Navy SEAL Joe MacDermid came to Thornehill Springs, North Carolina seeking peace and quiet and maybe a break from his hectic life. But his next-door neighbor Verna Love seems intent on making sure he doesn’t get any of either. Verna takes pride in being a nice person, but when it comes to Joe, she just can’t help herself. Getting under his skin gives her an unexplainable satisfaction, and it doesn’t hurt that Joe is the picture of masculine perfection, especially when he’s angry. She’s smart enough to know that he’d never be interested in her, not with all her flaws, but she can’t pretend that goading him isn’t one of the highlights of her day. But when circumstances force the two of them together, they might find love where they least expect.

Orderly. Efficient. Controlled. That’s how Blakely Bishop likes her life and the people in it. The instability of her past has ingrained in her the hard lessons of a life lived in chaos. She refuses to experience that again, and if the cost of her safety is an occasional bout of loneliness, she’ll happily pay that price. And then he enters her world. Cody Sommers, a young, brash Navy SEAL lives for the edge and embraces the messiness of life wholeheartedly. One look at prim and proper Blakely, and Cody knows that if she loosened the reins, the results would be explosive. Blakely’s tough, but Cody’s never met a challenge he didn’t like, and he won’t be dissuaded, not even when she does her best to push him away.

Five years ago, Ariel Mallick experienced a devastating loss, and for a time, she didn’t know if she’d recover. It took a while, but the widowed mother is in a good place now, focused on providing the best possible life for her four-year-old daughter and maintaining her career as a mechanic. Her life now is one that a few short years ago she didn’t think would be possible, and she won’t do anything to unsettle it. Mathias Poole was born and raised in Thornehill Springs, and though many of the memories of his past are tinged with pain, he loves his town and is happy to be back home, especially since meeting Ariel. To her surprise, Ariel feels a deep attraction to the handsome, reserved Dr. Poole. After an impromptu date, she finds herself caught up in a passionate whirlwind, one strong enough to make her wonder if she and Matt might have a chance at something real. But not everyone in town is excited about Ariel’s new relationship, and to keep her daughter she might have to give up the man she’s come to love.