All Zarinah wanted was to fall in love. Growing up, she had kissed her fair share of frogs. When an unconventional situation leads her to Lawson, her wishes might become reality. Lawson is the new CEO of his family's hotel casino chain. He's tired of aimless dating and women just wanting his money. When he meets Zarinah, he instantly feels like she's the one.

When Montana Dixon returns home to Memphis, she’s given the opportunity to financially secure her future for the rest of her life. With that opportunity comes a commitment of marriage to a man she’s never spoken a single word to. Having sworn off love, Montana is okay with an arranged marriage for the sake of business—until she runs into her ex—the man who showed her how love can hurt.

Assad Black, alpha protector and leader of the Black Mayhem Mafia, does whatever it takes to keep his family safe. When he meets Scarlett Graham, he extends her the same grace. Winning her in a poker game to secure her freedom, Assad doesn’t expect having her in his possession to open a rabbit hole of problems for him. Used to being used and abused by the men in her life, Scarlett finds it hard to accept Assad’s help as genuine. As she waits for the day he reveals what she considers to be his true colors, Scarlett falls for the beast of a man who sees beyond her beauty.

The job offer she expected after taking an unpaid internship at a major shoe company didn’t come through. The friend who’d offered her a place to stay suddenly gave her 48 hours to vacate after a misunderstanding. And when she’s forced to move back to her hometown to live with her father and his mistress-turned-wife, it almost seems impossible for things to get any worse...until she runs into her former best friend, who’s only gotten fine with time.

Ashira, a belle from the suburbs, is the wealthy acting CEO of her father’s booming building firm. That's when she’s not the dancer on the Gram and TikTok, dating the latest Black Hollywood shooting star. To her, Jas, a construction laborer, is a walking conundrum. He’s fruitlessly ambitious yet steadfast in his spiritual convictions. He’s enigmatic, well-read, regimented, and poor. Oh, and a felon. An incredibly disarming parolee who wants no connection to her. Until he does.

You met them in the Valentine and Rose series. In this prelude, I will formally introduce you to Malik Anthony Clark, Tristian Neil Clark, and Langston Jamal Clark.

When souls are tied, it's never goodbye. A boy I was that summer evening I met you, pulling your belongings out of the truck and into your new home. I knew it was love then. A whole man I was the day that you met me at the altar and agreed to love me until death do us part. A shell of a man I've become since it did, unable to move on, move forward, or progress in any way until I discovered that not even death was permanent enough to keep us apart. A better man I'm destined to be, knowing that, at some capacity, you're still with me. Our love is one that never dies.

For Maleek Jones, hockey is his wife. Everything and everyone else is his mistress, an aside. When unexpected responsibilities land in his lap, the balance of his world is disrupted, changing the way he sees everything.

Dior moves to a new city for a fresh start. After losing her mom at a young age and dealing with the scars left behind, she struggles with more than skin-deep insecurities. Enzo is rebuilding his life after being released from prison. As a successful business owner, he's ready to settle down and start something real. When he and Dior collide, the two instantly feel a spark, but Enzo doesn't realize that Dior is more damaged than meets the eye. Will he be able to help her out of her shell and show her what real love looks like?

Professional basketball had always been Nico Maxwell's dream—but a life-altering diagnosis changed his plans. When his goals were crushed, it took him some time to realize he had to live life fully and spontaneously. Instead of planning for the future with a career, wife, and family—he's taking life one day, one woman at a time.

Life can be hard to navigate at times, but for Lazarus Mitchell, it’s been a constant battle. Marrying his high school sweetheart and putting his dreams on hold to help her fulfill hers, he kept pushing through life’s adversities in hopes of seeing better days. Throughout the journey, he realized that she didn’t have the tenacity he had or the wherewithal to look difficulty in the face and choose to overcome it.

At twenty-one, Ason ‘Ace’ Williams Jr. knows all about inevitable endings. He’s formerly famous, a popular rapper’s muse, the son of a three-time NBA champ, and a little… complicated. After a disturbing scandal and loss rocks his world, he’s left to deal with both in a city that doesn’t quite feel like home. It’s a place filled with old family friends he’s never met, reminders of all the endings he’s had to endure, and even worse—he’s stuck there after his dad takes a job no one ever imagined him taking.

Sometimes, you just need someone to help you see things in a different light. A shift in the angle.

Mystery, crime, and grit surrounded his family, often bringing power-hungry enemies right to his doorstep. Never one to back down from any opposition, he often stood victorious. But this new threat is something different and not at all one he is prepared for until an old love comes to save him.

I always knew marriage for me would never be to a man of my choosing. As a young girl, I was all too aware of the power I wielded in a world where men were supposed to be the superior gender. To the underworld, I was just a mafia princess. To my family, I was an equal. To my soon-to-be husband? Well, that was yet to be determined. But I prayed Enzo Bianchi was ready for me because I was damn sure prepared for him.

Assad Black, alpha protector and leader of the Black Mayhem Mafia, does whatever it takes to keep his family safe. When he meets Scarlett Graham, he extends her the same grace. Winning her in a poker game to secure her freedom, Assad doesn’t expect having her in his possession to open a rabbit hole of problems for him. Used to being used and abused by the men in her life, Scarlett finds it hard to accept Assad’s help as genuine. As she waits for the day he reveals what she considers to be his true colors, Scarlett falls for the beast of a man who sees beyond her beauty.

Billie Hopkins is discontent living life for her mother. The painter and baker spends her days working at her family’s business. Even though she wishes she could change her life, she doesn’t have the motivation to do so… Until her boyfriend of three years breaks up with her and gets engaged just six months later. Worse, his fiancée wants to hire Billie to bake their wedding cake. That seems to be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back and forces Billie to do something different with her life—even if it’s just for three days.

Dauterive Jersey married the wrong man, and she’s suffered silently because of it. The free-spirited, independent woman has been dying for an escape. When she finally has the courage to divorce her husband, he vows to make her pay with an age-old threat—if he can’t have her no one can.

Sunshine Cage created and leads the biggest drug cartel in Memphis - La Familia. She runs La Familia with her sisters and cousins. Sunshine is known for her beauty, street smarts, and soft heart. As the youngest of the Cage crew, Sunshine’s sisters and cousins guard her heart ferociously. They give no man the chance to enter Sunshine’s life and heart. She is the brain behind everything they’ve built. She approves every deal and every hit they make. She is the foundation on which they stand. So, what happens when the foundation is rocked and no longer able to keep steady?

For a man like Merc, his reputation has always preceded him. Known for his allegiance to the criminal underworld as a protector, the gangster only shows love to his family… and his son and the woman who birthed him are at the top of that list. When Merc decides to take one last job before retiring, he doesn’t think it will include protecting a woman he’s been trying to avoid but can’t seem to get rid of. A woman who softens him and brings out the lover he’s kept hidden over the years.

Cheyanne Taylor has seen and experienced the evil that comes from the love of money. She was born to parents who chased wealth and status more than they prioritized nurturing and loving her. Thankfully, her billionaire grandfather adopted her and provided the stable home she needed. After years of toxic relationships with men of wealth or who used her because of hers, Cheyanne decides to keep her identity hidden.

For Naomi Prescott, it's not just a cute little saying. It's a critical mantra, words to live by if she wants to retain her freedom, and, more importantly, her life. Impeccable planning is the only way to ensure she sets off the small flutters that will trigger the big ripple she needs to pull off the score of a lifetime - no matter the stakes. FBI Agent Marcus Calloway is a straight-shooter...if you overlook his sometimes unconventional, law-skirting, expensive ways of solving a case. A big arrest would do wonders to restore his reputation, and he has one woman in mind: Jolie Voleuse.

Serena Howard and Blake Russell are two driven individuals with tunnel vision when it comes to their goals. The two meet in Philadelphia, and there's instant chemistry between them. They date, have fun, and eventually fall for one another. Will the desire to achieve their goals interfere with their feelings for one another? Will they sever ties, or will their connection be too strong to break?

For teenagers Angel, Rahsaan, and Kahmeer, the summer before their last year of high school is the time for unadulterated fun. What they don’t expect is for a party to lead to a shootout that changes the trajectory of their summer and their lives permanently. Cousins Imani and Darla, don’t expect connecting with Angel and Rahsaan to reshape their hearts and lives, but it does. They learn quickly that the only thing stronger than love is hate, and the only person they can trust is themselves.

Angie is taking a serious break from dating. At least, she thought she was until she comes across the finest man she’s ever seen — the new handyman in her building. Angie knows what she wants in a man, and Law doesn't seem to be it. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get to know him, right? Law is focused on rebuilding his life as a free man. That rebuild doesn’t include getting involved with anyone, especially not the bougie girl at his job who always needs something fixed.

Advice columnist Amelia Reinhardt had been told her entire life that she was destined for greatness. After gracing the cover of a popular magazine that highlights Black professionals, Amelia knew she’d finally made it. Now that her career was taking off, she no longer had an excuse to ignore the storm brewing between her and the man she’s known her entire life.

Warrior "War" Davis is ready for anything life has to throw at him, or at least he thinks he is. He's not a man that should be played with on any level, but love doesn't care about your position. When love enters the battlefield, will it be a fair fight? Life has a funny way of humbling you. When the humbling comes from a person you don't want to even like, will he submit himself to love?

Blogger, Ocean Braxton, suffered a loss back-to-back, so she decided to live life to the fullest starting with her dating life. Deciding to go out on a blind date, her night is interrupted by a handsome stranger who notices her needing saving. There's an attraction, but no names or numbers are exchanged. With them seeing each other on two different accounts, they eventually agree to a date of their own. The only problem is he isn't the only date she's interested in.

In order to find love, you have to take a chance. You have to open yourself up to the possibility of being hurt. You have to expose yourself in a way that you usually wouldn't; allow others to see vulnerabilities that you try to hide. Journalist Aria Smith tried that three years ago and it ended in disaster. Now, she's just trying to focus on moving up the ladder in her career. She's just been handed the most coveted interview in sports writing, so it looks like she's well on her way. Basketball star Tory Barker is fresh off of a championship season and is in high demand right now.

Pregnant by a man she learned wasn't who she thought he was and starting a new career, she's forced to step up and show everyone around her she's more than the hothead, feisty, girl they believe her to be.