At least that's what the men in my life have taught me. My dad ran off when I was young, and just when I thought I was getting my own happily ever after, my ex left me on my own with two kids. Trying to pick up the pieces, I move to a small town where I can have help from my children's grandparents. I think I know what to expect from small-town life. Until I meet my new neighbor. Knox Madigan. Local hero. Great smile. So hot I'm sure I'd be burned if I got too close.

A confident, plus size CEO running a billion dollar company and the country’s best professional quarterback… it sounds like the ultimate power couple, if it wasn’t all pretend. Fake dating was not in the plan this year. Especially since I hardly have time for actual dating. That is until Ford Madigan makes me an offer I can’t refuse: a fake relationship that will benefit us both. He’ll get away from the team owner’s entitled daughter while I score some points with members of the company’s board who love him more than they hate me.

The first time I see my high school crush since graduation, I’m a 30-year-old woman laying on the table for a pap smear. He’s the hot, newly single doctor who just moved back to his hometown, hoping to find some stability for his daughter. Meanwhile, I’m a hot mess, just fired from my job and ousted from company housing. I’m living in my old bedroom and trying to get my appointments in before my insurance runs out along with what little is left of my money.

My life is falling apart, and the guy I meet at the bar might be the one to help me put it back together, said No One Ever. Getting dumped by my fiancé and going to the bar was not a good look. Neither was stealing condoms from the student supply and going home with a complete stranger. But here I was.

By thirty, you’re supposed to have a home, a dog, a boyfriend or at least a string of lovers in the past. Instead, I’m a twenty-eight-year-old virgin living with my parents to save money. My job managing an apartment complex is the one thing I’m proud of–and that’s not just because a complete hottie just walked in the door. Tyler Griffen is here working on a construction project for nine months, which means we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Which I don’t mind one bit if it means getting more face time with those tattooed, muscled arms and his heart melting smile.

As a boss, Gage Griffen is intense, driven, and demanding. But under his layers of Armani and grumpy exterior, he’s also generous, kind, and treats my kids the way I wish their dad would. I need to keep my distance, because this job is our fresh start. And messing up this opportunity could ruin everything, including my heart.

I grew up with the Buchanan twins. Wreaking havoc. Playing hockey. Causing chaos. Almost all of my memories involve Archer and Maverick. Then I started dating one of them. Archer Buchanan is perfect. He’s sweet. Attentive. Passionate. He’s everything a girl could ask for in a boyfriend. And I love him so much. The problem is…I love his twin brother even more.

Beckett Langfield is grumpy, rich and hates kids. I’m an overworked, overstressed, and overweight single mom. The only reason we’re getting married is because he needs to fix a PR disaster and I am available. As in sitting next to him, in a bar, when he has this brilliant idea. Considering I just got divorced, I’m not looking to do that again. But Beckett makes me an offer that I literally can’t refuse, so I don’t.

I hate Dante Moretti. He is cold, calculating, and vicious. It’s no secret that he wiped out his former fiancée and her entire family on the eve of their wedding. He’s the kind of evil that makes even devils cry. But that’s not why I hate him.

Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it, though, nothing before or in the ten years since has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay—sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. I must be more broken than I realized because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued—and I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him.