Chapter 1

When Penny's niece, Eliza Benjamin, finds out her fiance has been cheating on her, she moves to North Island to work with Penny at the Hard Deck. Penny has always had in her mind that Eliza and one of her regulars, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, would make a good pair. From the moment he lays eyes on Eliza, Rooster is smitten, but so is another pilot, Jake "Hangman" Seresin. Hangman makes a bet with Rooster that he can score a date with Eliza before Rooster, and quickly, unbeknownst to Eliza, many of the regulars at the Hard Deck are in on the bet, and have chosen a side (mostly Rooster's side), but the more time he spends with Eliza, the deeper Rooster falls for her.