Greene Family

Two aching hearts. A meddling small town. A second chance. It's not a new story. Wife finds out husband's been cheating on her and she packs up her four kids and heads back to her hometown, Sunrise Bay, Alaska. Yeah, not a fresh start, but thousands of miles away from my ex will do just fine. I'm prepared for the cold weather, the early snowfalls, and dark days and nights. What I'm not prepared for is coming face to face with my ex's cousin and for the same feelings from twenty years ago to ignite like the flame never went out. It doesn't take long before people are whispering about the widowed Hank Greene and me. But we both have children to think of this time around. Then again, Hank knows what it's like to be a single parent and sometimes those damn dimples of his make it hard to remember why we can't be together. NOTE: This is a prequel to The Greene Family series and does not have to be read in order to enjoy the series.

Who's the mystery woman who just walked into my brewery? I'm not the only one from my Alaskan small town asking themselves that question. But I'm positive, I'm the only one in Sunrise Bay undressing the pretty blonde in my head. Everything about her, from her make-up to her high heels says she's a fish out of water. Whispers and speculations run rampant until the secret of who she is gets uncovered. Then the rumor mill goes into overdrive when she announces she's staying to open a bookstore in the building next to mine - throwing a big wrench into my plans to buy that empty building. I quickly find myself in a tug-of-war since my business partner/brother is upset she's ruined the opportunity to expand our business. I try to keep my distance, but I've got one sister with a gossip column on the local radio station and two meddling grandmas setting me up as a tour director. And now I kind of like the idea of our new neighbor staying. But small-town life isn't for the weak time will tell if she has what it takes to be one of us.

In the middle of a crowded bar in our small Alaskan town, my estranged wife snuggles up to me as if we're still a happy couple. Don't get me wrong, we were a happy couple - before she walked out on me a year ago. We were the high school sweethearts everyone thought were destined to be together forever. We thought so, too, which is why we married shortly after graduation. We had a good marriage. Until she left me without any real explanation. Now, she's back - and this is the real kicker - she has amnesia and thinks I'm still her husband. Technically I am, although the divorce papers are sitting at the lawyer's office. She's desperate to remember her life in Sunrise Bay, but I only want to find out why she left me. Once we conjure that memory up, it's sayonara because there's no second chances here. But as you probably already figured out, things didn't go quite as I planned.

Waking up next to a stranger wearing a wedding ring was not on the itinerary. I came to Las Vegas for a quick girls' trip but somehow ended up a married woman. What I thought would stay in Vegas followed me back to my small town of Sunrise Bay, Alaska. Of course, my new husband - MMA champion fighter Logan Stone - couldn't find me alone at my house to tell me he wants to give our impromptu nuptials a shot. He has to tell me in front of my entire family and half the town. The two of us couldn't be more opposite, but he offers me a deal I can't refuse, which involves me pretending we're happily married for three months. Yeah, a lot of things can change in that short amount of time - most importantly, catching feelings for a man whose lifestyle I despise.

I broke the cardinal rule and slept with my sister's best friend. Granted, I'd just found out that I was now a single father to a three-year-old little girl and was low on willpower. It should also be noted that there's been sexual tension between us for years. There's no way it would be a surprise if anyone in our small town found out. That is if we were telling people, which we're not. We're in agreement to keep our affair a secret, especially since neither one of us do relationships. You've probably figured it out already, but things didn't go as planned.

I never thought of myself as dad material. Until my one-night stand showed up in my small Alaskan town five months pregnant. But I don't shy away from responsibility. First, because I'm a Greene and not to boast but we're kind of a big deal in Sunrise Bay. Second, I'm the Sheriff. I couldn't have predicted how protective I'd become for the safety of her and my unborn baby to the point of asking her to move in with me and be my roommate. Just when I think I have the situation under control, another surprise knocks me over, but it only spurs me to double down. I'll be the first to admit, I didn't think it through. Somewhere between the dinners, the TV show binging, the doctor appointments, and me walking in on her naked, lines blurred. In what feels like warp speed, my bachelor for life status is in jeopardy and I'm fighting for the most important thing of all - my family.

Hollywood heartthrob Gavin Price invaded our small town, Sunrise Bay, like he owned it. Gavin was my biggest celebrity crush when I was young. He bears the charisma of an easygoing boy-next-door mixed with a rule-breaker personality both in person and on screen. For a moment, I thought maybe my fairy godmother sent him to me. Until he decided to run against my mother for mayor. Everyone in our town knows my mom's happiness comes before my own, so I take it as my personal mission to show him who really runs this town. I just didn't realize that being my mom's right-hand woman would put me in such close proximity to him. Very quickly, I question whether he wants to win the mayoral race or me.

Greene family vacation itinerary. Ticket holders: Seventeen adults. Five children. Departs from Anchorage, Alaska. Arrives in Maui, Hawaii. Reports of arguing with the TSAs at the airport, three drunk grandmas, siblings fighting, a tooth fairy, two celebrities, one sunburned redhead, a wild blonde running the halls, and one unexpected layover in San Francisco. Enjoy your trip!

Xavier and Clara kissing in a tree… When your best friend growing up is a girl, that's the song your classmates taunt you with over and over again. But it was never like that… until now. It's always been Clara and me. She's the only one who truly knows me. After I was drafted into the NFL and ended up the starting quarterback for the San Francisco Kingsmen, I begged her to come with me. But she had her own life and responsibilities back in our small Alaskan town, so I didn't fault her for staying. We remained the best of friends despite the distance. I'd hang with her in Alaska during the off season, and she'd visit me in California while I was playing. Then, one night the lines blurred for the briefest of moments and set in motion a series of events that changed everything. I'm not proud of the decisions I made after that fateful night, and I plan on making amends, because I need Clara back in my life. But not as my best friend-as my everything.

I never felt truly desired by a man-until him. The second he stepped foot into my small town Alaskan inn, his gaze swept over my curvy figure with desire, igniting a flame I thought was dead. He flirted with me, and I might've left two chocolates on his pillow at turndown, but that's where it stayed. Over the years, he's floated in and out of town while a friendship developed between us. It's probably for the best because I'm not a one-night stand kind of woman. Which is funny because when he propositions me to be his fake fiancée in order to end a family feud, it turns out I am the kind of woman willing to pretend to be the one he's in love with.

I've gone from crushing on my brother's best friend to wanting to crush him. Cameron Baker and I have a few things in common. The first being that we were both born and raised in our small Alaskan town. Second, is that we hide our feelings and keep our hearts closed off from anyone who could break them. But hiding my feelings is harder to do with Cam than most. When I was five years old, grieving the loss of my mother, he showed me how big his heart is, and I've never forgotten. He comes from the richest family in town. Cam's bad boy gorgeous, flirts like he has a doctorate in charm, and he's my brother's best friend. That last part is where it gets tricky and the sole reason we've never crossed the line. Now, his parents have cut him off to force him to prove himself. I never thought he'd open a competing business to mine. So, I do what I do best, shove all my feelings aside and ready myself to crush him. Game on.