Genre: Contemporary Romance

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s page-turning Dark Horse Dive Bar series continues with this story of love shadowed by secrets and lies as a bar owner falls for an old friend, now a computer programmer mogul, she once betrayed.

Welcome to the Dark Horse Dive Bar, where the Wildes throw one hell of a party and love could be a barstool away!

Broken and betrayed, Fox Bridges escaped Blackrock Falls 16 years ago, vowing never to return. But when his mom is diagnosed with terminal cancer, there’s no escaping it. Making the best of a bad situation, he goes back to face his past and set up a program to help foster kids who age out of the system like him. But more importantly— to reunite with the best friend he had to leave behind.

Melody Wilde never got over the loss of her childhood best friend. She saved his life… but it cost her Fox. He left town and never looked back, hating her for revealing his secret.

So when Fox walks back into town—right through the front door of her bar—she realizes he’s the man she’s been falling for online. He could be her chance at forever.

But Fox has secrets, and there are those who will do anything to bring him down. They’ll exploit any weakness. And he’s just given them the biggest one yet—Melody.

Excerpt

“Fox?” A tear slid down her cheek.

“Yes.” Fox’s eyes narrowed and the muscle in his jaw ticked.

The past came back to her in a slideshow of them as kids and the nightmare of how it all ended with him yelling at her that he hated her.

She couldn’t stop the tears now; they ran down her cheeks one after another as her heart broke all over again. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t stand there and look at him, knowing what she’d done and that he hated her. “I’m sorry.” She dropped the tray she’d been holding and ran through the kitchen. Lyric called out to her, asking what was wrong, but Melody didn’t stop until she shot out the back door and ran across the wide patio area. She bent over and tried to catch her breath and wipe away the tears, but they just wouldn’t stop.

Strong hands settled on her shoulders and pulled her upright. “Hey now. You need to stop that because I seriously have no idea what to do and it’s killing me to see you so sad. Please, Dee, give me a chance to explain.”

She caught her breath when she saw the guilty look in his eyes and she put the pieces together. “You’re him.”

“Yes. It’s me. Fox.”

She shook her head. “No. You’re him. The guy who’s been DMing me online.”

Even in the dim light she could see the flush of red hit his cheeks. Embarrassment and guilt lit his eyes. “I know it was stupid to try to slip back into your life that way. I should have just talked to you. But there are so many people in the bar and every guy has his eyes on you and I didn’t want to just show up and tell you I’m sorry and dump all our past on you in the middle of your shift with everyone watching.” The words came out in a rushed plea.

She raised a brow. “How did that work out for you?”

A pained look came into his eyes. “I made you cry. I’m sorry.” He ran his hand through his gorgeous hair. “I blew it just like I thought I would. That’s why I tried to talk to you online. I thought if I took the time to get to know you again and you got to know me without everything else from the past, then when I did finally talk to you in person we’d be friends again.”

Both brows shot up this time. “You deceived me, so we could be friends?”

“Yes?”

Why was that a question?

His hand raked through his hair again. “I am so not good at this.”

“What?” She really didn’t understand any of it.

“Talking to people. In foster care, you keep your head down, mouth shut, and just get through another shit day.”

Tears welled in her eyes again. “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.”

He rushed forward, cupped her face, and brushed his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. “Okay, you need to stop doing that. I can’t take it. Nothing is your fault. You don’t owe me an apology. You aren’t to blame for anything. You are everything good and happy that I ever had in my life.

“Because of you, I’m alive. I survived. I’m the one who needs to tell you I’m sorry. I lashed out at you, but I didn’t mean it. You know I could never hate you.”

His eyes burned bright with need for her to understand. “You were my everything.” His mouth crashed into hers in a kiss that stole her breath and commanded all her attention.

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About the Author

New York Times & USA Today bestselling author JENNIFER RYAN writes suspenseful contemporary romances about everyday people who do extraordinary things. Her deeply emotional love stories are filled with high stakes and higher drama, love, family, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find.

Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.

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