I was supposed to be attending a friend's birthday party, not used as bait to lure out the elusive Holden Hayes. Holden was the last thing I needed. My life was already spiraling, a slow-moving head-on collision that you couldn't swerve to avoid. In hindsight, so was his. Neither of us was looking for a relationship, but that is precisely what we found. An instant, all-consuming, soul-deep connection that few people ever find.

I came to Copper Falls expecting to settle my sister's estate and learn about the woman I never knew existed until I was notified of her death. Little did I know that stories about her weren't the only thing that awaited me in the small town.

Left to my own devices from a young age, I grew up with zero love or guidance. I was an unwanted mistake my parents were forced to endure. Loneliness followed me everywhere. It's how I know real love doesn't exist, and those who believe they have it are disillusioned by sacrifice as if that alone made their bond worthy. Some would say I'm a romantic masochist, but maybe I had to be because only an unbelieving heart could step into its own twisted fairytale through impulse and temptation.

The first time I met Ian Kemp in the sparkling blue waters of St. Thomas, I was six years old, and we shared a summer beneath the stars. The second time I met Ian Kemp, he was a shell of the boy I once knew. Turbulent and infuriating, he refused my friendship at every turn. Like me, he was a casualty of life’s cruelty, but we were planets apart. We’d both sought refuge on the island, hoping to find our anchor. Instead, we found each other and managed to reclaim our stars...until we both got swept away.

Ezra Knight is the biggest rockstar to ever walk the planet, but before he belonged to the world, he belonged to me. He was my brother's best friend, my soulmate and protector, and when their band—Demon's Curse—took off, so did he. He was like a roaring tornado, crashing through my world and sweeping me off my feet, and just when I had it all, I was abandoned. Left to fend for myself at the hands of a monster. For eight long years, I blamed him for everything that was out of his control. But one phone call changed it all.

Kendra Ames is a driven young producer in need of a bachelor for her reality show. When she meets Lee Sullivan, the retired captain of Lakes hockey team, they have an instant connection. After listening to Kendra’s pitch, Sully decides he would rather pursue her instead. However, when the show’s network makes him an offer for his dream job with a unique stipulation, he can’t refuse.

I met Milo Corti during his self-destructive era, and he met me at the beginning of mine. That night when we crossed paths at a college party, we only had one goal: to feel good during our hell storms. After we parted ways, I’d planned never to see him again. That was until I showed up for my first day as a student-teacher and found him sitting right there before me.

In the dark underbelly of the mob, Tristan Caine has been an anomaly. As the only non-blooded member in the high circle of the Tenebrae Outfit, he is an enigma to all. His skills are unparalleled, his morality is questionable, and his motives are unknown. He is lethal and he knows it. As does Morana Vitalio, the genius extraordinaire daughter of the rival family. What Caine does with weapons, Morana does with computers. When a twenty-year-old mystery resurfaces, Morana infiltrates Caine's house, intent on killing him, unaware of a tie that binds them together.

Keeping things professional with my employees has never been an issue. Until she waltzed onto my property. Billie is talented. She's mouthy. And she's so damn tempting. I can't stop thinking about all the ways I could take her down a peg. I can't stop thinking about her, period. We clash from the moment we meet. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it's hard to keep your distance. It's even harder to keep that friction from turning to fire. But keeping my distance? That might be the biggest struggle of all.

When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. But things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night.

My whole life, I've come out on top. One of the finest players ever to grace the NHL? Check. Most prolific playboy with an enviable reputation between the sheets? Check. Award for the cockiest athlete in America? Also, check, and well deserved I'd say. So why does my life feel anything but the perfect image I project? And why won't the one woman who came crashing into my life and knocked me on my six-foot-four ass take me seriously?

I finally had my baby girl back home, but she came with a little baggage in the shape of her best friend. I could deal with that for some more time with my daughter. The only problem is Bay's not exactly what I'd expected. I'd been through hell and back with my ex, but even that didn't compare to the turmoil that girl causes me. My stomach aches every time she's in the room with me, and we're drawn like magnets, but she can never be anything to me. Bay is young, vibrant, beautiful, and totally off-limits.

Declan Hardy, All-American heartthrob and retired NFL billionaire, is my complete opposite. He's commanding where I'm cooperative. Spontaneous while I am deliberate. Loud when I stay quiet. The only thing we have in common is that both our names are on my father's will.

I was expecting a ring on my thirtieth birthday. What I didn't see coming was my boyfriend and business partner dumping me because he couldn't bear the idea of our bland sex life for the rest of our lives. When an opportunity arises to spend my summer in Las Vegas, I stumble upon my hot new neighbor and his photography studio. We strike a simple deal. He's the teacher, and I'm his student. My lesson is learning to love the body I have. In exchange, I'm going to save his business. I have exactly one summer to unearth the most confident version of myself before I go home and return to reality.

I should have run the other way. Paid my tab and gone back to my room. But he was there. And he was…everything. I figured, what’s the harm in letting passion rule my decisions for one night? So what if he looks like the Devil in a suit? I’d be leaving in the morning, flying home to my pleasant but predictable life. I’d never see him again. Except I do. In the last place I expected. And now everything I’ve worked so hard for is in jeopardy.