Vivian McClain has a plan: Spend four months in a tiny Tennessee town renovating a historic inn, earn the promotion she's worked years for, and head straight back to Chicago. No distractions. No detours. Then she meets Beau Conley. A fourth-generation rancher and contractor, Beau has no interest in the city designer who's determined to change a place his family has called home for generations. She thinks he's stubborn. He thinks she's completely out of her element. And when Vivian ends up renting the guest house on the Conley ranch, avoiding each other becomes impossible. Between endless design disagreements, family dinners she never meant to attend, dirt roads she still can't drive on, and a town that slowly begins to feel like home, Vivian starts to realize there's more to Magnolia Ridge than she ever expected. The only problem? Her life is waiting for her hundreds of miles away. Sometimes the place you're only passing through becomes the place you're meant to stay. *A slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance filled with Southern charm, found family, front porch sunsets, and the kind of love that feels like coming home.

When Ashley Jones learns that her ex-boyfriend is dating her ex-best friend, her hopes for a fresh start in college come crashing down. The payback? Making a fake dating deal with the beloved defenseman of Wellsfield Eagles, Kris Argent, to get revenge. Standalone in the Wellsfield University Series *** Ashley Jones is eager to put the past behind and start afresh at Wellsfield University. However, when she sees her ex-boyfriend kissing her ex-best-friend at a party, her hopes are dampened. Betrayed, hurt, and cornered by the two worst people from her past life, she strikes a fake dating deal with Kris Argent, Wellsfield Eagles' beloved defenseman, to keep up appearances and get revenge. After all, Kris has his own difficult ex and prying hockey teammates he's trying to get away from. But as Kris and Ashley spend more time together, fake starts to feel a little too real and emotions run high. Soon, Ashley faces a bigger dilemma than before. Can she get her happily ever after with Kris, who has given up on love? Or will she be heartbroken all over again?

Aubrey Carr doesn't do athletes, especially not hockey players with egos bigger than the rink. As a rising star in the journalism department and a legendary campus partier, she's used to being the one in control of her stories, her image, and definitely her heart. Easton Black doesn't do rules. Late to practice, always one punch away from suspension, and carrying more baggage than he lets on, he's a walking headline waiting to happen. He's also the best player on the team, and he knows it. When Aubrey gets stuck shadowing Easton for a make-or-break feature story, sparks fly in all the wrong (and right) directions. He's cocky, infuriating, and way too observant. She's bold, untouchable, and exactly the distraction he doesn't need. The only thing they have in common? They'd rather lose the game than fall for each other. Too bad life and love don't play fair.

When Evelyn and her long-term enemy, star hockey captain Atlas, are forced to work together on a university media project, sparks fly as resisting their attraction becomes a far bigger challenge than their opposing opinions. Standalone in the Wellsfield University Series ***** Evelyn Hayes has hated Atlas Griffin, the golden boy of their university hockey team, since their very first conversation three years ago. To Evelyn, he's the womanizing, arrogant epitome of rich privilege and everything she despises. So when a university-funded media project for the hockey team throws her into Atlas' orbit, she fully expects them to be at each other's throats. What she doesn't expect is for the snarky comments and daring glares to turn into sparks of undeniable attraction. With Atlas' sights set on the NHL and Evelyn desperate to keep the media lead position she's worked so hard for, neither is interested in anything complicated. Soon, a heated one-night stand leads to an enemies-with-benefits hookup pact. But is either ready to face the consequences when the lines blur and strings start to get attached?

Completed • First Draft - not edited. || "You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." || The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.