shelabes

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies’ man. Scorching-hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he’s looking at me like I might be his next meal.

I’ve seen Frank Fisher before, but he’s never seen me. He definitely saw me tonight. And I know I wasn’t the only one who felt the world shift the moment our eyes connected from across the bar. But Frank isn’t like his brothers. He’s quiet, elusive, and keeps to himself. It makes him mysterious, but that’s not why I’m drawn to him. It’s something else. Something I’ve never experienced before, as cliche as that may sound. I want to be around him. Get to know him better. Explore what’s growing between us, but Frank keeps holding back and I have no idea why.

There are moments in our lives that can change the course we’re on. I believe when faced with those moments, we should take the unknown path. The night I stumbled into a burlesque club in downtown Los Angeles, I took one of those paths and changed my life. I found a home I’d never had with my own parents. I found a confidence I’d never known as a prima ballerina. I found my passion. And it inadvertently led me back to the one moment I’d let slip away - to him. To a love so pure and whole and carnal, I thought it could withstand anything.

It all started with an anonymous letter. He wasn’t supposed to find it - no one was. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to answer it. We end up talking through letters and sticky notes in a book. All baring our darkest, deepest secrets. It’s all fun and games until I find out who my pen pal is...Xavier Emery. King of my basketball-obsessed town, my childhood bully, and the guy I am in grave danger of falling in love with. But the rules were clear: We can never know who we’re talking to, and the confessions can never, ever get out.

Rule number one for dating your best friend’s sister: Don’t. Just don’t do it. Especially when your best friend is dead and the last thing he made you promise him was that you’d keep an eye on his little sister, but not too good of an eye.

I'm getting really good at cutting my losses. First, the husband. Divorcing him was the best decision I ever made. But between single-parenting and job-hunting, I can't catch my breath. When a celebrity blogging position falls into my lap, I'm determined to succeed. That is, until I get my first assignment and actually see Noah Frazier for the first time...practically naked and dripping wet. My heart races and I forget how to form complete sentences. His chiseled abs, irresistible smirk, and crystal blue eyes are too perfect to be real. So, what do I do? Get drunk and humiliate myself, of course.

My new neighbor is a firefighter - and a scorching-hot single dad - but I swear I didn’t set off that smoke alarm on purpose. (And I was beyond mortified when he rushed in and saw me naked.) Nothing happened, of course - because I, Winnie MacAllister, romance junkie and owner of a constantly broken heart, have sworn off men for one solid year. Even protective men with chiseled jaws, bulging biceps, and deep brown eyes that make my breath come faster.

If my childhood taught me anything, it was to survive. Now I have a deep-rooted mistrust of people and a wall of steel and ice surrounding my heart. So, when Reed Ryan steps into my life, I know I need to keep him far away. He’s everything I grew up hating. Fighting. Fleeing. Devastatingly handsome, he looks like a drunken regret and has heartbreak written over every inch of his body - literally. He’s the quintessential bad boy...and he’s a cop. But the man is my undoing.

You're not supposed to want the one who torments you. When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn't prepared for how much of a jerk he'd be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn't want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

Back then, I had it all. After tanking my career - during the World Series, no less - the last thing I want to do is return to my hometown, where every jerk in a ball cap has an opinion about what went wrong with my arm. Then I run into April Sawyer. I can still make her laugh, she can still take me down a notch, and when the chemistry between us explodes, it’s even hotter this time around - and I don’t want it to end. But just when I think I’m ready to let go of the past and get back in the game, life throws me a curveball I never saw coming.