May Archer

Former Marine Percy "Champ" Champion has never encountered a problem he can't handle. Flying bullets? Daring rescues? Building Champion Security from the ground up? Making people seriously regret using his hated first name? No problem. He's gotten the job done without a hitch each and every time.But it turns out there are some situations Champ can't handle alone, like: - Going undercover as a wedding planner to retrieve some missing cartel data in time to avert an international crisis.- Keeping his jerk of an ex from threatening his business.- Preventing Quinn Taffet, Licking Thicket's gorgeous, charming new wedding planner-and Champ's fake fianc -from getting into danger... or from getting the wrong idea about their relationship.- Fighting the pull that lands him in Quinn's bed night after night, despite his very best intentions.- Stopping the pun-happy matchmakers of the Thicket from destroying the sane, well-ordered life he's built for himself.- And, most troubling of all, protecting his traitorous heart from all the romance in the air.In short, Champ needs an extraction plan ASAP before he finds himself well and truly... hitched.

Once upon a time, I moved to Vermont... and wound up accidentally sort of married.Webb Sunday is the straight single dad next door.He's lumberjack-gorgeous, Strong and steady as the trees in his family orchard, A grumpy fairytale prince...And entirely off-limits.Or so I thought.Until the drunken night the two of us walked into a bar...And landed ourselves in the middle of small-town history.Who knew hand-fasting was still a thing?The town of Little Pippin Hollow did.And once this bunch of meddling Vermonters gets wind of our accidental betrothal, they are determined to see us seal the deal.But while the chemistry between us is hot enough to melt the winter cold, Webb isn't interested in a relationship...And I'm not sure how long I can keep pretending I don't want our hand-fasting to be real.Because while the man might not be the happily ever after I came to Vermont for...He's looking more and more like the one who's been hand-picked for me.

The job at Sunday Orchard was supposed to be temporary.A chance to gain some work experience. To have some fun. To get away from my overprotective brothers. To maybe, possibly encounter some lumberjacks in their natural habitat before moving on to the dream career that awaited me in the city. I had not expected to be welcomed into a family of gorgeous and weirdly efficient lumberjack-types myself. Or to find a purpose in the tiny Vermont town whose claim to fame seemed to be apple-based products and copious amounts of charm.And I most definitely hadn't expected to fall for Knox Sunday, my grumpy, burly, fifteen-years-older, reluctant roommate, with his infuriating lectures, his hot-as-fire body, his superior attitude, his snarky humor, and his stealth cuddles.Now I find myself making excuses to delay my big dreams... just for a little while.But Knox has unfulfilled dreams of his own. A career he walked away from. A big city life in Boston he left behind when he returned to his hometown to help his family. He claims he's not looking for anything permanent, and I've never been one to put down roots.My big life is waiting for me somewhere other than Little Pippin Hollow. So why does it feel like I've finally found the home of my heart?And how can I get Knox Sunday to... pick me?

Renowned cardiologist Carter Rogers is used to having things under control. His life, his prestigious reputation, his career, his future.Things he can't control this time around: - His meddling grandfather- His annoying gamer cousin- Buggy South American jungles- Being the meat in a feuding cartel sandwich- Getting kidnapped by a monologuing drug lord-Falling for his very hot, very mouthy ex-Special Forces bodyguardIn short, Carter's peaceful, well-planned life has been... hijacked.

I'm about to sing you the saddest song in the universe, and it's called "The Man of My Dreams Married My Sister." It's kinda my theme song. And trust me when I tell you, it's heavy on the violins.Because the man in question? He's not just any guy, he's Rafe freakin' Goodman. My former best friend. The boy who made my summers on Whispering Key magical. The guy who inspired every love song that led to the chart-topping music career I have today. The man I always sort of figured would wait for me, while I pursued my dreams and finally found a way to tell the world I was gay...But instead of waiting, he married Aimee.Rafe and Aimee's marriage has been over for a while now, but it doesn't really matter. He doesn't love me even though I feel like I'll love him until the day I die. Trying to be "just friends" would tear me apart.We're a broken chord. A blue note. Hopelessly out of tune.Or so I thought. But when circumstances throw us back together on a crazy cross-country road trip, suddenly all kinds of secrets come to light that make it seem like maybe our show's not over yet. If I want a life with the man of my dreams, though, I'll have to be honest--with Rafe and the rest of the world, too--and find the courage to write us a new song. One that's exactly like us: perfectly imperfect... and a little off key.

Tucker Wright's Clues for Life: What's a 4-letter word for an utterly oblivious, totally commitment-phobic, heartbreakingly gorgeous man with a pet pig named Bernadette? That'd be D-U-N-N, as in Dunn Johnson, my very best pal and fishing buddy since I moved to Licking Thicket. What's a 6-letter word for a nerdy, crossword-loving town doctor who's doomed to be hopelessly, thoroughly, irrevocably, in love with that straight best friend for the rest of his born days?That's T-U-C-K-E-R, as in me. But when I agree to let Dunn be my 24/7 dating coach, and he decides to get our whole nosy town in on the act, there's only one 5-letter word to describe the pair of us.F-O-O-L-S.

Take it from Aunt Hagatha, darling: Fake soulmates and secrets do not mix.I came to Whispering Key to lie low for a while. A man who has secrets to keep (like, say, his identity as America's favorite agony aunt) should really not find himself embroiled in the paparazzi scandal du jour. The last thing I needed was another guy in my life, since that's what got me into this mess in the first place... but then I met Beale Goodman. He's my polar opposite. The world's largest, hottest, most virginal cinnamon roll. The human embodiment of goodness and light. A man whose blue eyes make me weak. A man who wouldn't know a designer label if he tripped over one. A man who rescues feral cats, for heaven's sake... And a man who rescues me, too, by pretending to be my fake boyfriend-er, fake soulmate-while I'm hiding out here. Trouble is, there's nothing fake about the way he kisses me, or the way it feels to be wrapped in his arms at night. And it's hard to lay low when the strange-but-lovable people on the island are determined to welcome Beale's new man into their ranks. It's enough to make me realize I've been on the run for a while, and that this might be the first time I've found something I want to run to rather than from. But only if I can keep my secrets from catching up with me.

Parrish Partridge's True Facts: There's nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you'll resist him...But that's a lie. And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes...But that's a lie, too.And when you actually get to know your kind, strong, pullet-loving prince of a fiance, and all his crazy, lovable, meddling neighbors, you can tell yourself you're not really falling for Diesel Church and the town of Licking Thicket...But that might be the biggest lie of all.

Brooks Johnson's Words To Live By: When returning to Licking Thicket, TN, for the first time in ten years to reunite with your nosy neighbors, heart-broken ex-girlfriend, and matchmaking mama who never quite believed you were gay, it's best to bring a fake boyfriend as backup... Just don't be surprised when your ex-girlfriend does the same. And when her incredibly hot fake boyfriend becomes the one island of calm in a sea of bovine-based insanity, it's best to exercise caution... especially when he pushes you up against the rough barn wall to check you very thoroughly for splinters...Just don't be surprised if you fall head-over-hooves in love with him.

Falling for a man was nowhere in my five-step plan.I came to Whispering Key from O'Leary as a career move. Mason Bloom, doctor to the stars at a swanky resort on a private island? Heck yes.What I did not come for was romance, because I have been there, done that, have an ex-girlfriend to prove it, and frankly was distinctly underwhelmed by the whole endeavor. Yet from the moment I set foot on this island, nothing goes the way I'd expected.The resort's falling apart. The island's inhabitants are ridiculous... and ridiculously charming. The whole place is awash in stories of shipwrecks and treasure.Then there's Fenn Reardon: Gorgeous. Infuriating. Male. And did I mention infuriating?The man is the eye of the hurricane upending my life. He pushes every one of my buttons. He makes me feel crazy. Out of control. And more alive than I have ever felt before. I find myself craving his company, longing for his touch, kissing him on the beach, wanting him in my bed... and questioning just how straight I really am.Falling for Fenn was not in my plans... but I'm starting to think the key to happiness might be going off plan entirely.

Jameson Burke is the most arrogant, infuriating human on the planet. He's also taller, broader, and impossibly hotter than he was before I left town.For ten years, I dreamed of coming back to O'Leary to open my own bar. Safe to say the reality hasn't lived up to my expectations. Even though the town's the same as it ever was -- same beautiful scenery, same wonderful, ridiculous residents -- it's hard to feel welcome when your first love and childhood best friend makes it clear you're public enemy number one. And then, oh yeah, when your bar burns to the ground and you're stuck begging for a place to stay.But just when I'm ready to give up on the dream entirely, Jamie and I are thrown together in a blizzard and everything changes. One single, scorching night is enough to prove the spark between us never really died, and suddenly I'm dreaming a new dream -- one where Jamie lets go of the past and we build something entirely new... together.

MicahConstantine Ross is a cocky, provoking little...yeah.And I swear, I'd think that even if his family's business wasn't my biggest competition.It's time someone taught the man a lesson or two about life.At least that's what I tell myself when I offer him a job.Call it my good deed for the year... maybe the century.But now he's in my shop.In my space.In my every damn thought.In. My. Bed.And how the hell am I supposed to resist him?ConstantineI'll be the first to admit I've royally screwed up, but what can I say?I was a stupid teen who lost his dad and spiraled out of control.Almost a decade later, I'm still trying to make amends.The last thing I need is my family's arch-nemesis wading into my life like he's got all the answers.Except... I really need money, and the arrogant jerk offered me a job.I can deal with Micah's attitude.My attraction to him? That's different.He's my boss, not my boyfriend.And he's way too old for me.But God, he's gorgeous.Dominant.Compelling.I don't want to want him...But I can't turn away.

DanielI suck at relationships and don't trust anyone, but there are reasons for that. For one thing, every person I've ever cared about has let me down. The only recent exception: O'Leary's town veterinarian...my new best friend.I came to O'Leary for a fresh start. To pare things down to essentials. To forget about the failures in my past. The last thing I need is complications, and most definitelyNot.A.Boyfriend.JulianI've lived in O'Leary my entire life and learned to fly under the radar a long time ago. I do what's expected, say what's expected, and keep to myself as much as possible. It's a hell of a lot simpler spending my time working with animals than trying to interact with actual people. The one unlikely exception: the gorgeous guy who moved to a cabin just outside of town and somehow became my best friend.But friendships are complicated, and one morning I find myself accidentally telling the whole town the biggest lie of my life. Which is how Daniel Michaelson, my very straight, very hot best friend becomes my fake boyfriend, even though he's most definitelyNot.My.Lover.

"I was in free fall the moment we met, and I just keep falling."Small town police officer Silas Sloane knows every resident of O'Leary, New York. He's earned the love and respect of its citizens, though living under the small-town microscope grates on him. But though he's good at his job, there's one thing he's not good at: commitments... Until Everett.Widower Everett Maior, O'Leary's newest citizen, came to the small town kicking and screaming. He never wanted to become primary caretaker for his grandfather and has no interest in living the provincial life. Snarky and superstitious, he's proficient at keeping people at a distance... Until he lays eyes on Silas.Strange disappearances are plaguing O'Leary, though, even as Silas and Everett find their growing attraction undeniable. Can they find their way to a future together, even as ghosts from the past threaten to tear them apart?

Camden Seaver had it easy - a loving family, plenty of money, and the freedom to follow his dreams while his older brother, Sebastian, took charge of the family business. But when a tragic plane crash killed his parents, all the responsibilities he never wanted landed firmly on his shoulders. Now saddled with his crazy, grief-stricken brother and his dad's multimillion dollar company, Cam doesn't trust in dreams anymore. He's forgotten what "easy" feels like.FBI Agent Kendrick "Cort" Cortland learned the hard way that he couldn't depend on anyone but himself. Before joining the FBI, the one constant in his life was his foster brother, Damon - and then Damon disappeared. Now, Cort is determined to find his brother and to bring down the man responsible for ruining Damon's life, Sebastian Seaver. He's got nothing left to lose.When Cort's investigation leads him to Seaver Tech...and Camden Seaver...what started as a quest for revenge and a one-night deception quickly turns into far more than either man bargained for. But how can either man trust in something that seems so easy? As long-held secrets are revealed, the attraction between Cam and Cort becomes combustible - an undeniable love that will either make or destroy them. Will Cam and Cort let their conflicting loyalties drive them apart? Or will they decide that sometimes love is the easy way?