From the bestselling author of Weightless and A Love Letter to Whiskey
Wren Ballard is trying to find herself.
She never expected to be divorced at twenty-seven, but now that the court date has passed, it’s official. The paperwork is final. Her feelings on it aren’t.
Spending the summer in a small mountain town outside Seattle is exactly what she needs. The peaceful scenery is a given, the cat with the croaky meow is a surprise, but the real kicker? A broody neighbor with nice arms, a strange reputation, and absolutely no interest in her.
Anderson Black is perfectly fine being lost.
He doesn’t care about the town’s new resident — he’s too busy fighting his own demons. But when he’s brought face to face with Wren, he can see her still-fresh wounds from a mile away. What he doesn’t see coming is his need to know who put them there — or his desperation to mend them.
Sometimes getting lost is the way to find yourself. Sometimes healing only adds a new scar. And sometimes the last place you expected to be is exactly where you find home.
I had just grabbed my oversized hat and slipped my sunglasses on when I spotted Anderson walking up the drive with a large trash bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a simple, black V-neck and distressed jeans, an outfit way too dark and hot for the heat. A light sheen of sweat gathered on his neck as he made his way toward my cabin, his eyes hidden behind all-black sunglasses.
"Change your mind?" I asked, not even fighting the grin on my face as I walked outside and leaned against the banister.
Anderson squinted up at me, his boots heavy as they hit each stair. "About?"
"Tubing?" I asked. That was why he was here, right?
"Oh." He shook his head as he hit the top stair, shrugging the bag off his shoulders to hold it by the neck in one fist. "No, I have somewhere to be..." His voice trailed off, and even through the tinted shades of his glasses, I felt his eyes on my chest. I'd strapped on my favorite boho print bathing suit and paired it with a dainty gold chain that wrapped around my neck once before dipping between my chest and crossing over my ribs.
He sniffed, holding the bag out toward me. "I just came to drop these off. My clothes. Well, the ones that could probably use a little TLC."
My eyes lit up and I reached for the bag, but Anderson snatched it back, brows shooting up into his forehead.
"No frills, Wren."
I threw my hands up in surrender. "I promise."
He smirked, just slightly, and handed the bag over, tucking his hands in his front pockets.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" I asked, peering into the bag at my project before setting it just inside the cabin and locking the door behind me.
"I can't," he said, lips pressed together. He was tense, the muscles on his forearms tight as he glanced around at pretty much everything but me.
I opened my mouth to ask why but was cut off by the sound of a truck flying into my drive, tires sliding against the gravel.
Tucker was in the driver's seat with Davie in the passenger. Sarah and Yvette sat in the back, laughing with their hands up as the truck skidded to a stop. They were both sprawled out on a pile of tubes, wearing bathing suit tops and tiny shorts.
All of their faces froze when they saw Anderson.
"Hey, you ready, Wren?" Tucker asked warily, his eyes moving from where Anderson stood in front of me, to me, and back again.
"Yeah, one sec!" I called back.
I turned to Anderson, but his eyes were hard on Tucker, jaw ticking under his skin. When he faced me once more, an anchor fell from my throat into the pit of my stomach, immobilizing me completely. Because even though I 'd tried to convince myself I was wrong, I recognized the look in his eyes.
Possession.
And when his nose flared and he took one big step toward me, our chests brushing, his hand reaching out to rest almost imperceptibly on my hip, the anchor in my stomach exploded into flames, burning a desire so fierce I inhaled a toxic breath and didn't let it go.
"Be careful, okay?" His eyes locked on mine just before he leaned in and swiftly kissed my cheek.
He turned on his heel and jogged down the stairs and past the truck. Sarah called his name, but he didn't acknowledge her, just kept his gaze forward until he'd disappeared from view.
And then everyone looked at me.
Kandi Steiner is a bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.
An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of the press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.
When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys live music, traveling, anything heavy in carbs, beach days, movie marathons, craft beer and sweet wine — not necessarily in that order.
**“Time spent lost and searching is time well wasted.”
(Momma Von)
That sentence is so true! Momma Von is one smart cookie! I totally fell in love with her! She is the older neighbor everyone wants! Sweet, kind and full of great advice. She really became a great friend to Wren when she came to their little cabin community. She was searching, for what she wasn't exactly sure..herself maybe. After going through a divorce, Wren decided it was time to do some soul searching and find what truly made her happy, what made her HER. She was so wrapped up in her marriage for years, she kind of lost herself along the way.
The little cabin community she stumbled upon was the perfect setting for her to do what she set out to do. The people she met center her almost right away, befriending her and letting her be herself. She didn't have to be the big fashion designer, she didn't have to be a wife, she didn't have to live up to the expectations of those around her. She just had to simply be herself. And that was something she desperately needed.
But it was only for the summer. And she wasn't expecting someone like Anderson. When she first met him, he was closed off, not very social and not a man of many words. He infuriated her, intrigued her and eventually opened up to her. He has secrets of his own, the past he can't seem to escape from, one that haunts him every day.
Wren soon learns that although she hadn't been searching for Anderson, she found him anyways and she just may be what he needed too.
***She’d opened my eyes, shared her light, and pulled me from the shadows.
A tale of love, lost and finding one's self and learning to love again. I really enjoyed the setting of the story, a cabin community in the mountains, sounds like the perfect setting to do some soul searching. The characters were great, I really fell hard for Wren and Anderson. I shared on their pain, friendship and their discovery of finding how to let go of the past and move forward to a future. So many feelings in this book! A definite must read!
Review by Michelle
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