One year ago, I walked away from everything I knew and all the lies I’d been told. For the first time in my life, I was free from the constraints put on me by power hungry men, who twist faith and devotion into fear and control. All to feed their own egos. Now my sister’s ready to leave, too, but the only one who can help me save her is a ghost from my past. One who’s haunted my thoughts more than I’d like to admit.

I’m a no-nonsense man. As the head of a business empire, I have to be. I’m logical, cut-throat, and don’t believe in cheesy things like marriage and happy ever afters. But when my best friend asks me to be Best Man, I can't say no. En route to the wedding, I get stuck at the airport when my flight is delayed, and this obnoxious woman sits next to me. Not only does she keep drinking champagne even though she obviously can’t hold her liquor, but she seems determined to push every single one of my buttons.

Competing as a professional rodeo cowboy was everything he wanted. All that mattered. An opportunity he wouldn’t pass by. But it meant leaving his high-school sweetheart behind. Mae Wells was sweet, and innocent, and quiet. Not the kind of girl you dragged away from her family and home to follow you around the country. At eighteen it didn’t seem like a huge sacrifice. But at almost thirty, Boone’s lived enough and lost enough to realize he threw away something precious. Something he’s been chasing ever since.

Ten years later, I'm back on the island for my best friend's wedding as her maid of honor. Who's the first person I literally stumbled into? Riley Dixon. Even worse? He's the groom's best man and a self-made billionaire to boot. Being forced to spend an entire week together for wedding festivities quickly leads to more—hot hate sex, late nights of sneaking out, and unexpected revelations. The boy I knew a decade ago is gone, and the hate becomes… something else entirely. And I begin to wonder if Riley is hiding some secrets of his own.

For as long as I can remember, Lachlan West has been my brother’s best friend and the love of my life. Trouble is, he kissed me four years ago and then never spoke to me again. I was doing great pretending he doesn’t exist until I was assigned to write an article about former college athletes and I learn that the sexy single-dad is my first interview. Determined to wow my editor with an amazing sportsball piece. (Have I mentioned I know nothing about sports?) I head to Ember Falls, ready to face my fears—and the man I love.

Former Hostile Operations Team soldier Blaze "Shadow" Connolly knows what it’s like to lose everything. He’s got nobody except his job and his team and that’s the way he likes it. But when he walks into a gas station during a robbery and locks eyes with Emma Grace Sutton, he knows he’ll do anything to protect the pretty girl with the blue glasses.

The first time I saw him, I knew I'd never want another man the way I wanted him. The second time, I drank a bottle of his most expensive cognac, which I'd never be able to afford on my own. And the third time… well, he caught me stealing from him. Stealing from the head of the Irish Mafia wasn't smart. But then I never claimed to be. Now I owed him a debt… a big one. And it couldn't be settled with money, or favors.

Sexy. Intriguing. Easy. Eli Boudreaux's family has built ships and boats in Louisiana for generations. He comes from a hardworking, wealthy family, and his empire is growing by leaps and bounds. At 30 he is the youngest CEO ever to head Bayou Enterprises, cochairing with his eldest brother. His head for business and his no-nonsense work ethic are also quickly making him the best the company has seen in generations. His staff admires him, women adore him, and Eli's family is solid.

They thought she was unsuitable as a bride because she was mute. I thought that made her perfect. Silent. Invisible. I could pretend she didn’t even exist.

When introverted cartoonist Remi Stephenson dumps her cheating ex and goes on their Hawaiian vacation solo, even her creative mind can’t imagine being purposely stranded in the ocean…with a handsome, muscular, brave Navy SEAL. Even more unbelievable is the spark between them. Surely this is just rebound hormones. Right? Because who finds their soulmate in the middle of a life-or-death situation? And what would a SEAL want with a curvy, nerdy artist, anyway? Of course, none of those doubts stop Remi and Vincent from making plans to get together back in California, even before they’re rescued.

Clara moved to Moss Creek, Montana on her last tank of gas, a whim and a prayer. A contentious divorce left her and her sweet eight-year-old son with nowhere to go. No one to depend on. When she comes across the chance to work as a nanny on Red Cedar Ranch it sounds like a dream come true. A beautiful place to live. Income. Security.

I fell in love with him when I was seven. I scraped my knee, and he helped carry me inside. Our love story was the talk of the town until a woman told everyone she was pregnant with his baby. The only rational solution was to high-tail it out of town and never come back. My best friend needed a place to hide, and you can’t get much more covert than my family farm, so I came back. For her. It was supposed to be temporary, and I wasn’t supposed to see him, but that’s what happens when you live in a small town where everyone knows each other.

Macon Davis. My best friend’s brother. My tormentor. My least favorite person. Pothead. Delinquent. A careless, directionless loser. That’s what I used to believe, but I didn’t really know him. And when I finally saw him, it was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. We burned hot and fast. Passion. Anger. Love. Pain. We were reckless. Naive. We were doomed from the start. When I finally saw Macon Davis for who he was, we both went down in the flames.

Sometimes the worst wounds can’t be seen. Lucas Everett knows that firsthand. It's why he and his former Navy SEAL brothers created the Resting Warrior Ranch. Usually, soldiers show up at their door. But this time, it's Evelyn Taylor—a soldier in a very different kind of war.

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.