Expect the unexpected. That's what they say, but it's easier said than done. How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core? How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality.

Overhearing my cousin's best friend confessing that she's never been satisfied wasn't my fault . . . but offering to help her change that definitely was. Her brother is a friend of mine, and while this has a bad idea written all over it, it doesn't stop us from becoming friends . . . with benefits. Palmer is gorgeous, off-limits, and stubborn as hell. For the first time, I'm the one left wanting more. I'm tired of watching her walk away. I'm ready for her to stay.

Jase Andrews is trouble...but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman's dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he's relentless. Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that's exactly why I don't want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.

They tell you that a parent's love is all consuming. I never put much thought into it. Not until the minute I heard her take her first breath. That little girl is my world. I'd do anything to protect her. My ex signed over her rights, and her family vowed that my daughter didn't exist. Now that she's gone, they want my little girl. They're trying to say I can't give her what she needs.

I'm out of my depth participating in a blind-date photo shoot. Not only am I meant to act like I'm open for dating, but I'm meant to be sexy and get up close and personal with a complete stranger.

It took one night with her to know she was my forever. It took one minute for me to climb out of bed and drive away from her. It’s taken me three years to confess that leaving her behind was the biggest mistake of my life. I won’t stop until she knows what she means to me. I’ll convince her to listen to her heart.

It’s been years since I’ve been back in this small town of West Virginia for more than a day or two. Spending time here brings back a lot of fond memories. When I stopped by an old friend’s bar, I was expecting to grab a drink and catch up. What I didn’t expect was her. We share an undeniable attraction, but we continue to fight it. Until one night in Vegas changes everything.

I'm the girl who doesn't let anyone in. My world was shattered and turned upside down in one night. Since then I've been trying to live, if that's what you call it, but fighting the anxiety of what happened and trusting others is hard. Each day is a struggle to reach for the unknown. I watched my father give my mother the world and the stars. She took everything from him, then left him as a broken man with nothing to live for. I told myself I'd never fall in love. I'm guarding my heart and emotions, only looking out for number one.

I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, just to be covered in warts. I’ve been lied to, cheated on, and used more times than I can count. I don’t have it in me to keep going. I need a break from it all. I need time for the wounds to heal, and the scars to fade. Wouldn’t you know it’s my luck to meet a gorgeous man after declaring my self-imposed break? He’s charming, sexy, and determined to change my mind.

There comes a point in your life where you have to say enough is enough. I wasted my college years on a guy who played with my head, played with my heart. I was blinded by the fairy tale, the one that didn't exist. The day I gave up on the idea of happily ever after, my focus became me. Moving forward and establishing my career. Until one day.... I didn't expect him. My new boss, a six foot two, inked rock god. I believed I was working for the record label - I was wrong.

It was supposed to be the best day of my life. But the second I got up, things started to fall apart. The kitchen just caught on fire. Flowers were from a funeral. My bride-to-be just had an allergic reaction, leaving by ambulance. Oh, and my ex-girlfriend just walked into the church. They say you have to see the signs when they are right in front of you. Maybe she was just mine to have.

Life is a series of events, one leading you to another. The hell I lived through with my drug-addicted parents led me to the Marine Corps. Committing my life to my country was easy. My brothers were my family - all I had and all I needed. I wasn’t looking for her, but I should have known life had other plans. It led me to her.

Sometimes you need to crash a funeral to experience happiness. At least Kissimmee Singh, aerial artist for Singh Circus, the most sought-after traveling circus of all time, keeps telling herself that’s why she crashes funerals. In reality, she’s lost and confused. Sometimes it’s nice to experience other people’s grief and be reminded that life isn’t as bad as it could be.

I’ve sworn off men to focus on my dream job that starts on Monday. But my best friend talks me into a final night of fun—a blind date. I only agree because the guy is going to work as a doctor in Africa. It’s the best date of my life. Dr. Africa makes me laugh and swoon, and I want to give him a thorough physical examination. He turns into Dr. One Night Stand, and I’m not sad about it. Monday morning, I’m enthusiastic and excited, until I bump into...you guessed it.

As a divorced single father, I live by three rules: Make sure every day my daughter, Paisley, knows she’s number one in my life. No matter what, keep contact with my cheating ex-wife to a minimum, and turn Maxwell Wineries into a legacy that keeps Paisley set for life. When I hire Lexi to look after my daughter, I realize I need another rule: Don’t pursue Paisley’s nanny. But even if I had that rule it wouldn’t matter. Because I'm breaking it already.

Life is a series of events, one leading you to another. The hell I lived through with my drug-addicted parents led me to the Marine Corps. Committing my life to my country was easy. My brothers were my family - all I had and all I needed. I wasn’t looking for her, but I should have known life had other plans. It led me to her.

I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, just to be covered in warts. I’ve been lied to, cheated on, and used more times than I can count. I don’t have it in me to keep going. I need a break from it all. I need time for the wounds to heal, and the scars to fade. Wouldn’t you know it’s my luck to meet a gorgeous man after declaring my self-imposed break? He’s charming, sexy, and determined to change my mind.

No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she's good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL's Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what's happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world. A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he's living outside of it: the women, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli.

My name is Jason Hart. As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep, and breathe football. That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy that just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother. I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn't ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better in spite of all her rejections. Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?

He was my best friend since we were little. Even though he was off-limits, as we grew up, he became my forever, my everything. But I couldn’t let my selfish dreams hold him back. They say that if you love someone, you should let them go. I did. He became the world’s greatest soccer player. Money. Fame. Beautiful women. He had it all. One thing I never expected was for him to walk back into my life again.

So there I was, on a stage with two other men, being asked ridiculous questions by a woman I couldn't see, but whose voice made my pants tighten - and not around my ankles. Before I knew what was happening, I'd signed up for six weeks in paradise, isolated on an island for 42 days with a complete stranger. And when I finally laid eyes on the sexy brunette who belonged to that voice, a part of me thought this wouldn't be so bad.

Abby Davis isn't wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she's busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn't looking for fun - he's a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions and fallen brothers. Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt has been sidelined by a combat injury, and he is haunted by the loss of his best friend and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL - focused and dedicated.

MacKenzie Cahill has dealt with overbearing and overprotective brothers her entire life, making it near impossible to enjoy her teenage years. Having a boyfriend was practically impossible until she met a guy that wasn't afraid to stand up to them - Dominic. He was sweet, thoughtful, and everything MacKenzie ever wanted in a man. But when they go away to college at Old Dominion University, MacKenzie sees a whole new side of Dominic and begins to wonder if he really is different from every other guy.

Three novellas from Alexa Riley: Stay Close: A former Russian mafia soldier is hired to protect a friend’s daughter, but he knows he’ll do more than keep her safe - he’ll make her his. Forever. Hold Tight: A hotshot consultant hired to streamline Osbourne Corp. meets his match in Pandora Justice. Don’t Go: CEO Henry Osbourne has only ever desired one woman - the one who got away. She ran from a boy, but a man of power and persuasion now stands in his place.

Moving back home to my parents' cattle ranch in Texas was the last thing I thought I'd be doing. But, here I stand...in front of my high school girlfriend. A beautiful, confident woman has replaced the young girl I once knew and loved. Hell. I'm still in love with her. Yep. Paxton Monroe was my first love and the one girl in town who now hated my guts. So much so, Paxton swore her revenge on me if it took her until the day she died.

What do ice cream and Sadie Montgomery have in common? They're both ice cold, but one taste is never enough. I wanted to be friends - I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd - but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind. I'd make my coworker fall for me.

I always believed in fairy tales. So much so that I made a career out of them. As a wedding planner, I made it my goal to perfect everyone else's happily-ever-after. I even believed in finding mine once, too, until one man left me alone and pregnant - crushing my dreams and leaving me jaded.

Max Dutton, a starting NFL linebacker for the Los Angeles Condors, is certain he's going to die young, since his father and grandfather both passed away at an early age. Believing his life will be cut short, Max lives every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max also shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family, only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? Nutrition expert Kari Murphy used to think Max Dutton was to die for. She's older and wiser now.

Four lives. Four stories. Four sets of letters. Four brave souls in need of guidance while facing life's greatest challenges. The anonymously published Dear Life program is designed to help them step outside of their comfort zones, face their obstacles, and relinquish their demons...and prove their existence.

Donya Stewart's chest filled with the soft beating wings of butterflies when she first met Emmet Grayne's green eyes at the ripe age of five. Unable to identify the tugging pressure within her when in his presence, Donya moved through the first several years of her life addled by her feelings for the boy who was her best friend's brother and very much like her own sibling. But one cool autumn night in her mystifying teenage years, Emmet erases any ideas Donya has of him being anything like a sibling.

Overhearing my cousin's best friend confessing that she's never been satisfied wasn't my fault . . . but offering to help her change that definitely was. Her brother is a friend of mine, and while this has a bad idea written all over it, it doesn't stop us from becoming friends . . . with benefits. Palmer is gorgeous, off-limits, and stubborn as hell. For the first time, I'm the one left wanting more. I'm tired of watching her walk away. I'm ready for her to stay.

I didn't plan on kissing my best friend's twin sister . . . or falling for her. But it happened all the same. It's always been Riley, but after I finally get the chance to taste her lips, she ghosts me. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. Getting out of town for a while, and giving her space, seemed like the best thing for us both. Until the night before my year overseas, and she ended up in my bed. I thought leaving her was the hardest thing I've ever experienced, but returning home to find her with a newborn and knowing she's moved on is a sucker punch to the gut.

Cooper Reeves was the boy-next-door. Every milestone, every memory of my youth was entangled with his. We were inseparable...until college. It wasn't his friends, girls, or even sports that came between us - it was me. Tired of being in the friend zone, I finally made a move. Turns out it was the wrong one. Cooper walked away to play his first year of professional football and left me behind with a broken heart.

I've always had a thing for my best friend's older brother. In fact, I've been planning our wedding since elementary school. Then I grew up, moved away, and studying, and law school became my only focus. Now that I'm back, the sexy cowboy is everywhere I turn. I shouldn't mind so much as Rip Callahan is all levels of fine. My problem? His presence . . . his attention is sending me in a spin. And our reconnection? It's fast and intense and everything I've ever dreamed of. So why am I getting in my own way?

Jase Andrews is trouble...but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman's dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he's relentless. Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that's exactly why I don't want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.

It's not like I planned to fall for my older brother's best friend. It just happened. With a perfect body covered in tattoos, and a dirty mouth, Roman is the kind of guy women notice—and believe me, I noticed. Even when I tried not to. When he finally gives in to temptation, there's no going back. At least for me. Too bad Roman doesn't see it that way. He thinks he needs to protect me and my relationship with my brother, but I don't need him to fight my battles. I just need him.

She was never mine to keep, still I took every second that girl was willing to give me. I always knew she'd go back to him. But I never expected she'd take a piece of me with her.

Most of the guys in my town had me marked as off limits. My dating history was slim to none, until Dylan. He didn't let labels deter him from sweeping me off my feet. The day Avery Stanton took a chance on me is that day my life changed. Nothing else mattered but her. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy. I just wanted to love her, no matter how much distance was between us. Dylan Knight wrecked me. He made me fall in love with him and then took it all away. Now I'm back, and I can't deal. How do I pretend that he no longer owns my heart when all my heart does is scream his name?

Saving myself for marriage, not hardly. Saving myself for someone who will make my heart race, most definitely. In theory it's a good plan, however even the best-laid plans fall through. Seeing him, being around him, alerts all my senses and I dream about being his, wrapping myself in his arms and never letting go. The only problem - he sees me as his sister. My name's Ava Evans, and I'm in love with my older brother's best friend, Nate Garrison.

From the first moment I sit next to the sexy suit on the plane, the butterflies in my stomach have nothing to do with turbulence and everything to do with the way he's looking at me. When we land, he gives me his number, and I promise to call. Before I get the chance, we meet again. It turns out he's my new boss and nothing like the gentle stranger from the plane. The longer I'm with Royce, the more I realize he has many layers, and I want to uncover them all one by one. If only he would let me in.