Getting fired and dumped in the same 30 seconds makes for a pretty bad Tuesday. But by Thursday, I'll be in Vegas celebrating my brother's wedding. Since I could use a fresh start, he offers me a place to stay with a buddy of his. At the bachelorette party, a raunchy game results in a quest to find me a one-night stand. When a hunk with dark blue eyes and perfect bone structure hits me with a silly line at the bar, my mission is complete.

It was a heat-of-the-moment agreement scribbled onto the back of a crinkled gas station receipt nine years ago. "If neither of us is married by age 30, we'll marry each other." Haha! So funny! Cash moved to a city 500 miles away, built his billion-dollar empire, and made a name for himself. Me? I stayed in our gossipy hometown, working a simple job and living a simple life. And we never discussed the marriage pact again. But I just turned the big three-oh, and Cash showed up at my door in the middle of a freaking rainstorm. 

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.

When romance novelist Kate Smith suddenly gets writer's block as she's beginning the final installment of her international best-selling erotic Bed 'n Breakfast series, she'll do pretty much anything to get her groove back. Like sneak into a Tire Depot waiting room because her words flow there just like complimentary coffee - smooth, sweet, and scorchingly hot. She manages to fly under the radar until the rugged and charming mechanic, Miles Hudson, notices the quirky redhead slinking in and out of the employees-only entrance. But she's way too intriguing to blow the whistle on.

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.

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.

A brilliant surgeon. A master sculptor. The media touted Dr. Potter as a savior dressed in a crisp suit. I think he’s a vicious madman of jerk-sized proportions. But fate is a wicked tease. Only Dr. Potter can give me what I need. A fresh start. A new identity. But he refused, leaving me to take matters into my own hands by accepting a job as his partner’s new secretary. Dr. Potter can’t turn down my case forever. Or at least I thought so until I uncovered Dr. Potter’s secret. A secret, which came with a venomous warning...one that destroyed everything.

Ashton Scott is not my type. He’s arrogant and presumptuous, and way too bossy for me. The man is persistent, though. Nothing stops him when he decides he wants something, and he’s decided he wants to buy my building. He’s also decided he wants me. And like I said, when Ashton Scott wants something, nothing stops him. He’s sexy AF. He wears a suit like nobody’s business. And his bossiness turns me on in ways I can’t understand. But I’m not going down without a fight. Or at least, I wasn’t.

The one guy I never wanted to see again...just moved in across the hall. To make things worse, he doesn’t even remember the moment our lips touched and stars exploded. Misunderstandings collide when the tabloids mistake me for his secret girlfriend. They love me because I’m an all-American girl, and he’s a football star. Plus, we sort of grew up together. Hometown romance sells.

Strange men do funny things when you score the last cinnamon roll. Sometimes he rages about the high crime of jacking his precious pastry. Sometimes he offers you ludicrous bribes to buy it back. And sometimes—after shattering your faith in humanity—you find out he's your new boss. I'm not laughing.