Aster Springs

He's the grumpy hotshot hockey player. She's too shy to look him in the eyes. He needs a live-in summer assistant, and she's perfect. Chord Davenport is the hottest, surliest man to ever slap shot a puck. He's given up everything to be the best-family, friendship, love-but he's about to retire as a legend of the game, and that makes his sacrifices worth it. Violet James wanted to be the next big name in bridal couture, not a junior marketing executive for the San Francisco Fury hockey team, but her salary pays her dad's therapy bills, and leaving him behind to chase a selfish dream would cost her too much. When Chord hires Violet as his summer assistant, he's certain this pretty wallflower won't give him any trouble. But when she moves into the house he built on his family's California ranch, Chord can't take his eyes-or his hands-off her. All he wants is to love her, protect her, satisfy her, and give her the courage to follow her heart. He didn't expect to feel a desperate need to become a better man. In just one summer, Chord and Violet change each other forever, but will living their dreams be the very thing that tears them apart? Wallflower is a grumpy/sunshine steamy small town romance with an HEA. It's the first book in the Aster Springs series and can be enjoyed as a standalone. Tropes include: pro hockey player with a ranch; forced proximity (boss / assistant and roommates); man obsessed; slow burn.

He's the protective single dad with too much on his plate. She's the wild ray of sunshine with a secret crush. He needs a nanny. She needs a job. Sneaking around was never on the menu. Dylan Davenport has always been the responsible one, but he's bitten off more than he can chew. Looking out for his sisters. Running the family ranch. Managing his restaurant as head chef. And raising his six-year-old daughter on his own. Poppy Golightly was eighteen years old when she left Aster Springs to get over her crush on her best friend's brother. Now she's back with a broken heart, an empty bank account, and an eternal optimism that her true love is out there somewhere. When his sister convinces him to hire Poppy as his nanny, Dylan's perfect control starts to slip. Poppy is fun and messy and spontaneous-all the things he isn't. She's also grown up and gorgeous. Magnificent with his daughter. Soft and warm and luminous. Dylan knows his sister would never approve of him dating her best friend, and he's only ever done the right thing-until now. Soon, heated gazes lead to forbidden tastes that turn into so much more. Dylan is Poppy's fairytale come true, but he can't risk falling for another woman who'll leave him and his daughter behind. Yet when the truth about their relationship is accidentally revealed, Dylan discovers just how hard he'll fight to give Poppy her own happily ever after. Sunshine is a single dad, steamy, small-town romance with an HEA. It's the second book in the Aster Springs series and can be enjoyed as a standalone. Tropes include: single dad/nanny; hot chef with a ranch; best friend's brother; secret romance; teenage crush; opposites attract.