NHL Boston Hawks captain Austin Merrick used to be my boy next door. Now, he’s the man on my mind. Our paths haven’t crossed in more than a decade when I find myself back in Boston, desperate to save face in front of my ex-fiancé. With a devilish smirk and wicked blue eyes, Austin steps back into my life to be my plus-one for a summer filled with weddings and events. Suddenly, things begin to feel complicated, messy, and real. When I look at my first friend, I don’t see the boy next door, but the man I want to spend forever with.

After I’m arrested for throwing a raucous party, my hockey team says I have an image problem. And I need to fix it, stat. Charity work? Check. Haircut? Sure. But I draw the line at hiring my neighbor to style me. In the first place “style” shouldn’t be a verb. And I’m tired of people who’d judge me on appearances. Vera and I don’t see eye to eye on anything. She wants me to try on clothes, while I just want to remove hers. She's distractingly pretty, with soulful eyes and a sinful mouth that likes to argue with me.

After achieving the goals I set for myself, I walked away from my professional hockey career. It was a tough decision, but the right one at the time. When the Titans organization approached me about joining the team they were rebuilding following a devastating plane crash, I felt a passion for the game and a competitive spirit I hadn’t felt in years. The opportunity to make a huge difference to a lot of people spoke to me, and I accepted their offer and headed to Pittsburgh without a second thought. 

Being traded to Dallas was a dream come true. I had everything I wanted, my game had never been better, and my wife was due to have our baby any day now. What could go wrong? Everything. I was now raising our baby on my own. After hockey practice and games, I didn't have time to sleep, let alone make sure my social media was up to par. I never thought I'd get a second chance at love.

I knocked up my best friend's sister. Let's start with how she decided to inform me and Pacey the news...together. Imagine that nightmare. I was going into what I thought was a hockey marketing meeting, and then bam! I'm going to be a dad and my best friend/teammate is attempting to imprint my face with his fist. Threats were tossed around, friendships were revoked, and then I was marched up to her apartment, suitcases in hand, and forced to live with her so I could take care of her every need. Now I'm finding it harder and harder not to fall for my best friend's little sister.

Lucky. The one adjective used to describe my entire hockey career. I prefer to call it hard work - at least I did until my game went to complete crap. I haven’t scored in eight games, and the team owner is talking about trading me. I’ve never believed in superstitions. Never needed one. I suppose I was “lucky” in that way. But now the best way to refer to me is desperate. I’d wear the same socks for an entire year just to be the high-scoring center I used to be. Imagine my surprise when after spending New Year’s Eve with a woman, I score a hat trick in the next game.

CEO millionaire Max Fletcher is a single dad in desperate need of a nanny. Cozy Barlow is in the middle of her self-appointed “gap year” and doing everything she can to detach from her past. But when her sister begs her to interview for the nanny position of a high-maintenance client, she doesn’t have a good enough reason to say no. And when Max locks eyes on the 20-something in a tie-dye sweat suit who pitches the idea of daydreaming all summer—he prepares to give this bad nanny the boot.

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.

A month ago, I was a rookie with the best stats in the league. I was traveling the world, playing hockey, and making more money than I ever dreamed. Then my sister showed up on my doorstep with nowhere else to go. I don’t know the first thing about being responsible for a troubled teen, and the team jet isn’t exactly kid-friendly. Enter Piper. My sister’s new teacher and nanny. Smart, nurturing, and just as beautiful as I remember. Too bad she hates my guts. We need her. And this time, I’m not letting her go. 

Hockey isn’t forever. The money, excitement, and glory of being a professional hockey player meant more to me than a family, a home, and a forever. Another man has my forever, and I have hockey. I thought making the big bucks and playing against the best in the world would feel better than this. Instead I’m empty and hollow, like a big piece of my heart was hacked off. There's something missing. Something big. Something I can never get back. 

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there. I would know. I'm coming home with a brand-new ring on my finger. My wife: Ryan Bell. We're polar opposites. She's sunshine and happiness. I'm grumpy and scarred—literally. We could get it annulled and no one would be the wiser. Only problem? We posted about it online, and it's already making headlines. I can't afford to get that kind of attention and tank my career, and Ryan needs my help too. We make a plan: stay married for one year, play our roles, and divorce amicably at the end. No harm, no foul.

Austen Marlowe learned all she needed to know about jocks back in high school: They might be tall, muscular, and hot as hell...but you can never trust 'em. Valuable experience for someone who dates hockey players for a living. As the host of Date with a Devil, the young journalist is called into action when the captain of the Dallas Devils insults the team's few remaining fans. Austen's mission: save the athlete's beleaguered reputation.

Zack Morgan is the king of the ice and the bedroom, but nothing prepares him for the mystery girl who shows up everywhere he does - frat parties, his favorite bar, and finally his front door with an offer he can't refuse. The only rule in her boyfriend bargain: no falling in love. But after one (um, two) smoking-hot hookups, he's done with pretending and vows to make their fake relationship real. Too bad she can't trust a player with a reputation for breaking hearts.

Emmett Lasker is impossible to work for. He might be model handsome and stupidly wealthy, but he also has it out for me. He’s given me more last-minute and weekend requests than anyone else, ruining any plans I make. I should quit. And I will. Just as soon as I hit my two-year anniversary and earn out my signing bonus. But after a particularly awful day at work, a breakup (via text!), and my computer crashing, I’ve had enough! So at 11:59 Friday night, I barge into Emmett’s office to tell him what I really think of him. Only, that’s not what happens. AT ALL.

Begging my brother’s best friend - a.k.a NHL superstar Ian Fox - to help me ditch my V-card wasn’t part of my “make it big in NYC” plans. But after years of being “cute little Evie”, I’m tired of waiting for Mr. Right. I’m ready for Mr. Right Now, and Ian is everything I’ve ever wanted in a first time. He’s kind, funny, confident, and has a legendary stick.... And yes, my brother will murder us if he finds out, but we’re both grown-ups. We can keep a secret. We have to, since I just landed an art-therapy job working with his troubled team.