Saxon James

Payne: In search of: room to rent. Must ignore the patheticness of a forty-year-old roommate. Preferably dirt cheap as funds are tight (nonexistent). There’s nothing sadder than moving back to my hometown newly divorced, homeless, and lost for what my next move is. When my little brother’s best friend offers me a place to stay in exchange for menial duties, I swallow my pride and jump at the offer. I need this. I also need Beau to wear a shirt. And ditch the gray sweatpants. And not leave his door ajar when he’s in compromising positions ... Beau: In search of: roommate. Must be non smoker and non douchebag. Room payment to be made in meal planning, repairs, and dumb jokes. Since my career took off, I barely have time to breathe, let alone keep my life in order. I’m naturally chaotic, make terrible decisions, and scare off potential dates with my “weirdness”. So when Payne gets back into town and needs somewhere to stay, I offer him my spare room with one condition: while he’s staying with me, I need him to help me become date-able. And while he does that, I can focus on my other plan: ignoring that Payne is the only man I’ve ever wanted to date.

Rush When I show up to surprise my boyfriend in a barely-there festive outfit, I’m expecting him to be alone. Not hosting family. His fiancé’s family. Down one boyfriend and up a lot of embarrassment, I flee with my tail between my legs. The broken heart will fade. My humiliation, not so much, but my saving grace is the fact that I never have to see either of them ever, ever again. Until I walk into work and come face to face with my new boss. Hunter I never, in a million years, would have guessed the man hiding under his desk at work would be the one person I hoped to never see again. My ex-fiancé’s side piece. Apparently I can’t fire the guy because of personal issues, so I try to play nice, which is a whole lot harder to do when I find out my ex is still texting Rush. The same ex I haven’t heard from since I walked out on his begging. Rush tells me he didn’t know about me. He tells me there were others. He also tells me our ex still wants him and so, we come up with a plan. To show him what it feels like when you want someone who doesn’t want you back. All we need is a camera. His number. And one shared kiss. Revenge has never been sweeter.

MOLLY Moving to Seattle is supposed to be all about getting a fresh start and leaving the bitter man I was becoming behind. I have new roommates–quirky, sometimes strange, roommates–a nosy, next door neighbor and a grumpy kitty for company, but even surrounded by people, I still don’t feel like I belong. Plus, it turns out the men in Seattle are exactly the same as the ones I left behind, and my string of romantic disconnections continues. It’s not until one of my roommates, Seven, hits me with some hard truths that I realize where I was going wrong. Maybe the men aren’t the problem. I am. And there’s only one way to fix that. SEVEN Being found tied up naked to my bed by my cute new roommate isn’t an ideal way for us to start a friendship. But apparently a quid-pro-quo is. He keeps his pretty lips zipped about the compromising position, and I step in as his dating coach. We go out, I point out where he’s going wrong, and he magically becomes dating material. The problem is, between my codependent brother Xander and a new best friend I can’t get rid of, Molly and I are the target of a matchmaking scheme. My life is way too busy to add another person to it, and Molly is the kinda guy who needs to be made a priority, which I just can’t do. Xander’s medical anxiety takes up too much of my time, and I’ve never found a partner who doesn’t resent it. I’m determined to help Molly find his ever after. But that guy will never be me.

Christian Being invited to my cousin’s wedding really shouldn’t be such a big deal except, oh yeah, I haven't seen my family for a decade. My parents turned their backs on me and I’ve done everything since to become successful and show them what they lost. Only, it’s kinda hard to be a success when you’re a walking trainwreck. So I’m going to fake it. Hire a guy with an online presence so impressive they’ll be desperate to welcome me back into the elitist fold, and roll into the wedding with the kind of confidence I’ve never felt a day in my life. The plan’s a knockout. Until my fake date cancels minutes before the ceremony. Émile One letter from my dearly departed grandfather, and suddenly I’m on a husband hunt. He’s reworked his entire will so I’m set to inherit far more than I'm entitled to, and all because he’s asked me to use that money for “good”. In order to get that inheritance, though, there’s one stipulation: marriage. Even with his request, I’m tempted to stick to my original plan of getting as far from my wretched family as possible, and letting them fight it out. But then I run into a tall drink of scattered mess outside of a wedding who’s in desperate need of a date, and the pieces click into place. I help him, he helps me. Marriage, money, then go our separate ways. Easy. Now all I have to do is stop myself from actually falling for the guy.

We’re basically Romeo and Juliet. But dudes. And without all the dying. Chad Being VP of Sigma Beta Psi is wild. I get all the benefits of being in charge with hardly any of the responsibility. Parties, pranks, and frat politics—college life has never been sweeter. Until I meet Bailey Prince. He has the face of a goddamn angel. I don’t know where he came from or why I’m so obsessed. But I do know he’s a Kappa. And our houses have a rivalry that’s written into legend. Bailey At Rho Kappa Tau, I’m a legacy. It’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve always been responsible, never had that rebellious need to rock the boat, and I like it that way. But after a party at Sigma—the jock frat—I meet Chad Doomsen, and for the first time in my life I want to step outside my square. Our houses have always had a rivalry, but some of the guys seem to hate Chad specifically, and I don’t know why. He’s surprisingly sweet and kind. At least to me. I need to stay away. A relationship with Chad would be betraying the very legacy that brought me here. But I can’t help myself. And it seems, neither can he.

Thousands of students on this campus, and I keep being set up with the roommate I can’t stand. Felix One date. That’s how long it takes for Marshall Harrows to end up on my bad side. Luckily I have no plans to see the giant teddy bear again. Except, when he shows up as my new roommate, I can’t escape him, and he’s just as irritating as I thought he’d be. He leaves cupboards ajar and puts empty milk cartons back in the fridge. His bedroom door is always open, I find his underwear on the laundry floor, and he has this whole bashful sweetheart thing going on that I just … can’t … stand. But the most completely, horribly irritating thing about him, is that he’s totally my type. And my friends won’t stop setting us up on blind dates. Marshall One date. That’s how long it took for Felix Andrews to steal my heart. The sparky little spitfire is everything I’m not. Confident, adorable, and completely outspoken. He also wants nothing to do with me. Which is a real problem when I want to give him everything. Including my virginity. But the more I try to gain his attention, the more I see the real him. The one who doesn’t feel worthy of being treated like anything other than a one-night stand. So I decide to take matters into my own hands. A total do-over. One night. One date. Where hopefully I can steal his heart too.

ROO Five years ago, I walked away from Sunbury, Oregon, and left my best friend behind. The move was supposed to get my life on track. I even had a list. Life changing epilepsy surgery. Check. See the world. Check Get over my straight best friend … Not exactly. No matter where I go or who I meet, I can’t let Tanner go. I’m back to tell him how I feel. To get the closure I need once and for all. Only now I’m here and falling for him all over again, it’s getting harder to say the words. Because once I have my closure, I’ll be gone. And this time it will be for good. TANNER When my best friend, Roo, left for Australia, it was the worst day of my life. I thought we’d have each other always. But Roo needed the surgery so I let him go, thinking he’d come straight back. Five years is a long time. Now he’s here, all I want is to hold on tight. I need to show him what he means to me. The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what that is. My draw to him has always been confusing and different—everyone in town says so. But I struggle to understand it. All I know is I won’t survive him leaving again. And I’ll do anything to make him stay. Just Friends is a best friends-to-lovers romance with an oblivious MC, only one bed, and terrible kangaroo jokes.

LEON When I’m looking for a hook up, I want three things: Big, thick, and rough. So it doesn’t make sense that I can't get my new hire out of my head. He's a tiny guy with big ideas ... and he's my apprentice which means he's completely off limits. But he’s already under my skin. And for the first time with any guy, I don’t think I can hold my own against him. Physically, yes. Emotionally, no. Auggie makes me weak. AUGGIE Growing up, I always wanted to go into the family business and follow in Dad’s footsteps. Until in my senior year of high school when he told me to find a new dream. No one would let a small, clumsy guy like me on a construction site. And after trying and failing for years, I was starting to believe him. Then LJ Constructions calls me for an interview and when I meet Leon, he becomes my new dream. He's hot as hell, self made, and instead of putting me down, he sees what I’ve always seen in myself. But I’m not dumb enough to throw away this one chance, not even for him. Not even if I really, really want to. Getting Friendly is a low angst friends-to-lovers romance with spa dates, a size difference, and an adorably awkward MC. All books in the Never Just Friends series are standalones. Series number refers to recommended reading order.

ROWAN Five years ago, I ruined the best thing I had in my life and ran. Now, I’m finally back to make things right. I need Circus’s forgiveness, and then maybe I can finally move on. I’ll leave Sunbury for good this time and never look back. Maybe then I can finally live life as an out gay man—without my family ever finding out. But earning his forgiveness isn’t as simple as I hoped it would be. He’s going to make me fight for it. And I don’t blame him at all. CIRCUS I never wanted or expected to see Rowan Harvey again. When he shows up in Sunbury, begging for forgiveness, I’m tempted to give it to him just so he’ll disappear. Instead, we make a deal. I need an extra model for a swimwear shoot, and none of my friends are available or fit the brief. I’ll forgive him, if he helps me. Then he has to leave. For good. Because his request for anonymity during the shoot proves he’s still living in his dark closet. I’m not going to make the same mistakes I did when I was a teenager. I won’t let myself fall for him again. Because after how things ended between us, he doesn’t deserve a second chance.

RAFE It started in high school. We grew apart. Bit by bit, then all at once. The friend who was my ride or die suddenly wanted nothing to do with me. Now Cam’s back from college, living in the house next door, and pulling stupid pranks just to annoy me. Between my intense family and my failing relationship, I’m struggling enough without his antics. But Cam won’t go away. And I’m not so sure I want him to. CAM It started with a smile. A touch. A shared look of mischief. Rafael Ortega stole my heart before I realized it was mine to give away. We were best friends from the time we were in diapers right up until the unthinkable happened: he started dating. I put distance between us to save myself, but now I’m back, willing to do anything for his attention again. Because the only thing worse than Rafe breaking my heart … Is him not getting a chance to.