I fell for the boy next door, and then my father ripped it all away from us. The first person to catch my eye in a long time is a colleague who tells me what we just did over his desk will never happen again. Then my mother calls with news from back home. I have to head back to the small town my father forced me to leave seven years ago, knowing the boy I still love will show up, too. When I finally see him, it's clear we have unfinished business. But it doesn't matter. His life is in the Vegas spotlight now, where he plays pro football and goes home to his wife.

She has no idea who I am. I immediately like that about her. The gorgeous woman who sat down at the blackjack table beside me and asked me to teach her to play doesn't recognize me as the third baseman who played pro baseball for seven years. I tell her I'm in town for a job offer when the truth is my buddy just asked me to leave my quiet existence in San Diego and unretire so I can lead the new Vegas Heat expansion team to the championship.

I don’t date football players. I’m not interested in the ones who are a decade older than me. I want nothing to do with the ones who play on the same team as my brothers, and I certainly avoid the ones who spend more time in strip clubs than kids’ clubs. So why do I suddenly find myself faking a relationship with Ben Olson, the bad boy tight end who fits every descriptor on my naughty list?

I accepted the live-in personal coaching job with a pro football superstar before I knew who I'd be working with. It turns out he's the quarterback I hooked up with last Halloween—the same one who asked me to leave his private suite at the nightclub when his girlfriend showed up. His girlfriend situation is complicated, but now I'm forced to live with my one-night stand along with his fiancée, who happens to be the team owner's daughter, and their baby. I'm supposed to be coaching him to make better decisions. Meanwhile, he's strutting around, wearing nothing but a towel.

The first time I met pro football’s hottest quarterback, we ended up horizontal just before the most embarrassing moment of my life. The second time, I unleashed all my pent-up anger on him. The third time was when the owner of the Vegas Aces introduced him as the newly traded player I’d be coaching for the next year. No…I’m not a football coach. I’ve been hired as his full-time behavior coach. Now I have to live with my one-night stand, his fiancée, and their newborn while I attempt to help him make better decisions.

Being hired as the PR representative for the hockey team I’ve always been a fan of, should be a dream come true, especially because my old crush plays for them. My suggestion to save Briggs's career is solid… have him fake date someone wholesome who can change his image. That’s when my big mouth gets in the way and I admit to being the-girl-next-door. Now… my boss is offering me the promotion of a lifetime, but it comes with strings… Fake date Briggs Conley!

I had one thing on my mind and that was never going to change: The game. The only goal I had was beating the records set by my family. I didn’t have time for anything else. Until she walked in the room. The earth shifted, just like the stories said it would. I said it wouldn’t happen—not to me. I didn’t have the time, but now she was the only thing on my mind. I knew it was her. Now I had to convince her.

Everyone expected me to play hockey. I was good at it, but I was better at being a doctor. So I hung up the skates and joined Doctors Without Borders. But there is no place like home, so now I’m back. And instead of being on the ice, I’m behind the bench as the team physician. After years of playing cat and mouse, it’s time to admit it. She’s mine.

After being dumped and losing my job the same week, the last thing my broken heart needs is a rebound. I'm escaping across the country to help my perfect sister plan her dream wedding, and to prove to both of us everything is under control. But a combination of tequila and turbulence on the flight there lead to word-vomiting all my troubles to the huge and handsome stranger in the first-class seat next to mine.

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.