There are worse things than turning forty. However, I can’t seem to evade my worry of my biological clock, and my fear that time is running out. I’ve always wanted to be a mother, and with each passing day, there is a greater chance that might be a dream of mine that will never come true. And if the clock isn’t loud enough—my controlling and overly judgmental mom is. Her snide comments never go unsaid and her numerous failed attempts at setting me up with any new bachelors in town are enough to spur small town gossip for months at a time. Never mind the fact that she tried to set me up with Old Man Bucky down the street from her—the frail but sweet widow who walks with a cane and has grandchildren my age. But this isn’t about my mom or her obsessive need to see me settle down and pop out the grand babies she so desperately wants. This is about the emptiness that has lingered inside of me for so long that I worry I will never fill it. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life. I’m in good health. I run a successful cafe that I inherited from my grandparents and an incredibly handsome best friend who is willing to help make my dream of becoming a mother come true. It may not be the most conventional way to start a family, but there is no one that I trust more. Besides, we agreed that it would only happen once. Regardless of the outcome, we walk away with our friendship intact. I know this is crossing the line of friendship, but this is my one shot. It’s one night. What could possibly go wrong?

The first rule of dating as a single mother should Don’t date your son’s teacher. The second rule should Don’t let your past hold you back from your future. But when the gorgeous, much-too-young-for-me single dad moved to town, I found it impossible to avoid his advances. Especially when my sister and her husband gave him an open invitation to our weekly family dinners. I knew better than to let anything happen between us. I didn’t want to get close to him and his daughter, only for him to possibly walk away. Just like my kids’ father had done to them. Letting Dominic into our lives was never the plan. I needed to be strong, to resist the temptation and keep everyone’s hearts intact. The only problem was that I wasn’t strong enough to fight our chemistry when the pull was so powerful. Everyone has weaknesses. And Dominic? Well, he just happened to be mine. \*This book can be read as a standalone, but if you want all of the juicy town gossip, be sure to read Just One Time (Book 1) first. This series is made up of interconnected standalones that feature characters from the other books, but each book has a happily ever after and features a different character.

What’s tall, handsome, with a devilish smile and piercing blue eyes? My best friend’s older brother that was completely off-limits. It wouldn’t be such a problem to avoid Jack (and the butterflies he causes to swarm in my belly), except that he was constantly in my space. Or maybe I was in his? It was hard to tell since I was now working for his family. Either way, we were both adults and knew how to resist temptation. Or at least I thought we did. When my apartment got broken into, I found myself with nowhere to go, so Jack offered his spare room. I should have said no, but I had no other options. You would think that with him being a firefighter, he would know how to put fires out—not start them. It was a temporary situation, but my resolve has never been great, especially when tested by someone as good-looking and smooth as he was.

When I stood at the altar, saying vows to my fake husband, I didn’t expect them to feel so real. Jones and I hadn’t been dating long enough to throw the L word around, yet it flowed off my tongue so easily, just like everything when it came to him. Our chemistry was off the charts from the very first touch, nearly setting things on fire as often as the ones he set in the kitchen when he cooked. But everything in my life suddenly got flipped upside down when I learned that my grandmother left everything to me in her estate. The only problem? I had to be married by my twenty-fifth birthday in order to claim my inheritance. There was a lot to plan in under two weeks, all while making sure everyone believed our shotgun wedding was real. The last thing I needed was for my vindictive cousin to come in and contest the marriage in court before the six-month stipulation passed. Loving Jones was easy. But nothing could have prepared me for how hard my heart would break when his life was on the line, and I was the one to blame.

Slipping in the shower and breaking my ankle wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to me. No—that would have to be reserved for being rescued by none other than the one person in the entire world I cannot stand. I thought it was bad enough having to work with Dr. Dickhead during my clinical rotations, but now he’s determined to make my life a living hell by forcing me to stay with him until I’m literally on my feet again. He claims that he’s just trying to do the right thing since I don’t have anyone in town to help me out, but I know that deep down, he’s just doing it so he can keep getting under my skin. He likes to torture me like that. But the one thing he doesn’t know about me is just how independent I can be. He might think that he’s a knight in shining armor, swooping in to save the day—but I’m one damsel who is in anything but distress. That is until I realize just how quickly my carefully crafted walls start crumbling the more time I spend with him.