Oil Knights Series by Marie Johnston

I fled minutes before my wedding when I learned my fiancée was being paid to marry me. Ten years, too many crappy exes, and one drunken decision later, I’m now his boss.From Marie Johnston comes a small town second chance romance .I worked hard to get where I am. New house. Good job. Fresh start. I even have a budding horse rescue, but with my full-time work, I need a manager to rehabilitate and train the animals... moreI fled minutes before my wedding when I learned my fiancée was being paid to marry me. Ten years, too many crappy exes, and one drunken decision later, I’m now his boss.From Marie Johnston comes a small town second chance romance .I worked hard to get where I am. New house. Good job. Fresh start. I even have a budding horse rescue, but with my full-time work, I need a manager to rehabilitate and train the animals.During a night out with a friend, we start commiserating about how crappy exes never get their due. A stalker ex is happily married, yet I just got dumped after being told I was cold and emotionless. That ex got my promotion. And then there’s the ex who shall not be named—it’s Ansen Barron, as if I can forget his devastating grin and talented touch. If only someone could teach them a lesson.Just so happens he who shall not be named is down on his luck. It's my turn to be in control. After sending a tipsy email from a dummy account offering Ansen the new (low paying) position of rescue manager, I wake up hungover, with an employee.When he arrives, I feel anything but cold and emotionless. He reignites a spark inside me I didn’t know was extinguished. He blows the dust off the old Aggie and I realize how much of myself I’ve smothered.I’m supposed to be running a horse rescue. Instead, I’ve got pigs and ducks and donkeys and a manager who sees the real me, who makes me wonder how much was fake. He's slowly piecing my heart back together. Only I can’t forget he was the one who shattered it in the first place. less

Nannying two adorable kids was a way to support myself until I got on my feet again. I wasn’t supposed to fall for their stern single dad.After a sudden, bad breakup, I land in a small town in the middle of nowhere, cut off from all my accounts and resources. I have a stalled dancing career, a mom in long-term care, and no money.Then I meet Alcott “Cody” Knight. The type of guy I’ve learned to steer clear of—driven, rigid, and devastating in a suit... moreNannying two adorable kids was a way to support myself until I got on my feet again. I wasn’t supposed to fall for their stern single dad.After a sudden, bad breakup, I land in a small town in the middle of nowhere, cut off from all my accounts and resources. I have a stalled dancing career, a mom in long-term care, and no money.Then I meet Alcott “Cody” Knight. The type of guy I’ve learned to steer clear of—driven, rigid, and devastating in a suit. Only he also has two adorable kids, and he needs a nanny for the summer.For two months, he’ll pay more than I need to help my mom and myself. For two months, I’ll take care of his kids, give them dance lessons, and see what a normal life could be like. For two months, I have to try not to fall for a guy who’s hotter in jeans and cowboy boots than a suit and treats me like I matter.When my time is up, I’ll have to go. I might be used to leaving, only this time when I go, I wish I could be more than a temporary memory to the only man I could see forever with. less

I never keep secrets from my best friend, but I’m not sure how to tell her I’m sneaking around with her brother…who’s also my ex-husband. I might be single, but I’m not ready to mingle. I should’ve stayed home from the street dance. My feet are barely surviving the two-step and my dance partners are looking for dates while I’m only interested in forgetting the man I was once married to... moreI never keep secrets from my best friend, but I’m not sure how to tell her I’m sneaking around with her brother…who’s also my ex-husband. I might be single, but I’m not ready to mingle. I should’ve stayed home from the street dance. My feet are barely surviving the two-step and my dance partners are looking for dates while I’m only interested in forgetting the man I was once married to. The night’s about to end with bruised toes and a rain storm when the guy who swept me off my feet years ago cuts in right before the downpour starts. Wilder Knight has always been the best dance partner I’ve ever had. Just not the best husband. Once the storm hits, we take refuge in his pickup, but that isn’t all we do. After steaming up the windows and losing my underwear, I make a habit out of hooking up with my ex-husband. Only the longer we continue, the easier it is to see why our marriage fell apart. I couldn’t get over him the first time and losing him a second time might destroy the secure life I’ve built for myself, leaving me to ask… Were we better left an unfinished memory? less

The only thing I admire more than the old farmhouse next door is the guy who owns it. My best friend’s brother. I didn't mean to give my hot neighbor a full peep show when my puppy locks me outside in nothing but a towel. Yet Austen Knight pretends he didn’t see everything and offers me an interior design job—help him renovate the farmhouse I’ve adored since I was a kid. I’m a single mom trying to run a business in a small town... moreThe only thing I admire more than the old farmhouse next door is the guy who owns it. My best friend’s brother. I didn't mean to give my hot neighbor a full peep show when my puppy locks me outside in nothing but a towel. Yet Austen Knight pretends he didn’t see everything and offers me an interior design job—help him renovate the farmhouse I’ve adored since I was a kid. I’m a single mom trying to run a business in a small town. I can’t be alone with Austen day in and day out without igniting rumors that could hurt the career I’ve worked so hard for. But I need the money, and he’s leaving after the house is done and goes on the market. Turns out, renovating with him is fun. Working with him is addicting. And I look forward to our cold beer together after a long day. When works turns to pleasure, I should put a stop to what we’re doing, it’s not professional, but I can’t. Austen reignites something in me that I left behind long ago. He’s become so much more than my friend’s brother and my neighbor, but he’s going to be gone soon. Guys always leave in the end. I’ll be a struggling single mom again, and he’ll be nothing but a fearless memory. less

Move out or get married. Those are my options, thanks to the trust my grandma left behind. From Marie Johnston comes a single mom, marriage of convenience romance.My aunt is determined to see to the terms of the inheritance. If I don’t get married, I’ll have to find somewhere I can afford with two kids and a lot of debt—and do it without losing my brand new job. When she confronts me on the moveout deadline, I try to buy time. I blurt out a name. I tell her I’m engaged to Eliot Knight... moreMove out or get married. Those are my options, thanks to the trust my grandma left behind. From Marie Johnston comes a single mom, marriage of convenience romance.My aunt is determined to see to the terms of the inheritance. If I don’t get married, I’ll have to find somewhere I can afford with two kids and a lot of debt—and do it without losing my brand new job. When she confronts me on the moveout deadline, I try to buy time. I blurt out a name. I tell her I’m engaged to Eliot Knight.Eliot’s my boss’s brother, and he’s been around the vet clinic where I work. He’s hot. He’s charming. He’s who I’d pick if I had to marry someone at a moment’s notice. But he wasn’t supposed to hear me. He wasn’t supposed to get dragged into my mess. And he wasn’t supposed to agree to help me. Now, we’re Mr. and Mrs. Knight.We only need to be married for a year, and he runs his family’s ranch in another town. Three hours away. Yet circumstances keep throwing us together, and I get a lot of time with my new husband. I enjoy his company. His...touch. I fall hard the first time I heard him say “my wife.”But our lives are still separate. At the end of the year, I’m afraid I’ll get to keep my house, but I’ll lose my heart and be left with nothing but endless memories. less