I’ve been a recluse since the accident, but there was a wedding I refused to miss. I just never expected to come home with the bride.
Now, I have a runaway bride in my Montana cabin who needs time to lick her wounds. Summer Kerrigan is as bright as her name, even on her worst of days. Too bad she’s been off-limits since she dated my brother in high school. It doesn’t matter that fifteen years have passed since we lost him. She was his. She’ll never be mine.
When she goes back down the mountain, I can’t forget her.
Turns out I don’t have to.
When she surprises me with another visit just before a blizzard snows us in together, staying away from her becomes impossible. It’s tempting to let her all the way in, except every time she’s come into my life, the bourbon empire heiress has left again to return to her own. One I’m not a part of. One I can never be a part of. Unless this damaged mountain man can find a way to keep up with his pretty bourbon runaway.
We meet Summer as she’s about to walk down the aisle, just as she’s having a moment of clarity. She realizes it would be a mistake to marry Boyd right now and suggests they postpone the wedding, but his awful reaction ends their relationship for good. Jonah was just looking for a quiet spot away from the crowd when he witnesses Boyd’s tantrum and helps Summer make her escape. He takes her back to his place so she can have solitude, but they get snowed in and stuck together for days.
Things are awkward between them because his brother Eli was Summer’s lifelong best friend, and they even began dating senior year. They were long distance when Summer went off to college and they were growing apart but still together when he died in the savage accident that gave Jonah permanent scars. They both blame themselves for Eli’s death and have avoided one another for the last fifteen years, but once their time together it over, they’re both left wanting more.
His place in the woods becomes her sanctuary and soon they’re spending lots of time together. Jonah and Summer have both had tragic lives full of trauma and loss but they seem to be good together, pushing each other out of their comfort zone to get more from life. This is a lovely story about grief and loss and healing with likeable characters, a big, fun supporting cast and a quirky small town. I’d like to thank the author and The Author Agency for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
