. .HEATHERHermosa Beach seems to be the place for throwing together unlikely opposites.My rooster Rowdy and his new crush, Pixy the goat.Me and the obnoxiously cocky cowboy from Texas . . .But unlike Rowdy and Pixy, there’s no way I’m going to fall for David Strickland.Nope. Not gonna happen. I could never be with a man so completely opposed to everything I believe . . . no matter how hot he is.DAVIDThere couldn’t be two people more different than the beautiful little tree hugger and rooster rescuer Heather and me.We can’t agree on anything, except that we disagree on everything—at some times more heatedly than other times. And believe me, things are starting to heat up between us, in more ways than one.She's the last thing I expected to find at an animal shelter in California. But now I found her, I have no intention of letting her go.I just have to get her on board with that plan.Mother Clucker is a standalone story inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s Cocky Bastard. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.

    Heartbreaker. They say I put the hot in hot-shot cardiologist.Not that it matters. I never stick my tongue depressor in my co-workers.What can I say? I play by a set of personal rules.Even if those rules eliminate 99.9% of the woman I come in contact with from my dating-pool.Even if those rules land me on a blind date with Emily, my childhood sweetheart, a woman I hadn’t seen since I broke her heart freshmen year of college.Let’s just say the evening was a disaster. She took one look at me, and it was…Date over. Do not pass go. Do not collect your two-hundred dollars.The thing is, I can’t stop thinking about her. She was my first kiss, and every other first that two people can share.She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved.How can I make her understand what really happened between us when she wants nothing to do with me?How can I let her walk away again, when it could mean another ten years wondering…what if?The answer’s simple. I can’t.Unfortunately, the solution to my dilemma is a five-year-old Colombian girl with a deadly heart condition. The same little girl Emily’s non-profit organization brought to the United States to receive life-saving surgery.When the chief of staff informs me, I need to improve my public image because my bedside manner sucks--not THAT bedside manner. I’m just fine between the sheets, thank you very much—I agree to perform the girl’s operation… Because spending more time with Emily is worth the risk.Even if it means I have to break every rule in my playbook.Even if it means destroying myself in the process.I may be a sap, but I’ll do anything for a second chance with the woman who’s owned my heart since the fourth-grade.

    on Wednesdays.Oh, and I might have stalked him in the dining hall, too. Turned out he ate a lot of grilled cheese.And thanks to my big mouth, the paper I work for now expects me to do a story on him because he's not granting interviews. Not even to Anderson Cooper.But surely he'll meet me since we went to college together? Right?Logical assumption. Except that he doesn't know me from a hole in the wall.But I wasn't about to blow my chance with the paper. Writing obituaries for three years at one of the country's top newspapers was not my idea of a fulfilling career, especially since the money I'd borrowed for my Ivy League education could buy a small country. I wanted more--I wanted to report on real news. I wanted to prove myself, and even work in the face of danger. A girl's got to have dreams.All I needed was a break. No question, I was getting an interview with Talbot Richardson if it was the last thing I did. If I had to beg, borrow, steal, or... even take my panties off.

    A dash of a pretend role. A shot of steamy chemistry. Put it in a shaker, then pour for one exotic cocktail on the rocks!Wesley Templeton was determined to not follow in his namesake’s path as a cardiac surgeon. Was he smart enough for it? Of course. Did he have the time and patience to master the craft? Absolutely. Was he going to let his controlling grandfather hold his trust fund over his head until he achieved what was expected of him? Hell no!Harper Fairchild was the redheaded stepchild. Literally. Smart, nerdy, picked on, and often thought of as an outcast. Her social life was as dismal as her family one, so she left home when she could and made a new life somewhere else. Unfortunately she found it was hard to break the mold of what cast her as undesirable. Until she loses a bet with a coworker and agrees to a makeover for a blind date. When that turns into another disaster she escapes to a bar to nurse her emotional wounds, striking up a conversation with the sexy bartender and wondering if she could keep up the ruse of the confident sexy chick she was pretending to be.

    And I'd never wanted her more. Gorgeous, loyal, poised, and all grown up. Riya Guliani had been a thorn in my side since we were kids, it seemed not much had changed.Except for the fact, she was known in influential circles as "the fixer," and she was back in NYC to clean up a mess. Mine. Who cared that I was a little reckless? I hadn't turned my father's million-dollar company into a billion-dollar empire by doing what was expected of me. But sometimes the unexpected was exactly what we needed. And I needed her in a way I never saw coming...

    Has a great job as a photographer. Drives a new car, but not overly flashy. Has his small group of friends.Yeah he's just your run of the mill average Joe.Except, is anyone really all that normal?The secrets Sean harbors run deep. Stemmed from agony deep inside and a thirst for vengeance.Melody is perceived as the beautiful spoiled princess that fell for a beautiful, confident stranger many years ago.Two polar opposites. One night that changed everything without either of them knowing it.Can love conquer all? With the help from a mysterious stranger, Adele. Who you may all know from a certain Cocky character's life. Unlucky in love herself. Anything is possible.***This book is in conjunction with the Cocky Hero Book Club with Adele and maybe some of your other favorite Cocky characters guiding these characters through their journey.

    My business.𝑀𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.But even bad times have to come to an end. I thought that was the case when Valerie slid onto the bar stool next to mine and asked me to buy her a drink.She was gorgeous. Driven. Smart.𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠.𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞.Valerie was a ray of light when I needed it most, and I couldn’t get enough of her. Being with her made me think I could have it all again.Showed me I could have more.𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡.Except all 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 things must come to an end too.𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠.

    B. for Bossy, is fast becoming the bane of my existence.After running into him, literally, he’s now popping up everywhere, and somehow managing to weave his way into my life.He's egotistical, smug, and so ridiculously good-looking it should be illegal—he's way too hot to handle. I don't do hot, those type of guys are more trouble than they’re worth.Although, I'd secretly love to do him.We’ve kissed once—it was smokin’, and led to me dry humping his leg in front of the entire club like a shameless hussy. Oh, and did I mention I deep throated his thumb within seconds of meeting him … I didn’t even know his name.Apparently I have issues, big ones.He makes me do things I never imagined myself doing.He makes me feel things I'm not comfortable feeling.It just wouldn’t work, even if I wanted it to. Between us we have more baggage than a carousel at LAX airport.He's everything I want, but can never have.Or so I thought.

    Sexy and confident—or maybe arrogant—he had me yearning for more with just a smoldering look and a smirk of his lips.But when a night of drinking leads to getting in bed with him and having the wildest, most intense night of my life, I didn’t know if I should ask to see him again or do the good old walk of shame.And it’s when I walk into my interview the next day and come face-to-face with my prospective employer that the reality of my situation sinks in.Because there, sitting across from me with that devilish smile on his face, that knowing expression of what we’d done the night before, is the one and only Jason, my supposedly one-night stand.Looked like my humiliation wasn’t over just yet.

    Unexpectedly jobless and fostering an exotic pet with an insatiable appetite, this pastry chef needs a new gig faster than she can whip up a batch of scones. But when she’s tapped to serve as the personal chef to a haughty tabloid regular, she only considers the job out of sheer desperation. After all, Giorgio Acardi may be filthy rich and intoxicatingly handsome, but he’s also a first-class scoundrel.Giorgio Acardi has it all: money, fame, an endless string of beautiful companions, and the respect of his colleagues and rivals. From the outside looking in, his life is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that he’s even got his eye on a new personal chef. She’s talented and gorgeous, and it shouldn’t make a difference whether she hates him or not as long as she does the job. But there’s something about Carlina that Giorgio just can’t resist, and he hasn’t enjoyed success by backing down from a challenge.

    Were they things I even wanted anymore?Spencer Broten was a pain in my backside from the moment we met.I was conned into going on a road trip with him.Within hours, I realized he wasn't just my trainer. He was much more.This unnamed, unplanned winding road turned into us getting to know each other as we truly were.Two broken bodies, two broken souls finding out we were more the same than different.The line between hate and love is a bitter edge.Outside or inside.Where will we land?

    Imagine my surprise when a drenched, flustered brunette slipped into the booth across from me, acting like she was supposed to be there.When she slipped back out with a snappy goodbye, I never thought I’d see her again.Until I walked into my Friday morning meeting.At first, I didn’t recognize her—she was dry this time. But from the look on her face, she recognized me.When she gave the worst pitch I’ve ever sat through, I thought my boss, and mentor, was going to show her the door—except he accepts the proposal and tells me we have to work together.I didn’t anticipate I would like her, let alone be interested in her. Sure, she was hot and sassy.But something about her rubbed me the wrong way.And yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her.So, when she leaves the room and her phone chimes with a new text, I knew I wasn’t supposed to look.I also knew I wasn’t supposed to cancel her date for later that evening.And I definitely knew I wasn’t supposed to delete the entire exchange, so she had no idea what I’d done.But I did. And then I showed up at the restaurant, pretending like this was all a big coincidence.When the date is over, I want more. I need more.We start pretend-dating because she needs practice, and I tell myself, New York’s most eligible billionaire bachelor, that this is just a bit of fun.What could possibly go wrong?

    Things go from chaotic to scorching hot when I run into my old crush, Miles Thatcher, on my way out of the building.Talk about disastrous timing. I haven’t seen him in years – five to be exact.Since the day we buried his sister – my best friend.That was both the best and worst day of my life.It was also the day Miles kissed me – and promptly forgot about me.Some things never change. He still has no clue who I am. Miles is no longer the boy I fell in love with. Now he’s just a stuck-up big shot with a big bank account and bigger ego.I wish I didn’t still have feelings for him but seeing him again only makes me want him more. If only Miles would finally ‘see’ me. A lot can happen over five years, but time hasn’t erased the guilt he carries. Underneath his fancy façade is a man who can’t get over the grief of losing his baby sister... or the regret of not being able to prevent it.And I’m just the girl who can’t get over him.

    Only one word can describe Sebastian “Bash” Fury…DIRTY.He’s dirty hot.A dirty talker.And a dirty player.On the ice, he truly earns his nickname.He bashes opponents without regard for the rules or safety.Which is precisely why I can’t have him on my team.As the first female head coach in the NHL, all eyes are on me, waiting for me to fail.A man like Bash Fury is a liability who could ruin my career.Even worse, he’ll destroy my willpower.I should despise that cocky bastard.But something about his swagger and quick smile make him irresistibly charming.Despite my best efforts, things are heating up and the ice around my heart is starting to melt…All because of this dirty player.

    Graham Morgan was my first boss, but soon after I was working with some of the most famous entrepreneurs, business moguls, and movie stars in the city. They trusted me because I always followed the cardinal rules:Never betray secrets. And never, under any circumstance, get personally involved.I’d never dreamed of violating my professional mantra.Not until she walked past me.The look we exchanged that night set my body on fire, and I knew right then and there that no matter the consequences, she was going to be mine. But she was one of them—off limits and out of my league, but she was the kind of woman who I was willing to risk everything for.I keep other people’s secrets for a living, but the biggest secret of all might be my own.