Lena Hendrix

A small-town brother's best friend romance After eight years in the Marines, I’m still looking for the mysterious woman I’ve obsessed over since her first letter. When she shows up in my small town, I’m thrilled. It turns out she’s my brother’s best friend--and the girl he’s always loved-- now I’m caught between the two people who matter to me the most. I’m a Marine which means honor and duty runs deep. Joanna is off-limits. That would be a whole lot easier if she hadn’t already agreed to helping run my brother’s fishing guide business for the summer, forcing me to work side-by-side with the woman I’ve fantasized about for years. I can keep her at a distance, push her away, man up. But she draws me in without even trying and I can’t get enough of how she makes me feel. I’m stealing moments with her and I know it’s wrong. She may not be my brother’s girlfriend, but I know a landmine when I see one. Does being an honorable man really mean I have to let her go?

I’m a full time single dad. A former NFL player turned coach, tasked with turning around a college team full of kids who either don’t take it seriously or are determined to get injured. I will absolutely not be falling for my new neighbor, despite the number of times my meddling brothers try to set us up. Lark Butler is pure chaos wrapped in gorgeous, infuriating sunshine. She showed up out of nowhere––getting paid to cry at a funeral, no less. Who does that? But somewhere between offering her condolences and crawling out of a literal grave site, we’ve found ourselves tangled in the drama of Outtatowner, Michigan–my coastal hometown with a decades-old feud and two aunties determined to end it. I’m finally putting down roots so my daughter has a normal life and I need to forget about Lark. Forget the way it felt the night we kissed or what it’s like to finally take something just for me. But when those sparks ignited, it was more intense than either of us bargained for. Trouble is, I can’t trust her, and she never stays. She’s burning my carefully laid plans to the ground and all it took was one look.

The moment I kissed my wife, I knew I was in trouble. A stoic, dangerous man with ties to the Mafia has no business keeping a gorgeous ray of sunshine like her, but she was scared and I was desperate. On the run, we land at a secluded ranch designed to protect federal witnesses. As long as everyone believes we’re married, she won’t have to testify against me for killing the man who put his hands on her. But the longer we pretend, the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur. My eyes linger a second too long. My hands soften on her skin. My kiss, a little too demanding. Before I can help it, our pretending extends behind closed doors and our relationship begins to feel very, very real. My plan is to hide out until I know she’s safe. Set her up for life and disappear, but I’m drawn to the way she breathes life into me without even trying. A better man would walk away. But I never claimed to be a better man. **Author's note: This book was previously titled The Alias & the Altar**

Fake dating my best friend? Total disaster. With his cocky grin and devilish charm, firefighter Lee Sullivan makes every woman in our small town swoon. Every woman except for me. Which is why I’m shocked when he steps in at the town’s Matchmaker’s Gala and outbids my crush during the charity auction, committing us to six prearranged dates. Six dates where we, very publicly, pretend to be falling in love. Despite my objections and our efforts to set each other up with other people, Lee is convinced pretending to date each other is the perfect opportunity to get the women in town off his back (and out of his bed), while also helping to nudge my non-committal crush in the jealousy department. Stupidly, I agree. After the disastrous blind dates he set me up on, what’s a few months of letting Lee worship the ground I walk on? He owes me. Trouble is––every fake kiss, every lingering touch, every filthy word he whispers when no one is around––is starting to feel very, very real. We know everything about each other––from my orphaned past to his irrational hatred of dolls. The only secret I have ever kept from Lee spans all the way back to his time in the Army and it’s the one thing that could ruin our friendship forever. Because where Lee is concerned, I have learned to guard my heart. Suddenly, he’s asking for the opportunity to feel something real. He’s asking for the one thing he wouldn’t want if he ever knew the truth: one chance.

You might think it’s reckless for a single mom to enter into a marriage of convenience with her boss... You would be correct. To make matters worse, Abel King is a grumpy local brewer with a criminal past. He also happens to be my boss and a total stick-in-the-mud. Every time I come to work with a smile and wave, I’m lucky if I can get a grunt in response. When I accidentally-on-purpose overhear that he’s having trouble securing a business loan due to his criminal record, I hatch a plan to help the both of us. The arrangement is perfect—a business transaction and nothing more. Like having a roommate without the hassle of other people bugging you for dates. I will definitely not be falling in love with him—no matter how many times he says “my wife” and tingles dance in all the right places. Trouble is, as time goes on, things stop feeling like business and start feeling a whole lot like pleasure... and really, that’s just my luck...

Whip King cannot be the man for me. Cocky, pierced firefighters are perfect for late-night rom-coms, but in real life they’re nothing but trouble. Especially when you find out they work for your dad—after you’ve already slept with them. Moving to my parents’ small town was supposed to be the fresh start I was looking for. When a disastrous Valentine’s Day leads to an unexpected encounter with a sexy stranger, and ends with the hottest night of my life, I didn’t think I would ever see Whip again. Imagine my surprise when one of my sixth-grade students has a medical emergency and it’s Whip who shows up, looking hot as hell, to save the day. I should be embarrassed at how we left things, but instead I’m furious he doesn’t seem to remember me. So I scrape my pride off the floor, lift my chin, and pretend there’s nothing between us. But that can last only so long. Stolen glances melt into forbidden touches, and once we give in to temptation, we can’t keep our hands off each other. Nothing has ever felt so right, but my guarded heart won’t let me believe in happily ever after with a man like him. Opening up to Whip may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and every time we agree to one last time, we both know it’s a lie. How many times can we keep telling ourselves just this once before we realize that, when it comes to love, once is never enough?

One moment of hesitation and I lost Maggie forever. Since then, we’ve spent the last 15 years in this small town circling each other and pretending neither remembers how right it felt when we were best friends. Now she’s a single mom and doesn’t need a “broody, grumpy cop” like me complicating her life. No matter how many times her heated gaze scorches my skin, I can never have her in the way I want. Completely. So I push her away––but it’s for her own good. Because if she knew the truth of what I did, she wouldn’t just have hurt feelings, she would truly hate me. She has a guarded heart and it’s all my fault. But I don’t have a heart at all. I gave it to Maggie O'Brien a long time ago. PROTECTING YOU is a seriously steamy, interconnected stand alone small town romance. It's the third book in the Chikalu Falls series set in the fictional Montana town, Chikalu Falls.

Falling hard for my ex-boyfriend’s rugged older brother was never in the plan. Beckett Miller may be my brother’s best friend, but he’s also the last person on earth I want to ask for help. He’s stubborn, demanding, and doesn’t care at all what people think of him—everything his little brother wasn’t, and definitely everything I should not want. Thanks to my own stubbornness and my three infuriating siblings, he is the only one who can help me renovate my beloved aunt’s farmhouse. Beckett thinks I’m a doormat, and I know he’s an arrogant prick, but toss in one late-night game of tipsy strip poker, and before long, endless summer days turn into scorching nights. Every stolen touch—every kiss—is wrong in the best ways. I can fix everything around me: my friends’ problems, my brothers’ love lives, maybe even the decades-old rivalry that divides our cozy coastal town. So Beckett’s snarl and heavy sighs are no match for me. The only thing I can’t seem to fix is the way my body reacts when he swings a hammer. I built walls to protect my heart after what his brother did to me, but I’m finding it could all come crumbling down with just one touch.

I never should have slept with Colin McCoy.  When I moved to my sister’s small town, I was looking for a fresh start—no more shallow relationships, no snotty fake friends, and definitely no charming, dirty-talking musicians.  We had a fun, red-hot night together and we agreed that hooking up was a mistake, a one-time thing. But when my dream bakery location happens to be right next door to his bar, every day I’m forced to see that chiseled jawline and remember the feel of his incredible body on mine.  No. I’m starting over. I have rules. No more bad habits, definitely no falling in love. No matter how hard he tries, hooking up with him again would prove I’m the flake everyone expects me to be.  But here I am, stuck between wanting to make something of my life and wanting to grab him and make another delicious mistake. 

Duke Sullivan is the oldest brother of my family’s hated rival. He also happens to be my good morning text and the man I have no right to have a secret crush on. Duke is strictly forbidden. After months of keeping our friendship hidden, the stars align, sparks ignite, and we finally give into temptation. Knowing our relationship could never be more than stolen glances and longing looks, we agree to stay secret friends––until two pink lines change everything. With our small town and both our families in an uproar, Duke does the unthinkable. He packs up my belongings and moves me into his house. Despite agreeing to weather the storm together and to try to figure out how to co-parent, living with Duke proves nearly impossible. Every soft smirk, every brush of his calloused hand against my sensitive skin makes me want to burst into flames. It becomes clear, despite the feud, Duke is relentlessly going after what he wants and I think that might be . . . me. I’m the quiet daughter with the wrong last name, but it’s obvious he wants so much more than just one night.

All I wanted was a break from my small town life. Not to be stuck driving across the country with my older brother's gorgeous, infuriating best friend. Charming, cocky federal agent Scott Dunn is back in my life. And I hate him. Four years ago, Scotty was the center of every one of my fantasies. He was funny, kind, and eleven years older than me–a protector. But one ill-timed confession and he vanished from my life without so much as a goodbye. Now I am called to testify against the men who kidnapped me and the gorgeous, infuriating man I tried so hard to forget is assigned to protect me. I want answers and he refuses to give them. But as much as he claims to hate me too, I see the way his eyes linger on my skin. How his hands itch to reach out. He understands me in a way I’ve never let another man get close enough to know. My scars, physical and emotional, are a constant reminder of the girl I used to be. A girl I try to forget. As we travel across the country, the tension and simmering heat becomes unbearable. He’s pushing me outside my comfort zone while I’m desperately searching for control––until I realize Scott is more than willing to give it to me. Once this is over, I know he’ll disappear again. But for now, he’s surrendering his control, and I'm going to take it.

One wrong turn down a dark alley and my career as one of Chicago’s most decorated female officers is at risk. Working on a remote Montana ranch designed to protect federal witnesses is easy. Not falling for the criminal who saved my life proves to be nearly impossible. Evan Walker is determined to start over––be a better man. When we’re forced to work together, I find that he is so much more than I ever expected. He’s strong. Kind-hearted. Irresistible. We’re drawn to each other in ways that are completely reckless. I shouldn’t let my touch linger or focus on how real it feels with him. It’s dangerous. Addictive. I can hide it, but the truth always has a way of coming out. In Tipp, Montana, secrets can save your life––the only cost is your heart. **Author's Note: This book was previously titled The Badge & the Bad Boy

I’m the new girl in town. The oldest daughter of an affluent banker. Old money. He’s a lost soul from the wrong side of the tracks—and he has a reputation. Everyone knows to stay away from sinfully gorgeous mechanic Matthew Bailey. When our paths cross and he offers me a smirk and a ride on his motorcycle, I try to refuse, but he’s too tempting to resist. Sneaking off with the town bad boy will help me break free of my family’s stifling expectations. But being with Matthew puts everything at stake—my reputation, my family, my heart. Every look, every touch, is electric. Our sizzling summer romance is flirting dangerously toward a deeper connection—one that will upturn both our lives. Matthew is used to being alone. Abandoned. Now it’s up to me to show him what it means to be the one worth choosing.

When reporter Casselyn Hill stepped into my small town bakery with her nose held high and a lost look in her eyes, the world fell away. I even knocked over sweet Mrs. Halpert to get to her. As one of the few residents who hasn’t picked a side in the town’s decades-old feud, I’ve been tasked with accompanying Cass to our annual Fireside Flannel Festival so she can get her story. As the day wears on, the tension grows thick, and it’s more than the war brewing between the town’s two rival families. She’s distracting. Charming. And here only for the story that will prove she deserves a full-time position at her dream job. As day turns to night, I can’t stop thinking about what’s underneath all those layers. I should have been concentrating on showing her around my coastal town, not thinking about the way her lips formed around my perfectly sweet Italian meringue. Cass doesn’t have time for distractions like me, but the more time we spend together, the more I know I won’t be satisfied with just one taste.

You might think it’s reckless for a single mom to enter into a marriage of convenience with her boss... You would be correct. To make matters worse, Abel King is a grumpy local brewer with a criminal past. He also happens to be my boss and a total stick-in-the-mud. Every time I come to work with a smile and wave, I’m lucky if I can get a grunt in response. When I accidentally-on-purpose overhear that he’s having trouble securing a business loan due to his criminal record, I hatch a plan to help the both of us. The arrangement is perfect—a business transaction and nothing more. Like having a roommate without the hassle of other people bugging you for dates. I will definitely not be falling in love with him—no matter how many times he says “my wife” and tingles dance in all the right places. Trouble is, as time goes on, things stop feeling like business and start feeling a whole lot like pleasure... and really, that’s just my luck...