▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ Kai tightened his hand around my hand. For a second, I thought I wasn't able to breathe. I wish I could explain how Kai is able to make me feel whenever I'm around him. It's like something just gets over me. I feel happy. I feel safe. Why can't I just bring myself to say yes? "I'll wait for you." He said. The yearning in his voice could have knocked the wind out of me. I looked deeply into Kai's eyes, and that was when all the constant swarming in my mind paused. I could no longer fight it. I wanted Kai. ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ Nineteen-year-old Celeste Dumonte is just trying to find her footing in college when she unexpectedly catches the eye of the university's star quarterback. What begins as a thrilling romance soon collides with the shadows of her past and the shadows of her family's past. Kai Stone, is reeling from a painful breakup that's left him questioning who he is beyond football. When he meets Celeste, her quiet strength and complicated past draw him in deeper than he ever expected. What begins as an a spark quickly grows into something that feels like destiny.

Aaliyah Johnson is in her final year at Magnolia State University, where she's balancing a scholarship, an art degree, and the pressure of not knowing what comes next. Elias Carter, the university's baseball captain, seems to have everything figured out, except his own heart. When mutual friends and a poetry club bring them together, sparks ignite in the most unexpected ways. She's brilliant and blunt; he's disciplined and mysterious. But between classes, practices, and the expectations of everyone around them, connection becomes the one thing they can't plan for. From strangers to friends to something far deeper, their story grows with every season, rooted beneath a magnolia tree that sees it all. Autumn brings sparks: "I'm curious about you, but I don't even know why yet." Winter, closeness: "You calm me when I didn't realise I needed calming." Spring, love: "I've known for a while... I just didn't want to ruin it." Summer, uncertainty: "Even if everything changes, you've changed me already." Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the images used both on the cover and throughout the story.

When a lonely girl crosses paths with the guy that is willing to do anything for her and the universe feels irrevocably changed. ••• The first day of my second year at Cambridge university, and I still haven't made a single friend during my time here. I don't know what that says about me as a person. ••• Her eyes were the first thing I noticed. I thought they looked like eyes that deserved to be painted, every detail captured. They warranted being made immortal and deserved to be showcased at the most famous of museums. All Rights Reserved ®