Getting Shipped!

There are three things you should know about me. -I hate running. No, really. I only run when someone's chasing me, and thankfully that's never happened. -My ideal Friday night includes pizza, “The Princess Bride”, and dancing with abandon. -And I'm madly in love with my best friend. That right there, that's my secret. Trevor and I grew up next door to one another. Yes. He's the boy next door. Even now, we rent opposite sides of a duplex, and we work across the aisle from one another at The Corn Corners Tribune. Basically, there isn't a part of my life Trevor hasn't touched. I take that back. He hasn't touched me. He's made it clear we're in the friend zone, and whatever feelings he had for me were a passing thing for him, whereas mine keep growing like a Chia pet on a humid summer day in the Midwest, unruly and apparently pointless. So now I'm resigned to get Trevor out of my system once and for all.

You know those stories where high-school sweethearts reunite to find their happily-ever-after bliss together? Well, that won't be me. Sure, my ex-boyfriend, Rob, has the smolder down to a science-which makes sense, because to him, everything is science. He's a famous YouTuber, making a living using that beautiful brain of his. He's destined for greatness...which means he'll leave...again. And this time, I won't be falling for him. The battle is on. Rob thinks he'll win me back, but I'm fighting him with all I've got. My heart is locked up tight, behind an obstacle course with every booby trap imaginable. But wouldn't you know it? Rob happens to be an expert at finding his way around locks and obstacles. Just my luck.

Everyone always told me it wasn't as though a woman was going to land on my doorstep and fall in love with me. Well, never say never. Now this woman literally crashes into my life, but she doesn't remember a thing about what happened before she got here. She's beautiful and a little sassy. The longer she's here, the more I feel like she's the missing piece of a puzzle I didn't even know I was trying to solve. Our small town has her pegged as my imported bride, my mom's already sharing family recipes, and my best friend won't stop taunting me about the way I look at her. For once in my life, I can picture a future with someone, with this woman fate seems to have brought me from out of nowhere. The funny thing about fate? Things never go quite the way you planned.

I am finally over my crush on Duke-completely done. He's always been like a big brother to me...a big brother with abs of steel, a heart of gold, and those dimples that make my heart rate double whenever he smiles. But as far as Duke's concerned, I'll always be his best friend Chris's little sister-the little girl who dunked his Darth Vader action figure in Elmer's glue and glitter. Even if Duke noticed me, it wouldn't matter. I'm so off limits I may as well be wearing an outfit made entirely of caution tape. We both know Chris would enlist a special-ops tactical team to hunt him down if he ever pursued anything beyond friendship with me. Good thing I'm over Duke. One hundred percent attraction-free, that's me. Well, mostly...until I accidentally send him one of my usual scrambled texts (thank you, autocorrect)...and he thinks I'm hitting on him. I'm mortified enough to momentarily consider relocating someplace obscure like Greenland. I can never show my face around town again. I'll buy a parka and an ice pick and learn to love fish...a lot. But then Duke answers my text... Am I dreaming? He's not mad. He's not even making fun of me. In fact, it seems like he might be flirting back I guess I might not be completely over this crush after all. Just don't tell my brother.

I'm the absolute last remaining single woman in the entire town of Bordeaux. Okay, maybe not the very last. Just the last one with all her teeth, natural hair color, and the ability to remember where I set my keys. I decided years ago that I'm going to remain single until my dying day. I'll infuse a new, hip meaning into the term "old cat lady." I don't need a man. I've got my bulldog, my cats, and some of the best friends in the world. My cup's not half-full-It's overflowing. My man-free life is going along fine until the day I walk into my new job as a part-time tutor to the daughter of the new doctor in town. The sight of this man is making my skin tingle and my breath hitch, and something very much like butterflies are erupting in my stomach. Butterflies! I don't do butterflies over a man. My reaction doesn't mean I need to change my stance on men. After all, Grant's a broody, stern, cantankerous man. If I were going to start dating, it certainly wouldn't be someone who obviously hasn't smiled since he was forced to for school pictures. But then his daughter walks in the room, and his face lights up. That smile. Who knew swooning was a real thing? Still, I'm not dating. And that's final.

Brooks and I met three years ago when my best friend's boyfriend held a party to propose to her in front of all their friends, in the middle of his goat farm. Yes. You heard me. His goat farm. When my eyes traveled across the driveway that night and landed on Brooks, I didn't count to ten. I didn't consult the saints. I took off at a casual pace, walking straight toward him, my hips swaying and my head held high. How could I not? Here in the middle of podunk Ohio stood the most captivating man I'd ever laid eyes on. There's one small problem: Brooks fights fires in a small midwestern town, and I live in Boston with my family and all the culture and opportunities a big city has to offer. So, after the best weekend of my life, I returned home, single. And I put him out of my mind-mostly-at least I tried to. But now Brooks is here, on this cruise. And just like before, I can't keep my eyes off him, especially when he's singing the Ohio State fight song off-key, with hand motions, on the stage of the dueling pianos show. Or when he's lounging by the ship's pool in only his board shorts. Ay, Mami. Is it hot in the Caribbean, or is it just that fireman? I need to pull it together before I make the worst mistake of my life-falling in love with a man who's committed to living a thousand miles away from me.

If you had asked me if I'd ever be dating Chris St. James, well, let's just say it's more likely Jimmy Choo would name a shoe after me. But here we are...fake dating. If you had asked me if I'd ever be dating Chris St. James, well, let's just say it's more likely Jimmy Choo would name a shoe after me, which, Jimmy, if you're out there, the Ella Mae would definitely be a big seller. Call me, Mkay? But, back to Chris. Sure, he's handsome. I mean, his arms are as big as my legs! He's got those lips that would make Michelangelo pause and grab a rock to start sculpting. And when you top his looks off with the whole hero-vibe he has going for him, yes, he's a fine specimen of manhood. But Chris is closed off and judgy. And even if he weren't, we're from two separate sides of our town. Remember Romeo and Juliet? That didn't end so well, did it? Besides, Chris and I don't have any desire to date, or even talk to one another most days. We're not exactly what you'd call friends. But here's the thing. You never know what situations life is going to throw at you. And right now, I'm in a doozie. And that means Chris St. James-yes, that brawny, broody man-is now my boyfriend. Well...he's not really my boyfriend. But don't tell anyone. An enemies-to-lovers fake-dating romcom.

A three-book collection of small-town closed-door romcoms with heart, laugh-out-loud moments, and happily ever afters. These stories are the first three in a seven-book series of closed-door romcoms set in the fictional town of Bordeaux, Ohio. If you love found family, small-town shenanigans, crazy goats, kisses that bring all the chemistry, and happily-ever-afters that make you swoon, you'll love the “Getting Shipped!” Series. This collection includes: “Friendshipped” A friends-to-lovers rom-com with crazy blind dates! Welcome to Bordeaux (pronounced Bored-Ox), you'll want to move to this small town after laughing and swooning your way through this first stand-alone novel in the series. “Battleshipped” A second-chance romcom with an enemies-to-lovers flavor. Rob left Laura on the worst day of her life. She has forgiven him, but can she risk giving him her heart again? “Townshipped” A bride-on-the-run, amnesia, forced-proximity romcom. Aiden's friends always told him it wasn't as if a woman was simply going to drop on his doorstep and fall in love with him. Never say never.