I slept with a stranger in New York.

No names. No promises. Just one night that was supposed to disappear the moment the sun came up.

It didn't.

I spent years pretending it hadn't changed me. Building walls. Chasing perfection. Earning stars in kitchens where weakness gets you burned and love is a liability.

Bart Winthrop was supposed to be a closed chapter. A mistake I never repeated. A man I never saw again.

Until fate decided to be cruel.

Because the next time I see him, he's standing in Jagged Cove, the small coastal town where I've built my life, holding the deed to the resort that houses my Michelin?starred restaurant.

Now he's my boss.

The man who once walked out of my life without a goodbye is disciplined, powerful, and determined to protect everything around him. The town. The children's home. The systems that keep Jagged Cove standing.

Except me.

We pretend we're fine. Professional. Over it.

But late nights have a way of peeling back old scars. Shared victories blur lines we swore were buried. And every look reminds me why one night with him wrecked me in the first place.

Then the town comes under attack.

A quiet, calculated threat that puts everything at risk. Including me.

When I'm hurt, Bart does what he's always done.

He chooses the town.

So I leave.

Back to Europe. Back to my father. Back to the woman I was before love taught me how much it could cost.

I think that's the end of us.

I'm wrong.

Because Bart follows me across an ocean, ready to fight for something he once didn't know how to protect. But love isn't a battle you win with control.

And this time, the stakes are higher than heartbreak.

I'm carrying the truth that could change everything. About my future, about his, and about the life we never finished building.

This isn't just a second?chance romance.

It's a story about power, trust, and choosing each other when walking away would be easier.

And about the man who tried to save everything. Until he finally learned how to save me.

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• RomanceContemporary
• RomanceAlpha Male

• Publication Date: January 25, 2026
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 391 Pages
• File Size: 22 KB