One night was supposed to be her last taste of freedom. He was supposed to be a stranger. Neither of them expected forever to start in a hotel bar.
Cheramie Johnston-Davies has spent her life becoming exactly who her family expects her to be: polished, useful, and safely attached to the right kind of man. But after her grandmother’s sudden death, Cheramie gets one last chance to protect the legacy that actually matters to her—and to find out who she is when no one else is choosing for her.
Deacon Dorsey has no room left for reckless choices. After the death of his ex, the former adventurer is determined to give his preteen daughter the stable, loving home he never had. Returning to Conception Bay is his fresh start, and investing in a local revitalization project seems like the first responsible step.
Their anonymous hookup in a Seattle hotel bar should have ended by morning.
Instead, Cheramie and Deacon discover they are on opposite sides of the same project—the one that could secure his daughter’s future and protect her grandmother’s dream.
Now the chemistry they meant to forget is impossible to escape. But family pressure, old regrets, and small-town expectations are closing in fast, and one reckless night could cost them both the futures they promised to build.
Or it could be the first honest choice either of them has ever made.
A small-town contemporary romance with a single dad, an unforgettable one-night stand, family legacy stakes, and a love neither of them planned.
Welcome to Conception Bay, where the Dorseys are famous for hockey, family loyalty, bad timing—and the kind of love that makes starting over worth the risk. Book 2 in the Dorseys of Conception Bay series. Can be read as a standalone.
“Lovers of small-town romance will be enchanted.” —Publishers Weekly
