Love. Sucks.

I don't know where I went wrong. Whether it was letting a man convince me that suddenly, the things I've never wanted are right for me, or if simply believing the best in the person who I wasted three years of my life on was what lead me here.

To Cherry Peak. A small town nestled in the heart of Alberta, Canada.

The hometown of rising country star, Brody Steele.

It only takes one brief encounter to mark him as a broody jerk. An all-knowing, arrogant celebrity with a complex I don't have the energy for.

But if I truly dislike him the way I've convinced myself I do, then why am I always looking for him in crowded rooms? Why are his surprisingly thoughtful gestures melting the wall of ice I've stuck between us?

Cherry Peak was supposed to be my fresh start, a place to heal and rebuild. Yet, just as I begin piecing my life back together, Brody's preparing to leave, as if he hasn't become a vital part of that journey.

The thought of losing him keeps me up at night. I don't know if we'll ever be able to find our footing, or if we were just stringing each other along the whole time.

Oakley Hutton, the hockey prodigy. The guy ready to grab the sports world by the balls and finally live his dream.

Octavia Layton, the girl unable to move beyond her broken past, fearful of her childhood betrayal following her through her new adult life.

Two polar opposites with only one thing in common. Their inability to stay away from each other.

Two people pushing the other in ways they've never experienced, forcing them out of their comfort zones and making them forget how different they really are after all.

When Garrison Beckett stumbles into Cherry Peak, it isn't by choice. As the CEO of Swift Edge Records, his presence here is like a storm cloud in our clear blue sky. They say he's here for the next two months to grow as a person while waiting for the dust to clear back home, but he sees his stay as a punishment wrapped in small-town charm.

He's everything I've always avoided in men: rude, conceited, and utterly infuriating. Yet, while the spark between us is impossible to ignore, it's also a giant pain in my ass.

We fall into a simple arrangement. Friends with benefits. No strings, just the thrill of the moment and undeniable sexual chemistry. It was supposed to be easy. I wasn't supposed to fall for him.

As the end of his two month exile approaches, the reality of our situation sinks in. Garrison's life is in Toronto, and my roots are buried deep in Cherry Peak. We're worlds apart, but surely I can't just let him walk away...right?

Is our love enough to bridge the distance between two entirely different worlds? Or are we destined to be just another Cherry Peak legend?

I came to Cherry Peak to find answers. Ones that could change the entire trajectory of my life forever.

The idea of searching for the sister I never knew existed was simple enough, but I should have known better than to expect something with such high stakes to go according to plan.

It only took one night of dancing between tables in a small town bar for all of said plans to turn to ash. I wasn't here to fall into the arms of a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and a grin on his all-too handsome face, yet there's something about Johnny that keeps tugging me closer. He claims it's a sign from the universe. I say he's too big of a dreamer.

I'm caught between seeking the answers I need to move on with my life and spending every spare moment I have learning more about the man who considers me his.

The tangled vines of my family tree seem to drape over every corner of Cherry Peak. Once I cut one, two more grow in its place. What was supposed to be a quick trip of discovery has turned into something that has me considering staying forever.

I've been chasing a home for so long, but do I really fit in this small town, or have I just grown too blind to see a life without it?

I'm the face of the NHL. The golden boy with quick hands and a million-dollar smile the fans adore. My contract is up at the end of the season, and with playoffs starting, I have to be on my best behaviour. Keep my head down and respect the press when they shove their microphones beneath my nose. This isn't my first rodeo, so it should be easy. Right?

No. Not this time. One terrible call and I'm the poster boy for bad decisions.

I haven't seen my childhood best friend since the day her father betrayed me and she broke my heart. Now, eight years later, she's back. And she's my fake girlfriend for the next two months.

Some wounds never heal, and the moment I see Braxton Heights, I know mine have not. But she's the only shot I have at saving my reputation and securing my new deal, and while I might have lost her all those years ago, I refuse to lose hockey.

I just hope I'm strong enough not to fall for her all over again in the process.

Oliver Bateman is a jerk.

It's been a decade since I've seen him last, and while time has been generous with his outrageously good looks, it wasn't kind to his attitude. He was born grumpy, so I don't know why I expected our first meeting as adults to go any differently than our final goodbye as teenagers.

The only thing worse than him not recognizing me is being stuck as his neighbour for the foreseeable future. We don't get along in the slightest, and even my daughter's infatuation with him can't keep my temper from flaring when he purposefully pushes all my buttons just to get a rise out of me.

Yet even as I remind myself of that, it's obvious that I haven't had anyone bring this type of reaction out of me in years. It feels almost as good as the first brush of his hands on my skin and breath on my lips. He brings me out of shell and reminds me that Mom doesn't have to be my only label.

It's difficult to create a new life for yourself when you have ties to one that you can't shake free of. But when Oliver sets his mind to something, there's no way of stopping him from accomplishing it. And when he decides he wants me and my daughter, I let him take his best shot.

Turns out he only needed one. And now, I want him right back.

It was always the plan to come back home to Cherry Peak. But after being gone for four years, it's apparently not as easy as I expected for things to go back to the way they used to be.

Instead, they get beyond complicated the moment I realize my brother's house has paper thin walls and a general lack of privacy. Desperate for someplace else to stay, I move in with one of my brother's friends. The only problem with that? Bryce can't stand me.

Everyone in town calls her the Ice Queen, and over the first few days of living with her, I begin to understand why. She's blunt, broody, and even cruel at times. But when I learn she could use some help in the dating department, I offer mine without a second thought.

It's supposed to be a harmless favour, but somewhere along the line, Bryce stops being the woman who barely tolerates me, and starts becoming the one person who understands me best. The walls of ice she's built up around herself start to crack, and the more I get to know what lies behind it, the more I realize how wrong I've been about her this entire time.

She might be frosty to everyone else, but to me . . . I think she's the warmest person I've ever known.

I've known Tinsley since we were children, two souls tangled in a bond that defied explanation. She isn't just my best friend; she's the gravity that keeps me grounded, the magnetic force that draws me in, no matter the consequence. But somewhere along the way, the lines blurred between friendship and something far darker-a relentless obsession that claws at my insides, consuming my every thought.

Her name echoes in my mind like a song, each syllable a desperate plea to the void that's taken root within me. The world sees a rockstar, but it's her who sees the parts of me I've kept hidden from everyone else-the darkness that threatens to destroy me.

When Tinsley steps into the world of professional boxing, the stage shifts, and so does the nature of my obsession. She joins me on my tour, and as we travel from city to city, a nagging feeling grows that someone is watching her, lurking in the shadows. Their looming presence begins to smother the air around her, casting her success in shadows. The protectiveness I've always felt for her intensifies, driving me to near madness.

With each day that passes, it becomes clearer to me that I'm no longer content with how things have been. I want more. My need for her has erupted into a raging inferno, incinerating any remnants of sanity. I'll sacrifice it all to keep her safe. I'm not seeking redemption; I'm embracing the darkness that defines me. Can my obsession protect her against what I can feel coming, or will it become what devours us both?

Swift Hat-Trick second-gen series.

Adam White is many things, but a single dad was one that he never planned on becoming. He was twenty-three when the plan he had for his life crumbled at his feet. In the blink of an eye, he went from a flirtatious playboy just getting his new business up and off the ground, to a struggling father of a two-year-old boy that he never knew existed.

Still, he did it. Adam accomplished what he thought was impossible. And now, at the prime age of thirty-three, he doesn't think that his life can get any better. His twelve-year-old son, Cooper, is his world, and his business, White Ice Training, is one of the most known hockey training facilities in Vancouver. But when he posts a job listing for a new hockey trainer, he gets a response that lights a flame inside of him that he never realized was burnt out. One that he refuses to go without again.

One terrible game was all it took for Scarlett Carter to lose everything. After a career-ending injury destroys her chances of ever playing professional hockey again, she finds herself lost in a mess of guilt-stricken what-ifs and broken dreams. Moving back home to Vancouver was never in the playbook, but neither was letting herself get tricked into taking a job working for a man who seems to want to stop at nothing to see her play the sport she loves again.

Scarlett wants to forget about the world that broke her, but the single dad refuses to let her move on. The more time she spends with Adam, the harder she's finding it to resist him and the sly grins he seems to only give her. She can't help but wonder why he cares so much about her. And more importantly, why can't she bring herself to make him leave her alone.

Adalyn

I've been planning my trip across the world for years. So, imagine my surprise and utter disappointment when unforeseen circumstances leave me with no travel companion and a wallet too empty to reschedule. Far too stubborn to cancel, and left with little options, I turn to the only person who just so happens to have the entire summer free.

Cooper White is my older brother's best friend. He's the fixer. The sweet one with all the right words. I expect him to be boring and quiet. But with each day we spend together, I'm learning that there's more to him than meets the eye. We quickly become best friends, but one drunken night is all it takes to change everything.

And now . . . now he's my husband.

Cooper

Adalyn Hutton is an enigma. I never expected us to grow so close so fast, but she's impossible to keep at a distance. Each day spent with her slowly chips at the wall I built between us until there's nothing left of it but rubble.

Considering my friendship with her brother, accidentally marrying her should be the mistake of a lifetime. But it feels like the opposite. There's no turning back now. One glance at my ring finger and I'm reminded of the promise we made to one another, and I can't seem to look away.

Everyone knew the rules.

Gracie Hutton was off-limits.

But Tyler's never been one to follow rules.

And now she's about to become his ultimate sin.

Tyler Bateman doesn't know what easy means. He's never had an easy day in his damn life. Everything he has he's worked for. Blood, sweat, and tears.

Hockey is his escape, a passion he never knew he could possess. He wants to succeed. He wants to prove that he's worth something.

He wasn't expecting her to matter. He didn't want her to. But she had other plans, and now his best friend's sister is about to ruin his life.

And he might just let her.

Five friends, one tropical vacation.

It's been a year since Oakley was drafted into the professional hockey league. Life has gotten a lot more complicated, not only for him and Ava, but also for his younger sister, Gracie, and their two closest friends.

Tyler is about to make his professional hockey debut, and is still in Gracie's sights. But things are different now that she's older, and it's becoming harder for him to convince himself that she's just his best friends little sister.

Adam is closing in on his university graduation, and more than ready to completely let loose on this much needed trip. But what happens when he lets himself get too loose, and finds himself in a situation that he might not be able to sweet talk himself out of?

Follow the Swift Hat-Trick group as they invoke on a paradise vacation away from the pressures of the real world and grow impossibly closer along the way.

Braden is a playboy with no plans. Sierra is a businesswoman with far too many.

What happens after they spend one night together, tangled in Braden's sheets?

They learn just how messy love can be.

*Player Of Mine is the duet edition of Craving The Player and Taming The Player. For more info on the book specific descriptions, check the original books.*