Calm in the Storm: A River Bend Romance

When second chances mean facing the past you’ve spent years running from, how can anyone risk opening their heart again?

Lydia

All I wanted was to hide in my quaint bookshop, burying myself in other people’s stories. But the secret I’ve carried for thirteen years haunts every relationship I try to build. When Ethan Brooks walks into my life, I can’t resist helping him achieve a life-altering goal. As I watch him transform his house into a home, I believe maybe I deserve love too. Too bad the shame of my past makes it impossible for me to accept the two people who have become the family of my heart. Can I finally stop running from the storm?

Ethan

I want to give Avery safety, belonging, unconditional love before my chance to adopt him slips away. When I meet Lydia, with her quiet strength and wounded eyes, she becomes the lifeline I didn’t know I needed. But the closer we get, the more I see her pull away. Her walls threaten to destroy our budding relationship. I’ll have to prove that love is about choosing each other, scars and all. I won’t let her fear steal our forever.

This second-chance, found-family, slow-burn romance showcases a guarded bookshop owner falling in love with a determined social worker and the boy who needs them both. It includes themes of adoption, past trauma, and emotional healing. This book can be read as a standalone as Lydia and Ethan will get their HEA.