Hard to Hold: A Curvy Small-Town Romance (Small Town, Big Love Book 2)
She stopped waiting for men to stay. He stopped believing he could.
Sadie Ray Carter has had exactly one rule since Mason's father walked out three months after the birth: don't let anyone in who isn't planning to stay. She's a single mom, a one-woman garage, and the most self-sufficient person in Willow Creek - which is a polite way of saying she's been running on grit and stubbornness for six years and hasn't slowed down long enough to notice the cost.
Then a man with a battered guitar case walks into her garage and borrows a wrench.
Holden James used to fill arenas. Now he's gutting a broken-down gas station with his bare hands, trying to rebuild something real after a very public collapse - the kind that ended up viral before the paramedics arrived. He's not looking for rescue. He's not looking for a story. He's looking for a reason to stay still long enough to find out who he is when no one's watching.
Sadie isn't soft. She doesn't do pity, she doesn't do charming, and she absolutely doesn't do men who might leave. But Holden doesn't act like a man who's leaving. He fixes her porch light without being asked. He sits on her curb at midnight playing songs he hasn't finished yet. He treats her son like a person instead of a prop.
That's the most dangerous thing of all.
Because Sadie knows how to protect herself from men who don't care. She has no idea what to do with one who does.
A slow-burn romance with real emotional stakes, a scene-stealing six-year-old, and two people learning that staying takes more courage than leaving ever did. Reads as a standalone, hits harder if you've met Willow Creek before.
ARC Reviews:
"This book felt like being held. Sadie and Holden's story is raw, real, and everything I want in a small-town second chance.
"That slow burn? WORTH. EVERY. PAGE. I swooned, I cried, I wanted to crawl into Willow Creek and never leave.""A broken musician. A badass single mom. A soft little boy. And one garage that fixed way more than engines. Five stars."
About the Author:
Lena Morell writes the kind of stories that keep you up too late and make you text your best friend in all caps. A lover of rainy days, old bookstores, and twisty plots with a heart, she believes every good story needs at least one secret, one kiss, and one cup of coffee. When she's not writing, you'll find her people-watching, collecting vintage postcards, or arguing with her cat about plot holes.
About the Publisher:
Our authors are focused on writing, not chasing likes and followers, building author websites or obsessing over social media-they're here to create and share unforgettable stories.
We publish books for readers, not algorithms. If you're looking for bold, entertaining stories that put the art of storytelling first, you've come to the right place.
Customer Reviews
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