Hearts Right Here

From road trips to isolated cabins, business partners to longtime besties, longstanding crushes to new revelations, former bosses to dad's best friend-delve into nine contemporary romances where friendship changes course.

SOMETHING SOFTER: Hal Preston isn't normally one to run from his problems, but a solitary mountain retreat might be just what he needs to stop obsessing over his dad's best friend. There's no chance Wayne Merrick shares his fascination, and Hal's spent years hiding his intractable heart. But when Wayne arrives unexpectedly at his cabin, Hal aches to bare his heart after all.

WISHFUL THINKING: Kimiko has powerful feelings about leaving her barista job to focus on school. Or maybe she just has powerful feelings for coffee shop owner Nyla Prince. But Nyla isn't her boss anymore, and Kimiko's not sure how to navigate this unfamiliar terrain.

VERY CLOSE AND ALL AT ONCE: Noel Vane hates being the center of attention. He'd rather celebrate his fiftieth birthday with a quiet gathering at home, not a fancy gala arranged by his clueless but well-meaning best friend. Thank goodness for Jace DaSilva: his best friend's brother and Noel's gallant rescuer for the evening. But something is different between them tonight. The rules have changed, and Noel's just trying to keep up.

JUST ABOUT PERFECT: May Moretti screwed up. Even worse, after a month of clumsy radio silence, she still has no idea how to apologize for kissing Clio Garcia. Clio is older and wiser, a longtime family friend, and she clearly doesn't share May's hopeless infatuation. When their paths cross at a noisy party, there's no avoiding their unfinished business. But May has already made a perfect mess of things, and she has no idea where to start.

RUNNING HOT: Kurt Trench and his sister Lena make a good team, running the auto shop they inherited from their dad. Lately Shane Dolan-loyal customer and cheerful gearhead-has been coming by the garage all the time. Shane isn't the first guy to hang around mooning over Lena. The fact that Kurt is drawn to Shane shouldn't matter. Even if the feeling were mutual, he won't steal Lena's boyfriend. But watching the two grow close is torture, and Kurt can't seem to rein in his jealous heart.

ANTICIPATION: Jason may be a lot of things (stubborn, arrogant, occasionally oblivious), but he's got no delusions about his hopeless and long-secret infatuation with his best friend. The night he tells Max the truth, Jason worries his confession will ruin everything.

MATTERS OF HEART: In the past twenty years, Marco Spinelli has turned Spinelli Medical Technologies into an international powerhouse. But he hasn't done it alone. Adam is Marco's best friend, his business partner, and the genius behind their wildly profitable ventures. Marco can't imagine life without Adam at his side, exactly like this-until a gala and an unexpected encounter make him crave something more. Now he needs to sort through his own feelings, before a misunderstanding destroys the most important friendship of his life.

RIGHT HERE WITH ME: Amaia Campos has landed a full ride scholarship to her dream school. There's only one problem: college means moving across the country, two thousand miles from the best friend she's secretly in love with. A road trip is either exactly what they need or a total disaster. Faced with three days on the road, Jessa and Amaia have one last chance to get this right before everything changes forever.

PUT IT IN WRITING: A hopeless crush is nothing to be ashamed of, or so Lane tells himself. Jordan is steady, kind, confident, and effortlessly charming. In other words, they're everything Lane isn't and everything he can't help wanting. When his roommate suggests writing a love letter, Lane balks at first. But maybe it's not such a bad idea. So long as Jordan doesn't see the letter, everything should be fine.