Coming home to Dogwood Cove after eighteen years away is bittersweet. But running into Ethan Monroe has me wondering why I put it off for so long. He isn’t the boy I played hide and seek with as a child anymore. Now he’s the seriously hot, plaid wearing, scruff bearing, mayor of this small town. A man who can sweep me off my feet, and make me feel safe, all at the same time.

I’m a no-nonsense man. As the head of a business empire, I have to be. I’m logical, cut-throat, and don’t believe in cheesy things like marriage and happy ever afters. But when my best friend asks me to be Best Man, I can't say no. En route to the wedding, I get stuck at the airport when my flight is delayed, and this obnoxious woman sits next to me. Not only does she keep drinking champagne even though she obviously can’t hold her liquor, but she seems determined to push every single one of my buttons.

It’s not easy being a woman working in a male dominated field. Add in the fact that my uncle owns the baseball team I work for, and proving I belong here is a constant battle. Dating a player was never an option. Not if I wanted to keep a shred of dignity and respect. Then Ronan Sinclair sits down next to me in first class with his alluring blue eyes and hard-to-resist dimples. To say nothing of his kindness and charm, or his determination to convince me that a steamy vacation fling is what we both need.

I’ve been in love with Bridger Blackwell for as long as I can remember. He’s a smoke show, kind, and gives the best hugs in the world. But best of all? He’s everything my sorry excuse for a father wasn’t. Now, I’m back in Bitterroot Valley, living across the street from Bridger and his adorable daughter. It doesn’t take long for all those old feelings to come rushing back, and every cell in my body knows that I belong with them. That they’re mine. Bridger’s arms are where I feel safest. They feel like home. I’m growing to depend on him, to truly love him and his daughter.

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.