After a devastating divorce, Sarah returns to her small hometown to rebuild her life—only to discover that her high school sweetheart, now the town's beloved veterinarian, never stopped thinking about her. A second-chance romance about healing, rediscovery, and the courage to want again.
Prologue
The "Welcome to Willow Creek" sign looked smaller than Sarah remembered. Faded paint peeled at the edges, and someone had added a cheerful sunflower decal that hadn't been there fifteen years ago. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, her knuckles white against the worn leather.
Coming home wasn't supposed to feel this hard.
Behind her, boxes filled with the remnants of her old life shifted as she took the turn onto Main Street. Twelve years of marriage, packed into a U-Haul. It should have felt heavier somehow. Instead, she just felt empty.
The town hadn't changed much. Morrison's Hardware still anchored the corner of Main and Oak. The old movie theater had been converted into a bookstore-café combo that actually looked charming. The elementary school playground where she'd skinned her knees a dozen times still had the same rusted swing set.
Everything familiar. Everything the same.
Everything she'd run from whe...
Elena Hart knows about second chances. After spending years planning other people's perfect weddings, her own marriage ended in her late thirties. The journey through divorce, single motherhood, and eventually finding love again taught her that real romance is messy, complicated, and so much better than the fairy tales. Writing from her coastal cottage in Maine, Elena creates contemporary romances for women who've lived—who've loved, lost, raised kids, built careers, and survived heartbreak. Her stories feature mature heroines finding passion, pleasure, and happily-ever-afters that feel earned, not given.
