I never looked back after skipping out on my own wedding, even if it did leave me estranged from most of my family. Eight years later, I have the life I’ve always wanted. As an advertising account executive, my world is damn near perfect. Until I come face-to-face with my past. With the man I once loved. The man who holds my future in his hands. The man who’s hell-bent on getting even with me for leaving him at the altar. Even with all the unfinished business between us, I still love Knox Montgomery. The only problem? He loves me…knot.

The first time I met Merrick Crawford was during my job interview. Well, technically, I’d met him 20 minutes earlier when he’d barged into a fitting room a few doors down from my appointment. I yelled. He yelled. After an argument while standing in my bra, I proceeded to smash the door into the gorgeous jerk, trying to yank it shut. As you might imagine, I was freaked out when I discovered that the rude guy was my potential new boss. Yet he didn’t seem to recognize me. Or so I thought.... Until we wound up bickering again during my interview and he told me to go sniff my armpit.

Am I friends with JP Cane? Ha! That's laughable. Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can't be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we're not friends. He's annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons...multiple times a day. So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we're sharing the same air, 24-7. We're talking full-fledged working roommates.

I have limits. Rules. No attachments allowed, because I don't love. But, with her smart mouth and quick banter, my office manager creeps past my defenses.

Dating in the modern era can be daunting. That's where I come in. Helping you break the “swipe-right” cycle, I’m dedicated to matching you with the love of your life. Finding Mrs. Right for Dax Kendrick should be a piece of cake. Except nothing about this man is simple.... Maintaining a squeaky-clean image for my sponsors, when my paycheck and the fruits of my endorsements are all women want, is a hefty challenge. I’d nearly given up when I hired Darcy Cole. Yet the more I’m around her, the less I care about finding my perfect match. Because it might be right in front of me.

Clam jam. Definition: the female equivalent of a cock block. Example: You're chatting with a guy you're interested in, and your friend comes along and lays claim to him. That's my life - except it's worse. My friend who keeps "jamming" me is my gay roommate. Fact: He went home with three - yes, three - of the guys I had been so sure were into me. Fact: He's really pissing me off. I'll never manage to get a boyfriend before the age of 50 if he keeps this up. Fact: Secretly, I wonder what it would be like if he weren't gay.

In one second, my life disappeared. My past. My memories. My future. The only certainty I have from the last three years is that my older brother is dead and that I am the only eyewitness. In order to protect the case, the lawyers demand no one give me any information about my life...I must remember on my own. My only help comes from my brother’s best friend and world-renowned investigative reporter Spencer Cross. He has no idea how many nights I’ve spent dreaming of his name—and his body—next to mine. Each day we spend together, I find it harder to want my old life back.

Flying the friendly skies has been more than just a job to me. It’s my home. Ten years ago I ran away from everything I’ve known and vowed never to return. That is, until my flight is cancelled due to weather, and I’m stuck in San Francisco. Fate is not on my side when I end up in an Uber ride share with the one man I thought I’d never see again. Zack Hunt was my high school sweetheart, and the boy I walked away from without a note saying goodbye. Except, he’s no longer a boy. No, this man is gorgeous, intense, and heated at the sight of me. 

After my parents tried marrying me off to the wealthiest investor, I ditched their sheltered nest and set off with my own agenda. This summer is my chance to begin again. Fulfill the dreams that were previously ignored. The adventure starts at a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere. That’s where I find him avoiding civilization. Nash Hudson is a broody recluse holding a major grudge. With stormy eyes and a perpetual scowl to match, his dark mood tries to steal my sunshine. I take his hostility personally, only to discover he doesn’t like anyone.

The quintessential question asked to every couple. And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow. My meet cute (well, not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me. 

It’s official. I, Ainsley James, am crazy. Desperate and crazy. It’s the only explanation as to why I’m nauseous, standing outside Maverick Lexington’s door. I mean, it’s possible the stories about his deck of playing cards - with the letters IOU scrawled across the back - are just rumors of the ruthless quid pro quo deals he barters. But the flutters in my stomach know better. Maverick is as cold as they come. But, I need one of those cards. I need to owe Maverick Lexington a favor....

When I was eight years old, Caven Hunt saved me from the worst kind of evil to walk the Earth. It didn’t matter that I was a kid. I fell in love with him all the same. But that was where my fairy tale ended. Years later, a one-night stand during the darkest time imaginable gave us a little girl. It was nothing compared to the pitch black that consumed me when I was forced to leave her with Caven for good. At the end of every fairy tale, the happily ever after is the one thing that remains consistent. It wasn’t going to be mine.

Mistaken identity, drunk texts, and hysterical mishaps...just another day in my life. Girls all over the world spill the tea to me about their most intimate questions. They thank me for talking about sex with them. For fixing their love lives. I wonder if I’d still be a relationship influencer if they knew what a train wreck my own love life is? If I was writing anyone else advice, it would say things like: Never drunk-text your ex-boyfriend. No, seriously, that’s a terrible idea.

You might think the problem would be waking up in Vegas, hungover, next to a beautiful woman who’s wearing your boxer briefs, and finding out you married her. But you’d be wrong. I, Nolan Cassidy, international charmer, and maker of mischief have fallen head over heels for Cora Delaney. I want to be married to the lass. So, you might think the problem would be that she wants an annulment. But, again, you’d be wrong. None of that is the problem. I’m a problem. My boxing days may be behind me, but the fight never left me. And nothing is going to stand in my way. 

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Meagan Brandy comes an all-new stand-alone romance set in college about a hotshot pitcher and the girl he never saw coming.