When I moved away from Hope Valley at eighteen years old, I told myself it was for good. There were too many unpleasant memories, too much history, and too many reminders of the boy who had broken my heart.

Years passed and I built a life and a family with a man I loved. Then, in the blink of an eye, that life was ripped away from me, and the secrets he’d kept from me refused to follow him into his grave.

Now I’m back in my hometown, a shell of my former self, trying to pick up the pieces of my shattered life and fit them back together. My heart has been broken for the second time in my life, but I have to put on a brave face and fake it for the sake of my kids and the people I love.

I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding the pain, but there is one person I’ve never been able to fool. One person who was always able to see through the masks I tried to wear, and he is determined to chase my shadows away.

Rhodes Bradbury is all grown up now. The boy who had been my first love is now all man. And to make matters worse, my body still reacts to him the same way it did all those years ago. My heart still races in his presence, and a single look from those deep, dark eyes is enough to make my skin tingle. The voice in the back of my head is screaming at me to steer clear, but there’s just one problem.

The boy he was might have broken my heart, but the man he is now wants a second chance. He isn’t afraid of my baggage. In fact, he wants nothing more than to carry it for me.

I’m trying my hardest not to repeat the mistakes of the past. But he’s doing everything in his power to convince me that most people aren’t lucky enough to have what we had even once, let alone twice in a lifetime.

My mother always gave the best advice. I just wish she had advised me to stay away from bull riders.

One in particular.

Connor Bennett is a walking red flag I could see coming from miles away, but I was a sucker for his rakish smile, his irresistible charm, and that world class behind always wrapped in a tight pair of Wranglers.

I told myself I'd learned my lesson when I woke up and discovered he ghosted me, leaving a note behind on the pillow where his head should have been. Unfortunately, that wasn't true.

High emotions and too much booze during a mutual friend's wedding lands me back in his bed, but this time I make sure I'm not the one left high and dry once the sun comes up.

Even though I can't stop thinking about him, I convince myself I've worked him out of my system. However, two pink lines a few weeks later make it impossible to pretend he doesn't exist.

We make an agreement. We'll co-parent once the baby is born, but nothing more.

There certainly won't be any more hanky panky.

But it turns out Connor has other ideas and wants to share more than just custody with me.

I'm trying so hard not to fall for that charm a second time, but my hormones are going crazy and he's doing and saying all the right things.

Despite all reason, I find myself wanting to get tangled up with him all over again. I just don't know if I should trust the bull rider not to trample all over my heart.

She's a sunny, sassy photographer.

Jolie Prescott has always been in love with love. She spent most of her life walking around with hearts in her eyes and immediately jumped at the chance to start a wedding planning company with her two best friends. So when her own fiancé called off their wedding and immediately started dating someone else, it was a major blow she never saw coming. The gossip about it finally starts to die down in her small town. Then her ex announced he's engaged again. And his new fiancée just happens to be Jolie's worst enemy. Which makes it really inconvenient that she can't seem to stop thinking inappropriate thoughts about that woman's moody half-brother.

He is the ultimate grump.

Vaughn Cavanagh never thought he'd set foot back in Pembrooke, Wyoming after moving away when he was thirteen, but when his father gets sick, he uproots his life to try to repair their frayed relationship. The only thing standing in his way is his spoiled brat half-sister, her determination to throw the ultimate wedding, and her beef with a certain wedding photographer he can't get out of his head.

When one impulsive act leads to Vaughn announcing he and Jolie are dating, the two have no choice but to fake their relationship to save face. But when feelings enter the picture and lines start to blur, Vaughn has to decide if he's willing to give up his quiet, solitary life and stay in Pembrooke for a woman he never intended to fall for, or if he's going to risk losing everything because he's too afraid to take that leap.

I'll admit, I made more than my fair share of stupid decisions, but all it took was an accidental felony and a teensy kitchen fire to turn my life upside down.

When my parents cut me off, selling my swanky Los Angeles apartment and shipping me off to some ranch in the middle of nowhere to teach me a lesson, I thought it was the worst thing that could happen to me.

Then I got to Safe Haven Ranch and met my new boss.

Zach Paulson is an older, grumpy cowboy who thinks I'm nothing more than a spoiled princess and doesn't want me on his turf. He also happens to be drop-dead gorgeous, and can wear a faded pair of Wranglers better than any other man alive.

The dumbest thing I can do is fall into lust with the temperamental rancher. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly known for making good choices.

But I'm determined to do better this time. I want to prove to myself and everyone else that I'm more than the shallow, self-absorbed socialite I've been playing at for years. I have a plan. Keep my head down, do my work, and don't make any mistakes.

The problem is, I'm not the only one with a crush, and all my defenses are useless against a man like Zach when he puts his mind to getting what he wants.