Anica Tomlin, business major, has just learned that the man she's been planning her future around, her Global Finance professor, already has a beautiful wife and family. Ani cashes in her graduation gift to herself a little early-a trip to Tuscany-but from the moment she boards the wrong train in Pisa, her plans for solitude and self-indulgence begin to unravel around her. When a bicycle accident thrusts Ani into the skilled hands of the dashing Dr. Cosimo Lazzaro, she reluctantly accepts his invitation to recover in his family's country villa, perched on a hilltop surrounded by the Lazzaro olive groves. But it's been a black year for olive growers all over Italy, and generations of tradition are being put to the test like never before. Ani is swept up in the drama of life in Tuscany, the convergence of old and new, and the passions that drive people to pursue the desires of their hearts. Just as Ani begins to get her feet under her again, an unexpected turn of events leaves her doubting the very existence of happily-ever-after, unless she can learn to trust the desires of her own heart.

Bad boys: people view them as unfit fathers. Why? Well, their bad boy lifestyle of course. That's where Asher Cain comes in. Throughout his whole high school life, he was that mysterious bad boy player. Drugs, underage drinking, sleeping around.. That's what he got into. And then we have the innocent one: Juliet Harp. Juliet falls for his charm and ends up falling into bed with him too. It wasn't like a high school fling, it was more of a I've-just-got-out-of-a-relationship and I-want-to-have-a-one-night-stand sort of fling. That's essentially what it was, fresh out of high school and fresh out of a relationship. Juliet found herself in bed with Asher and then, a few months down the line, finds herself pregnant with his baby. They weren't ever really friends, just acquaintances. Well, Juliet dies when her daughter, Victoria, was only four. And you'll never guess which doorstep Victoria finds herself at? - Highest ranks in Short Story: #22 (21st December 2018) COVER CREDIT: peakybooo (so amazing, I cri)