When tragedy strikes Marley's family, the last thing she is looking for is love-until Elijah, her nephew's teacher, shows her it's worth fighting for. ***** 26-year-old Marley Wright's world is flipped upside down when her beloved brother is admitted into rehab and she becomes the primary caregiver for his two teenagers. Little does she know that her nephew's handsome high school teacher, Elijah, is the man who's going to fill her life with unbelievable passion. But when their exes come back with malicious intentions, Marley and Elijah's lives change beyond their wildest imaginations. And when tragedy strikes, will their love withstand the pressure? Content and/or Trigger Warning: mention of substance abuse. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Braxton McCrane thought he'd be single for the rest of his life. At the age of 32, he was a handsome, Black male who was a partner in a major company and was probably the only Black man who had yet to be married and have kids. Braxton would never marry a woman who didn't meet his standards which was set so high that his friends teased him that such a woman didn't exist until one day he met her...and she became his assistant. Laila Lane was just trying to start over with a new life. After a horrible marriage, that left her broken in more ways that one, she was looking forward to putting her pass behind her, and living in a new city where no one knew her past, would give her the inspiration to become the woman she'd always wanted to be. She wasn't looking to get involve with another man so soon which was why she didn't mind being Braxton Mcrane's new assistant. Braxton Mcrane was beyond her imagination of what a real man was like, good-looking, rich, confident, arrogant as hell, and way off her limits, so why did she feel a certain spark between them from the moment they first met, a dangerous spark that she wanted nothing to do with, but kept growing every time they were near each other....