Excerpt!
I hasten my steps, but he merely takes longer strides. As we reach the covered bridge, I trip on an uneven plank. He catches me, one hand under my folded arms. “Hey-hey-hey.”
“It’s this stupid bridge.” I pretend to laugh. “I’m okay.” I try to walk away from him, but his hand trails down my forearm, catches my fingers, and doesn’t let go as he stops abruptly.
“I’m not okay.” He tugs on my hand, forcing me to face him. “I’ve been struggling all day trying to figure out what to tell you, and I’m at a loss. You said we were over, we were nearly nothing, and I was going to respect that, even if that’s not how I feel, and then this morning… this morning I find out I’m not nothing to you. I’ve never been nothin’ to you. Just like you’ve never been nothin’ to me, Grace. You’ve always been everythin’ to me, and I need you to know that.”
What is he saying? My heart seems to try to escape through my throat. What he’s saying doesn’t make sense. “Why did you stay away for so long?” I ask.
He contemplates our fingers still loosely joined. The corner of his mouth dips, and he briefly shuts his eyes. “It was stupid. I was stupid. I… I didn’t feel wanted here anymore.” He drops my hand and takes a few steps to the edge of the bridge, leaning over the thick wood railing, his gaze lost somewhere on the dark river below us. “I know it wasn’t true, at least as far as my family was concerned. But then ...”
He takes a deep breath and turns his face to me. “Then there was you.” He squints at me, like he’s expecting me to say something.
“Me?”
Straightening, he faces me, the moon lighting his side. He reaches for my face and caresses my cheek with his knuckles. “Why did you end it between us?”
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Author bio:
Bella Rivers writes steamy small town romances with a guaranteed happily ever after, and themes of found family and forgiveness. Expect hot scenes, fierce love, and strong language!
A hopeless romantic, Bella is living her own second chance romance in the rolling hills of Vermont. When she’s not telling the stories of the characters populating her dreams, you can find her baking, hiking, skiing, or just hanging around her small town to soak in the happiness.
Her newsletter is where Bella shares progress on her writing as well as sneak peeks into upcoming books, the occasional recipe from her characters, and books from other writers she thinks her readers might like. Subscribe from her website.
You can also connect with Bella on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, all @bellariversauthor, or through the contact form on her website.
Two broken hearts. Ten years apart. Can one small town bring them back together?
Ten years in the military might have changed me, but it didn’t change the reasons I left Emerald Creek. Back for a short visit to my family after a decade away, I’ll do everything to keep my stay painless.
It will be short.
There will be no trips down memory lane.
There will be little to no reconnecting with locals.
One thing is certain: I won’t run into the girl who broke my heart. She’s long gone, married away.
Or so I thought.
All it takes is a pulled muscle, a massage tent at the town fair, and some not-so-subtle interventions from my friends for me to suddenly be alone with her—with me flat on my back on the massage table and her kneading me like I’m a stranger. Like what we had back then meant nothing to her.
She won’t even talk to me? Fine. I’m ready to bolt anyway.
But when the townies engineer another close encounter and I find out what she’s trying to hide from me, it’s Operation Get Her Back.
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Bella Rivers writes steamy small town romances with a guaranteed happily ever after, and themes of found family and forgiveness. Expect hot scenes, fierce love, and strong language!
A hopeless romantic, Bella is living her own second chance romance in the rolling hills of Vermont. When she’s not telling the stories of the characters populating her dreams, you can find her baking, hiking, skiing, or just hanging around her small town to soak in the happiness.
Her newsletter is where Bella shares progress on her writing as well as sneak peeks into upcoming books, the occasional recipe from her characters, and books from other writers she thinks her readers might like. Subscribe from her website.
You can also connect with Bella on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, all @bellariversauthor, or through the contact form on her website.
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