I caught her staring at me from across the quad, eyes fixed on the football jersey stretched across my wide chest. And if I flexed my muscles, showing off the strength of a defensive tackle, it was just to see her blush. And then she did, and I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Her wide eyes. The freckles on her cheeks. I needed to know her. The girl who scampered away every time we bumped into each other—by accident and by design. The girl who shyly agreed to come to my game, getting her first taste of football. The girl, Hannah Utley, who worked at the campus library and let me rest my head on her shoulder as she read to me in one of the study rooms. It was innocent. Mostly. Until we lose track of time and discover that the library has closed. And we’re locked inside. Now it’s me and Hannah in the stacks. Alone. With nothing but desire between us.

Hannah Maddox Lovelace. The captivating football player I met in college. The one I only knew for a week. A week that was… life\-changing. Until my phone rang, and I had no choice but to go home. I left Maddox a letter, putting my feelings on paper, giving him my number, hoping he’d call. But he didn’t call. He never called. He got drafted into the professional league and lived like a king while I stayed home and struggled to stay afloat. I may have followed his career, but now that he’s retired from football, I’ve forced myself to stop thinking about him. And it’s okay that I won’t ever see him again. That week in college was fifteen years ago. I’m not in love with Maddox anymore. I might even hate him. Maddox Hannah Utley. The name that’s haunted me since my senior year of college. The girl who caught my attention with her wide eyes and freckled nose. Who spent one week twisting up my insides until she stole a piece of my heart the night we got locked inside the campus library. The girl who disappeared without a word. It’s the name of the girl I’ve been trying to forget for fifteen years. And it’s the name looking up at me from the résumé in my hand. Because Hannah Utley works for the company I just purchased. And that makes her mine. Whether she likes it or not.

Rosie I was eight when Nathan moved away. He was my best friend. My only friend. My safe space. And then he was gone. And my life turned into Hell. But I survived. I broke free and made a life for myself. And I tried to forget about the boy who grew up to be Nate Waller, the famous retired football player. I really did try to forget. But then I opened the door, while working at a client’s house, and he was there. Standing before me. My old friend. My unwitting confidant. My Nathan. Except… he doesn’t recognize me. Nate The curvy little redhead captured my attention the second I saw her. And I knew I needed to have her. Needed to know her better. Needed to get my hands on her. But when I did. When she moaned my name. My full name. It all came rushing back. Twenty\-five years had passed, but in that moment I finally recognized her. My Rosie. My childhood friend. I may have forgotten about her. But I remember now. And this time I’m not letting her go.