Serena Bell's Blog, page 2

So True Releases Today

So True is here! Whether you read Auburn’s enemies-to-lovers story in So Close or are just meeting the Campbell siblings for the first time, you will love their close-knit family and the small town of Tierney Bay. And you’ll fall head-over-heels for Chiara and Jax’s first-love, second-chances tale. Scroll down for an excerpt!

Chiara and Jax were high-school sweethearts, until Jax left town without a word or a backward glance. Now he’s back … and he needs her help to save his brother’s shop. Being together in the tiny store re-ignites all their old feelings—and a whole lot of new ones—but can she risk having her heart broken again?

“Jax and Chiara’s second chance story is a gorgeous tale of falling in love…again. Serena Bell’s skillful use of emotion and her ability to weave a scene make for a breathtaking romance. Cannot wait for the next installment of the series!”

—Christina Hovland, Author of Going Down on One Knee

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“Where is he?” Jax demanded.

“It’s not my place to tell you that,” Chiara said. 

“He’s my brother.” 

Against his better judgment, his voice had risen, and her eyes narrowed. “You can’t just show up here and talk to me like that—after what you did—” She stopped. “Did it occur to you that maybe he doesn’t want to see you?” 

The anger in her voice cut through the thickness of his own frustration, shut him right down. He took a deep breath. There were freckles across the bridge of her nose that he didn’t remember. A smattering on her cheeks, the fair skin underneath bright pink with the heat of her emotion. Her eyes flashed with it. 

And suddenly he was so ashamed of himself that he could barely stand it. She was right, of course. After what he’d done to her, he had no right to speak to her at all, let alone demand anything of her.  

“He doesn’t want to see me?” he asked. “Or you don’t?” 

She stood very still. Only her fingers moved, fidgeting with something on the counter. A game piece, he thought. She turned it over in her hand, moved it between her fingers, set it down again. 

“Both,” she said. The heat had gone out of her voice. Which made him feel worse. She said it calmly, like she’d had ten years to get used to the idea. Like she didn’t much care anymore. Which he deserved, but still. 

He almost told her right that second, just blurted it all out. He’d always been a little bit afraid that the first time he laid eyes on her it would all come spilling out. The whole story—why he’d left, why he’d never gotten in touch. Right after he’d left, he’d fantasized that he’d be able to tell her someday. He’d pictured her listening—angry at first, but then, somehow, willing to forgive. 

That had been ten years ago, and he still couldn’t tell her.

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So True Releases Today

So True is here! Whether you read Auburn’s enemies-to-lovers story in So Close or are just meeting the Campbell siblings for the first time, you will love their close-knit family and the small town of Tierney Bay. And you’ll fall head-over-heels for Chiara and Jax’s first-love, second-chances tale. Scroll down for an excerpt!

Chiara and Jax were high-school sweethearts, until Jax left town without a word or a backward glance. Now he’s back … and he needs her help to save his brother’s shop. Being together in the tiny store re-ignites all their old feelings—and a whole lot of new ones—but can she risk having her heart broken again?

“Jax and Chiara’s second chance story is a gorgeous tale of falling in love…again. Serena Bell’s skillful use of emotion and her ability to weave a scene make for a breathtaking romance. Cannot wait for the next installment of the series!”

—Christina Hovland, Author of Going Down on One Knee

Apple Kobo Nook Google Amazon Bookbub Goodreads

“Where is he?” Jax demanded.

“It’s not my place to tell you that,” Chiara said. 

“He’s my brother.” 

Against his better judgment, his voice had risen, and her eyes narrowed. “You can’t just show up here and talk to me like that—after what you did—” She stopped. “Did it occur to you that maybe he doesn’t want to see you?” 

The anger in her voice cut through the thickness of his own frustration, shut him right down. He took a deep breath. There were freckles across the bridge of her nose that he didn’t remember. A smattering on her cheeks, the fair skin underneath bright pink with the heat of her emotion. Her eyes flashed with it. 

And suddenly he was so ashamed of himself that he could barely stand it. She was right, of course. After what he’d done to her, he had no right to speak to her at all, let alone demand anything of her.  

“He doesn’t want to see me?” he asked. “Or you don’t?” 

She stood very still. Only her fingers moved, fidgeting with something on the counter. A game piece, he thought. She turned it over in her hand, moved it between her fingers, set it down again. 

“Both,” she said. The heat had gone out of her voice. Which made him feel worse. She said it calmly, like she’d had ten years to get used to the idea. Like she didn’t much care anymore. Which he deserved, but still. 

He almost told her right that second, just blurted it all out. He’d always been a little bit afraid that the first time he laid eyes on her it would all come spilling out. The whole story—why he’d left, why he’d never gotten in touch. Right after he’d left, he’d fantasized that he’d be able to tell her someday. He’d pictured her listening—angry at first, but then, somehow, willing to forgive. 

That had been ten years ago, and he still couldn’t tell her.

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Turn Up the Heat Re-Releases Today

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“This one is on my keeper shelf and one of my favourites of this year.” —Maria Rose for Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews (original release)

“Holy moly frijoles—this book is hot! Serena Bell does an amazing job creating relationships through erotic connections and making you root for the characters to find their happily ever after!!” —Bestselling author Sarah Robinson (original release)

Two strangers. An impulsive encounter. A longing that can’t be tamed…

Lily McKee is pretty sure sleeping with the grim, gorgeous stranger who frequents the diner where she works counts as an act of desperation. But it’s been that kind of year: Her dreams of owning her own restaurant have been swamped by the reality of living in her sister’s basement and serving mediocre food. A hot encounter with Kincaid is a much-needed break from her day-to-day drudgery.

Breaking his long drought is the best thing that’s happened to Kincaid Graves in years—and not just because he’s been behind bars. His encounter with Lily helps him forget the complicated collision of love and violence that derailed his life. Kincaid wants more: more of the intense connection they share, more long nights lying awake together, more time.

But the clock is ticking. Lily has a chance to reclaim the life she thought was hers for the taking. Kincaid must find a way to recover his inheritance. And once Lily finds out that the man whose roughness and dominance she craves has a history of violence, the love growing between them may be out of time, too.

From Turn Up the Heat

He followed her as she locked the diner’s front door. She bent to pick up a huge plastic drum bag of trash, but he brushed back her efforts and shouldered the bag himself.

She wanted to object. He could see the words on her lips and the protest in her eyes.

“You worked damn hard tonight,” he said. “Let me.”

You don’t always have to be tough, he wanted to say. You could let me help you, just a little.

But of course she couldn’t. And he couldn’t.

She had snuck those looks at him as they cleaned up. Curiosity and something more dangerous. A question. What would it be like? He could hear it as clearly as if she’d asked it out loud, probably because it was the same question that rattled around his head, that tumbled around his gut. What would he see if he took her question as an invitation? Would she be all toughness or all sweetness, or some mix of the two that would break him to bits?

He couldn’t.

© Copyright 2020 Serena Bell
All Rights Reserved

Amazon Apple Kobo Nook Google Goodreads BookBub

Turn Up the Heat Re-Releases Today

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“This one is on my keeper shelf and one of my favourites of this year.” —Maria Rose for Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews (original release)

“Holy moly frijoles—this book is hot! Serena Bell does an amazing job creating relationships through erotic connections and making you root for the characters to find their happily ever after!!” —Bestselling author Sarah Robinson (original release)

So Close Is Out Today!

On sale now at these eretailers!

Barnes & Noble 40% off coupon code: BNPSOCLOSE40 | Kobo 40% off coupon code: 40SOCLOSE

AmazonAppleKoboNookGoogleGoodreadsBookbub

So Close, the first book in my Tierney Bay series, is out today! It’s a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract, small-town, cozy-little-beach-inn story with lots of heat. And for a short time, until January 31, 2020, it’s 40% off at Kobo and Barnes & Nobo. See below for coupon codes! 

The inn is her life. He needs to tear it down. Where there are sparks … there are fireworks …

Auburn Campbell loves Beachcrest Inn. Working there saved her sanity as a teenager and got her back on her feet after a controlling relationship. So when Trey Xavier shows up, threatening to demolish Beachcrest, she’s ready to fight. Nothing riles her up like a hot guy in an expensive suit on a power trip—in the worst and best ways.

Trey screwed up. And now he needs this land deal or he’ll lose his business. He built his company from scratch so he could take care of his family the way his dad never did. But it would be a lot easier for Trey to stand his ground if Auburn didn’t tempt him so badly. He hasn’t wanted anyone like this in a long time. Maybe ever.

After a few days of summer sun, Auburn and Trey are both losing their heads—and maybe their hearts, too. Except they’re both out of practice at losing.

Only one thing’s certain: The Fourth of July in Tierney Bay will have plenty of fireworks this year.

And here’s a little teaser!

“Let me show you what I’m doing, so you can do it yourself next time,” Trey said.

She realized he was asking her to get down on the floor with him and look under the sink. And that—

That would put them very close together in a horizontal position.
“I don’t bite,” he said wryly.

“I’m not scared of you,” she said bullishly. She got down on the floor and slid in beside him. Lying down made her feel shockingly vulnerable. Which made no sense, because he was on the floor, too. But she felt like—like she’d just exposed her own pale white underbelly to him.

Worse, she could feel the heat coming off him, all along the length of his body. If she turned her head …

Don’t turn your head.

“See this? This is the valve handle, and this is the packing nut. So I just wrapped a rag around the nut, gripped it with these—” He produced pliers— “and turned it about one-eighth of a turn. It compresses the rubber, and usually that’s enough to stop the leak. In this case it was. But if it happens again and you can’t fix it this way, you’ll need to disassemble the valve. Or find someone who can.”

“Well, it won’t really matter if Beachcrest is gone, will it?”

The words popped out before she could stop them. She hadn’t meant to let her bitterness show. In order to beat him at his game, she needed to have ice in her veins, like he did. She couldn’t be leaking feelings out all over the place.

“No,” he said, quietly. “No, I guess it won’t.”

She’d expected a note of gloating in his voice, but there was none there. Which was somehow more unsettling.

And then she made the mistake of turning her head, at the same time he did, and their faces were—almost touching. She could feel his breath move over her lips.

© Copyright 2020 Serena Bell
 | All Rights Reserved

On sale now at these eretailers!

Barnes & Noble 40% off coupon code: BNPSOCLOSE40 | Kobo 40% off coupon code: 40SOCLOSE

AmazonAppleKoboNookGoogleGoodreadsBookbub

So Close Is Out Today!

On sale now at these eretailers!

Barnes & Noble 40% off coupon code: BNPSOCLOSE40 | Kobo 40% off coupon code: 40SOCLOSE

AmazonAppleKoboNookGoogleGoodreadsBookbub

 

So Close, the first book in my Tierney Bay series, is out today! It’s a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract, small-town, cozy-little-beach-inn story with lots of heat. And for a short time, until January 31, 2020, it’s 40% off at Kobo and Barnes & Nobo. See below for coupon codes! 

The inn is her life. He needs to tear it down. Where there are sparks … there are fireworks …

Auburn Campbell loves Beachcrest Inn. Working there saved her sanity as a teenager and got her back on her feet after a controlling relationship. So when Trey Xavier shows up, threatening to demolish Beachcrest, she’s ready to fight. Nothing riles her up like a hot guy in an expensive suit on a power trip—in the worst and best ways.

Trey screwed up. And now he needs this land deal or he’ll lose his business. He built his company from scratch so he could take care of his family the way his dad never did. But it would be a lot easier for Trey to stand his ground if Auburn didn’t tempt him so badly. He hasn’t wanted anyone like this in a long time. Maybe ever.

After a few days of summer sun, Auburn and Trey are both losing their heads—and maybe their hearts, too. Except they’re both out of practice at losing.

Only one thing’s certain: The Fourth of July in Tierney Bay will have plenty of fireworks this year.

And here’s a little teaser!

“Let me show you what I’m doing, so you can do it yourself next time,” Trey said.

She realized he was asking her to get down on the floor with him and look under the sink. And that—

That would put them very close together in a horizontal position.
“I don’t bite,” he said wryly.

“I’m not scared of you,” she said bullishly. She got down on the floor and slid in beside him. Lying down made her feel shockingly vulnerable. Which made no sense, because he was on the floor, too. But she felt like—like she’d just exposed her own pale white underbelly to him.

Worse, she could feel the heat coming off him, all along the length of his body. If she turned her head …

Don’t turn your head.

“See this? This is the valve handle, and this is the packing nut. So I just wrapped a rag around the nut, gripped it with these—” He produced pliers— “and turned it about one-eighth of a turn. It compresses the rubber, and usually that’s enough to stop the leak. In this case it was. But if it happens again and you can’t fix it this way, you’ll need to disassemble the valve. Or find someone who can.”

“Well, it won’t really matter if Beachcrest is gone, will it?”

The words popped out before she could stop them. She hadn’t meant to let her bitterness show. In order to beat him at his game, she needed to have ice in her veins, like he did. She couldn’t be leaking feelings out all over the place.

“No,” he said, quietly. “No, I guess it won’t.”

She’d expected a note of gloating in his voice, but there was none there. Which was somehow more unsettling.

And then she made the mistake of turning her head, at the same time he did, and their faces were—almost touching. She could feel his breath move over her lips.

© Copyright 2020 Serena Bell
 | All Rights Reserved

On sale now at these eretailers!

Barnes & Noble 40% off coupon code: BNPSOCLOSE40 | Kobo 40% off coupon code: 40SOCLOSE

AmazonAppleKoboNookGoogleGoodreadsBookbub

 

Holding Out is live today!

Holding Out, the fourth book in my Returning Home series, is out today! For those of you who’ve been waiting patiently, you can finally read Griff and Becca’s story. For those of you who are new to the series, you’re in for a treat, because this is a fun place to start. It’s a friends-to-lovers, virginity-pact story, with a bit of brother’s best friend thrown in to cause trouble. Here’s a little teaser!

As Becca approached the archery range, she saw Griff with the big bow in his arms, slinging arrow after arrow into the center of the target so they stuck out like bristling porcupine quills. 

She hung back, watching. He wore a plastic chest guard and a leather arm guard, which made him look a little bit like some medieval hero. And she wasn’t sure which was more mesmerizing: the clutch of muscle in his back and shoulders, the cords in his forearm, or his absolute laser focus. 

She imagined what it would be like to have all that intensity and concentration turned toward her. That precision. That devotion to his task. 

Her body warmed and softened in appreciation. Which was unusual for her. She didn’t get turned on looking. She didn’t get turned on that easily, period. She usually needed a lot of warming up.

Except, apparently, when it came to Griff Ambrose.

He reached into the quiver hanging across his body and came up empty.

“Hey,” she called. 

He jumped. When he turned, the expression on his face was dark. Angry, she thought.

“Sorry—I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

He crossed his arms. “I’ll do it.”

“What?” 

She’d heard the words but couldn’t make sense of them. 

“If you still want me to. If you haven’t already enlisted CJ or some other boy. I’ll—take your V-card.”

She felt a huge smile threaten to break out all over her face, but her gut told her to play it cool. She shrugged. “CJ wants to take me out for dinner. He was actually quite the gentleman about asking me on a date.”

His expression darkened further. “No. No dates with CJ. That’s the deal. If I’m going to do this—”

She raised her eyebrows at his grim tone. God, he was making it sound like a household chore. “It’s not like you have to. I told you, I’ll find someone else—”

“God. No. I’ll do it. I said I’d do it. I don’t want you to pick some random guy. Then Nate would really kill me.” 

“It’s sex with a virgin—a friend, even—not a death march,” she snapped. 

She was aware of an ache in the center of her chest. For a minute there, she’d thought—

But he was just doing her a favor, of course. 

© Copyright 2019 Serena Bell
All Rights Reserved

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Holding Out is live today!

Holding Out, the fourth book in my Returning Home series, is out today! For those of you who’ve been waiting patiently, you can finally read Griff and Becca’s story. For those of you who are new to the series, you’re in for a treat, because this is a fun place to start. It’s a friends-to-lovers, virginity-pact story, with a bit of brother’s best friend thrown in to cause trouble. Here’s a little teaser!

As Becca approached the archery range, she saw Griff with the big bow in his arms, slinging arrow after arrow into the center of the target so they stuck out like bristling porcupine quills. 

She hung back, watching. He wore a plastic chest guard and a leather arm guard, which made him look a little bit like some medieval hero. And she wasn’t sure which was more mesmerizing: the clutch of muscle in his back and shoulders, the cords in his forearm, or his absolute laser focus. 

She imagined what it would be like to have all that intensity and concentration turned toward her. That precision. That devotion to his task. 

Her body warmed and softened in appreciation. Which was unusual for her. She didn’t get turned on looking. She didn’t get turned on that easily, period. She usually needed a lot of warming up.

Except, apparently, when it came to Griff Ambrose.

He reached into the quiver hanging across his body and came up empty.

“Hey,” she called. 

He jumped. When he turned, the expression on his face was dark. Angry, she thought.

“Sorry—I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

He crossed his arms. “I’ll do it.”

“What?” 

She’d heard the words but couldn’t make sense of them. 

“If you still want me to. If you haven’t already enlisted CJ or some other boy. I’ll—take your V-card.”

She felt a huge smile threaten to break out all over her face, but her gut told her to play it cool. She shrugged. “CJ wants to take me out for dinner. He was actually quite the gentleman about asking me on a date.”

His expression darkened further. “No. No dates with CJ. That’s the deal. If I’m going to do this—”

She raised her eyebrows at his grim tone. God, he was making it sound like a household chore. “It’s not like you have to. I told you, I’ll find someone else—”

“God. No. I’ll do it. I said I’d do it. I don’t want you to pick some random guy. Then Nate would really kill me.” 

“It’s sex with a virgin—a friend, even—not a death march,” she snapped. 

She was aware of an ache in the center of her chest. For a minute there, she’d thought—

But he was just doing her a favor, of course. 

© Copyright 2019 Serena Bell
All Rights Reserved

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To Have and to Hold is back!

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To Have and to Hold re-releases today! I’m thrilled to have this book back out there in the world. Every author has her favorites among her books, and this is one of mine. I have always adored the amnesia trope, and if you’re familiar with my books, you know that I love putting a new spin on a trope. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Hunter, Trina, and their amazing girls, I hope you’ll dive in—or, if you love to read in order, start at the beginning of the series with Hold On Tight

To Have and to Hold

He doesn’t remember her. She cherishes every moment of their time together. Is there any hope for a second chance?

Hunter Cross has lost a year. There’s a gap in his memory, and the woman who is living in his house has disappeared into it. He slept with her, fell for her, loved her—and he doesn’t remember any of it.

He knows he should send her away—except for one little thing. At night, when she slips into his bed, his body remembers hers.

Trina Levine is heartbroken, alone with her memories. Hunter won’t claim any of it—not the joyful days, not the steamy nights. Nothing. It’s like Trina Levine dreamed it, and it hurts like nothing else could.

Except when Hunter cries out in his sleep and Trina comforts him. At those moments, Hunter’s body knows hers, and for a few, brief, blissful moments, Trina’s sure everything will be okay again.

Until morning comes.

Excerpt from To Have and To Hold

Copyright © 2019 Serena Bell
All rights reserved.

There he was.

Stepping through the glass gate doors at SeaTac. Striding, head up, not uniformed, as she’d expected, but clad in jeans, a gray T-shirt, and hiking boots. A backpack slung over both shoulders.

Trina felt like she’d never seen him before, and maybe she never really had. Because before, he’d been somebody’s dad. Somebody’s husband. And then friendship had morphed into love, so she’d never had that first-time-I-laid-eyes-on-you, love-at-first-sight moment. No heart stopping, no breath catching, no hormones firing in one big surge—

Not till now.

Because, damn. Dark hair and dark eyes, stubble smattered over his jaw, shoulders that poured off strength. Six-foot-plus of him, moving with intention. He was a guy who’d catch your eye on the street, pheromones setting you back on your heels before you’d registered that you’d turned to look. The hardness of his features, the everyman handsomeness, made an impression only after it was too late to decide how you felt about his appearance.

There were more lines in his face than she remembered—the laugh crinkles at the corners of his eyes, yes, but deep lines in his forehead, too. His eyes combed the crowd, looking for someone.

I’m right here.

Then his gaze swept past her and locked somewhere else, and his pace quickened until he was almost running. Behind her, someone broke away, flip-flops smacking heels.

“Daddy!”

Clara ran to her father and threw herself into his arms, forgetting Trina’s and her grandmother’s warnings to be gentle with him. Clara was laughing and crying and trying to tell her father everything that had happened in the last year, all at once.

“Slow down, baby.” Hunter knelt so he could hug Clara in earnest. “Slow down. We’ll have plenty of time.” He was smiling, looking so much like the man Trina remembered, and she realized she was silently pleading for him to raise his eyes and search her out. To turn that smile on her. And she shook her head, because this moment wasn’t for her. It was for Clara and Hunter. Trina would have her moment later. When she and Hunter were alone.

Hunter raised his head, and her heart skipped.

But his eyes caught on something behind her, and he rose and strode forward: “Mom.”

Trina wasn’t going to panic. She clutched her Welcome Home, Hunter sign tighter, and tried to slow her pulse down.

Homecomings are weird, Hunter’s mom had told her when Trina met her flight several hours earlier. Don’t get your expectations up too high. He’ll need some time and space, and then it’ll be like he never left.

Plus, Trina had known they’d have to play it a little cool, to maintain the fiction for the girls.

In the meantime, Trina would remember what he’d said to her. Not only I love you, but also, I know my feelings, and they’re not going to change.

Hunter’s mom, Linda, was getting the full Hunter. Or the half Hunter, maybe, because Trina was pretty sure that Hunter at full strength would have swept both mother and daughter off their feet. Certainly in all her fantasies he’d swept her off her feet.

But with his chest wound just barely healed—a wound that had almost killed him—he wouldn’t be sweeping anyone off her feet for a while.

A hand snaked around her waist. Phoebe, at her side. Her daughter, awkwardly twelve and yet so beautiful, with that coltish mix of woman and little girl.

Phoebe was clearly feeling as awkward and left out of this homecoming as Trina was, and wanting solidarity.

That was the moment when Trina started to feel really, truly freaked out. Because she was fine with the fact that homecomings were weird and fine with Hunter’s priorities being for his daughter and his mother and fine with the secrecy that they’d agreed to keep up a while once he got back, but—

He hadn’t made eye contact with her. Not once.

Something was wrong.

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To Have and to Hold is back!

AmazonAppleKoboB&NGoogleGoodreadsBookBub

To Have and to Hold re-releases today! I’m thrilled to have this book back out there in the world. Every author has her favorites among her books, and this is one of mine. I have always adored the amnesia trope, and if you’re familiar with my books, you know that I love putting a new spin on a trope. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Hunter, Trina, and their amazing girls, I hope you’ll dive in—or, if you love to read in order, start at the beginning of the series with Hold On Tight

To Have and to Hold

He doesn’t remember her. She cherishes every moment of their time together. Is there any hope for a second chance?

Hunter Cross has lost a year. There’s a gap in his memory, and the woman who is living in his house has disappeared into it. He slept with her, fell for her, loved her—and he doesn’t remember any of it.

He knows he should send her away—except for one little thing. At night, when she slips into his bed, his body remembers hers.

Trina Levine is heartbroken, alone with her memories. Hunter won’t claim any of it—not the joyful days, not the steamy nights. Nothing. It’s like Trina Levine dreamed it, and it hurts like nothing else could.

Except when Hunter cries out in his sleep and Trina comforts him. At those moments, Hunter’s body knows hers, and for a few, brief, blissful moments, Trina’s sure everything will be okay again.

Until morning comes.

Excerpt from To Have and To Hold

Copyright © 2019 Serena Bell
All rights reserved.

There he was.

Stepping through the glass gate doors at SeaTac. Striding, head up, not uniformed, as she’d expected, but clad in jeans, a gray T-shirt, and hiking boots. A backpack slung over both shoulders.

Trina felt like she’d never seen him before, and maybe she never really had. Because before, he’d been somebody’s dad. Somebody’s husband. And then friendship had morphed into love, so she’d never had that first-time-I-laid-eyes-on-you, love-at-first-sight moment. No heart stopping, no breath catching, no hormones firing in one big surge—

Not till now.

Because, damn. Dark hair and dark eyes, stubble smattered over his jaw, shoulders that poured off strength. Six-foot-plus of him, moving with intention. He was a guy who’d catch your eye on the street, pheromones setting you back on your heels before you’d registered that you’d turned to look. The hardness of his features, the everyman handsomeness, made an impression only after it was too late to decide how you felt about his appearance.

There were more lines in his face than she remembered—the laugh crinkles at the corners of his eyes, yes, but deep lines in his forehead, too. His eyes combed the crowd, looking for someone.

I’m right here.

Then his gaze swept past her and locked somewhere else, and his pace quickened until he was almost running. Behind her, someone broke away, flip-flops smacking heels.

“Daddy!”

Clara ran to her father and threw herself into his arms, forgetting Trina’s and her grandmother’s warnings to be gentle with him. Clara was laughing and crying and trying to tell her father everything that had happened in the last year, all at once.

“Slow down, baby.” Hunter knelt so he could hug Clara in earnest. “Slow down. We’ll have plenty of time.” He was smiling, looking so much like the man Trina remembered, and she realized she was silently pleading for him to raise his eyes and search her out. To turn that smile on her. And she shook her head, because this moment wasn’t for her. It was for Clara and Hunter. Trina would have her moment later. When she and Hunter were alone.

Hunter raised his head, and her heart skipped.

But his eyes caught on something behind her, and he rose and strode forward: “Mom.”

Trina wasn’t going to panic. She clutched her Welcome Home, Hunter sign tighter, and tried to slow her pulse down.

Homecomings are weird, Hunter’s mom had told her when Trina met her flight several hours earlier. Don’t get your expectations up too high. He’ll need some time and space, and then it’ll be like he never left.

Plus, Trina had known they’d have to play it a little cool, to maintain the fiction for the girls.

In the meantime, Trina would remember what he’d said to her. Not only I love you, but also, I know my feelings, and they’re not going to change.

Hunter’s mom, Linda, was getting the full Hunter. Or the half Hunter, maybe, because Trina was pretty sure that Hunter at full strength would have swept both mother and daughter off their feet. Certainly in all her fantasies he’d swept her off her feet.

But with his chest wound just barely healed—a wound that had almost killed him—he wouldn’t be sweeping anyone off her feet for a while.

A hand snaked around her waist. Phoebe, at her side. Her daughter, awkwardly twelve and yet so beautiful, with that coltish mix of woman and little girl.

Phoebe was clearly feeling as awkward and left out of this homecoming as Trina was, and wanting solidarity.

That was the moment when Trina started to feel really, truly freaked out. Because she was fine with the fact that homecomings were weird and fine with Hunter’s priorities being for his daughter and his mother and fine with the secrecy that they’d agreed to keep up a while once he got back, but—

He hadn’t made eye contact with her. Not once.

Something was wrong.

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