He hadn’t always just been my brother’s best friend. There was a time when he was mine, too. Until he disappeared from our small town when I needed him the most.
Now, Caden’s back. With his cocky smirk and infuriating nicknames. And I’m struggling to ignore his presence.
When my ex refuses to leave me alone, Caden steps in, suggesting that it will get my ex and Caden’s calculating father off both our backs if we just pretend to be madly in love.
There’s just one problem… Nothing I feel for Caden Shaw is fake—even when I thought I hated him. And there’s no denying how the touch of his lips sparks a flame I’ll never be able to extinguish.
As those pretend moments start to turn oh so real, someone’s watching. They’re not happy about Caden’s new role in my life. And they’ll do anything to rip me away from him—even burn us all to the ground…
Grae and Caden’s story was everything I wanted and then some. They used to be friends and she thought they were it for each other, but he ran away when she was at her lowest point. Caden thinks he can protect himself from getting hurt by just not getting close to people, but it’s just made his life lonely. When he heads back to his hometown to work more closely with his dad and brother in the family business, he’s forced to face the reality of his life: it’s unfulfilling and the main thing he wants in it is Grae.
She’s not pining away for Caden, not anymore. She anguished over him for so long but now that he’s back, she’s just angry. She’ll never understand why he ghosted her and he’s never so much as even tried to explain himself. But when Grae needs to be rescued from a creep, Caden’s the only person around so as much as she hates to need him for anything, she has no choice. For his part, Caden doesn’t mind one bit. He’s happier just being around her, even if he can’t let himself enjoy it for long.
Grae’s in danger and Caden has no intention of letting her out of his sight until her stalker is locked away. Spending so much time together brings them closer than ever and it’s only a matter of time before they give in to their feelings for one another. Grae knows Caden is the only man for her, but will he ever admit to feeling anything again? As things heat up between them, he seems to warm to the idea, but when the threats get worse, will he be able to face them down at her side or will he run away to protect himself again?
This is a great read. I loved the characters, especially the varied cast of secondary characters because it gave us so many possibilities for the villain. It’s the perfect mix of suspense and heat and I could not put this book down. As always, I highly recommend it, just like every other book in this series. They’re instant favorites, every single time.
