My best friend wants me to take a risk… on him. I can’t. I’m afraid of getting hurt. But I’m terrified of losing him too. Knox People expect one of country music’s bad boys to have a few bad habits. My reputation precedes me… and I don’t mind. Until I realize it could cost me the one thing I can’t live without: Cece. That girl’s my everything. My best friend. My rock. My confidante. I can’t go on pretending it doesn’t kill me to see her with other guys. It’s time to cut through the sexual tension and test the boundaries of friendship. Only one problem. Cece knows me too well. Knows all my bad habits and dirty little secrets. So can I convince her I’m ready and willing to change… for her? Cece Knox is my best friend, my boss, the guy who gave me a chance in this crazy business when no one else would. He’s been my shoulder to cry on every time I got dumped. The front man… in my life. Now he wants more? Sure, I’ve indulged in a naughty fantasy or two. How could I not? The man is ripped, gorgeous, inked, with a panty-melting voice and a heart of gold under his gruff exterior. But he’s also a terrible risk. Knox doesn’t do commitment. And I can’t risk a friendship / lifeline for a one and done deal. It’s time to make a choice. Risk it all on the off-chance we could make it work… or run like hell?

I’m a joke in this town. Not my music. People take that seriously. A country music icon, they call me. But my track record with women? Yeah, that’s another story. Two failed marriages and another engagement up in smoke. I’m done. Done looking for my forever. Done being fodder for the gossip rags. Just done. So when my new assistant shows up ready for action, I swear her off. She may be the hottest little thing I’ve ever laid eyes on, but I’m not goin’ down for the count again.

I’ve been writing songs for a decade. The best in the business, they call me. But I have no desire to be the one putting on the show. Happy to be behind the scenes, giving them material to thrill their crowds. I’ve got my own demons to wrestle. And that doesn’t leave time for much else. Started writing when I was in the military. Bombs going off around me. A shaky pen in my hand. Hoping my words would live on long after I died. But I made it out alive. Sort of. PTSD has a way of grabbing you by throat and draining the life from you. That’s why I prefer to be alone. Never know when something might trigger me. But when I get stuck writing with a new artist on her debut album, my mind is tortured for a different reason. This girl… she’s dangerous. A distraction I don’t need, making me want things I can’t have, ‘cause I’m still a broken man.

I screwed up. Lost the best thing that ever happened to me—Brooklyn. She's the kind of girl you lock down tight. But instead of a proposal, I made excuses. Gave her reason to doubt me, and our relationship. And now she's gone. They call me a country music superstar, a legend in the making. But they don't know I'm barely hanging on. Music is the only thing that gets me through the day. But it's also the one thing standing between me and the girl I can't live without. I have to get Brook back, even if it means giving it all up... so I can be a better man. For her.

Few things piss me off as much as a man abusing a woman. Especially when that woman is the same one who’s been haunting my dreams for years. Edie and I go way back. She’s my kid sister’s best friend. I was the guy lucky enough to be her first, so when I find out her fiancé, the cop, has been beating on her… I make it my mission to protect her and make him pay. Keeping her safe, under my roof, is tricky because this girl is my one weakness. But she’s vulnerable. She needs a friend. And I’m determined to be that… even if the temptation kills me.

We all make mistakes, but my darkest moment cost me everything. I may have been drunk, only eighteen, and high on life when I got lured into a dingy bathroom to do the deed with my girlfriend’s rival, but I’ve been paying for it ever since Shea dumped me. I’m a grown-ass man now. A single dad with no clue how to care for a baby, and the only one who can rescue me? You guessed it… Shea. She keeps shooting me down, but I’ve got one thing she money. Will my outrageous offer be enough persuade her? I sure as hell hope so, ‘cause I’ve tried quitting this girl... and can’t.

I have a deep, dark secret that cost me the one thing I can't live my wife. When they look at me, my fans see a country music legend that owns the stage. But when I look in the mirror, I still see a terrified kid living a lie. It's finally time to come clean with Logan and let her see the real me. Ugly, scarred, consumed by guilt and shame. I'm not the man she fell in love with, that guy doesn't exist. He never did. I just pray she can forgive my sins, and learn to love me in spite of... the blood on my hands.