Ambar Cordova

Christmas has never been this hot... or eventful. Falling asleep on a bench in the marina's parking lot on Amelia Island was not in my plans for last night. Neither is being woken up by Alex Haddock, former QB for the Jacksonville Rhinos, and a grumpy media nightmare. I don’t even know who he is. But one thing leads to another, and we end up in the back of his truck for a steamy night. It’s supposed to be just that one time, but now he's here asking me, Livie Sanz, curvy hot mess express and everyone's best friend, to be his fake girlfriend so the media thinks he's settling down. I agree, because—bonus!—it also gets my mom off my back about dying alone. We have twelve days before Christmas to prove to the world he's reformed, and to prove to my mom that I am capable of picking my own partner. Even if he looks like he could murder someone with his stare. The problem is that what started as all fun and games quickly changes into blurred lines and what-ifs. And now, I'm left wondering if there's any way we can both let our guard down enough to admit there might be more here than our arrangement.

In this spicy sports romance, a woman has to face her attraction to the new man in town, who happens to be her newest rival. Everything she touches dies. Roe has always been a trailblazer. From a very young age, she learned that life has its own twists and turns, and the only way of making it out the other side is on your own. When she starts motocross racing, she thinks her biggest challenge will be making it to nationals, until she meets her newest rival. Everything he wants is out of reach. Santiago grew up as the caregiver, the glue to his family, especially after the loss that changed his life. He is everyone’s rock but has always felt like something is missing. When Roe unexpectedly barges into his life, she blurs all his carefully constructed lines. But he can’t protect her if she keeps pushing him away. Roe and Santiago might be rivals, but the undeniable spark between them is hard to ignore. Can they make it to the finish line with their hearts in one piece?

I left Baker Oaks ten years ago and swore I’d never return. So, why on earth am I sitting in the front seat of Jake Clarke’s truck? The guy whose heart I broke all those years ago, the man I considered the love of my life. After a decade of successfully avoiding everything Jake, running into him at the airport was never part of the plan. And staying at his place? Definitely not in the cards. But when my job sent me—Allie Zabana—on a six-month assignment near Baker Oaks, I had no choice but to go. I wasn’t planning on speaking to him ever again, let alone letting my eyes wander over his full beard, gazing into those intense eyes, or imagining how coaching football has calloused his hands in a way that could make my entire body shiver. It wouldn’t be a problem if I hadn’t left without a word ten years ago, shattering both of our hearts in the process. Now, here we are, forced into each other’s orbit. All the old memories are coming back, along with a love I’ve tried to forget for so long—one that’s threatening to claw its way to the surface, dragging with it all the secrets I’ve locked away. After a moment of weakness and his hands on me again, there’s no question about the chemistry we still share—it’s the kind of passion that could reignite like wildfire if we aren’t careful. But… he has no idea what really happened all those years ago, and I’m not sure he’d ever forgive me if he did. Just when I think maybe the past will stay buried in the past, life hits me with a blitz I never saw coming.

A bucket list. A trip of a lifetime. And her best friend’s brother. Cara has been living a double life for ten years—her summers in Baker and the school year somewhere else. When the love of her life ends their decade-long relationship, she puts her heartbreak aside and decides it’s time to go back home. But when the opportunity arises to turn the move into the roadtrip of her dreams, she takes it. Despite the fact the only way to make it happen is to let her best friend’s little brother take the driving seat. Manny’s only relationship he’s been able to keep is the one with his job. As co-CEO of Zabana Enterprises, he has built a reputation as the man who keeps things going. There’s no time for anything but work. He is a man of his word, and he will do what it takes to keep it. Even if it means following on a dare to take time off and drive his sister’s best friend—the same girl he’s had a crush on since he was a teen—back to her hometown. Now that he has decided to go, he’s making it his sole purpose to show Cara how incredible she is without breaking his own heart in the process. Will three weeks be enough to mend a broken heart?