Hard Margins: A Stone River Romance

By Mara Bennett

HARD MARGINS

A Stone River Romance

Expanded Edition - with extended scenes and increased heat

She came to sell a development deal.

He came to tear it apart.

Neither expected to fall in love.

Maren Caldwell has one chance to prove herself: convince Stone River, Montana to approve a multimillion-dollar development project. Armed with polished presentations and absolute confidence in her numbers, the rising analyst from Denver expects a straightforward pitch.

Then Callum Hargrove stands up.

The local contractor dismantles her entire proposal in front of the town in fifteen brutal minutes.

Her budget? Dangerously flawed.
Her timeline? Impossible.
Her assumptions? Completely wrong.

He's arrogant. Infuriating.

And worst of all-he's right.

Maren can defend a broken plan and save her career... or admit the truth and lose everything she's worked for.

When she chooses integrity, corporate retaliation costs her job-but Stone River offers something she never expected: a chance to start over.

And a stubborn contractor who refuses to let her walk away.

Callum has spent twenty years protecting his town from developers who promise the world and disappear when things fall apart. He knows better than to trust another corporate outsider.

Except Maren stays.

She rebuilds the proposal from the ground up.
She fights for the town.
And she challenges every wall he's built around his heart.

But when sabotage threatens the project-and their future-Maren and Callum will have to decide what they're really building together.

A development deal...

Or something worth risking everything for.

Tropes You'll LoveEnemies to LoversGrumpy / SunshineSmall Town RomanceBlue Collar HeroForced ProximityHe Falls FirstCareer Woman Starting OverFish Out of Water
Heat Level

Steamy - emotionally driven intimate scenes with strong chemistry and character development.

Expanded Edition Includes

- Extended romantic scenes and deeper character development
- Expanded Stone River world-building
- Richer secondary characters and series setup

Stone River Romance Series

Book 1: Hard Margins
Book 2: Built to Burn (Coming Soon)
Book 3: Forged in Stone (Coming Soon)

Each book features a different couple in the same small Montana town and can be read as a standalone with a guaranteed HEA.

Perfect for readers who love small-town romance, grumpy blue-collar heroes, strong heroines, and stories where real stakes meet irresistible chemistry.

One-click now and discover why readers are falling in love with Stone River, Montana-and the stubborn contractor who defends it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GQP1X9L5
• ISBN13: 9798250171809
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"