lauren’s in even deeper water when she finds herself agreeing to play Jack’s fake girlfriend for the duration of the cruise. Now the only thing on her mind is trying not to strangle him when he dials up the charm.

Meredith has plans. Big plans. She is done being safely wrapped in bubble wrap. She is ready to live. That's what her list is all about—living and experiencing. Is it fate that her list of learning, trying, and experiencing continues to bring her into the path of grumpy Levi Bailey? She isn't sure—but she doesn't mind. Levi is just a misunderstood cinnamon roll and Meredith plans to enjoy every second of helping him realize that.

It’s not stalking if he’s your hot neighbor…right? At least, that’s what I tell myself when Adrian Carter moves in next door. His scowl should make me want to run in the other direction, but when I catch him smothering a smile around me, it makes me want to get to know him more. And when Adrian starts to open up, I find myself falling in love with the cinnamon roll center hidden beneath his gruff exterior. But between my emotional baggage and his aversion to relationships, it’s looking like we’ll never be more than neighborly.

Callum Sterling is a grumpy jerk. A ridiculously hot one, but still. I’ve battled with Callum during our quarterly conference calls over the past year, but now we get to spar in person. And not only are we forced to work together every week, but we have to spend time together outside of work, too. At first, I was ready to fight, but the chemistry between us becomes undeniable, the more time we spend together.

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.

There is nothing like hiding a secret identity from your roommate besties to complicate... everything. And when they decide I need a love life makeover, I can't tell them why I don't have time for their schemes. Retirement home nurse by day, lead singer of a rock band by night. Not on the schedule: Men. I'd rather cuddle with Bernice, the hangry boa next door. I can't think of an excuse fast enough to get out of betting my prime parking space against them finding me true love, but luckily, they pick the worst possible guy for me.

I've never been enough for the people around me, not for my parents before they died and not for the tough grandfather who raised me. When he unexpectedly passes, leaving me the famous (and failing) Sugar Maple Farms, all I want is to sell so I can leave the weight of being a Carville behind. Until Jane shows up. The woman is smart, salty, and sexy as can be. I can't admit it, but her vision for Sugar Maple Farms is captivating. Everything about her is captivating. While we spend every day arguing, I spend every night thinking about her.

Three years ago, I fell truly, madly, deeply in love. It was kind of hard not to when Cash Denton, the sexiest man alive, literally ran into me on the streets of Bordeaux, France, and kissed me. Best. Meet. Cute. Ever. That led to the best two months of my life. Or . . . so I thought, until Cash disappeared into thin air. At first, I assumed he was in a coma or had amnesia after a tragic accident, since there’s no way he would have left me. But that was just wishful thinking because, you guessed it, he ghosted me with a capital G.

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.

When my boyfriend says he's too busy working—again—to spend the holidays with me and my family, I'm sure Christmas is ruined. Not only will I be alone, but my family is convinced he doesn't love me. When his identical twin comes to town, I realize a swap could be the perfect way to reassure my family and give me a date for the holiday season.

I'm the notoriously angry, grouchy D.C. Eagles defenseman who just can’t keep his temper in check—a temper that leads to a fifteen-game suspension from the NHL. As if that’s not bad enough, I'm forced into a short-term youth-hockey coaching gig—which my manager swears will “rebuild my image.” But what I didn’t expect was for a gorgeous, spunky blonde to stomp onto the ice on day one and lecture me about being rude to her little brother.

Eight years ago, Adam Driscoll walked away from his stage name—Deke—and the boyband that turned him into an international star before his eighteenth birthday. And he never looked back. It didn't even matter that everyone blamed him for the band's breakup. He might miss making music, but he had good reasons for walking. Give him solitude over thousands of screaming fans any day of the week.