Ian Being stuck in the friend-zone sucked. I was done. Blake had been single long enough, and if I didn’t make a move, she’d get together with the wrong man again. Because the right one was me. Luck was definitely on my side. An online dating site paired us up. It was an opportunity to show her the side of me she didn’t know. The side who wasn’t interested in a fling with half the women in town. The side who wanted something serious and lasting. With her. I thought about confessing. Telling her that I was the guy she was sharing her secrets with. But keeping my online identity a secret meant she talked to me. Really talked to me. It was worth the risk. Blake was worth any risk. Blake Getting dumped sucked. Getting dumped because he thought I was in love with my best friend’s older brother was ludicrous. I did not have a thing for Ian. Yeah, we shared a hotel room when we went to Hawaii, but nothing happened. I mean, I walked in on him right after he got out of the shower. Water running down his chest. Hair slicked back from his face. That stormy look in his eyes. And the rock, hard… Ahem, anyway. No, I did not have a thing for him. We were friends. That was it. No one needed to know I still dreamed about what would have happened if I’d closed that door with me on the inside instead of the outside. It was never going to happen. Ever.

Ramsey Walking out was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I promised her I’d never do it, but I also promised I’d keep her safe. That was the promise I couldn’t keep if I stayed. I wouldn’t risk her life or her health, so I risked my own heart and walked away. But she was ready to move on. To meet someone else. To find a new man who’d be willing to put what she wanted above keeping her safe. A new man who’d put his hands on my wife. Love her. Touch her. Hell. No. She was still mine. Melody I’ve only ever loved one man. One gorgeous, maddening, wonderful man. I even managed to marry him. I thought we’d be together forever, but everything changed when I lost our baby. Instead of being his wife and lover, I was his new project. Something to fix. I didn’t need to be fixed, though. I couldn’t be. I needed my husband, but he wasn’t there. Some other man was there. A man who stopped seeing me and only saw a fragile, wounded woman he had to shelter. But it was all over. My husband left me. He couldn’t fix me, so he stopped trying. He told me he wanted a divorce, and I had no reason to make him stay. We weren’t the people we used to be. I still loved him, but, as much as I wanted it to be, sometimes love wasn’t enough. And sometimes life threw you a curve. Like being paired with my husband on an online dating site. Could it be as easy as starting over?

Colin Small town living was not what I was used to. I liked my quiet and solitude, but there didn’t seem to be much of that in a town so small everyone knew I was a newcomer. They knew more about my family history than I did. They were all nice, and friendly, and wanted to know me, but it all just made me want to hide from them. Except for Elise. She was the one woman I wanted to get to know. She was a mystery, a mystery that intrigued me. She talked and laughed and enjoyed life, but when I was around she closed up. And when we our dating profiles were matched and we met out for a drink, she bolted. Flat out refused to stick around. And refused to give me another chance. She didn’t know I wouldn’t give up that easily. Elise I knew online dating was a risk. Sometimes he was a freak. Sometimes he was just wrong. And sometimes he was the guy I was trying to convince myself I wasn’t interested in. Getting involved with a man wasn’t an option for me. Not since my ex almost destroyed me. He was sweet and kind at first, like Colin, but it hid an evil that shattered my faith in men and my ability to ever trust one again. Colin didn’t back off like most men did. One rejection usually sent them running for the next bed to jump into, but Colin kept trying. He made me feel special. Like I was important. Resisting him was harder with each kiss and each touch. He wanted all of me, the good and the bad, and he wasn’t stopping until he got it.

The very last person I wanted anything from was Officer James Rucker. If there was any option at all, I wouldn’t call him, but I had no choice. I needed a cop. To my surprise, he came. He helped. He was the guy everyone else knew instead of the @$$ he always was to me. I didn’t know what to do with that. It was easy to keep him in the box I put him in. To tell myself it didn’t matter how sexy his smile was or how hard my insides clenched when he left with another woman. No. No. No. I wasn’t going to think of James like that. I couldn’t. I wanted fun in my life, and he was the polar opposite of that. We weren’t right. We weren’t an option. It didn’t matter if he was starring in my dreams. Or knocking on my door…

Trusting the words a man says to me is never going to happen again. Would I like to live in blissful ignorance? Absolutely. But my eyes have been opened and I’m not falling for it again. I want to believe Gavin is different. Maybe it’s the holiday season that has me believing again, or maybe it’s him. He told me he’s not staying after he gets the inn ready to sell. He has a life, and it’s not in my small town. But I fall for his act. I accept his invite to spend the holidays with his aunt and sister and her kids. I don’t say anything when he tells them all that we’re dating. I don’t stop him when he kisses me. And when he drives me home, I invite him in and pray he never stops. I should know better than to trust a man, but he’s so good at convincing me that he’s different that I almost let myself fall for him. Never mind. I fell. I just hope he can catch me.

Rowan Hiding in plain sight was never easy. Sure, no one in town knew my history, but I still didn’t like feeling so exposed. Knowing that it wouldn’t take much for them to figure out that I was there for a reason, and not staying forever. But after a few months, the small town was winning me over. The night life could use a little more excitement, and the dating options were minimal at best, but she caught my eye the first time I saw her. The angry look on her face hid the pain in her eyes. Maybe I was crazy for wanting to know why she was hurt, or maybe I just recognized someone I could relate to. Someone who might not judge me the way I’d been judging myself. I just needed a way to get her to talk to me. Willow The last thing I needed was a cop on a power trip trying to make a name for himself. I knew I was an easy target. No one in town liked me. But did he have to give me a ticket? And worse, did he have to buy me a drink? Yeah, because that was going to make it all better. I shouldn’t have had the drink. I shouldn’t have talked to him. Or let him kiss me. Or let him walk me home. I knew I was playing with fire because he was gorgeous and snarky and the first person in far too long who acted like I mattered. It was a mistake to let him in, to open myself up to him. But by the time I learned just how big of a mistake, it was far too late to keep myself from wanting something I’d never get from him. From wanting more.

Life’s too short for regrets. I learned that day after day working with patients living and dying with cancer. They all told me the same thing. Stop being afraid of living my life and grab it by the balls. So, I listened. I stopped wondering when my boss was going to notice me. I stopped wishing he would see me as more than just his nurse. I stopped declining dates with other men in hopes Nico would one day ask me out. I am not so evolved that I actually stopped hoping something would happen, but I had to move on. People were dying with regrets, and I couldn’t live with mine. I never thought dating other men would make Nico notice me. I never expected him to be pissed off. And I sure as hell never thought he’d be jealous. But I definitely liked that side of him. The side that said he wanted me. It wasn’t going to be that easy, though. He needed to work for it. One kiss, one touch, one panty-melting word at a time.

Sebastian My life would have been so much better if Zoey had never walked back into it. She was the first girl I ever loved, and the one I should have spent my life with. Instead, she took her empty promises and vows of love and married someone else. But it’s been years, and she’s back. Without the husband. She’s single once again, and has two kids and even more of those curves that always made me crazy. I just have to stay away from her for two months. She stayed away for years. I can handle a few months. I hope. Zoey I thought walking away from my marriage was going to be tough, but it was nothing compared to walking back into my past. To seeing the man I fell in love with before I knew what love meant. Before I knew who I was or what I wanted from life. The last time Sebastian and I lived in the same town, I vowed to return to him. I thought he would move on when I didn’t, but he never got married. He never found anyone else. He was still single, but my life was too complicated to get involved with him. Or anyone. But life doesn’t always listen. Sometimes things happen that force us to discover just how much we can handle. And to find who will be there when we’re at our worst. I never thought it would be Sebastian coming to my rescue. I should have known better. That’s the kind of man he is. Too bad he’s not interested in sticking around. Karma’s a b@tch.

Finley Finally. I finally got things settled at work. I was good for nine months. It was enough time to hang on and make a new plan. I deserved a night out. A quick fling with a rare stranger in my small town. One night. One time. Not one line. Shit. I was supposed to spend those nine months growing my business, not growing a person. Now I need to tell that stranger about the baby. If I can find him. Trent I loved my hometown in the fall. The summer guests were drifting home and the sleepy town I ran fast and far from decades ago became the home I remembered. The home I loved. I let it get to me. I let myself get sucked in. I wasn’t the town’s son anymore. I was nobody. Or so I thought. That random woman I met online? I didn’t think she knew who I was, until she claimed to be pregnant. Ha! She couldn’t trick me. I wasn’t falling for it. Or her.

Xavier The day I walked away from Karissa was the hardest day of my life. Until the mother of my newborn daughter walked out of the hospital and left both of us behind. My daughter and I built a life, just the two of us. We were happy, and we were together. But when she started getting into trouble at high school, a change had to be made. Nothing mattered to me more than her. So, I did what I couldn’t do for Karissa. I embraced small town life. I never expected we’d end up in Karissa’s small town. With her best friend and my best friend starting a family, and trying to make us a part of it. Keeping my distance from her was the smart thing, but I was never the smart one out of the two of us. Karissa I thought of myself as smart. Someone who could use her brains to figure things out. When I designed a dating app, I thought it was good. For everyone except me, apparently. The app matched me with my ex. My ex who decided all the things he wanted in his life were the opposite of what I wanted. Small town? Nope, moving to the city. Regular job? Nope, something big and flashy. Quiet life together? Ha! That was the biggest joke of all. He had all those things. He got the big job in the big city and lived his big life. But now he’s in my small town. He’s eating at my favorite places and making space for himself within my group of friends. He’s infiltrating my world. But he’s not getting back inside my heart.

Hudson From the moment Anna Charlotte stormed into my bar and demanded answers from me, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. She was infuriating, and she had no right to question the way I ran my business. Who did she think she was? Just because her son was one of my employees, she didn’t get to stick her nose in. She could sit her curvy, cute butt on a stool and stew, but she couldn’t say a peep. Who was I kidding? Anna didn’t know how to sit still and not talk. Or complain. Or instruct me to fix all the things I was doing wrong. Which seemed to be everything. There was only one way to shut her up. And it was damn effective. Anna Trust was a four-letter word in my life. Whenever I thought I could trust someone, they taught me real quick that I was wrong. So, why would I trust Hudson Grant? He owns a bar, for crying out loud. He wasn’t looking out for my son’s best interest. It didn’t matter that his grades had improved since starting to work for Hudson. Or that he was focused on his future. Or that he helped out at home without being asked and did his homework and helped his brother. None of that had to do with Hudson. Right? It couldn’t. That wasn’t who he was. I knew men like him. Men who were only interested in one thing. Men who didn’t care if they broke your heart. Men who…were nothing like Hudson Grant.

Patrick I wasn’t sure what was sexier… the way my boss’s suits clung to her curves or the way she controlled a room full of men who thought they didn’t need to listen to the woman in charge. Goldie was a force to be reckoned with, and working for her was fun. She was smart and clever and beautiful. Damn, was she beautiful. But she didn’t see any of that in herself. I had no problem telling her, even though she was convinced I was just flirting. Yeah, I was, but one day she’d realize I was flirting because I saw her as so much more than just my boss. She was the kind of woman I wanted in my life for good. Goldie I’d worked hard to get to where I was. To become the boss and run things the way I wanted to run them. It wasn’t easy, especially going through a divorce and raising my son. But I finally got to where I wanted to be. I could not, would not, risk my reputation and career for a fling with my assistant. It didn’t matter how cute he was. Yes, cute, because he was also fourteen years younger than me. I had my son when I was his age. I was married. I was planning a future… that never happened. I wouldn’t steal the same from him, no matter how many times he told me all he wanted in his future was me.

Brantley Do. Not. Fall for Valentina again. Do. Not. I can’t take it a second time. Oh, who am I kidding. I never stopped loving Valentina. I messed up when we were young. I never imagined introducing her to my college roommate would mean watching her fall for him, marry him, build a life with him, and have it all blow up in her face. I really wasn’t happy about that last one. I wasn’t heartbroken by it either, but I hated seeing her hurt. She deserved better. She deserved the world. She was perfect. She was everything I’d ever wanted in a woman. I tried to get over her. For years. I told myself it was too late for us. But I didn’t think she’d be single again more than twenty years after I fell in love with her. Falling for her again might kill me, but watching her fall for someone else will destroy me. Maybe there’s a chance for us. Valentina My divorce is final. I’m single again. Everyone says I should date. Get back on the horse and all that. I’m too raw. Too scared. Not because I’m still in love with my ex but because dating opens me up to being a fool again. Brantley is safe, though. He can be my shield. He has been for as long as I can remember. Coaxing me out of my shell and helping me step into myself. He’s there now, like he’s always been. Bringing me dinner, taking me out for drinks, being the favorite uncle for my daughters now that their father is gone. The more time I spend with Brantley, the more I see the man I never noticed. Kind, smart, affectionate. He’s all the things I’d want in a man if I was willing to date again. Hell, he’s all the things I want in a man no matter what. But falling for him is a bad idea. Isn’t it?

Knox Her proposition was easy. One night. No names. No connection. Just a night to forget the outside world. I couldn’t say no to her. I didn’t want to. In the morning, she was gone. Just like she promised. I knew I wouldn’t see her again. Until she sat across from me the next night for our first date. Haley If anyone can screw up a relationship, it’s gonna be me. I moved to a new town for the guy I’d been dating for almost a year, only to find out he was married with two teenagers. Then I had a one-night stand with the hot guy from the hardware store, and got paired with him on a dating app for a date the next night. After I told him I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I wasn’t, not really, but if I was going to stick around for a while, I might as well get to know the locals. Especially the ones who made me feel like there might be a place for me in this small town.

Trey My music career was going exactly where I wanted it to. Big contract, big stadiums, and even bigger bank account. I had everything I wanted. But that contract required something I didn’t have. A song that would make all those raving fans dig even deeper into their pockets and throw more than just panties at me. The only problem was I hadn’t been able to write a song in years. There was one guy who could help me, but he was out of the public eye. No one knew where to find him. But I knew something they didn’t know. I knew where his daughter lived. Sofia Three months. That was how long he was going to be in my small town. I knew it when we met. But that spark… It had been a long time since I felt a spark like that. An instant connection with someone that made me feel like he really saw me. Falling for him was as smart as falling into his bed. Even knowing it was temporary, I couldn’t resist. He was charming and sweet and wanted to know everything about me. I thought he felt the same way I did. But he was keeping a secret from me. A secret that brought my past to my present. I’d worked hard to keep the past where it belonged. He betrayed that. And me.

Derek My new neighbor was going to be the death of me. Late night parties, early morning noise, and her uncontrollable dog digging up my yard. The peace and quiet I’d had for years was gone with one SOLD sign and a moving truck. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Oh, no. The biggest problem I had with my new neighbor was those tiny shorts that hugged her curves and made my mouth water. Those shorts were the reason I kept my distance. I was either going to strangle her or claim her. Which one was a toss-up. Chelsea I should have asked around before I bought my new house. I would have found out I was moving in next to the most uptight man in my small town. A man who thought it should be lights out at eight, and silence for a full twelve hours. Not all of us had that schedule, buddy. After yet another note on my door threatening to call the cops on me and my new puppy, I decided to pay my new neighbor a visit. I didn’t expect to find his son sitting on the porch. Alone. Locked out and scared. Or for my heart to squeeze so painfully when he accepted my offer of a cookie and a warm place to wait until his dad to got home. Maybe I was too quick to judge. Because a kid so sweet couldn’t possibly come from a man who was so rude. Or maybe there was more to the single dad next door.

Omar Running for reelection in the small town I’d made my home should have been a slam dunk. I had the support of my staff, the backing of the rest of the town, and a damn good track record. I also had new competition. Not for mayor. That was a lock. No, the competition was for my sanity. By the way of the woman who thought she should be able to do whatever she wanted in town just because she was doing it for the kids. There were still rules. Rules I was going to make sure she followed. Even if it meant I had to check in on her every single step of the way to make sure she was doing as I wanted her to. Which she never was. I wish that was the only thing about her that made my out of my mind crazy. Natalie Ugh. Could the interim Mayor be anymore of a pain in my backside? First, he needs details for all of my plans for the new rec center. Then he wants bi-weekly updates on where things are going. Then approval for the company doing the work for me. He might be the mayor, but he wasn’t in charge of my project. I had half a mind to tell him what he could do with his overbearing, stubborn, demanding… He kissed me. In the middle of a meeting. When I was telling him where to shove his demands. Instead, I ended up shoving my tongue down his throat. Was it wrong to find fighting with him as much fun as making up? Did I care?