Wounded

On the same day I lose my job, my house, and all hope for the future, I also lose my journal. And the worst part.... He found it. He read it. And...he commented. At the end of his message is an email address and a plea: Contact me. Please. I know better than to trust strangers with candy, but, after a tequila-fueled night, I create a new email address and do just that...and the man I discover is overflowing with kindness and humor and depth. Meanwhile, I meet Lucas Hutton - a Marine with scars covering his body, heart, and soul.

Bossy. Heart of stone. Snarly mess next door. Send help before I'm prick-matized.... My next big mistake has a name. Warren Ford. Best kept secret in this weird little town. An alpha's alpha. Spartan abs. Too blunt for everybody's good. Moody, broody, mysterious, and totally up in my business.

Dear Mr. Brisken: How do I hate you? Let me count the ways. I hate your smug, sexy millionaire face. I hate your cocky, skirt-chasing, playboy ways. I hate working as your secretary - but, I love the pay. It almost makes dealing with you worth it. I hate how my friends call you a BILF, when really BILK (Boss I'd Like to Kill) is more appropriate. I hate that I need you to be my date for my best friend's wedding because my ex-boyfriend, the King of Heartbreakers, and his new busty blonde girlfriend will be in attendance.  

It was one freaking kiss with a stranger. I wasn't looking for a hero the day Brent Eden charged into my life. He saw a damsel in distress facing humiliation. We played pretend. Swore I was his. Baited sweet chaos. Blew apart everything. My dating disaster? Gone. Our kiss? Electric. Divine. Toe-curling. His mistake? Oh, boy. Dropping the ultimate F-bomb: fiancée. Especially when my gossipy cousin tells the whole family.  

I've spent years raising my sister. Starting a billion-dollar company to keep her secure. That's all that's ever mattered. Now she's at college, and I take one night for myself...a little wild freedom. Guess what happens? It was only supposed to be one night - but she left me desperate for more. Searching for the girl with the sparkling blue eyes and wild passion. Ava Lockley. The one who danced and kissed and cried out with total abandon in my arms. When she walked out in the middle of the night, I thought I'd never find her again. 

It was my home run ball that shattered her face. Right along with her modeling career. Now it's my mission to help her rebuild her life. And get her to love the game that she hates. The game that dictates my life both on and off the field. But when the lines of our friendship become blurred, I worry she'll just be another casualty of my three-strikes rule. The rule I have to protect my money, my future, my heart. No girl has ever broken it. I've never wanted one to. Until now.

Never, ever fall for your brother's hot older friend. I flunked the test the instant I laid eyes on Landon Strauss. Tall. Ripped. Commanding. Irresistibly alpha. He gave a damn like no one else did. His soul-searing eyes saw me, not just a nerd girl next door. I had my idol, my destiny, and names for our future kids picked.

A gorgeous rock star. An indecent proposal. How can a girl resist? Struggling barista Katie Bloom doesn’t even know who Jesse Mayes is until she inadvertently wins the coveted role of sex kitten in his hot new music video. But by the time she’s in bed with him, she knows his reputation. Love maker. Heartbreaker. Making out with a stranger in front of a camera crew isn’t how Katie imagined herself getting over a broken heart, but when Jesse touches her, sparks fly. The sex is fake but the chemistry is real, and soon the steamy video is blazing up the charts.

New Hope, South Carolina is my home. It’s where I grew up, got into trouble, and fell in love for the first time. Scarlett Kincaid was more than the girl next door, she was my best friend, until she decided that small town life wasn’t for her. The girl I used to fish with down at the creek is now the biggest name in country music, and I haven’t seen her since she left. Until today when she sped through town in her fancy car. One look at her big brown eyes was all it took to stir up a whole slew of emotions. Emotions I’d long ago buried and sure as hell don’t have time for.

Emma Kane is my new roommate. My very off-limits roommate. My gorgeous, sassy, hot-as-hell roommate. I try to keep my distance. To ignore her soft laugh, her intense eyes, her sweet smile. And that groan, the one she makes over her morning coffee - alright, the feisty college student is driving me out of my mind. I can still keep my hands off her. I double down on my rules. Draw that line between friends and lovers. Then she presses her red lips to mine. And, suddenly, it’s obvious. There’s no way in hell I can resist her.