He came back to me 16 minutes and 59 seconds into Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7. We parted amid tragedy, so it seemed poetic. Dylan O’Dea, my childhood sweetheart, once meant everything to me. Now we were strangers, and honestly, after 11 years I never thought I’d see him again. I lived in the world of the average, of getting paid by the hour and budgeting to make ends meet. But Dylan, he lived in the world of wealth and success. He’d achieved the great things I always suspected he would. The dissatisfaction he’d felt as a teenager had obviously been an excellent motivator.

No one is better at surviving than Scarlet St. Claire and making the best out of circumstances beyond her control is Scarlet’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, she’d be the last person on earth, hermitting like a pro, singing along to her CD Walkman, and dancing like no one is watching. Scarlet is clever, Scarlet is careful, and Scarlet is smart...except when it comes to Billy Winston. No one is better at fighting than Billy Winston and raging against his circumstances - because nothing is beyond his control - is Billy’s specialty.

Sometimes lady luck shakes your hand, and sometimes she smacks your face. Sometimes she does both on the same day. Three years ago, I met the most amazing girl in the world. We were both down on our luck. Then I got that call - the one that tells you to get your buns on a plane to go meet your destiny. But the girl was left behind. I didn’t have her phone number, and she didn’t know my real name. While I became a professional hockey player, she became a superstar, with platinum records and legions of fans. And a slick music producer boyfriend who treated her badly.

I’m desperate and destitute when Lockwood Construction rolls into my small town with an offer too good to pass up: high wages to any able-bodied man willing to join their crew. Say no more. I throw on baggy clothes, tuck my long hair under a baseball hat, and apply for a job. Unfortunately, my half-baked idea of disguising myself as a guy is flawed from the beginning. As Shakira says, these hips don’t lie.  Still, I like to think I might have pulled the whole thing off save for one thing: I know my boss.

No one deserves a "happily ever after" quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love Claire McClure (a.k.a. Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart, almost 20 years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated. But do you know who's tired of their separation and stubbornness? Everyone. Especially Billy Winston’s family. And now, they're going to do something about it.

Spending a month filming a reality TV show with your ex is no picnic. Especially when you’ve signed a contract stating that the two of you will not, under any circumstances, have romantic relations while filming. Leanne Simmons and Callum Davidson never had an easy relationship. From enemies to lovers and back to enemies, they’ve been on again/off again for years. Things come to a head when Callum gets into an altercation with a rival for Leanne’s affections. Their management decide enough is enough and give them both an ultimatum: sign the contract or leave the show.

Vaughn Spencer. They call him an angry god. To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince. His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street. All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me. Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses, and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ol' me. I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.

What I learned after last year’s distractions cost my hockey team our entire season? No more screwing up. No more screwing, period. As the new team captain, I need a new philosophy: hockey and school now, women later. Which means that I, Hunter Davenport, am officially going celibate...no matter how hard that makes things.

I’d never forgotten him - a man I’d yet to meet. Griffin Quinn was my childhood pen pal, the British boy who couldn’t have been more different from me. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, we became best friends, sharing our deepest, darkest secrets and forming a connection I never thought could break. Until one day it did. Then, out of the blue, a new letter arrived. A scathing one - one with eight years of pent-up anger. I had no choice but to finally come clean as to why I stopped writing. Griffin forgave me, and we were able to rekindle our childhood connection.

On the eve of her 30th birthday, sports agent Bess Beringer is ready to make some changes. Armed with a five-year plan - indexed and color coded - she’ll tackle her personal life with the same zeal that she brings to her successful agency. A big, tall, ripped hunk of hockey player who’s just been traded to the Brooklyn Bruisers is not a part of that plan. Mark “Tank” Tankiewicz has a lot of baggage. He’s a ride-or-die loner with a bad reputation. He’s on the rebound. He’s also the sexiest thing on two legs, and for some crazy reason it’s Bess that he wants. 

Lucy Fitzpatrick doesn't like rugby. As the little sister of Ireland's most infamous rugby player, Lucy can't seem to escape the championship-sized shadow cast by her big brother, or her mother's frequent attempts to micromanage her future. Her rainbow hair is as free-spirited as her quest for inner peace, yet overbearing expectations keep bringing her down. And when she's down, her compulsive little problem lands her in seriously big trouble.

The moment Sadie Matthews walks through the daycare center door, I feel my world tilt in her direction. Again. I fell for her when I was 14, and I’m still not over her. Problem: She still thinks of me as a teen she used to babysit. But I’ve learned a few things about pleasing a woman in the last 15 years. I can’t wait to show her how good it could be. I need to move quickly before I lose her again. This is more than a game to me, but I still plan to win. 

It all started with a sexy selfie. Texted to the wrong number. Oops. Not my finest moment - but I have nothing to be ashamed of. She thought I was no better, and I quote, than the knuckle-dragging douchebags she was never dating again. It was a stupid dare from a girl I’d met online, but since she’d given me a fake number, I didn’t feel bad that my interests were suddenly focused elsewhere - on the fiery and sharp-tongued Peyton that I found myself sparring with over text. The following day, my case of mistaken identity came back to bite me in the banana.

One night and my life completely jumped the tracks. Actually, a pack of expired condoms did that - the rest of the night was pretty amazing. Open bar at a friend's wedding. Bad dancing all around. Stupid trivia bets with my fellow Ice Knights hockey teammates. And Tess Gardner. The factoid-blurting, fandom-T-shirt-wearing, no-I-don’t-want-a-relationship-with-you woman makes me forget for one night that I’m a man with a routine and my future all mapped out. Still, it sucked she left our room without giving me her number.

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there’s no logical reason why I’m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don’t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I’m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn’t help that he’s buddy-buddy with my brother. And that his best friend has a crush on me. And that I just moved in with them. Oh, did I not mention we’re roommates?