Fireworks plus mistletoe equal one explosive kiss …
Beau Slater sure brings the fireworks. Too bad they’re not the good kind. My brother’s best friend was so smoking hot, he blew up our small-town graduation night with one humiliating almost-kiss. It took me five years, one potential dream job, and three thousand miles to diffuse that horrifying memory.
So when my worst enemy and I are forced together by our meddling mothers for a first-ever Christmas in July, I can’t risk Beau reigniting my heart. Which means I’m probably supremely stupid to enlist him in my plot to teach our manipulative families a lesson.
Still. Beau’s future is a world away from mine, and neither one of us will give up on our dreams. So how hard could it be to fake-date the off-limits man I’m secretly pining for?
The answer is EASY, Kasey.
Just as long as I don’t let this old flame and his sugarplum lips burn me again …
BRADY
Yeah, I shouldn’t have kissed Natalie Slater.
Not on the porch. Or at the beach. Or in the storage closet. Especially not the storage closet. But to be fair, she kissed me first. Six months later, I’m still thinking about it.
Trouble is, I’ve made promises that tie me to our small town, while Natalie can’t wait to escape. I’ve got no business pursuing her or my secret ambitions. My future’s set, and good people here are depending on me. Too bad my gut’s not listening to reason, and I’m being pulled toward different dreams: the career I’ve always wanted, and the woman whose smile I can’t forget…
NATALIE
Brady Graham and I used to be friends. For a while there, I was even the teensiest bit attracted to him. But Brady’s sister is marrying my brother, and my brother is Brady’s best friend. How awkward would family dinners be if things went south? We need to let our mutual attraction fizzle out.
Except…nothing seems to be fizzling. With all the time we’re spending together as Maid of Honor and Best Man, our attraction’s just burning hotter. Then the guy decides to show me his secret soft side. Hot and vulnerable? So. Not. Fair.
Because the only heat I need in my life is the sunshine in Los Angeles. I’ve made commitments on the west coast, and I can’t risk being sidetracked by Broody Brady.
I just need to put three thousand miles between me and his so-not-fairness…
The Apple Valley Love Stories Collection: A Complete Sweet Romantic Comedy Series
One small town, four unlikely couples, and crackling chemistry that leaps off the page … this hilarious and heartwarming collection of romantic comedies will have you laughing out loud, wiping away tears, and falling in love with each happily ever after!
- Book One: The Mostly Real McCoy
- Book Two: My Own Best Enemy
- Book Three: Pretending I Love Lucy
- Book Four: The Even Odder Couple
Our arrangement was supposed to be for just one month…
Single-dad Mac needs a temporary nanny for his daughter, Daisy. I need a second job until my promotion kicks in. Since our arrangement is only for one month, I am positive I won’t get attached. Medium positive. Okay, I’m negative.
This is a terrible idea.
Because I can’t give Mac and Daisy what they need, and I won’t risk breaking their hearts, but his green eyes and her crooked pigtails have me dreaming about forever. And who can resist a dad buying pink ballerina tights after a day spent in a hard hat?
The thing is Mac is a fixer, and I need to repair my own life. Better yet, I don’t want to feel broken. So it’s a good thing the worst has already happened to me. Nothing will hurt more now. Water can’t get wetter. That’s what I keep telling myself.
Too bad I’m all wrong…
This isn’t a wedding. This is war …
I get it. We were in elementary school. Just a couple of kids on the playground. But after Nash Hendrix called me Enemy instead of Emily, his stupid nickname ruined my life.
Now our best friends are getting married, and they expect me to stand across the aisle from Nash the Ruiner without killing him?
Whatever. I can survive being maid of honor. It’s only for one weekend.
Until it’s not.
When I get roped into wedding planning at the same places Nash is fundraising, I’m ready to blow up our temporary truce.
All I wanted was to start over. New job. New permanently-single status.
But the more time we spend together, the more I feel like … not murdering him.
Is it possible Nash and I don’t hate each other?
No way. He’s still my enemy.
My big, dumb enemy.
My big, dumb, gorgeous, sweet-talking, dog-loving —
Emi, you’re doomed.
The first rule of being a winner? Never lose your heart …
People think it’s easy being Felix Dodd III. And sure the legacy and inheritance aren’t exactly terrible. But the name comes with so many strings, my hands feel permanently tied.
Like I’m stuck following in my father’s footsteps.
Like I can’t trust people’s intentions.
Like my grandmother wants me settled down before my thirtieth birthday.
I’ve got less than zero interest in marriage, ever since my one attempt at love crashed and burned. But Grams won’t let me access my trust until I’m engaged. Which means I need a fiancée.
Someone who’s looking for quick cash and a quicker getaway.
Someone like Lucy Devlin.
She’s got less than zero interest in me. But if I can get her to play along—just long enough to fool my grandmother— Lucy will be a whole lot richer, Grams will be none the wiser, and I’ll stay heartbreak free.
Just as long as I remember the new rule: Don’t love Lucy for real.
Spencer Crane thinks I’m a human tornado.
I think he’s a calendar app come to life.
While he schedules? I spin-out.
When I spontaneously combust? He overcompensates.
And this is why convincing my new boss to hire him is a completely brilliant idea.
You see, workplace romance is forbidden, but attraction between total opposites like Spencer and me is a non-issue.
I repeat: Non. Issue.
I only wish I hadn’t discovered Mr. Clark Kent Glasses is (secretly) scorchingly hot. Even worse, he’s funny and chivalrous, and shoving me straight out of my Tess the Mess comfort zone.
But we both need this job. Like, a lot. And if our boss catches wind of any fraternization, we’ll be fired. Not to mention my heart’s already at risk of being axed.
So when Spencer starts treating me like I’m a magnet and he’s a fistful of iron, I’ve got a tornado-sized problem on my hands.
Starting now, I’m doubling down. I absolutely cannot fall for Spencer Crane.
Even if my total opposite might be everything I need …
They say “quit while you’re ahead.”
I just quit because I’m in love…with my boss.
I’m Jill, a restaurant server and secret admirer of The Clumsy Goat’s manager. In my defense Owen O’Dell wasn’t in charge when I got hired. He WAS the sweetest, handsomest, funniest, most est son of the owner.
But after the job took its toll on his dad’s heart, Owen stepped up, then committed to bachelorhood. That way he’d never subject anyone to the stress his dad put his family through.
I can’t stick around Apple Valley pining for a man who’s off-limits. Owen can’t let his dad think he’s failing because I quit. Solution? Pretend to be a couple so the no-dating policy is the reason everyone thinks I’m leaving.
Being Owen’s fake girlfriend probably won’t kill me.
Just don’t tell that to my heart.