Sitting Ducks

I was the broke scholarship kid, stuck sharing a room with Sherry, the spoiled heiress. From day one, she was all fake smiles and "let's be besties." She'd take me out for fancy meals. She even introduced me to Kenneth—her rich childhood buddy. It was fine—until Kenneth and I started dating. That's when the claws came out. One day, she "accidentally" dumped hot soup all over herself and claimed I'd done it on purpose. Then she demanded I pay her back. I gave her every cent I had, but it wasn't enough. Next, she accused me of stealing her wallet. The school bought it. I got written up, everyone turned on me, and Kenneth? He dumped me with, "You're just an ugly duckling trying to be a swan." I couldn't fight back. Humiliated, alone, and dragged through online hate, I dropped out. Then I let the river take me. And then—I woke up. Back to the moment Sherry introduced me to Kenneth.

While I was on vacation with my parents, we stood on the deck overlooking the sea when my father suddenly asked, "Mother duck says quack, quack, quack, quack. But?" I was about to reply, "Only four little ducks came back," when he kicked me into the water. "What's taking you so long to finish a song? Are you cognitively arrested or what?" he barked. Cold water filled my lungs like lead as I bobbed in the waves. "Help me, Dad! I can't swim!" My mother told the captain to steer the superyacht away instead. "Then stay in the water a little longer. Self-preservation may finally make you learn to swim. That's what you need. Real grit and adversity to unlock your potential." I flailed my arms and fought to stay afloat, but panic took over. My right leg cramped and refused to move. I could only watch the superyacht fade into the horizon. I drifted for a while before I could catch up with my parents' superyacht. I wished I could tell them how many ducks came back, but they would never hear my voice again.

I've been hopelessly in love with the same guy for years. The problem? He barely knows I exist. So when Ryder King—the arrogant, infuriatingly gorgeous captain of the hockey team—offers to help me win my crush, I make a deal with the last person I should ever trust. He'll teach me how to flirt, steal attention, and finally make the man I've always wanted notice me. In return, I'll help him pass the art class that's threatening his place on the hockey team. It should have been simple. Instead, late-night study sessions turn into stolen glances. Fake flirting becomes dangerously real. Every teasing smile, every lingering touch, every jealous look pulls me closer to the one man I was never supposed to fall for. Now my heart is caught between the boy I've loved for years... and the hockey captain who's slowly making me forget why I wanted anyone else. But when the lines between pretending and reality disappear, someone is bound to get hurt. And by the time I realize I've fallen for the wrong player, Ryder is already walking away... and I might be too late to make him stay.

Nobody warned Avery Kane about Knox Callahan. Not the grocery store strangers who mentioned his name like a caution. Not the group chat that exploded the second she arrived. Not even her father — the man who uprooted her entire life to coach a hockey team in a Minnesota town she'd never heard of — who watched the whole thing happen from behind a whistle and a clipboard and said absolutely nothing useful. Knox is the team captain. The local legend. The boy with the full scholarship offer and the smile that should require a permit. He is also, as of November, Avery's boyfriend — which would be perfect if he weren't already leaving. Then there's Finn. Steady, warm, dangerous in a completely different way. Then there's a photograph of her mother. Twenty years old. Laughing at a Minnesota lake. In a town her mother swore she'd never been. Then there's Theo — quiet, ink-stained, annoyingly perceptive — who sits down next to her in a library and asks the one question that changes everything. Avery came to Evergreen to survive senior year. She didn't expect to find out she'd been here all along.

In the elite world of a high-class school, Jane, once a nobody, lands a dream job offer from the school's owner. The catch? She must secretly babysit four infamous "Jerks" on campus. With a high salary and flexible hours, it seems too good to be true.

On the way to the hospital in my daughter's car, my legs felt cramped, so I adjusted the angle of the passenger seat. A second later, I heard a soft snap from beneath the seat. A toothpick had broken. I jumped in fright as my daughter, Marissa Langford, slammed on the brakes, her face turning pale. "Why would you touch that? Tyler set that seat to a specific position on purpose. He uses it to check whether another man has been sitting in the passenger seat. How am I supposed to explain this now?" Realizing I'd caused trouble for her marriage, I immediately sent Tyler Ashford, my son-in-law, an apology. Hours passed without a reply. Eventually, all I received was a cold laughing emoji. Thinking Tyler was upset, I bought two expensive bottles of wine and personally went over to smooth things over. However, when Marissa opened the car door, I finally saw what was covering the passenger seat. It was a custom seat cover. Embroidered across it in glaring letters were the words: "Tyler's Exclusive Seat. No Old Bastards or Dogs Allowed". My vision went black with rage. Seeing me standing there without moving, Marissa frowned impatiently. "Tyler's just immature. Are you really going to be this petty and hold it against him?" I laughed. "You're right. I am petty. That's why the $20,000 I give you every month ends today. From now on, you're on your own."