Victoria Wilder

In Fiasco, Kentucky, there is one rule: never fall for a Foxx brother. Any woman who did, ended up dead—or so the rumor goes. Townies call it a curse. But I’ve lived it, and I won’t survive it again. I’m not a cop anymore, but I’ve seen enough danger to know that Laney Young, the beautiful stranger who just showed up in my small town, is running from it. She’s lying about where she came from and what she’s doing here. I don’t want her near my family or the quiet life I’ve made for myself. But my brothers have other plans. Now she’s everywhere–working at my distillery, living in our guest house, calling me ‘cowboy’ and skinny-dipping in my horse trough. But it’s the way she dishes out attitude from that pretty mouth of hers that has me wanting things I’ve sworn to myself I’d never want again. I should push her away, forget how her lips taste, and ignore how she makes me want more out of life again. When her past shows up and mingles too closely with mine, her lies begin to unravel. The rules don’t matter anymore. I mess up, dig too far, and get too close. Only two things have the power to keep her safe now: bourbon and lies.

This is my December. I’m not being naive or overly optimistic. I have it on good authority that this year, I will meet my soulmate and fall madly in love. The matchmaker who raised me said that it’ll happen by this Winter’s Solstice. Merry Christmas to me, right? Wrong. Because the man who just slid into my kitchen at midnight, unarmed me with his charming smile, and lit me up while licking frosting from my fingers is the newest investor in The TimeKeeper Inn. Gray Turner, the disgraced professional baseball player, wants to renovate and take over the place I call home. There’s no way that he could possibly be “the one,” even if I do happen to feel some kind of magic every time he’s near. I’ll ignore the fact that his gruff and stoic demeanor melts away only for me. I have to remind myself that I need to keep my heart open for my soulmate because Gray isn't staying. I want that forever kind of love. But what if forever isn’t part of our plan?What if soulmate-level love is just for the holidays?

My Best Friend. Young. Tempting . She bid on me at my company’s charity auction and won. Back then, she was too young, with hearts in her eyes and her whole life ahead of her. That’s how we started, and after all this time, she’s become my best friend. Being a single dad of twins and running Colorado's most successful summer sports company requires control and focus. Both of which are slipping through my fingers. I just crashed her date and watched her kiss another man. The whole time her eyes were on me. Now, she’s living in my house, nannying my kids for the summer, and saying she wants to “explore” things that drip with the kind of filthy curiosity that I crave. I don’t want her to have anyone else, but I know it'll change us if I take what I want. And, if we destroy our friendship it’ll ruin me. Or worse, end up breaking my kid’s hearts and hers. This is a spicy small-town interconnected, standalone romance.

Alluring. Sexy. Liar. The newest stranger in Strutt's Peak has a mouth as loud and captivating as the bright tattoos drawn all over her body. But she's no stranger to me. Because I’ve met her. I’ve kissed her lips. And I'm the only one who knows her secret. She’s supposed to be dead. Now, I hide the truth and keep her safe. Pretend we never met. Try to forget I ever touched her. Ignore that she’s always around. She's my sister's best friend now, but before that, I wanted her to be mine. My family runs one of the country's most successful winter sports brands, making me high-profile, a target for small-town gossip, and national recognition. All of it, dangerous for her. The stakes are too high. I know the rules. So why can't I follow them? How am I supposed to stay away from her when all I wanted to do was find her? How can I hide her and keep her safe when what I really want is to make her mine?