Once Forbidden, Twice Shy

Once Forbidden, Twice Shy

Carrie Aarons

Romance / Sports / Contemporary

Running from your problems only brings you hurtling face first into even worse baggage. After experiencing a brutal trauma in New York that I’d rather bury than address, escaping to a new job in London seems like the perfect solution. That was before I was introduced to my new boss, who is none other than my brother’s best friend. You know, the one I’ve been head-over-heels in love with forever. Jack Merrick had been my crush since I knew what one was. For years we fought the feelings; I didn’t want to humiliate myself and his excuse was not betraying my brother or parents, who had accepted him as their own. Then, the night of my college graduation party, he undressed me in my childhood bedroom and confirmed that there was no one else on this earth for him but me. When I woke the next morning he was gone, off to take a job as a coder halfway around the world. Four years and a mangled heart later, Jack is the last person I expect to see in London, and something close to fate is tricking me into thinking this is more than a coincidence. Our shared love of programming has always connected us, but now it’s the thing we’re weaponizing to get back at each other. Until one night, when the emotional scars from my attack resurface and he’s the only one to witness a massive breakdown. He coaxes out my secrets and swears to love and protect me like he couldn’t before. But with everything stacked against us, I’m not sure we can ever have what we’ve always dreamed of. Except just as we’re beginning to tackle those obstacles, I learn the truth of why he left all those years ago. And suddenly there may be no future for us at all.
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Foes & Cons

Foes & Cons

Carrie Aarons

Romance / Sports / Contemporary

Sawyer Roarke was my best friend. Growing up, our families were inseparable. We spent summers vacationing at the beach. In the school yard, it was us against the world. Then puberty hit, and we skated the thin line of staying buddies, or becoming more. Until I accidentally found the pros and cons list he made about whether or not to date me. And there were definitely more bullet points on the no side. Acting out of rage and hurt, I embarrassed him in the most public way possible. Now, we’re enemies. We’ve spent the last two years tearing each other to pieces. Everyone knows that Blair and Sawyer hate the ground the other walks on, and unfortunately, I got the unpopular end of the stick while he became Mr. Prom King. Until senior year starts, and I’m tired of running scared. For the first time ever, I stand up to the golden boy with the whip-smart tongue. As the challenges and dares pick up speed, hearts start to fall and feelings get entangled. Despite my initial discovery, I wonder if being caught by each other wouldn’t be so bad. Except Sawyer has no idea what I found all those years ago. And if the truth comes out about why I pitted us against each other, not only will he add one more con to his list … but he can add my broken heart as well.
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You’re the One I Don’t Want

You’re the One I Don’t Want

Carrie Aarons

Romance / Sports / Contemporary

Love is weakness. Which is why Annabelle Mills vowed a long time ago to never let it destruct her. A former pageant queen with a bite equally as lethal as her bark, she’s interning at her dream job on the set of the highest-rated home design show on television. Everything in Annabelle’s life, though it may be cold and isolated, is going exactly as she always planned. Until her ex-high school sweetheart moves to town. The same boy that she cheated on, once upon a time, essentially breaking both of their hearts. But no one knows the full story, and being vulnerable enough to open up about it is not on Annabelle’s checklist. Hate is fuel. The kind that courses through Boone Graham’s veins and allows him to shut out everyone around him. As the hottest rookie on Austin’s professional baseball team, he should be spending his days hitting home runs and signing jerseys. Except he’s seen dreams ripped right out from under those closest to him, leaving them with nothing. Without a college degree, he’ll never take the risk of pursuing his real dream. But when he runs into the girl who took a mallet to his heart and stopped it beating, attending the same university might just be the biggest challenge he’s faced yet. As the semester unfolds, the line between love and hate is blurred. And with the amount of baggage stacked between them, together is the last thing they want to be. That’s the thing about hearts, though. They develop plans all on their own.
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Hitting to Win (Over the Fence #2)

Hitting to Win (Over the Fence #2)

Carrie Aarons

Romance / Sports / Contemporary

After a lifetime of neglect and sorrow, Miles Farriston has hit rock bottom after his lying ex-girlfriend proves that no one in his life sticks around. On the outs with his friends, in jeopardy of losing his baseball career and this close to getting kicked out of Kappa Eta Sigma, Miles is forced to compete in the Greek Life dance competition. What he didn't bank on was getting bright, cheery Chloe Trabucco as a partner. Ballet, friends and her sorority. The only three things Chloe Trabucco wants to focus on and excel at. So when she is asked to compete, as a freshman, in the popular Greek dance competition, she couldn't be happier. That is, until she learns Miles is her partner. The same Miles she's had a huge crush on for half of her life, and the same guy who made it clear more than a year ago that he wants nothing to do with her. Her positivity and patience annoy him. His attitude and anger finally drive her to the breaking point. Can they hit a home run, both on and off the dance floor, or will they go down swinging?**
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Catching to Win (Over the Fence #3)

Catching to Win (Over the Fence #3)

Carrie Aarons

Romance / Sports / Contemporary

Kelsey O'Brien is the definition of a free spirit. She goes where she wants, when she wants, and takes to bed who she wants. And when she arrives back at Grover University after eight months on an African animal preserve, its her newly hunky best friend that has caught her eye. As their friendship turns physical, Kelsey begins to form feelings she swore she'd never have for anyone. But when the past she's not ready to face finds her, she must make a decision whether to stop running, or confront the truth. The first time Clint Bellows laid eyes on Kelsey, he fell hard. Too bad she looked right through him. A year and countless hours in the gym later, she's back and hardly recognizes him and his new body. After a drunken encounter takes them over the line of friendship, Clint agrees to Kelsey's proposal of a benefits-added relationship. Only he's playing for keeps, and is willing to round all of the bases trying to score the self-proclaimed gypsy. She's running from her demons. He's committed to winning her over. Can he catch her in time, or will she be out of his grasp before he can blink?**
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