With one phone call, Colt's life turned upside down, inside out, backwards, spiraled out of control . . . however you want to say it. He was used to life not going as planned, but this little detour changed his life forever and completely terrified him. But he didn't have time to dwell on the fact he was not this toddler's one and only parent. His little niece Poppy needed him, and he was determined not to fail her. But life continued to throw him curve balls.

Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

It took me years to get over my fiance sleeping with another woman. I thought my luck with men had finally turned around until I walked in on my new fiance with my maid-of-honor. I'm done with men entirely. Trust isn't something I have in me to give...to anyone. At least, not anymore. Besides, even if I wanted to give someone my everything, I have nothing left to give. Now, if Walker could be less handsome, his relationship with his nephew not quite as sexy, and his body...well, let's not get crazy. His body is just a gift to womankind.

I was really an idiot. How I didn't see the signs is beyond me . . . but yet, here I sit, holding the diamond ring I tried to place on my girlfriend's finger. Hopefully the whiskey will do its trick and help me forget the last three years ever happened. I'm such an idiot. Really, I am. I thought my boyfriend was going to propose tonight. Instead, I'm sitting here chugging vodka cranberries like they're water. I just want to forget the last couple years ever happened.

Without her, I was better off. I knew it the second she walked away and realized how much happier I was. Knew it the day I interrupted her wedding reception to show her what she was missing and locked eyes with someone I hadn't seen in years. Those eyes. Her smile. Everything about her turned something around inside me that had been quiet for years.

When Dani gets a flat tire on her way home one evening, she is, at first, less than thrilled to be helped out by a man that is clearly too charming for his own good. Even if he is handsome. And buff. And the king of the thousand watt smile. However, prickly Dani is eventually charmed by her hottie knight in shining sunglasses. And a brief moment spent on the side of the road on a hot summer evening quickly leads to a first date.

Strange men do funny things when you score the last cinnamon roll. Sometimes he rages about the high crime of jacking his precious pastry. Sometimes he offers you ludicrous bribes to buy it back. And sometimes—after shattering your faith in humanity—you find out he's your new boss. I'm not laughing.

Annabelle Jordan and her two sisters were orphans in frilly dresses when they went to live with their sports-lawyer uncle in his world of locker rooms, bookies, and gambling. Now the girls are publicists in their uncle’s firm, the Hot Zone.

My new neighbor is a firefighter - and a scorching-hot single dad - but I swear I didn’t set off that smoke alarm on purpose. (And I was beyond mortified when he rushed in and saw me naked.) Nothing happened, of course - because I, Winnie MacAllister, romance junkie and owner of a constantly broken heart, have sworn off men for one solid year. Even protective men with chiseled jaws, bulging biceps, and deep brown eyes that make my breath come faster.

I fell in love with him when I was seven. I scraped my knee, and he helped carry me inside. Our love story was the talk of the town until a woman told everyone she was pregnant with his baby. The only rational solution was to high-tail it out of town and never come back. My best friend needed a place to hide, and you can’t get much more covert than my family farm, so I came back. For her. It was supposed to be temporary, and I wasn’t supposed to see him, but that’s what happens when you live in a small town where everyone knows each other.

I'm not a one-night stand kind of woman. I'm especially not the woman who has a few drinks at a concert and ends up in bed with my childhood celebrity crush, Eli Walsh. However, that's exactly where I find myself. What's a girl to do after a drunken mistake? Run. I grab my clothes and get away from the powerful, irresistible, and best-sex-of-my-life superstar as fast as I can.

I don't remember a time I didn't love Crenshaw Bennett. I tried to deny it, but my feelings grew deeper. I thought he could never love me the way I love him. I was wrong - outrageously, deliriously, and beautifully wrong. One innocent kiss changes my life forever. Suddenly, Shaw is mine. Loyal, devoted, and the most loving man on this Earth. Together, we create an explosion of fiery passion, devotion, and chemistry I never knew was possible. All of my dreams are within reach, but I should have known it was too good to be true.

I fell in love with my brother's best friend the first time I laid eyes on him. He walked through the door, flashing me a crooked smile with his blue eyes shining bright. I knew in that instant he was the man of my dreams. As the years went on, my feelings grew stronger, waiting for the day he'd see me as more.

When Clementine Avery swore off men, she had no idea she'd need real life experience for that romance writing class she accidentally signed up for last spring. Fortunately, sexy RA Gavin Murphy offers to help her find a little inspiration . . . in the name of academics, of course.

"You never have to be without me, Laney, never." He lied...my everything I ever knew, trusted, wanted...I am, in fact, without him. On my own and out of my shell, I learn new things about life, friendship and...myself. Like what you've always known may not be what you've always wanted. Dane Kendrick awakened things within me that I never knew existed, unraveling and uncovering the real Laney Jo Walker. I'm a new adult...so is my story.

I don't remember a time I didn't love Crenshaw Bennett. I tried to deny it, but my feelings grew deeper. I thought he could never love me the way I love him. I was wrong - outrageously, deliriously, and beautifully wrong. One innocent kiss changes my life forever. Suddenly, Shaw is mine. Loyal, devoted, and the most loving man on this Earth. Together, we create an explosion of fiery passion, devotion, and chemistry I never knew was possible. All of my dreams are within reach, but I should have known it was too good to be true.

I fell in love with my brother's best friend the first time I laid eyes on him. He walked through the door, flashing me a crooked smile with his blue eyes shining bright. I knew in that instant he was the man of my dreams. As the years went on, my feelings grew stronger, waiting for the day he'd see me as more.

I think for sure it must've been a dream because there's no way a guy could look like that, touch me like that, and be so in tune with me on every known level and disappear, leaving me with nothing but a good story to tell my friends. When he walks into my bar three months later, everything I thought I knew and what we'd had disappears in the blink of an eye and the blinding light of the three-carat diamond on his fiancee's hand.

Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both....

Regret, she's a snarky little bitch. I've tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can't. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because they ultimately led me to the place I am in now. And I can't regret the place I am in now. What I still can't figure out is this: How is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day? Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed. Seventeen minutes was all it took to lose my best friend, to lose the love of my life.

He was my older brother's best friend. He was never supposed to be mine. I thought we would get it out of our systems and move on. One of us did. One of us left. Now he's back, looking at me like he wants to devour me. And all those feelings I'd turned into anger are brewing into something else, something that terrifies me. He broke my heart last time. This time he'll obliterate it.

MacKenzie Cahill has dealt with overbearing and overprotective brothers her entire life, making it near impossible to enjoy her teenage years. Having a boyfriend was practically impossible until she met a guy that wasn't afraid to stand up to them - Dominic. He was sweet, thoughtful, and everything MacKenzie ever wanted in a man. But when they go away to college at Old Dominion University, MacKenzie sees a whole new side of Dominic and begins to wonder if he really is different from every other guy.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers and put the playing field (and the players) in her past. But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football-star ex wasn't bad enough, her father, a phenom in Texas's world of high school coaching, has decided to make the jump to college ball…as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Desperate to find a new mechanic, the last thing Reddington expects is a woman to show up, let alone one with a sinful body, sharp tongue, and the inability to just do her job and not give him lip. He can't deny he's hoping to catch a view of her bent over a hood, but there's not a chance in hell that's going to happen. As much as Red wants to take her for a test drive, he knows he needs to keep his priorities straight.

As one of the big names at his family's gym, Legends, MMA star Rory Kavanagh is used to being in the spotlight - until a gruesome leg injury knocks him out of the cage. Rory is left feeling sidelined in more ways than one, battling the inner demons that come with losing the one shot at his dreams. Then Clare walks into his life and gives him a new dream: winning her heart. There aren't many new faces in Woodlawn these days, but this tough, beautiful stranger makes Rory want to get his life back into fighting shape.

Four lives. Four stories. Four sets of letters. Four brave souls in need of guidance while facing life's greatest challenges. The anonymously published Dear Life program is designed to help them step outside of their comfort zones, face their obstacles, and relinquish their demons...and prove their existence.

Donya Stewart's chest filled with the soft beating wings of butterflies when she first met Emmet Grayne's green eyes at the ripe age of five. Unable to identify the tugging pressure within her when in his presence, Donya moved through the first several years of her life addled by her feelings for the boy who was her best friend's brother and very much like her own sibling. But one cool autumn night in her mystifying teenage years, Emmet erases any ideas Donya has of him being anything like a sibling.

Jude Sinclair here, hockey player for the Bellevue Bullies and lover of all ladies. Hockey's in my blood, and not to sound full of myself, but I'm good at it...really good. The draft is within my reach - it's mine to take - but that's not the only reason people know my name. They know me because of my way with women. They know the score, and I aim to please. I just tend to stay away from repeat performances. In other words I don't do relationships beyond my family and friends.

New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter takes his pregame rituals very seriously. In this case, it's not just a lucky smoothie he's craving - it's the man who made it. Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he's desperate to recreate the magic...and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter.

Temporary. That's the word I'd use to describe my life right now. I'm temporarily working double shifts - at least until I can break free. I'm temporarily raising my little brother - since apparently our actual mother doesn't give a crap about either of us. And I always end up as nothing but the temporary girlfriend - the flavor of the week for every guy who's heard the rumor that I give it up so easily.

Without her, I was better off. I knew it the second she walked away and realized how much happier I was. Knew it the day I interrupted her wedding reception to show her what she was missing and locked eyes with someone I hadn't seen in years. Those eyes. Her smile. Everything about her turned something around inside me that had been quiet for years.

It took me years to get over my fiance sleeping with another woman. I thought my luck with men had finally turned around until I walked in on my new fiance with my maid-of-honor. I'm done with men entirely. Trust isn't something I have in me to give...to anyone. At least, not anymore. Besides, even if I wanted to give someone my everything, I have nothing left to give. Now, if Walker could be less handsome, his relationship with his nephew not quite as sexy, and his body...well, let's not get crazy. His body is just a gift to womankind.

I left Lakeside, Montana, heartbroken and lost with no desire to ever return. But life had other plans. Moving back wasn't what I wanted to do, but I'd do anything for my daughter, Emmy, including putting myself in the path of Sadie Jones, my daughter's new dance teacher. The reason my heart was never fully opened to another was because it's always belonged to her.

Who needs a man? They're nothing but a distraction. A disappointment. They sweep you off your feet, promise you forever. Then, as soon as another beautiful woman shows them interest, they leave you crying alone on the sidewalk with your dreams of a life together crushed. And the sexy playboy who keeps showing up everywhere I go is the definition of distraction and inevitable disappointment. I can live without that heartbreak. I have everything I need to make me happy - a job, school, friends, and family that I love. Yep. Mind made up. It's just a shame my heart didn't get the memo.

I was really an idiot. How I didn't see the signs is beyond me . . . but yet, here I sit, holding the diamond ring I tried to place on my girlfriend's finger. Hopefully the whiskey will do its trick and help me forget the last three years ever happened. I'm such an idiot. Really, I am. I thought my boyfriend was going to propose tonight. Instead, I'm sitting here chugging vodka cranberries like they're water. I just want to forget the last couple years ever happened.

Something inside me snapped as her text screamed from the screen of my phone. My heart started pounding as I was instantly sucked into a vortex of emotions, pulled unwillingly into a past I desperately wanted to forget. Teagan Tessler was the love of my life; at least, I thought so. My professional soccer career was part of the future we had planned together, but an offer sent me to London a year ahead of schedule. Just months after I left, she married my best friend Jensen without explanation, leaving me completely and utterly destroyed by the two people I loved the most.

On the same day I lose my job, my house, and all hope for the future, I also lose my journal. And the worst part.... He found it. He read it. And...he commented. At the end of his message is an email address and a plea: Contact me. Please. I know better than to trust strangers with candy, but, after a tequila-fueled night, I create a new email address and do just that...and the man I discover is overflowing with kindness and humor and depth. Meanwhile, I meet Lucas Hutton - a Marine with scars covering his body, heart, and soul.

Raised on fame and fortune, Liam McGuire is a spoiled man-child. His handsome face blinds the world, but I see through it to what he is inside. Ugly. When his tour bus rolls off the road, Liam's rushed to the hospital where I work. A jagged scar runs the length of his face, ruining his good looks and jeopardizing his career. As his nurse, I'm around him more than I'd like, but the more I get to know him, the more I realize the world wasn't blind to him. I was.

With one phone call, Colt's life turned upside down, inside out, backwards, spiraled out of control . . . however you want to say it. He was used to life not going as planned, but this little detour changed his life forever and completely terrified him. But he didn't have time to dwell on the fact he was not this toddler's one and only parent. His little niece Poppy needed him, and he was determined not to fail her. But life continued to throw him curve balls.

Monsters didn't just exist in nightmares. They were real; they lived among us. As the sole witness to a brutal murder, Ryann Sinclair knew that better than anyone. He'd been burned once, and Cash Donovan swore it was the last time. That all changed when Ryann stumbled back into his life. She was fiercely protective of her heart, and he was hell-bent on protecting her. Never one to back down from a challenge, Cash was determined to break her. Just so he could be the one to put her back together.