Love in the Pacific Northwest

Against protocol and my best intentions, I fell in love with the key witness I was assigned to protect. I know. Rookie move, Jamie. I guess I’m just a soft touch for beautiful, scared men who hide behind prickly sass and razor-sharp snark. With a little kindness and a lot of patience, I got to know the generous, caring man underneath all those barbs. But it took everything I had to keep things professional.

Nothing is more important than family. Someday I'll have my own, if I can ever find the right guy. For now, I'm concentrating on my career and a promotion. That is until my company hires a hotshot with the right credentials to snag the position. I should resent him, but Tadhg Byrne is talented. And gorgeous. And though my ASL is pitiful, it means I'm the most "qualified" colleague to partner with him. Or so my boss says. So I guess I'm about to do myself out of a job.

I’ve been in love with my brother’s best friend since I was twelve, and twenty years later, Erik Osouf is still so far out of my league, we aren’t even playing the same sport. Not that I play sports. That means talking to people, and my social anxiety makes that all but impossible. It also makes my brother incredibly overprotective, and while I love that Stef always has my back, it’s why I still can’t tell Erik how I feel. It would wreck their friendship, and after everything Stef’s done for me, I won’t ever be the cause of that. I just wish my heart would get that memo.

No romantic relationship could ever compete with my dream job. Sure, it gets lonely, but that’s what occasional hookups are for. Work-life balance? Who cares? I certainly don’t. Until chest pains bring me to my knees and land me in the emergency room. It’s a wake-up call I can’t afford to ignore. When my well-meaning family encourages me to make some major life changes, like hiring a meditation and physiotherapist, whatever that is, I’m worried enough to agree.

What do you do when your boss pressures you to date her nephew? You create a fake boyfriend. One who works a lot, so he never comes to office functions or meets you for lunch. It was working well until she calls my bluff. So that’s how I find myself at a client event practically begging a handsome stranger to play said boyfriend. It’s only after I calm down that I realize the hottie in the bespoke suit is my best friend’s brother. I mean, seriously, who knew he cleans up so well?

When it rains, it pours. And right now, it’s a freaking monsoon. Bjorn: After my parents' deaths, I devoted myself to raising my younger siblings. It meant growing up fast, but I had to keep the family together. Romantic relationships weren’t a priority. My siblings had to come first. It takes my near-death experience for me to reprioritize yet again. I need to stop meddling in my siblings’ lives and focus on me. Only, I’m not sure I remember how.