Stranded on an island after a plane crash should be one of the most terrifying experiences of your life. For Paige, it was, but it was also the beginning of something unexpected.
Nineteen year old Paige Sommers is grieving the loss of her twin sister, Sadie. But fulfilling the dream trip they always planned together feels impossible without her. But when a letter from Sadie pushes her to go, Paige finds herself boarding a plane to Athens, trying to hold on to her sister's memory while navigating her own guilt and pain.
Holden Adler, a twenty nine year old, has spent years failing to meet his cop father's expectations thanks to a condition he can't control. Traveling to Athens for a last chance treatment, the last thing he wants, or needs, is to babysit anyone, let alone a teenage girl.
When the two strangers meet at the airport it's anything but friendly. Both are glad to walk away, certain they'll never have to deal with the other again, but nothing prepares them for what comes next.
"Stranded together, we found what we never thought we'd need: each other."
π Where It Hurts the Most - Part One: The Hurt Series
He's her brother's best friend.
A cop. Too old. Too off-limits.
Rowan Hayes stopped caring the day her brother died.
At seventeen, she's reckless, wild, and halfway to self-destruction-drinking too much, feeling too little, doing everything she can to forget.
And Nate Delaney?
He's the one picking up the pieces.
Writing her up. Dragging her out. Dropping her off.
The cop who's supposed to follow the rules-
But breaks every single one when it comes to her.
He promised he'd take care of her.
But every time he sees her like this-
Drunk. High. With the wrong guy.
Something inside him cracks.
She's the girl who doesn't want to be saved.
He's the man who's breaking himself trying.
He touches when he shouldn't.
Stays when he should walk away.
And looks at her like she's already his.
The more he protects her, the harder it is to pretend he doesn't want her.
And the closer they get, the more impossible it becomes to walk away.
She's too young.
He's sworn to stay away.
But some lines don't just get crossed.
They get shattered.
A slow-burn, forbidden, age-gap new adult romance about grief, guilt, and the one person you should never want-but can't walk away from.
β οΈ Trigger Warning β οΈ
This story contains mature and sensitive content that may be distressing to some readers. Please proceed with care.
Topics include: β¨ Explicit sexual content
⨠Substance use (alcohol, weed)Infidelity themes⨠Emotional trauma, grief, and self-destruction
β¨ Strong language & adult themes
β¨ Age-gap romance (all characters are 17+ and the story abides by the legal age of consent in Colorado)
π This is a New Adult / Mature Romance
π Reader discretion is strongly advised.