A forced sentence leads to a reckless passion……. Hadley When my husband walked out on me over a year ago, it devastated me. When the divorce papers came, it killed me. When we had to sell our house, it broke me. But then he moved in with his new flavor of the month and told our daughter his new woman wasn’t into children. That pissed me off. Now Riley feels abandoned, and I can’t make it better; no matter how hard I try. I’m desperate to help her adjust to the loss of a male figure in her life. The companion program that matches adults up with children who have loneliness and abandonment issues is my last hope. The counselors tell me he’s doing community service hours, and I ask to sit in on his meetings with Riley. The minute I see him astride the matte black Harley, I know neither my nor Riley’s life will ever be the same again. Trick Community Service. Two words I should be thankful for, but I’m not. I resent the hours it’s away from building my business. The two previous kids I'd been paired up with didn’t work out because their mothers were more interested in getting in my bed. This next match with a little girl is my last hope. Unless this kid works out, I’m destined to serve time. When they push her into the room wearing pink converse with a black dress, her crazy curls barely held back by the barrette in her hair, and studious glasses on her face, I can tell she’s scared - of new people, of change, of being pushed aside. Something inside of me breaks, and I want this girl to feel wanted again. What I’m unprepared for is meeting her mom. The second our hands touch, there are fireworks, bright lights, and a picture of the future I could one day have. The future I’ve never allowed myself to wish for. Community service becomes more than a chore, more than time I resent for being taken away from me. In the months that follow, I realize they’re just like me: they’ve been abandoned, left behind by the world, forgotten by those who should love them. Thanks to the one last hope in both our lives - we found the light in the darkness we’d been searching for.

This edition of Trick features Trick, Unwrap Me, the Trick & Hadley text messages, and the first chapter of their son, Declan's book. A forced sentence leads to a reckless passion… Hadley When my husband walked out on me over a year ago, it devastated me. When the divorce papers came, it wrecked me. When we had to sell our house, it broke me. But then he moved in with his new flavor of the month and told our daughter his new woman wasn’t into children. That pissed me off. Now Riley feels abandoned, and I can’t make it better; no matter how hard I try. I’m desperate to help her adjust to the loss of a male figure in her life. The Companion Program that matches adults up with children who have loneliness and abandonment issues is my last hope. The counselors tell me he’s doing community service hours, and I ask to sit in on his meetings with Riley. The minute I see him astride the matte black Harley, I know neither my nor Riley’s life will ever be the same again. Trick Community Service. Two words I should be thankful for, but I’m not. I resent the hours away from building my business. The two previous kids I'd been paired up with didn’t work out because their mothers were more interested in getting in my bed than making sure their child was taken care of. This next match with a little girl is my last hope. Unless this kid works out, I’m destined to serve time. When they push her into the room wearing pink converse with a black dress, her crazy curls barely held back by the barrette in her hair, and studious glasses on her face, I can tell she’s scared - of new people, of change, of being pushed aside. Something inside of me breaks, and I want this girl to feel wanted again. What I’m unprepared for is meeting her mom. The second our hands touch, I see fireworks, bright lights, and a picture of the future I could one day have. The future I’ve never allowed myself to wish for. Community service becomes more than a chore, more than the precious hours I have to give up. In the months that follow, I realize Riley and Hadley are just like me; they’ve been abandoned, left behind by the world, forgotten by those who should love them. Thanks to the one last hope in both our lives - we found the light in the darkness we’d been searching for. Unwrap Me Life gets a little crazy sometimes, especially when you've got two kids, two businesses, and you are two parents who are very hands on. But when Trick's gift doesn't get here in time for Christmas, I have to improvise. They say variety is the spice of life. To keep my man happy, marriage on track, and our sanity, I decide to give him what he craves most in the world. Me. With a bow on top. Patrick Tennyson won't know what hit him. It'll be the surprise of his life, and all he'll have to do is follow the instructions. Trick, Your gift got a little delayed. Instead, I've improvised. Follow the snowflakes to the bedroom. When you get here, unwrap me, and I'm yours. Hadley Christmas is about to get so hot we'll be melting the eight inches expected tonight. ;)

A Reverse Age Gap, Single-Parent Romance My sister’s best friend has always taken my breath away… Declan Tennyson At twenty-two most guys my age are living it up. Swiping left and right, trying to find what’s good for the night, instead of what’s good for life. Me? I have one of the best examples to follow. Trick and Hadley Tennyson are still in love twenty-plus-years on, and dad is looking to slow down. Which means I have a decision to make. Take the shop, or make my own way. I thought I had it all worked out, until a single-mom with brunette hair, blue eyes, and the cutest son ever needed my help on a freezing, snowy night. Claudia Wilson Declan Tennyson was always cute and annoying. My best friend’s little brother could always be counted on to be underfoot, or secretly listening to our girl talk. But the last three years? He grew into a man without me noticing. Being a single-mom is harder than I ever expected it to be, and I haven’t had time to notice anything. Not until the night Declan saved us in the snow, and if I’m not careful, he’s gonna end up saving me from myself.