Larry Williams

Will this growly protector break her book-loving heart...or become her second chance at love? Savanna Vasquez lost her Navy SEAL husband years ago to terrorists, and she doesn’t think she’s capable of falling in love again. Then came Griffin. The inexplicable connection between them has them both wondering if maybe they were brought together for another reason. And as Griffin does everything in his power to save Savanna, he discovers there’s a chance she just might save him, too.

Gravel-voiced Gibson Bodine takes his lone wolf image seriously. His one love - besides starting a good brawl - is sitting on a rinky-dink stage in a backwoods bar playing guitar and singing about things he’ll never have. When a video of him playing goes viral, Gibson ignores the unwanted attention. He’s got bigger things to worry about. Like the bomb his half-brother’s mom just dropped on him. And the fallout from the memento he’s been carrying around for 13 years. But one night in a bar, 50 miles from home, he meets her. And she changes everything.

On the heels of divorce, Lt. Brett Cash never expected to meet the woman of his dreams. Especially not during a robbery gone bad. But just because she's the woman of his dreams does not mean he's the man of hers. Emma is a child of a 9/11 hero taken far too soon. And she's not about to let her own daughter go through the same hell she did. Not even for...well, let's face it, the man of her dreams. Because, the last thing Emma Lockhart needs, or wants, is a hero.

Three years of her life are gone in an instant. Her memories of becoming a famous artist - forgotten. Of the falling out with her best friend - lost. Of her charming boyfriend - erased. The doctors tell us getting Sara back into her normal routine is what's best for her. But what happens when she doesn't want her old normal? Some would say I'm trying to save ghosts from my past. I think they're wrong. Maybe all of them are wrong. Maybe the best thing for Sara is me.

They call me a hero. I save people. It's what I do. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. Then I meet her - the girl with the sad eyes. She's lost everything. Twice. And I know she's using me to forget her past. Just when things seem perfect, that past threatens with the unimaginable. They may call me a hero. But she's the one person I can't save.

I hired her to be my girlfriend. To fix my reputation. To save my career. It's not that I don't want a girlfriend. I do. I want it all. Wife, kids, side-by-side burial plots. The problem is - I can't have any of it. So I've made myself untouchable. The quintessential bachelor of baseball. Because it's not worth the risk. Not even for someone I love. Especially not for someone I love. We made the arrangements. We agreed to a contract. It's iron clad. No sex. No love. No future.

Fastballs. Fast cars. Fast women. They are how I've learned to cope. But then life throws me a curveball. I may never play the game I love again. Then I meet her. She represents everything I've lost - in the best and worst of ways. She may be the only one who can get me back in the game. And I'm not just talking about baseball.

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.