It's Cliffside Bay and beyond in this heartwarming enemies-to-lovers romantic adventure from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson.
Stone Hickman is the last of a dying breed. The former Marine believes in integrity, service to his country, a hard day's work, and taking care of his loved ones. When he meets the clever Pepper Griffin, their obvious attraction has him ready to count the stunning beauty among the people that he cares for. But Pepper doesn't share the instant connection. In fact, she wants nothing to do with him. And for honest, straightforward Stone, not knowing why only makes the rejection worse.
Pepper Griffin is the epitome of scrappy. For years she's struggled to make acting her career without any help at all from her famous father. While she's still accepting meager roles with little screen time, her best friend has steadily risen to the height of fame. To make matters worse, that very same friend is happily in love, newly engaged, and wants poor Pepper, whose love life is as sad and pathetic as her last film role, to serve as her maid-of-honor while Pepper's enemy, Stone Hickman, is sure to be the groom's best man.
Though Pepper despises the best man, she loves the bride-to-be more. To keep the peace, Pepper willingly includes Stone in the wedding planning process. When the unlikely pair find themselves stranded in a snowstorm while searching for the perfect venue, they'll have to work together to survive the chill even if that means thawing Pepper's heart.
If You Had Stayed | Small Town Secrets Book One (COMPLETED)
39 parts Complete Mature
39 parts
Complete
Mature
Second chance romance | Small-town drama | Emotional & Angsty | Slow burn | Heartfelt family moments | Surfer & Broadway dancer love story
Six years ago, Lani Daniels left Seaview Bay in the dead of night, her heart in pieces and her past trailing behind her like a ghost. She swore she'd never come back. Swore she'd never step foot on the boardwalk where her first love whispered promises beneath the stars. Swore she'd never face the betrayal that sent her running.
But some things are impossible to outrun.
Now, forced back to the one place she vowed to forget, Lani must navigate a town filled with memories she can't erase, people she left behind, and the one person she never wanted to see again-Jeremy Briggs.
He was everything once. Her best friend. Her safe place. Her future.
Now, he's just a stranger with familiar eyes.
Determined to keep her heart locked away, Lani throws herself into family, old friendships, and the life she left behind, but Seaview Bay has a way of unraveling the past. And when the truth begins to surface-about that night, about everything she thought she knew-she finds herself caught between the future she built and the love she never truly let go of.
But some wounds don't heal. Some things don't fade with time. And when the tides pull her back toward the one thing, she swore she'd never want again, she has to ask herself...
Is the past better left buried, or was leaving her biggest mistake?