Once they were best friends. Now they’re from two different worlds.

Zoe Bellini’s world exploded the second she kissed her best friend…and not in a good way. Every teen dream came crashing down when Padric was whisked away from Alaska, and her luck hasn’t improved in the last fifteen years. In fact, the pizza shop owner’s terrible track record with men has become a local legend. She doesn’t expect it to change when Padric—now a world-famous rock star—sails back into town. It’s not like they can just pick up where they left off…but her traitorous body sure wants to try.

Padric Jeffers never expected to return to his hometown of Lost Harbor, Alaska—not after the scandal that sent his family fleeing. But a mysterious letter with a warning about his childhood friend Zoe? That has him postponing his tour and hopping on the next flight north. Zoe’s been on his mind and in his lyrics since he left her behind, and once he sets eyes on the stunning grown-up version of his best friend, his mission is clear: do whatever it takes to have her—and keep her—this time around.

Easier said than done, since not everyone in town is excited about Padric’s return. And someone will do anything it takes to get rid of him. Can a pizza maker and a rock star overcome their history—not to mention scandals, angsty fans and unexpected danger—and find their way back to love?

A standalone novel in the Lost Harbor, Alaska series.

Excerpt

“Are you coming from the Olde Salt Saloon?” Zoe waved her hand on front of her nose. “I can smell the decades-old beer.”

“You’re taking out garbage,” he pointed out.

“I’d recognize Eau de Olde Salt with my eyes closed.” With a practiced motion, she heaved a garbage bag over the white slats of the enclosure. “Did you have fun?”

“Fun” didn’t seem to be exactly the right word. “I heard some stuff. About you.”

Her face changed, the amusement fading. “Oh. How drunk are you, anyway?”

“Drunk enough to tell you something. About you.”

Impatiently, she turned away from him. “You already apologized. There’s no need for anything more.”

“No, not that. You think everyone rejects you, don’t you?”

“What?”

“All your bad luck. Your breakups. The lawsuit.”

He noticed that every word made her wince.

A gust of wind tumbled through the narrow gap between the pizza shop and the fish cleaning station. It blew her hair over her shoulders and made her shiver. She was scowling at him. “I’m freezing out here, and you’re listing all my most embarrassing moments. What is your point?”

“You doubt yourself. And it all started with me. Am I right?”

She blew out a breath, as if trying to hang on to her composure. “I don’t know. Maybe. I was easy to forget, so there’s that.”

“No, you have it all wrong. All wrong. You know how I reached out to you? Do you know?”

She shook her head, eyes wide, arms still crossed defensively.

“I wrote songs. That’s how I dealt with it all. You, the Scandal, the move. Me missing you. It’s all there in my music. But you didn’t listen to any of it, did you?”

Tugging her lush lower lip between her teeth, she shook her head. “No.”

He shook his head, then stopped when the motion made him queasy. “You should have. You really should have. Shit. I need to lie down.”

She shook herself to attention and briskly wiped her hands on her apron. “I’ll drive you back to your hotel. Sit tight. Oh, and Padric?”

“Yeah?” He clutched his head, which felt as if it might split apart.

“We should talk more about this when you’re not drunk. Like maybe, say, on the Larkspur Trail.”

He gazed at her blankly for a moment, too plastered to put it together.

“Our hike, remember? You wanted to try the Larkspur Trail again?”

“Right. Our hike. Is that a yes?”

“Yes, let’s do it.”

“Now?”

She laughed, then came forward to take his arm. The gesture was probably to keep him from falling, but it felt like more. “In a couple of days when you’ve slept it off.”

“It won’t take a couple of days,” he grumbled. “I’m a rock star, I’m used to… Ah, who am I kidding. I never could handle more than a few drinks.”

She led him to her car, an older model Subaru, and opened the passenger door for him. “I’ll finish closing up and be right there.”

From the comfort of her passenger seat, he watched her hurry back into the pizza shop. She was so beautiful with her firm calves and rounded ass. And they were going hiking! They’d finally be alone together across the bay, the way they’d always dreamed about.

An eagle—the same eagle?—landed on one of the garbage bags.

“Guess I got the last word after all, dude,” he told it. “I have a date with Zoe. So there.”

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About Jennifer Bernard:

Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. Sign up for her newsletter for book news and fun exclusives.