Lacey Black

Ava My life is content. Living and working in my small hometown of Pine Village is right where I want to be, especially with family and a few close friends nearby. It's taken me some time to dig my way out of the negative spotlight I found myself under a few years back, thanks to an old photo from college that resurfaced. That's why I have rules: no social media, no drinking alcohol in public, and no dating the father of one of my students. Then, Gavin Pierson rescues me from the side of the road. He's not making it easy to say no, especially when he flashes that sexy boyish grin of his. The only problem is dating him would be a complication I'm not prepared to deal with, but he's proving to be relentless. Gavin Something calls to me when I'm near my daughter's shy fifth-grade teacher. I wanted Ava Rutledge when we were teenagers in high school, and now that seems to be the case once again. However, she's given herself strict guidelines, and despite the attraction I know she feels, convincing her to take a chance on us could be a challenge. It's a good thing I'm a patient man. The biggest hurdle we face is the fact she's my daughter's teacher, and that's the one rule she's not willing to budge on. I'm going to have to show her how much fun it can be when we break it.

Hallie No one pushes my buttons the way Logan Johnson does. I've spent most of my adult life trying to ignore him, which isn't easy when you live in a small town and share the same friends. So, when I have a little too much to drink and need a place to crash after our friends' wedding, it would figure I find myself at Logan's house. What I'm not expecting is ending up in his bed. With him. Naked. More so, I wasn't anticipating enjoying myself as much as I did, anxious for a repeat, which is why I'm not surprised when it happens again. The problem is those drunken nights have resulted in something unplanned. Something monumental. Something that will change our lives forever. Logan Being attracted to someone who drives you completely crazy is its own form of hell. Hallie Rhodes is entirely infuriating, yet so damn beautiful it makes me ache. There's a fine line between love and hate, and we've been blurring it for as long as I can remember. So, when a late, drunken night turns into something it shouldn't, all bets are off. Plans change and futures are cemented, despite having no idea what really comes next. All I know is the more time we spend together, the more I realize having her in my life is paramount. Now my biggest challenge of all presents itself. Proving to Hallie we're better together than we ever were apart.

Ellie Being a single mom is the most challenging, yet rewarding job I've ever had. Especially in a small town, where everyone knows your story, or at least their version of it. They say it takes a village, and they're right. I've been lucky to have close friends to help me raise my son, Brody. One particular friend stands out above the rest. TD stepped up in a big way, teaching my son everything a father should. That's why his friendship means so much to me. Both Brody and I rely on his friendship. Any feelings I have for my sexy friend must stay buried. It's safer that way. Turns out, it's much harder to do when he decides he's done being just my friend. He wants more. TD There's nothing worse than being in lust with one of your friends. For years, I've been fighting my attraction to Ellie and keeping it a secret. I thought I was doing what was best for all of us. Between working as the local police officer and coaching high school football, I'm left with very little downtime, but what I do have is spent with Ellie and her son. When I find out the seventeen-year-old boy might be working to get this football coach and his mom together, all bets are off. With Brody on my side, I'm willing to take the chance and blur the lines between friends and lovers. I have to make her see we can have it all. Despite her reservations, I'll show her love is worth the risk.

Decker If you ask my family, I'm wasting my life. If you ask me, I'm living it to the fullest. Am I capable of doing more? Absolutely. However, slinging drinks at the resort makes me happy. At least for now. Not that my family would understand. It's just another night behind the bar, until it isn't. She's everything I never knew I wanted wrapped up in one breathtaking package. I'm drawn from the start, willing to do what it takes for a little more time. The problem is the sand in the hourglass is running out. Her extended stay is coming to an end, and when it does, I'll have to let her go. Even if I don't want to. Adeline I've been looking forward to this weekend since my best friend announced her destination wedding. Sure, I wanted to see my oldest friend marry the love of her life, but I also needed a break from life...from my father. However, even states away, he still manages to control my fate. I wanted one weekend. Three days without the stresses and obligations that come along with having my last name. For the first time in my life, I ignore my father's demands and open my eyes to what I truly want. I'm seeing everything around me in a new light, and that includes the hot bartender at the resort. That's how I ended up kissing a stranger.

Kellen I love my job. Bartending is more than just serving drinks to customers at the hottest bar and restaurant in Stewart Grove. It's the people I work with and those I meet along the way. I know how to have a good time. Just one flirty little grin and the ladies are like putty in my hands. But they know the score: I'm a one and done guy, not looking to ever fall into the trap of love. Then, a sweet, gorgeous coworker needs help, and I find myself offering up more than I should. With Cameron Wright temporarily living with me, pretending to be my girlfriend, the lines begin to blur fast. She's in my space and I suddenly have free rein to hold and kiss her. Helping her might very well be my downfall. Cameron I keep to myself. Despite working as a server at the popular gourmet burger joint, I make sure my eyes are always ahead, focused on the prize: make enough tips to pay off my debts. When you carry around this much guilt every day, the weight slowly starts to drag you down, but I'm determined. My past will not define me. Until one day, that past returns and is ready to rekindle our old relationship. Cocky playboy Kellen McGregor steps up, not only offering a place to stay, but also a way to put space between me and my ex. Problem is, in no time, I find I like being with him. I just need to remember he's not the forever kind of guy.

Blair Hooking up with my best friend's brother was a mistake...an unforgettable one. It's always in the back of mind and having returned to town has brought all those feelings rushing to the surface. This time, I'm only here to cover my dad's patients and help run the clinic-all work and no play. I haven't even seen Gabe Rhodes since the steamy night we shared after he rescued me from a snowstorm. I need to keep it that way. Feelings make things messy and coming home has enough complications for me. Avoiding him is going to be harder than I thought-turns out Gabe is my new co-worker, and the gorgeous physician isn't just sharing the practice with me. He wants to share his bed too. Gabe Blair O'Connor is back in town, and back in my life...and if we're not careful she'll be back in my arms. Being forced to work next to the sexy pediatrician every day is a special kind of torture. She keeps reminding me she's only here for a few months-that she has a job to do. We both do. But that doesn't stop me from wanting her. The green-eyed beauty has captivated me. I know being here isn't easy for her, witnessing the life her dad built with a new family. I just have to make her see there are other reasons to stay...like how good we could be together.

Garreth From the first moment I saw Reagan Turner at the bar and restaurant I help manage, I was drawn like never before. She was dating someone at the time, which meant she was off-limits, until the jerk broke up with her. I can't get her out of my head, can't stop wanting to kiss those perfectly lush lips. Fighting this attraction has been my kryptonite. So, I give in to temptation. Now, all bets are off. One touch, one kiss, one night will never be enough. Of course, I wasn't factoring in us working together, which means I have to keep my desire-and my hands-to myself. Should be easy enough. Reagan There's something about the charismatic, flirty bar manager that pulls me in. When my boyfriend breaks up with me via text message, I suddenly see Garreth Taylor in a whole new light. He's gorgeous, fun, caring, and everything a single woman could ever want. And for some reason, he seems to have his sights set on me, even if he doesn't say it outright. So, I make the first move. The result is both explosive and dynamic, and before I know it, one night turns to two. He has a hang-up, however, about being professional while at work, and draws a line in the sand. Looks like I'll have to show him how fun it can be to cross it.

Isaac I'm about as straitlaced and by the book as they come. They call me Numbers, the man in the office of Burgers and Brew, the restaurant and bar I co-own with my friends. Routine and spreadsheets, that's how I spend my day. I'm a creature of habit, from the designer clothes to the same girlfriend, I crave the pattern I've become dependent on. Until said girlfriend breaks up with me for the umpteenth time, and I find refuge in a woman who is my exact opposite. I'm intrigued and completely out of my element, yet that doesn't stop me from spending time with her. Even if I consider her off-limits, something about her calls to me. The problem is I just might lose a friend because of it. BJ Most of the time, I would never look twice at Isaac Thompson. He's all suits, ties, and expensive dress shoes, and I'm...well, not. My time is spent at the tattoo studio I work at, day and night, designing badass ink for clients who want the best. I have no room in my life for a relationship, nor do I care for the messes they always create. Until Isaac finds me stranded on the road, and I end up inviting him inside. Now, I can't stop thinking about him. He's so different from any man I've ever known, which is why we decide to keep it casual and fun. Let's just hope I can keep feelings out of the arrangement, so I don't get burned.

MalcolmThey say opposites attract, but I never understood the phrase until Leni Abbott walked into my office-or more specifically-into my office bathroom, while I was naked. Even as the pink stained her cheeks and she stuttered to speak, I was completely intrigued. She's unlike anyone I've met before and, wildly enough, seems immune to my charms.She also has a son. A young five-year-old boy, Trace, who blindsides me with his toothless grin and worms his way into my heart.Together, they make me feel things. Things I've never expected. This single mom might not know it, but she could be everything I never knew I wanted. LeniI've heard all the rumors about Malcolm Wright, the playboy mayor with a trail of broken hearts left in his wake. I try to resist him, really I do, but he's always there with those devastatingly gorgeous eyes and a sexy smile full of wicked intent. When he hires my business to clean his impressive house, I know I should stay away, yet find my resolve slipping.Then he meets my son. I fully expect him to run for the hills, but that doesn't happen. In fact, being near Trace only seems to draw Malcolm and I closer.Now there are two hearts on the line as I put my trust and faith into the one man in Mason Creek who may not be able to give his own heart in return.

SebastianYou always remember your first love. You also never forget the day she left.Moving on from losing Haven was hard, but I was young, with my whole life ahead of me. A life that saw a marriage, the birth of my daughter, and then a divorce. Co-parenting isn't easy, but not much in life is, right? I have a job I love as a high school math teacher and football coach, and raising Chloe keeps me plenty busy. Life is good. I'm content. Settled. Predictable.Until one day, I look up and come face to face with the one that got away. Haven Decker.Haven You always remember the day you break your own heart. You also never forget the man you left behind.I was young and thought I needed more than life in the small town I grew up in. I walked away from the love of my life for a chance at a career most only ever dream of. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, creating a life I thought I wanted. It turns out the grass isn't always greener on the other side. When an injury and a cheating boyfriend bring my world to a halt, one phone call has me packing up and heading back to the one place I never thought I would return to.I knew I would run into him, but I don't know if I'm ready to face him. Sebastian Hall.

I'm in trouble.On the brink of losing everything I've worked for, I have a choice to make. Sit back and watch it all evaporate before my eyes, or accept a deal with the devil himself, my identical twin brother, Matthew.He has agreed to fund my floundering cattle ranch if I do three things:1.Oversee the redecorating of his apartment in the famed Bachelor Tower in Boston.2.Make sure his latest business deal proceeds without a hitch. 3.Break up with his girlfriend, Kyla.Seems easy enough, right?Wrong.Pretending to be my brother is hard enough, but tossing in an instant attraction to my brother's girlfriend adds an extra layer of complication I wasn't prepared for. All I have to do is get through three weeks portraying my brother, and I'm home free.Shouldn't be too hard, as long as I can keep my heart out of the deal.*Bachelor Swap is a sexy contemporary romance addition to Ruth Cardello's Bachelor Tower World.

WalkerThere's nothing better than a packed house on a Saturday night, and co-owning the hottest restaurant and bar in town with my best friends, isn't so bad either. We put everything into Burgers and Brew. My job is to keep the alcohol moving and the patrons coming back for more. I won't let anyone break my focus.That was until I saw her.As much as I try, I can't fight it. Mallory makes me crave a future I never wanted for my own.Now, I want it all.MalloryWhen I started my new job at a local specialty burger restaurant, I wasn't expecting to find a tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome distraction in the form of Walker Meyer. He's one of the owners, which means hands off. Only problem, it's a lot easier said than done.Especially when he's so good with my daughter.I try to keep him at a distance, but he's insistent, slowly breaking down every one of my walls. He's fighting to convince me I can trust him with not only my heart, but my daughter's too.I pray he's right.

QuinnOne simple text message can change everything. I found that out the hard way. One minute I'm complaining about a horrible picture of a guy's you-know-what, and the next, I'm having conversations with a stranger. A gorgeous, rebel of a man who makes my heart skip a beat and does a number on my panties.The only problem is we're not looking for the same things in life. I want stability and a family, while he always has his eye out for the next good time.RoyceShe may literally be the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Funny, it all started with an accidental text message. About unwanted male member photos, actually, and from that moment, I was hooked. She's the perfect woman really, except for one tiny little flaw. She's looking for the one thing that makes me want to run for the door. Forever.Yet, somehow, I can't seem to let her go. She might be the one dare I actually fail.

ColtonFrom the moment she showed up on my doorstep, I knew our lives would never be the same. I felt it deep in my soul that she was going to change us forever. I didn't know how, but I knew she was important. I tried to maintain the distance between us, but it was too strong to fight.With each passing day, I saw a future I never planned flash before my eyes-one with a fairytale ending. The only problem is that someone wanted to take that away from me, away from us. I just found her, and no way am I letting her go that easily. Hollis is family, my family, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her.HollisColton Callahan wasn't what I expected. I was in desperate need of a fresh start, ready for something new, but all it took was one look at those intoxicating blue eyes for me to reevaluate everything. I tried to stay detached, but something about him just called to me.It took no time at all for me to fall. Not only for the man I share a living space with, but also his son, Milo. The problem is my past is not too far behind, trailing behind me and slowly catching up. When it finally does, I have a choice to make-run away, leaving them behind, or stay and fight, potentially putting them in danger. Either way, I could lose it all.

For Samuel Grayson, everything is black or white. As a funeral director, there's no room for in-between. He's accustomed to dealing with life and death, though he's definitely more comfortable with the latter. Especially when it comes to a chaotic, petite, feisty ball of energy. Freedom Rayne. Samuel's pretty sure her goal is to make his life hell, or so it appears. When Samuel boards a flight to Las Vegas for his sister's wedding, the last thing he expects is to share it with the one woman who drives him crazy.Freedom is eccentric and completely content with it. Floating around from job to job, she finds peace and tranquility in everything she does, including tormenting poor, uptight Samuel Grayson. When she finds herself on the same flight as him for her best friend's wedding, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to get under his skin, something she tries to do every chance she gets. The problem is the more time she spends with him, the more she likes him.What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Not for Samuel and Freedom. Will they be able to forget about their trip when they return to Rockland Falls? What if one mistake turns out to be the best thing ever?

CricketSuccess is what you make of it. That's my motto and the premise of my speech; the one I'm heading back to Southern Illinois University to give at my college alumni reunion. As the morning co-host of Good Morning, San Francisco, I was asked to be one of the keynote speakers, and while I'm honored to do so, there's only one problem. The other speaker is Danny Ohara, my former boyfriend. Throw in an issue with my credit card that leaves me stuck at the airport, no rental car in sight, until a familiar face appears like a guardian angel in sexy black glasses.Here's my dilemma with my attraction to Rueben Rigsby, my airport savior and old friend from college: I'm not supposed to be attracted to him. At all. He's my ex's former roommate. Yet that doesn't stop my big mouth from lying about the status of our relationship when we come face-to-face with said former roommate. As in, we have one.Together.RuebenI don't know why I agreed to come back to SIU for the alumni reunion, but I'm damn sure glad I did. When I found the familiar face stranded at the airport, I readily agreed to give her a ride. It's great to catch up with Cricket Hill, as we make our way back to the place we ultimately met. What I'm not prepared for is this overwhelming attraction I feel for her. I'm not supposed to notice how amazing her butt looks in a pair of black yoga pants. She's a friend. Period. But Cricket has other plans. When she lies about our budding relationship to my former roommate and her ex, I have no choice but to go along with it to save face. I have to pretend to be her boyfriend. I mean, it's one little white lie, right? Wrong.