She’s from one town…
I've heard a lot of things about Alleghany’s quarterback. Weston Cole is popular, conceited, and arrogant. Most importantly, he’s spent the past three years steadily dismantling my family’s football legacy. I should hate him. And I did. Until I ran into him freshman year and discovered he’s also complicated. Considerate. Captivating. When our paths cross again senior year, that awareness becomes more dangerous than his suggestive smirk. Hating him was easy…before I knew him.
…and he’s from the other.
No girl in Glenmont is more untouchable than Maeve Stevens. She lives across enemy lines. Her father is their head football coach. Her twin brother is their quarterback. But one conversation with Maeve makes me forget about the bitter, decades-long rivalry between our two towns. Makes me forget there’s a team of guys relying on me to lead them to another victory. A few forbidden kisses, and there’s only one thing I want to fight for. Her.
trad deal!
One boy. One girl. Two feuding towns.
LIAM
At some point, summer became my least favorite season. It begins the build toward the inevitable highs and lows of football. Losing isn’t a trait anyone looks for in a quarterback, and I never won when it mattered. Arlington University was supposed to be a fresh start. But infamy isn’t easily forgotten― especially when everyone knows my twin sister is dating my biggest rival. Constant reminders of their relationship have me just as on edge about Alleghany as I was in high school. Spending a weekend sleeping across the hall from Natalie Jacobs doesn’t help. The popular, pretty blonde didn’t just celebrate each of my defeats―she literally led the cheer against me. Just my luck the last girl who should pique my interest is also the only one who ever has.
NATALIE
Spending the summer back in Alleghany, dealing with my parents’ problems, is the last place I want to be. I jump at the chance to spend a weekend away, visiting a college friend. I’m not expecting to know anyone else visiting her cottage on the Cape, much less come face-to-face with Glenmont’s infamous former quarterback. Not-so affectionately known as Sergeant Stevens on my side of the lake, Liam is still every bit the stoic, serious rule-follower I watched bark orders on the field for four years. Sure, he’s nice to look at―especially shirtless―but that’s where any interest begins and ends. The one thing Liam and I agree on is the rivalry between our hometowns isn’t a surpassable boundary. And if we did allow ourselves to cross it, it would only be for now…not forever.
trad deal!
Sometimes...scoring is the easy part.
What do you do when you encounter the famous footballer voted “Sexiest Athlete Alive” three years running on a soccer field in Germany?
If you’re Saylor Scott, you challenge him to a shoot-out. And win.
Saylor’s goals have always involved the literal kind constructed from posts and netting. Her single-minded focus has cost her a lot, but it’s also earned her recognition as the top female college player in the US. She doesn’t get attached, she never gets distracted, and she could care less what anyone thinks of her.
Meeting Adler Beck, the notorious player celebrated worldwide and coveted by women everywhere, challenges her indifference. But Saylor perfected the art of appearing unbothered a long time ago, and her scoring percentage is even higher off the pitch. Might as well add a gorgeous German to the tally.
Because only a fool would fall for a superstar known for breaking hearts alongside records.
And no one has ever accused Saylor Scott of being a fool.
trad deal!
He’s got all the right moves.
And makes…all the wrong plays.
Will Aster excels at two things: soccer and self-sabotage. Following a viral incident involving him and the club owner’s wife, his only option to continue playing is overseas on FC Kluvberg—a team known for not tolerating scandal. A last chance and a harsh wake-up call.
Sophia Beck has spent her life avoiding football. Growing up in the shadow of her family’s stratospheric success in the sport left scars. About to begin her final year of university, she’s eager to pursue a career in photography, not receive an internship assignment involving her brother’s team. The last thing she expects is to meet a guy—a player—who makes her want to watch a game.
He loves soccer.
She resents it.
Those contrary viewpoints collide when Will and Sophia discover something stronger than their conflicting emotions toward the sport—their feelings for each other.
But…one wrong play can cost the game.
And wrong plays are Will’s specialty.
trad deal!
They’ve trained for every challenge … except each other.
Defense has always been Claire Caldwell’s default setting. Signing with the Boston Siege, her hometown team, was a dream come true. But outside of soccer, her life is slowly falling apart. She’s focused on one goal: making this season—likely her last—count after years of disappointments.
Otto Berger’s life was just upended mid-season. Sidelined for the first time in his career with a serious injury, he winds up thousands of miles from home, face-to-face with a woman he never expected to see again. Assistant coaching for the Siege while recovering sounded simple. Coaching Claire? Complicated.
They’re no longer the young Olympic hopefuls who met in Paris. One walked away without a gold medal. Both left broken-hearted. Neither anticipated being forced to work together years later.
Can two people with a history they can’t escape rewrite their story, or are they doomed to relive the same ending?
trad deal!
He's the one guy she swore she'd never fall for...
Harlow Hayes has spent three years avoiding Conor Hart. The cocky captain of Holt University’s hockey team makes it easy—he ignores her right back.
Plenty of girls fall for the charming lines and that arrogant smirk.
Harlow knows better. Knows more.
Like the fuel for the fury that makes Conor such a dominant force on the ice. The history they share but didn’t write. The reason they don’t speak.
Until, one day, they do.
He was supposed to be the one guy she could never—would never—like, much less love.
Famous last words.
He's the one guy she thought she'd never see again...
Rylan Keller is dreading the start of spring semester. After choosing a college across the country and spending the past fall abroad, she’ll be a Holt University student. Worse than starting over at a new school? Starting over at a new school where your dad is the head coach of the men’s hockey team. And reluctantly agreeing to tutor a player, then coming face-to-face with the guy you thought you’d never see again.
Aidan Phillips has a reputation on campus. One he’s carefully curated to include limited reliability or responsibility. Outside of hockey, he spends his free time drinking, partying, and flirting. Often all three.
He’s a player off the ice as well as on it. Gorgeous, carefree, reckless. His one goal is to finally win Holt a championship, which he can only do if he keeps up his end of the tutoring arrangement. Hooking up with his tutor would be stupider than failing in the first place, even if the tutor in question wasn’t his coach’s daughter.
Rylan is determined to excel at Holt and make her fresh start a success. To finally have some fun, and not with a hockey player. Except, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to hold back.
But no matter how tempting giving in might be…the odds are stacked against them.
He's the one guy she's never forgotten...
Spending a week as a “fifth wheel” to two happy couples isn’t the best cure for heartbreak, but Eve Driscoll’s options for spring break are limited. Either join her best friend for a group getaway or slouch on the couch reliving the unexpected end of her three-year relationship.
Time away from campus might be exactly what Eve needs to refocus on her life-long dream that’s about to become a reality—moving to New York City to become an artist. She’s spent most of college playing it safe. Maybe she should take some risks before graduating. Starting with a road trip to California…
There couldn’t have been a better ending to Hunter Morgan’s hockey career than winning a national championship. But the high of hoisting a trophy is fading, forcing him to face difficult decisions about his post-graduation plans. Spring break will be a welcome distraction, although spending the week with his two best friends sounded a lot more appealing before they both got girlfriends. Until he finds out Eve Driscoll is joining their trip too…
Timing wasn’t on Hunter’s side freshman year. He isn’t even sure if Eve remembers the night they met. And he’s certain, only two months from graduation, the timing is even worse now.
But Hunter knows he’ll regret never telling Eve how much he wishes that evening had ended differently. Especially once he discovers she hasn’t forgotten him.
A standalone, steamy, arranged marriage romance.
There’s rich.
Then there’s the Ellsworth family. The Kensingtons. American royalty.
Money buys power, and power always has a price. The fear of those who already possess both? Losing it. The best way to ensure keeping it? Alliances. And elites don’t marry down—they marry equal.
For Scarlett Ellsworth and Crew Kensington, that leaves one option: each other. Accepting that inevitability is very different from embracing it. That’s the only thing they agree upon.
It was meant to be a union for better and for business.
Instead, it challenges everything Scarlett and Crew thought they knew about themselves, their families, and most of all…each other.
One night. Two strangers. Lots of regrets…
A bachelor party in Las Vegas is the last place Oliver Kensington wants to spend a long weekend. He likes controlling outcomes, not the uncertainty of gambling. For the most part, his reputation as the reliable, responsible Kensington brother is well-deserved. But for one of the few people he considers a friend, he’ll show up in sin city.
Oliver’s focus is on work—and on getting back into his father’s good graces. But he’s not expecting absolution for past mistakes; Arthur Kensington doesn’t forgive.
So when an offer to forget is made as soon as Oliver returns to New York, it’s shocking. And it’s the same demand his father made years ago: to marry a woman as part of a business arrangement. This time, there’s no chance his brother Crew will be the one waiting at the end of the aisle, which is how Oliver’s last engagement ended.
The answer should be obvious. Most of Oliver’s life has centered around earning his father’s approval and becoming CEO, both of which he thought were lost opportunities. Learning they’re not should be the best news he’s received all year.
Problem is, there’s a piece of paper in his pocket that says he’s already married…to the blonde woman he met in the bar of a Vegas hotel.
His name starts with a H. So does happiness. Heartbreak. Home. Hoops. All things I associate with him.
Ever since my family moved in across the street when we were both kids, Holden Adams has been that guy. My first crush. My former confidante. My best friend’s brother. He’s the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
I love him.
I hate him.
One of those is a lie.
I’m just…not sure which.
Are first loves meant to last? Or do we outgrow our pasts...
She’s been part of my life since we were kids. The girl who grew up across the street. The responsible, straight-A student destined for success. My little sister’s best friend.
Nothing like my reckless, impulsive self.
But Cassia Nolan has always been my calm in the midst of chaos. All that centers me, besides basketball. I fought falling for her; it happened anyway.
Growing older is supposed to involve getting wiser. But me? I keep making the same mistakes. And when the start of our senior year of college reveals some shocking truths, our relationship looks more fragile than ever.
Letting her go sounds impossible. There’s a saying about that…and things you love.
I’m selfish. But she’s the exception—always.
Follow childhood friends who grew up playing basketball together as they navigate life, love, and loss through high school, college, and beyond...
FRIDAY NIGHT LIES
His name starts with a H. So does happiness. Heartbreak. Home. Hoops. All things I associate with him.
Ever since my family moved in across the street when we were both kids, Holden Adams has been that guy. My first crush. My former confidante. My best friend’s brother. He’s the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
I love him.
I hate him.
One of those is a lie. I’m just...not sure which.
TUESDAY NIGHT TRUTHS
She’s been part of my life since we were kids. The girl who grew up across the street. The responsible, straight-A student destined for success. My little sister’s best friend.
Nothing like my reckless, impulsive self.
But Cassia Nolan has always been my calm in the midst of chaos. All that centers me, besides basketball. I fought falling for her; it happened anyway.
Growing older is supposed to involve getting wiser. But me? I keep making the same mistakes. And when the start of our senior year of college reveals some shocking truths, our relationship looks more fragile than ever.
Letting her go sounds impossible. There’s a saying about that…and things you love.
I’m selfish. But she’s the exception—always.
He’s the guy every girl wants…
Jace Dawson is less than a year away from accomplishing everything he’s spent the past decade striving for. Not only has playing professional football been the dream since he was a kid, the financial incentive isn’t one he could walk away from even if he wanted to. That is, until a chance collision has the unexpected outcome of making Jace realize he might want something more than the goal he’s spent most of his life pursuing. Might want someone more.
…she’s the girl he can never have.
For Vivienne Rhodes, the opportunity to attend Lincoln University represents what she’s always craved more than anything: normalcy. One semester is all she has before returning to a future that’s set in stone. Her mere presence on campus is only made possible by a meticulous plot. The essential component of it is that no one can know her real identity. Falling for the star quarterback is most definitely not part of the plan. But it will all be fine, just as long as she keeps those feelings to herself. Because that unchangeable future? Can’t include Jace Dawson.
The first time Ryder James broke my heart, I was fifteen and fearless.
The second time he broke my heart, I was eighteen and jaded.
Both times, I fell for him effortlessly.
Falling is easy.
Our landings are hard. Painful.
We were a sad song with a slow melody. Flowers with paper petals. Hidden letters with visible tears. A beautiful tragedy.
Except tragedies have endings. Our story just … stopped.
Seven years later, I still have more questions than answers. Questions I’m too proud to ask after almost a decade of silence. Answers he refuses to share, no matter how much time we’re forced to spend together.
Everything’s changed … except how I feel about him. And the recurring moments when I’m certain Ryder hasn’t forgotten our past either.
Can you forget your first?
Or are they destined to keep breaking your heart … over and over again?
Mr. Wrong /ˈmistər rôNG/ noun: the polar opposite of the perfect man. "A prime example of Mr. Wrong is a certain quarterback incapable of letting a grudge go."
A reality television dating show was never part of my post-college plan. Nearly broke, unemployed, recently dumped me let my best friend Haley decide it should be.
They say don’t make life-altering decisions after five shots of tequila, and I now believe whoever coined that phrase.
We all have rough patches, right? When nothing sounds better than snuggling on the couch in your favorite sweats, inhaling chocolate?
Well, I’ve signed up for the glamorous version. Designer dresses. Poolside lounge chair. Open bar.
Unfortunately, my free vacation takes a turn from mildly humiliating to full-on mortification when the identity of the man I’m meant to woo is revealed.
What are the chances he’ s the quarterback I accidentally insulted on national television six months ago? Turns out they’re pretty good.
Famous athletes receive plenty of press coverage. Odds he remembers my constructive criticism? Turns out they’re also pretty good.
Thanks to a one-way plane ticket and a thirty-page contract I probably should have read before signing, I’m forced to follow through. To embark on a journey around the world with a man who hates me and the twenty-four other women he’s “dating” that will be forever enshrined on film for millions to watch weekly.
All to win Mr. Wrong.
It’s hard to forget your past when you’re staring at it.
That’s the conclusion Emma Watkins arrives at when she returns to Hayden, Maine—population 2,253; now 2,254—for the first time in nine years.
When she sees him for the first time in nine years.
When that word leaves his mouth. Buttercup. A pretty nickname in an ugly tone. A term of endearment time twisted into an insult. A taunt that nothing has been forgiven—or forgotten.
She’s back to sever ties. Break promises. Keep secrets. All easier said than done. The memories she left behind aren’t all bad…more like mostly good.
Reminders of the happy times before the heartbreak don’t change the fact that this visit is a farewell tour, not a reunion. Caden Bennett is the guy she left behind. Being back where they began doesn’t change that.
But she never intended to fall for him the first time, either.
A lot can happen on a two-week trip to the Canadian wilderness.
Auden Harmon learns her parents’ marriage is officially over. Expected. Accidentally gifts a five-hundred-dollar pen to a stranger. Unexpected.
Neither event wreaks havoc on her life quite like meeting Elliot Reid does. He has eyes the color of the cloudy sky. A slapshot the whole country has an unhealthy obsession with. The uncanny ability to say the exact right thing, right when she needs to hear it.
They stay in touch after she leaves. Swap secrets. Become best friends. Tell each other everything.
Well…almost everything.
It’s a thin line between love and hate. The line between love and friendship with a guy who makes mammoth-sized butterflies swarm your stomach? Practically transparent.
But when he’s made it clear friendship is all he has to offer?
You can never say it.
Georgette Adams is trouble incarnate. Spoiled, sassy, smart…and the President’s only daughter.
Getting summoned to a meeting at the White House felt like an honor—until I caught the catch.
I’m the newest member of her security detail. Not only for this summer in DC, but once she leaves for Stanford in the fall as well. Her safety is my responsibility.
Trouble is, the only place Georgie respects any rules is on the tennis court.
Our priorities clash and our personalities conflict, yet somehow—the more time we spend together, the less it feels like work.
But my job description doesn’t include making her laugh or enjoying our conversations. And it definitely doesn’t involve broken rules or blurred lines.
My only job?
Is to serve.
Some couples have chemistry.
Others have a connection.
We have both.
We took turns, walking away. But somehow, we’ve still ended up here. On stage, together, in front of tens of thousands of people. Him holding a guitar, me a microphone. Singing the song I wrote that launched my career and dubbed me the princess of pop music.
The song about him.
Maybe we were inevitable from the start. To love. To dream. To end.
Our song had one ending.
Our story might have another.
A steamy, standalone, second chance mafia romance.
When people choose to leave, you should let them.
That’s a lesson Lyla Peterson has learned over and over again. Abandoned more than once, her focus is on ensuring her son never experiences that familiar sting, not on lingering questions from the pain-filled past.
Until the opportunity arises to seek elusive answers and Lyla seizes it, opening old wounds and revealing dangerous secrets.
He chose to leave.
She should have let him.
Six summers. Six chances. One week spent pretending.
Ever since her younger sister’s engagement was announced, Harper Williams has been dreading the wedding. What should be a joyous, sun-drenched affair is sure to be filled with plenty of awkward moments, thanks to Harper’s strained relationship with her only sibling. Awkwardness enhanced by the wedding’s location—a lake in Maine, swimming with painful memories of their late father.
Running into Drew Halifax—her childhood crush, who grew up to be the golden boy of hockey—is a surprise. Not nearly as shocking as his offer to be her plus-one is though.
She expects him to back out. He shows up. She’s looking for a distraction from the past. He’s killing time until his season starts and he can chase the championship. She’s guarded yet outgoing. He’s easygoing yet focused.
They hardly know each other. Until one week of sharing secrets, pretending to be in love, and sleeping in the same bed changes everything. Feelings that were supposed to be fake start to feel very real.
Problem is, neither of them is looking for a relationship. At most, they’re meant to be a summer fling. Definitely not a happily ever after.
But when it comes to falling? You have no control. Once you start, it’s impossible to stop. And sometimes…it takes six summers.
Kyle Spencer is the king of country music.
She’s the city girl, sent to talk him into returning to the stage…
Piper Egan landed her dream job straight out of college—working at Empire Records. But instead of discovering new talent and changing lives, like she’d hoped, her time is spent taking meeting notes and catering to spoiled celebrities. When the chance to change that finally appears, she should be thrilled.
Unfortunately, Piper’s promotion involves the charming cowboy she’s spent years attempting to avoid. And flying to middle of nowhere, Texas, in a desperate attempt to talk the king of country music into returning to the stage.
It’s a work trip with no boundaries. Piper is determined to head back to New York with a signed contract in hand, no matter what it takes. But that plan becomes complicated when she’s greeted by a scowl instead of Kyle’s trademark grin. Becomes challenging when she glimpses the genuine guy beneath the superstar. Becomes impossible when she learns the reason he walked away from the spotlight.
When she realizes…her only plan should have been to protect her heart.
Lennon Matthews has been looking forward to the end of senior year since the first day of high school. She’s sick of the stares and whispers that follow her around, of balancing staying at the top of her class with all her other responsibilities.
And she’s especially over interacting with Caleb Winters. The town golden boy who refuses to ignore her existence, no matter how hard she tries to remain invisible. The star pitcher with a bright, shiny future in front of him, very different from Lennon’s path after graduation.
But Caleb’s life isn’t as perfect as it appears. His family is fractured beneath the facade and the pressure of high expectations is constant. He had no interest in moving to the small, horse-racing-obsessed town of Landry, Kentucky, and no say in the matter either. And the one girl he’s interested in stubbornly refuses to give him the time of day.
Until persistence finally seems to shift Lennon’s perception of him. But one thing that doesn’t change as graduation creeps closer? Her insistence that their lives are too different for anything serious or lasting between them. Caleb’s professional baseball aspirations are more present than ever, and he hasn’t hidden his desire to leave Landry. Between caring for the only family she has left and managing what’s left of their farm, she’s tied to Landry with no intention of that ever changing.
Lennon has spent years eager to see Caleb leave. She’s the only reason he wants to stay. Together, they’ll have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice. For themselves…and for each other.
First impressions last. For Evie Collins, that meant falling in love with Grayson Phillips the day he moved in next door. The same day he saved her from falling…and simultaneously sentenced her to a fate of pining after her brother’s best friend for years.
Moving back to Charleston to begin residency was supposed to start a new chapter. One free of the pesky, pointless childhood crush Evie left behind. Her feelings for the boy next door might be in the past, but Gray is perfectly present. In town for three weeks; home on leave from the Air Force; and, since he’s still her brother’s best friend, impossible to avoid.
A summer fling sounded simple. Stress relief from the grueling hours of residency. Some fun following a breakup. Clear boundaries with an obvious ending: he’ll fly away…again.
But secretly sleeping with the guy you’ve compared all others to? Complicated. Even more confusing? The glimpses of their shared history that suggest her crush on the boy next door wasn’t as unrequited as she thought.
Goodbyes are always hard.
This one could prove impossible.
