North Carolina Highlands

My name’s Beau, and for the most part, I’ve led quite the charmed life. I left college to play pro ball and collected a few Super Bowl rings along the way. Now that I’ve retired at the ripe old age of thirty-six, I’m in my second career as CEO of a five-star resort in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Sounds great, right? Well, I just did something real stupid, y’all. Bel—that’s Annabel to the rest of you—my best friend since college, is struggling as a single mom. So of course I invited her to come stay at my family’s resort for some much needed R&R.

Emma Crawford became enemy number one the second she stepped foot on Blue Mountain Farm. She might think I’m just a dumb jock, but I know she’s a stuck-up wine snob who believes she’d be a better exec than me. She can take my position over my dead body. But with her ridiculous curves and fearless smarts, she’s becoming one giant distraction just when I need to prove my worth most. Lucky for me that I have a secret internet sext partner to blow off steam with.

When I took a seat next to the gorgeous brunette at the blackjack table, I had no idea it would be the start of the hottest weekend of my life. By day, Stevie and I dominate the casinos of Sin City. By night, I dominate her in my penthouse suite. Then my brother Samuel ruins it by asking me to come home for his engagement party. Because he’s not just getting married. This isn’t a normal celebration for me. His future bride is my one who got away. The girl I may or may not still be in love with.

Amelia Fox was my high school sweetheart, the girl who broke my heart and nearly ended my football career nine years ago. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other, much less make a comeback. But I did come back. And I’m not about to let go of everything I fought for just because my world is imploding again. When I find out I’m the father of a two-year-old boy, I’m ready to start my final season in the pros. It’s my last chance to nab the championship I promised my dad I’d win before he died. Enter Amelia: teacher, toddler whisperer, and—oh yeah—my ex-girlfriend.

The Capulets and Montagues have nothing on the Beauregards and Kingsleys. Our families have feuded for centuries, and Nate was always forbidden—which made fooling around with him that much more delicious. But then I fell for him, and he fell off the face of the earth, ghosting me without so much as a goodbye. Fast-forward two years: as an expert in romance, I’m a wedding planner to the rich and famous. I never expected Nate to show up at my office, least of all with a shiny new fiancée on his arm. She’s got money to burn, and she wants me to plan the most extravagant wedding of my career.