From USA Today bestselling author Shey Stahl comes a gripping, emotional, brother's best friend romance that will leave you desperate for more.
My life is perfect. Dream wedding days away, a mansion in the hills of Nashville, a promising career in pediatric nursing. And not to mention, a wealthy southern groom willing to do anything for me. But he's not the one who paints a scene of passion. He's not the cocky, arrogant, and very much forbidden man my father despises. He's not my brothers best friend. He's not the one who gave me years and let me go just as easily. And he's certainly not the one I'm with now as thunder rolls through the canyons and his voice dances along exposed curves.
I look up, the sky burning brighter, stronger, like his love and I find myself torn between the stars. As the light fades, the smell of smoke in my hair, the flames piercing through a chalky night, his darkness stains my heart.
"I'll never stop when it comes to you." I watch his face, the fall of his eyes, and I'm met with the dark hallow that haunts me.
He's not the one I should pick, but he's the only one who knows how to kiss me without touching me.
We were shades of love, written in the stars and tethered to the shore.
Until the cracks in our plan destroyed it all.
Do you see that woman holding a foreclosure notice in her hand and a screaming toddler at her feet? She doesn't look happy, does she?Spoiler alert: she's not. And it has nothing to do with the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she found in her couch cushions this morning, or that fact that her kid's favorite words is c&#$. I'll let you put the letters with the rest of that word, but, to fully to understand my frustration, you have to go back two weeks. That's when my husband of six years died of a heart attack. And I'm not sad about it. Before you go thinking I'm an emotionless shit, understand that I was sad. Was being the key word.You see, dear friends, in those fifteen days since my husband died, I've met his girlfriend, who's befriended me and to top it all off, it turns out, infidelity wasn't the only thing he's guilty of. He hadn't paid our bills in four months.Now I'm forced to rent out the room above our garage. But there's a hitch. The guy that rents it?My one-night stand from the night I found out my deceased husband had been cheating on me.The problem? He's a college baseball player. And let me tell you, sister. Cason Reins, his name should come with a surgeon general warning. He's everything I don't need in my life. Not only does he walk around shirtless, have a dirty mind, that's not the worst part. What is it, you ask? Other than him befriending my toddler? He knows how to throw a curve ball. He wants to… gulp. Date. Me.Now what the hell am I supposed to do?
Barrette Blake has virtually no memory of the night her world changed forever. With the unwavering support of her best friend, she tries to piece together her life and her foggy memories of that night. She's focused and resilient, but on the inside, she's losing hope she'll ever be whole again. Asa Lawson has it all together-on the field that is. He dominates the college-football scene, but his life is messy. He's in love with the girl who can't love herself after everything that's happened to her. While everything around him is spiraling out of control and threatens to come crashing down completely, the truth about the night that destroyed his childhood friend is revealed. She's hiding from the night she doesn't remember, and he's going to show her she's worth the risk.
Milena Wellington, general manager of the Wellington Plaza, may have been raised in a world of privilege, but she's worked hard for her professional success, and she's not about to let anyone take that from her.
The problem? Her love life is in shambles, she's sleeping on her friend's couch, her coworkers are constantly plotting behind her back, and she's stalking an intense, slightly arrogant, tattooed firefighter she had a one-night stand with. Being a firefighter was never a choice for Caleb Ryan. His destiny was decided when his life was shattered. He's never veered from the course and temptation has never led him astray.
The problem? Women serve a purpose, but love; he's incapable of it. That is until he can't stop thinking about the witty yet incredibly sexy brunette he met Christmas Eve. For one night, this exotic beauty sparked a fire inside of him, and he can't let her go. What happens when they can't ignore the burn?
For most of my life I've been focused on one goal. Making a name for myself and building a business from the ground up. I'm a hard-working man, confident in my trade and quite frankly pretty awesome if you ask me. Sure, I make mistakes, you'll see, but I think my dedication helps me out here. It's the devoted work ethic that has me following through with anything thrown my way. That being said, my wife of the last eight years served me with a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Believe me, I'm shocked too. She's under the impression I don't care. Ridiculous assumption. I know what you're thinking, what the hell did I do? Let's not judge me yet until you know the whole story. The way I see it, in the state of Arizona, I have approximately sixty days to make her fall back in love with me. Easy enough, right? You've clearly never met Madison. Contains mature themes.
