JUST THIS ONCE by LENA HENDRIX

Whip King cannot be the man for me.

Cocky, pierced firefighters are perfect for late-night rom-coms, but in real life they’re nothing but trouble. Especially when you find out they work for your dad—after you’ve already slept with them.

Moving to my parents’ small town was supposed to be the fresh start I was looking for. When a disastrous Valentine’s Day leads to an unexpected encounter with a sexy stranger, and ends with the hottest night of my life, I didn’t think I would ever see Whip again.

Imagine my surprise when one of my sixth-grade students has a medical emergency and it’s Whip who shows up, looking hot as hell, to save the day. I should be embarrassed at how we left things, but instead I’m furious he doesn’t seem to remember me.

So I scrape my pride off the floor, lift my chin, and pretend there’s nothing between us. But that can last only so long. Stolen glances melt into forbidden touches, and once we give in to temptation, we can’t keep our hands off each other.

Nothing has ever felt so right, but my guarded heart won’t let me believe in happily ever after with a man like him. Opening up to Whip may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and every time we agree to one last time, we both know it’s a lie.

How many times can we keep telling ourselves just this once before we realize that, when it comes to love, once is never enough?