They are two strangers, struggling from day to day—one trying to overcome the past, while the other hides behind it. Just when Tripp Alexander thinks he has everything figured out and nothing can stop him, a swift dose of reality plants his feet firmly on the ground. Maybe a little too close to six feet under. Loren Jenson knows heartache. Circumstances from her past have tarnished her outlook on life, making her feel like her future has been pulled out from under her. That is, until a boy with deep green eyes and a shy smile falls into her life, bringing with him a connection she can't deny. Will they be able to trust enough to share their secrets and accept one another, despite what they've been through? Or will the truth about their pasts derail the chance fate has handed them? How do you allow yourself to live out the life set before you when you are the other one?

The road to self-discovery leads Maverick Kensington deep into the heart of New Orleans. The colorful characters, beautiful scenery and a hot mess of a woman he finds along the way offer him the perfect place to reinvent himself. The French Quarter and Blue Bayou are exactly the change of pace he’s looking for, helping him escape the soul-sucking work he does for his father’s company. Carys Matthews is young and inexperienced. Having her family’s hotel dropped in her lap after her mother’s untimely death, she’s struggling to keep her head above water and keep the hotel’s doors open. She doesn’t have time for relationships, but Maverick Kensington is worth an exception. Besides, his stay is temporary and a fling never hurt anyone, right? His passion and business know-how is exactly what she needs. Her carefree spirit is what he wants. Their whirlwind relationship is one for the books until truths are untold and assumptions are made. Everything comes to a screeching halt just when they were getting to the good part. There’s always been a saying around the eventually, everyone comes back to the Blue Bayou. Will Maverick be the exception?

WOMEN HAVEN'T BEEN HIRED TO WORK IN MY BAR FOR A REASON: they’re too tempting and too distracting—too much of a liability—even if they are good for business… That’s why I shocked myself by hiring Avery Cole. She’s young, carefree, and happy—a beautiful distraction. When she’s around, the devastation of my past gets buried under layers of lust and desire… hints of a life I once lived but have completely given up on.I’ve already had my love and now that’s gone; there’s no need to try again. Even if love is staring me right in the face with a pair of deep brown eyes and no expectations. WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT SHAW O'SULLIVAN?He’s rude, abrasive, sexy—and my boss. He’s also broken in ways I would never have seen if I hadn’t been looking. Which means he should be off limits; my heart and body cannot handle his baggage. I’m on a quest to find myself, and Shaw O’Sullivan will only get in my way and drag me down. Where I’m light, he's dark. We don't mix and neither of us is looking for love, so what happens when it finds us anyway?

First comes marriage, then comes...love? Divorce? Let’s pretend this never happened ... They say opposites attract and that couldn’t be truer when it comes to CeCe and Shep. But what happens when the two most anti-marriage people in the French Quarter start enjoying the act? CeCe I never planned on getting married. After my dad deserted my family the day before my tenth birthday, and I watched my mother fall to pieces over him, I decided it wasn’t worth the heartache. Then Shepard Rhys-Jones, who ghosted me two years ago, declares he needs to marry someone to claim his inheritance, and I drunkenly offer myself up as his wife. He was the best I’ve ever had and now, he’s all mine… but only for the next year. Shep I never planned on getting married. It was one business transaction I had no desire to close. Yet, here I am… sitting in a bar in New Orleans… seriously considering making CeCe Calhoun my wife. If we can manage to stay married for a year, I’ll be one hundred million dollars richer and finally have the freedom to forge my own path, separate from the Rhys-Jones name. She’s the only woman I’ve struggled to forget, and she’s finally mine. For now. Is it possible for this fake marriage to be real?

Friends are what we agree to be, but some romances deserve a second chance. Finley She was my first everything—first love, first real kiss, first time. Even though we came from different worlds, Georgette Taylor understood me. She was mine and I was hers. I thought we’d be together forever. Until she left me, just like everyone else. Georgette I haven’t seen Finley Lawson in five years. The day I walked away from him—or ran, rather—was the hardest day of my life. My only regret is losing touch with him. I loved him and he loved me. And then I threw it all away. I thought the past was in the past until I walked into a bar in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve and smackdab into the boy I used to love, who is now a man. Like, a really hot man. And I realize, every feeling I ever felt for him is still alive and well.