When I started my first year of college, I had one goal in mind and it had nothing to do with school. I wanted to earn a spot on the U.S. National Water Polo Team. I never imagined that my new coach would be someone I looked up to. Someone whose entire career I meticulously followed... and someone I had a misguided crush on. The first moment I lock eyes with Fallon Harris is the moment everything changed. The Olympics weren’t the only thing on my mind anymore. He doesn't feel the same because everything that comes out of his mouth is anything but admiration.

Theo Graham is charming. Sweet. Absolutely gorgeous. But I’m not a little girl anymore. I shouldn’t want him. I can’t have him. I should know better than to want my best friend’s dad. My best friend is Theo’s son, who may or may not have had feelings for me on and off for the past eight years. Wanting my best friend’s dad was the one secret that was never supposed to come out. Except now, he wants me too.

At eight, he gave me roses. At fifteen, he gave me butterflies, and at seventeen, he gave me sanctuary. I wasn't a damsel in distress. He wasn't Prince Charming waiting to whisk me off my feet. We didn't meet by chance. He's been part of my life for years, and for most of that time, I've been under his spell.

I didn’t notice her before... but now I do. Once I focus on her, I can’t take my eyes from my newest obsession. I need to know everything about her. Her past. Her present. The way she takes her coffee. Exactly how she smells after a spritz of perfume in the mornings. I notice the organized way she arranges her clothes in her closet. How she visits the same market each Saturday. The sounds of her breathing as I lie beneath her bed in silence. Violet is mine. She just doesn’t know it yet.

I'm not the kind of girl who has one-night stands. Except...I did. What can I say? After a few drinks with a gorgeous man who made me feel alive for the first time since losing my mom, I was powerless to say no. And I didn't regret it. Not one minute of our hot, mind-melting night together. But he wasn't a forever kind of guy. So I walked away. I wasn't supposed to ever see him again. Then I did. Turns out my sexy one-night stand is Dr. Jacob Mitchell - and he's the cardiothoracic surgeon who just saved my dad's life.