Childhood friends turned strangers. When abandonment happens and she feels like her whole world is about to crumble, he reappears, unbeknownst to both of them. After comforting each other in a time of deep need, they end up in each other's paths once again, and the chemistry is undeniable.

Tim Bradford is the most popular player on the Los Angeles Rams football team. He's been playing for the Rams since he was twenty-five, after serving in the army for seven years. Now that he's heading into his eleventh season, the team manager and coach are reluctant to sign him for another season, especially after his divorce from his wife, whom fans adored. Tim's career is at risk, and a few of his teammates-Wesley Evers, John Nolan, Miles Penn, Jackson West, Aaron Thorsen, and James Murray-have been suggesting that he find a girlfriend to hopefully get signed, as they all have wives, girlfriends, and fiancées, and they all got signed. Lucy Chen is a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Rams. She is well-known but not entirely famous. People mainly know her because of her ex-fiancé, Chris Stanford, who is a famous movie star. They were set to get married just after the last season ended, but then Chris left her at the altar, calling her later to tell her he was getting married to his co-star, Ashley McGrady. Somehow Lucy was blamed by people, so when Tim proposes the idea of fake dating for their mutual benefit, she accepts. But over time, Tim and Lucy really fall in love, and the line between fake and real seems to blur.

Lucy and Tim are secretly dating.... What will happen?

Aurora Horizon is a small town on the coastline of California. It's got gorgeous beaches, beautiful hikes with views meant to be photographed, and Aurielle Point, the gorgeous cliff named after the town founder's one true love. The current mayor-and most eligible bachelor-is Tim Bradford, who has lived here all his life, apart from when he served in the army. For years, Tim's friends have been trying to set him up with every new arrival to the town, but he has been focused completely on his job as the mayor and helping his mom at her market. Until Lucy Chen moves to Aurora Horizon, and his whole "I don't need love" act dies. Lucy Chen has lived in Los Angeles her whole life, working on her dreams of becoming a published author and opening a bookstore coffee shop. But she knows living in the city, it won't be nearly as easy to fulfill those dreams as in a small town. So she packs up her life and moves to Aurora Horizon, a small town on the coastline of California in the Imperial area. Lucy moves into the house in the town that she inherited a few years ago after her grandmother passed away and makes friends almost immediately when her car breaks down outside of the coffee shop, Horizon Brew and Co. Where she meets Angela Lopez and the mayor, Tim Bradford. Over time she works on her novel and makes more and more friends, who always make sure she knows Tim Bradford is single but she's too busy working on her novel and dream's to date... Or so she says. Because she slowly realises that she is in love with Tim, so much so that she realizes he's the main character in her story, just with a different name. The town is trying to set them up. Tim and Lucy keep denying it, but they both have feelings. Then Lucy's bookstore opening changes everything.

Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford fell in love with eachother at the age of fifteen. They both had complicated lives at home and found peace with eachother. And on Tim's sixteenth birthday their relationship took a step that would change their lives forever. That night was the night they both felt safest in their entire lives and one thing lead to another. About a month later Lucy found out she was pregnant and she tried her best to hide it from her parents for two months but her body started changing so she broke down and told them. She thought they would be supportive and help her through it but instead they started yelling. After a few days of arguing, they agreed to let her keep it so for the next six months Lucy hid her pregnancy from everyone except her parents and Tim. But when she gave birth, her parents kept Tim out of the loop and didn't tell Lucy their plan. They had put Lucy's baby up for adoption and we're taking Lucy and moving to D.C. For years Lucy completely ignored her parents presence and their relationship shattered, especially since they refused to tell her anything about her daughter or let her contact Tim. For years Tim thought Lucy had chosen to keep him from his daughter and that resulted in his permanent horrible mood. Even after ten years he was constantly scowling and earned the nickname grumpy cop when he joined the LAPD. He only ever smiled around his friends, Mom and sister, but even then it was always like he was forcing it. Until Lucy transferred to his station from D.C. Over the next five years they got back together, got married and had a daughter who they named Addy and that grumpy cop nickname disappeared. They were still looking for their first born daughter but refused to let it consume them. Until they arrested a group of kids and find out the truth about the fifteen year old girl. Ellie Rose.

Lucy Chen has spent months rebuilding a quiet, safe life for herself and her 8-year-old son, hoping their past would stay far behind them. When their boys become best friends at school, she slowly grows close to Tim Bradford, another single parent who understands loss in his own way. Their connection feels easy and warm, giving Lucy a sense of hope she hasn't felt in years. But everything shatters when someone she thought she'd escaped returns, threatening the fragile peace she's created. As her world crumbles, Tim becomes the one steady place she can turn to, and together they begin to discover what it truly means to build a family.

Tim Bradford is a 28-year-old widower. He is the father of three beautiful children. His oldest daughter is 13 years old, her name is Olivia Bradford. Then he has a son who is 5 years old, Matthew, and the youngest is only 3 years old, Chloe. They lost their beloved mother, and Tim lost the love of his life. Tim is a sergeant with the LAPD. Until now, they had a nanny whom the children had known since they were little... but unfortunately, she had to resign. And now Tim is looking for a new one... sadly, so far without success. Lucy Chen is a 24-year-old young woman. She loves children! That's why she started working as a nanny! She always wished to work in a kindergarten, but unfortunately, she hasn't been accepted anywhere yet... She has already worked as a nanny for one family, but because they had to move, she had to leave. Lucy has a boyfriend, Chris, and they are happy together... or at least that's what it seems like. Will someone bring Tim's heartbeat back to life? T: Tim L: Lucy O: Olivia M: Matthew C: Chloe Ch: Chris A: Angela

One Day She Stops Being Your Rookie What would happen if Season 1 Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen came face-to-face with the people they'd become years later? A rookie who thinks her Training Officer barely tolerates her. A TO who is convinced he'll never look at his rookie as anything more. And across from them? An older Tim and Lucy-engaged, living together, and somehow completely in love. For Lucy, it's equal parts shocking and embarrassing. For Tim, it's a full-blown nightmare. As the younger versions struggle to comprehend the future sitting across from them, they're forced to watch years of growth, friendship, and feelings they haven't even begun to understand unfold right before their eyes. The future doesn't care what they think is impossible. Filled with humor, nostalgia, and plenty of Chenford chaos, this story follows two versions of Tim and Lucy as they discover just how far they've come..and just how much was there from the very beginning. After all, one day she stops being his rookie. And one day he becomes so much more than her Training Officer. ❤️

On a board filled with traps, two sides wage a dangerous battle beneath the façade of a public alliance between nations. On one side stands Tim Bradford, the newest recruit of the U.S. Intelligence Department, though nothing about him screams rookie. At forty years old, he's been a cadet, a squad leader, a police officer, and a sergeant. Now, a hardened spy, thrown into a world where one wrong move means death. On the other, Lucy Chen - the trusted right hand of the most powerful Russian crime syndicate. A girl whose past everyone judges to know. And Tim's mission. There is no loyalty strong enough. No lie safe enough. Only one can survive. And falling in love might be the deadliest move of all. Buckle up. The game is about to begin. | i also post this on AO3 |

After a messy divorce from his ex-wife Isabel-brought on by her spiraling drug addiction-Tim Bradford finds himself raising two young children on his own. A newborn who won't stop crying and a toddler who won't speak or smile. Exhausted, overwhelmed, and at the edge of breaking, Tim doesn't know what else to do. That is until Detectives Angela Lopez and Nyla Harper recommends someone-Dr. Lucy Chen, a warm-hearted child psychologist with a gentle way of unlocking even the most closed-off hearts. As Lucy starts working with Tim's daughter and soothing the cries of the newborn with ease, Tim finds himself watching her more and more. And maybe-just maybe-he starts to believe that healing is possible. For him. For his kids. For all of them