After having her heart broken by the boy she'd been in love with her whole life, Brimmy Somell decides to take a little...vacation. Little does she know, it turns out to be much more permanent than she had originally thought. After meeting tall, sexy, and mysterious Marcello Pietro, Brimmy finds herself having to make a life-changing decision and putting herself in a dangerous position she'd never imagined to be in. °•°●°•°●°•°●°•° "I love you." He says with no hesitation. It takes a moment for my hazy mind to catch up. I'm still in a daze, mesmerized by his perfections, and the deep dimple set in his cheek. I blink, "What?" "Don't make me say it again." He says, sounding frustrated, but I catch the hint of embarassment in his voice as he runs his hand through his hair and takes a step back. I grab a hold of the neckline to his shirt and yank him back within close proximity of me. "What if I want you to say it again?" I ask, studying his eyes. "Isn't it enough that I said it once?" He scowls, trying to pull back, but I restrain him from doing so. "Nope. Just say it one more time and I'll be satisfied." I state bravely, feeling a boost of confidence I didn't have earlier. He glances down, then looks back up into my eyes, allowing me to spot the vulnerability and uncertainty he feels. "I love you." He says, putting more strength in his voice than he looks to have. I grin, pulling him in for a kiss, but right before I do, I say the one phrase that will seal my fate, "I love you too, big, bad mafia boss." ••••• The story may be rough but the comment section makes up for it. ••••• Word count: 51,173 ••••• Written and published 2018-2019

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a new novel about risking everything for love—and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies. At age twenty-one, Auburn Reed has already lost everything important to her. In her fight to rebuild her shattered life, she has her goals in sight and there is no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is keeping a major secret from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.