I only planned to stay in Willow Cove long enough to outrun the mess I made of my life.
A quiet winter, a new job, a chance to finally breathe again. What I did not plan on was him-Jon Paul Hayes. The hometown hero with a bruised heart, a stubborn streak a mile wide, and a talent for getting under my skin from the moment I stepped into The Willow Bean Café.
We start as friction. Cold fronts clashing. Every conversation turns into a storm I swear I am not strong enough to stand in.
But then the walls between us begin to thaw.
It happens in the quiet moments. A repaired fence line. Shared coffee before sunrise. The way he looks at me like he sees more than the careful, put-together version of myself I try to show this town.
And the more I try to stay distant, the more this place-and this man-pull me in.
I came to Willow Cove to escape my past.
I never expected to find the one person capable of helping me face it... or the future I never believed I deserved.