Maura Richards’ plan for her life is simply to not have a plan. From watching the clock at her temp job to ending relationships before they get serious, Maura can only commit to being noncommittal. Enter Jet Knox, the starting quarterback of her beloved hometown pro football team. Maura dismisses their first encounter as merely a thrilling brush with celebrity, but Jet has other ideas. He’s made a living setting—and scoring—goals. Wooing Maura is his latest objective. Everyone in Maura’s life seems to have an opinion about her relationship with Jet, but with so many ideas, rumors, and doubts, Maura must rely on the judgment of the last person she feels she can trust: herself. search terms: free first in series, romantic comedy, rom com, humorous, chick lit, sports, strong female heroine

Maura Richards can organize a job fair like nobody’s business, but weddings are a different story—especially the Kansas City social event of the year, her marriage to local hero and NFL superstar Jet Knox. Handing that responsibility to Gloria, her formidable future mother-in-law, Maura focuses on her career, her fiancé, football… and not losing her nerve. The closer she gets to tying the knot, the more her wedding—and her future—tie her stomach in knots. But standing up to a master manipulator like Gloria Knox hardly seems like the best way to blend in with her new family. So Maura tastes cakes, talks centerpieces, and poses for photos, despite her mounting panic. If football has taught her anything, it’s that the best offense is a good defense, but she’s running out of plays and may need to call on the quarterback to launch a Hail Mary. The question is, will Maura show up in the end zone to catch his pass?

Team Knox’s two star players, Jet and Maura, have found their rhythm in the NFL, where their life revolves around the four seasons: pre-, regular-, post-, and off-. To increase their home field advantage, Maura decides to retire while she’s at the top of her job counseling game. It’s time to pursue her true calling—as soon as she figures out what that is. Jet’s no help. He’s too busy negotiating a new contract, dealing with injuries, and proving his critics wrong. Why can’t Maura find a favorite charity and spend her days shopping and redecorating the house, like a “normal” NFL wife? He has records to break and autographs to sign. Maura might be uncertain about what her next play is, but she knows what it isn’t: motherhood. Unfortunately, nobody gave a copy of that playbook to her mother-in-law, who wants another grandchild more than Jet wants another Super Bowl ring. With so many competing interests, someone’s going to walk away disappointed. Who will rise victorious, and who will limp to the locker room to play another day? In real life, not everyone gets a trophy.

Jayne Greer wasn’t the looker or the comedian in her family; she was the thinker and the writer. And ultimately, she was the survivor. When a deadly house fire claimed the lives of her parents and sisters just hours after her high school graduation, Jayne was left virtually alone in the world. Writing down her tale of grief began as therapy, but she came to hope the resulting book could lead into the publishing world… and back into life. If only. Twelve years later, Jayne finds herself in Boston and completely out of her element. Her continual missteps have her ready to scrap her dream and run back to Indianapolis. Her ill-tempered editor wants Jayne to change her book. Who cares how attractive he is? Jayne has no intention of putting up with his arrogance. And even if she were willing (which she’s not), she can’t—she’s suffering the worst case of writer’s block ever. A writer’s retreat in Marblehead is her last hope, but it could cost her the last shred of control she has over her life.

Nate Bingham’s career as a pediatric nurse provides plenty of personal satisfaction, but at the end of the day, he comes home to an empty house. When his obnoxiously perfect older brother, Nick, announces his engagement, Nate decides he’s ready to do whatever it takes to secure his own happily-ever-after. But he has no idea how wacky “whatever it takes” can get. Before he knows it, his next blind date has helped herself to his photo, his gender, and details of his life to fuel a wild scheme—and he finds himself falling into it. After all, if his own life is a bust, why not try on someone else’s? What could possibly go wrong? “An irresistible tale about finding love where you least expect it.”

Nurse Nate Bingham’s life is finally going according to plan. He has the wife, the dog, the house, the career… even a start on that brood of rugrats he’s always wanted. Frankie herself couldn’t write a better romance novel. But it turns out there’s a reason fiction always closes right after “I do.”Because in real life, there’s a whole lot more to get through before happily ever after. Changes at work, revelations at family get-togethers, struggles in his personal relationships, and disappointments at home threaten Nate’s healthy outlook and force him to diagnose and take action. Unfortunately, nobody’s walking away from this treatment plan with an easy cure and a lollipop.

It’s no secret that having a new baby is exhausting. And it’s no secret that Peyton is so sleep-deprived she’s practically walking into walls. But it’s no secret that she loves her son—and her husband. So when Brice wants to move from Chicago—away from Peyton’s family and job and friends and familiar home—she says yes, because she knows how much it will mean to his career and how much he wants this change. But now Peyton iskeeping a secret about their new life: she hates it. Then there's the secret she's keeping, or at least trying to keep, from her new town and new church—that she's just no good at this 'pastor's wife' thing. At least they don't know about her past. And there's no way that secret could ever get out, is there?