«No dejes que puedan contigo. Sé que la vida puede ser muy cruel, pero... también es muy larga. Todavía no has conocido a todas las personas que te querrán. Todavía no te conoces ni siquiera a ti misma. Dale otra oportunidad al mundo, ¿vale? Solo una más.»

And if yearning had a shape, it would look an awful lot like me. ▍ AN ORIGINAL STORY ╱ small town romance! Graceland, Georgia. A town where spotted cattle graze and home is always for certain. Where the girl crowned homecoming queen bleeds for the boy with old money veins and wandering eyes. That girl blossoms like she's expected to, bleeding heart and all, just to wither beneath the man oozing green and gold. It's too late to go back, but it's never too late to try again. Junia Driscoll was homegrown royalty. Her small town notoriety was meant to carve out a pathway to her undoubted success. Her husband, her high school sweetheart, a star athlete, and successful investment banker, had given the girl all she could have imagined. However, the dream had since become a total nightmare. All that is shadowed is brought to light when she agrees to star in a segment disguised as a Mother's Day tribute on a popular talk program, in which her closest friend confesses to having an affair with her husband. Heart corrupted, she chooses not to be left alone in spite of herself. With her small daughter, Pearl, in tow, she forges a route back to the place where everything is comforted by love and lillies. There, she hopes to mend the pieces of her broken heart. Bit by nauseating bit. What she hadn't anticipated was to reconcile with an old friend turned brief flame clad in consolation whose heart had nearly bled him dry. Their shared gloom soon begins to fade, playing host to luminescence. And in that glimmer of light, of what was then, what was now, and of what was to come-that, was where eternity began to flow. ❪ f!oc & m!oc ❫ PEARLJARS © 2024 BOOK ONE of FOUR written by april

Brie Sheridan has had her heart broken way too many times. Rhett Price is usually the culprit, but, this time, he might be the solution. ***** Brooke 'Brie' Sheridan wouldn't necessarily call herself a hopeless romantic; after all, love is everywhere if you choose to look for it, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to see the beauty and the good in the world. However, her rose-colored lenses are shattered when her boyfriend dumps her right at the start of her final year of college, ruining all her plans for her senior project, and here lie Brie's hopes, dreams, and pieces of her broken heart. Enter Rhett Price--known commitment-phobe, the bane of Brie's existence, and the reason behind many of her late-night crying sessions during the harshest days of high school. Down on his luck and struggling with improving his reputation, he turns to Brie in a time of need--he'll help her out with her project, and she'll help him look better and more responsible in the eyes of his family. Old feelings resurface, and it quickly becomes obvious there are certain things you don't always get over. Your first love might as well be one of them. ***** BENNINGTON COLLEGE SERIES #1 2025 WATTY AWARD WINNER [[THE AMBYS 2025 AMBASSADOR'S PICK IN ROMANCE]] [[5X WATTPAD FEATURED STORY]] © 2023 caterina george // all rights reserved

Carter Davis sólo tiene una cosa en mente: aprovechar las vacaciones de verano para olvidar a su ex. Ha alquilado una habitación individual en la residencia de la Universidad de San Diego y planea pasar las próximas semanas surfeando y llorando hasta recuperarse emocionalmente. Si es posible, a tiempo para la boda de su madre. Sin embargo, el cuarto no es tan individual como le prometieron al firmar el contrato. Así conoce a Aiden, su nuevo compañero de habitación, con quien choca desde el primer momento. Todo apunta a que la convivencia entre los dos va a ser imposible. Pero, cuando saltan chispas, es cuestión de tiempo que se prenda una llama... y quizá ninguno de los dos esté dispuesto a apagarla.

Esme and Matt can't stand each other, even if they have to play nice for the cameras. As public speculation about their chemistry heats up, they're forced to confront what's real versus what's just for show. ***** Esme Mendoza is everything Matt Crain isn't--polished, optimistic, and proud of her golden girl image. He's brooding, arrogant, and impossible to work with. As co-stars in an indie romance film, they're forced to act like soulmates on screen while barely tolerating each other behind the scenes. When their banter and lingering stares spark fan speculation during the press tour, their PR teams jump on the opportunity, but Esme and Matt aren't too thrilled. Suddenly, they're everywhere--public appearances, exchanging snarky remarks in interviews, and fueling endless rumors. As their forced chemistry starts to feel a little too real, Esme and Matt are left questioning: are they just playing a role, or could this be end game? ***** WARM HANDS #1 Open Novella Contest -- prompts 45 & 127 [[WATTY AWARDS 2026 SHORTLIST]] [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 ROUND 2 AMBASSADORS' PICK]] © 2025 caterina george // all rights reserved

Paige de Haan believes in a lot of things, but ghosts aren't one of them. Keane Mahoney, her former best friend, would just like her to believe in herself. ***** After a devastating summer, Paige De Haan is determined to cut ties with her old life--no more parties, no more attention, and definitely no more old friends. Her plan seems to be working until an unexpected run-in with her former best friend, Keane Mahoney, throws a wrench in her plans. The universe pushes them together, forcing them to partner up for their senior project: a ghost-hunting web series where skeptic meets believer. The sudden closeness stirs up unresolved feelings and urges them to confront the past they've been avoiding. Now, Paige and Keane must decide if their relationship is destined to stay buried . . . or be brought back to life. ***** BENNINGTON COLLEGE #2 © 2024 caterina george // all rights reserved

If I have to suffer, it may as well be at your hands. Your pretty hands. ▍ AN ORIGINAL ╱ small town romance! In Graceland, strength looks like keeping your head down and your heart walled off. Sawyer Driscoll knows this well. As a young father, small-town lawyer, and volunteer firefighter, he's the one people rely on. The one who never falls apart. But after the death of his grandfather, the man who helped raise him and taught him how to be steady, something in Sawyer began to quietly rot. He doesn't speak of the migraines that creep in like storm fronts or the way loss has hollowed out more than just his home. He doesn't ask for help. Not until Calla Amos steps in. Calla has always been the kind of woman who stays-the kind who tends to the wounds no one else will look at. But even healers have their breaking points. After leaving her nursing job just a few miles out of town, she's returned to Graceland with quieter eyes and scars she doesn't name. Taking a job as Sawyer's nanny isn't part of some grand plan. It's a means of survival. A chance to feel useful, to keep going. What begins as an arrangement born of convenience slowly becomes something more... a shared quiet, a fragile trust, the slow thaw between two people who've learned to expect the worst. But grief lingers, and so does shame. And sometimes, love doesn't bloom right away. Sometimes it festers. Sometimes it has to rot before anything good can grow. ❪ f!oc & m!oc ❫ PEARLJARS © 2024 BOOK TWO of FOUR written by april COVER INSPO: @aastratta ❤︎