A long time ago, in a suburban high school not so far away, a closeted nerd (me) and a closeted soccer star (Hutch) fell in love and planned to make their public debut at prom. Until Hutch bailed at the last minute, leaving me with a broken heart and unworn tuxedo. Tale as old as time, right? I spent the past ten years working to forget Hutch, returning to our old high school to teach and make new memories that could erase ones of him. I thought Hutch was ancient history, off living his professional athlete life.

College is weird. One second you're studying for a huge exam in integrated physics and the next you're secretly drooling over the sexy rugby player living in the dorm next door. The second after that, you're sharing a bed with that same Insta-famous jock, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what in gay heaven caused such a miraculous and terrifying thing. Maybe inviting him to stay at my family's house for the summer wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had?

Five years ago, I walked away from Sunbury, Oregon, and left my best friend behind. The move was supposed to get my life on track. I even had a list: Life changing epilepsy surgery. Check. See the world. Check. Get over my straight best friend... Not exactly. No matter where I go or who I meet, I can't let Tanner go. I'm back to tell him how I feel. To get the closure I need once and for all. Only now I'm here and falling for him all over again, it's getting harder to say the words. Because once I have my closure, I'll be gone. And this time it will be for good.

A trip to the grocery store changed my life. That's where I bumped into my "straight" coworker and good friend, Jake Perez. I decided to invite him to my book club night, not realizing the chain of events that invite would kick off. Immediately our chemistry became too explosive, making our friendship and work relationship complicated. That same night, a bloody package addressed to me lands on my doorstep. Falling for Jake was never in the plans—then again neither was being targeted by a dangerous stalker. This was going to be interesting.

Harrison Phillip Fletcher III isn't supposed to be here. Not in Burlington, Vermont, not running Vino & Veritas, a quaint inclusive bookstore and wine bar, and definitely not still alive, at 42. Also not supposed to be here? An unexpected delivery of chickens. Finn Barnes knows chickens. The burly organic farmer knows all about rare breed poultry, but dealing with a hot older bookseller is an entirely different matter. City-slicker types like Harrison never end up staying in Vermont for the long-term. They should steer clear of each other. But the flare of attraction is mutual.

I’m Logan Lewis: popular, charming, and athletic. All the girls love me. Yep, I’ve really got it made. Then I find myself in danger of failing my chemistry class and losing my sports scholarship. I know the only person who can save me is the smartest science tutor on campus. Theo Reign is brilliant. He’s also cold, antisocial, moody, and mean. He looks at me like he hates me, but touches me like he wants me. There’s something just beneath the surface that draws me in. His secret pain mirrors my own, and I suddenly find myself craving him.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu has come to Copper Point, Wisconsin, after the pressures of a high-powered residency burned him out of his career before he started. Ashamed of letting his family down after all they’ve done for him, he plans to live a quiet life as a simple surgeon in this tiny Northern town. His plans, however, don’t include his outgoing, kind, and attractive surgical nurse, Simon Lane.

Jason loves his life as a stay-at-home dad, but being a divorced single father wasn't part of the plan. Besides his kids, pies are his passion. He makes and sells his creations at the Heartcraft Market, but it's not enough to live off of. After his father's recent health scare, Nico is determined to help revive their family diner. Then he meets Jason, whose pies are as sweet as he is, and an idea begins to form. Jason's kids are everything to him, but his bed feels empty at night. Nico has always wanted a family, but he has yet to find a man that he could build a life with.

The mess that is my life started with one too many tequila shots. Well, I guess you could say the disaster really started two years ago when I met Sterling Jacobson, my best friend's older brother, for the first time. He's off limits, someone I can never have. So why do I have to want him the most? I really need to get him—and the night we shared—out of my head. There's no better way to do that than on a summer trip to Sicily with my best friend. That was the plan until everything went sideways.

Troy: Of course I fell for a football jock. But Jackson and I are polar opposites. He's popular, confident, and as hot as hell in a tight T-shirt. Me? I'm just a scrawny, awkward nerd. Another point of difference: He's straight.

My final baseball season with the Easton U Pirates feels bittersweet. I'd like to go out on a high note, graduate, and focus on the family business. But a certain pitcher is making senior year a challenge. Not only because Maclain is stubborn as hell, but because he makes me feel things I never have about another guy. With each snarky comment and hard-won grin, he reveals a little more of himself, and before I know it, I'm in over my head.

My entire life has been one steady plan after another. Go to college. Get married. Have a successful career. More than a decade goes by, and my entire world is rocked in more ways than one. Everything I thought I knew is ripped from under me in one fell swoop. Then I meet him: the enticing man behind the camera with the boyish grin and charismatic energy who makes me question everything. He was only supposed to be a means to an end. But what I got was so much more.

Doctor Owen and HR director Erin shock the Copper Point community when they go from enemies to lovers literally overnight. It's a distraction, but when their fake romance turns real, they'll have to put their demons to rest and learn to trust each other.

Austin Romero: No one's fast enough to outrun grief. Trust me, I've tried. I ran away from the city and took a job as the lead detective back in my old home town of Blue Creek, New Hampshire. I expected to bump into past ghosts, but I never expected those ghosts to reopen old wounds. The biggest ghost of them all: Charlie Marsh. He was the man who had stolen my heart when we were teens, and who now couldn't even remember a single day we had spent together. Which makes it exceptionally awkward when he becomes my first client.

Gabriel "Fox" Morrison is starting a brand new chapter in his life. He spent years drifting after his time in the military and finally felt ready to settle in one spot. This leads him to becoming the head detective of the recently opened Stonewall Investigations in Miami. His first case is one that not only hits close to home, but the result could have huge repercussions for more than just him and his client.